[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6119114,"mediaKeyId","2713083-c6bdc1a3c33056b43abfd5393122c0d7","parentId",2713083,"title","Foresters, industry urge clearer timber-theft registry and stronger enforcement","audioSeconds",1886,"startMs",21000,"endMs",1907000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2713083-c6bdc1a3c33056b43abfd5393122c0d7&start=21&end=1907","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2713083-c6bdc1a3c33056b43abfd5393122c0d7/thumbnail_21000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6119114/Vermont/Foresters-industry-urge-clearer-timber-theft-registry-and-stronger-enforcement","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6119114-f8d38c925c934ad3bbd58bd10874197e/orig.mp4?Expires=1775303898&Signature=MGOoQynCySDG4gZVl4yRdQPFTNqxd1UFmig~VwRNQS-bkwmSA0-hr6o5MHjTRQyOh8TMxtXmt0M1u84E85mxp5~L96jDNk25YAc-U~uOnj0eacDJOjwLeLg-zaDXrwHoGpft01GhwbyzWDnaJqXbZuaz-jzpdH20fTFFzIEX~Y29mcr11WOjvkjHuykFaSZVU1Wv-drwCv2KChvGOK2zERcv13CpzIK3HNwfGzNXYvJCWnefJVuxiup7a1wlstOyK~-ry9y0Vp92triUf9Ie3NN3zSn41WUSoBrxV6tQi8udpR3tYPRAWXnW9BEx21eIixBMFkLDzXt7izRMM0wEsw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-03-19T06:40:03Z","article","Ed Larson, a consulting forester and longtime representative of the Vermont Forest Products Association, and Gwen Zakoff, the association’s lobbyist, told the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry that the attorney general’s report on timber trespass clarified the problem but offered few concrete next steps.

\"The landowner deserves to be made whole. The law is there,\" Larson said, describing situations where landowners win civil judgments but struggle to recover money or get cleanups done. Zakoff said the report contains \"breadcrumbs\" but lacks actionable recommendations and highlighted the newly created registry as useful but not user-friendly.

The witnesses urged three near-term fixes: make the attorney general’s land‑improvement/timber‑theft registry easier for landowners to read (add plain‑language column headings and a dedicated timber‑theft column), create limited enforcement capacity with a designated specialist inside a state agency or a defined law‑enforcement partner, and expand outreach so small or absentee landowners know where to go for help.

Zakoff called the registry \"one of the biggest nuggets, I think the golden nugget of last year's legislation was the creation of the land improvement timber theft registry,\" and said the current layout — two terse columns tied to statutory citations — makes it hard for a layperson to tell whether a listed name is tied to timber trespass, home‑improvement fraud or another offense.

Committee members and witnesses described enforcement gaps. Witnesses said Vermont lacks a forestry enforcement arm comparable to other states' forestry divisions and forest wardens; existing authorities — Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR), Department of Taxes, state police, game wardens and environmental enforcement — each handle particular, limited circumstances (for example FPR oversight of large cuts, Act 250 thresholds and water‑quality authorities), leaving many private‑land incidents with no clear, resourced investigator.

Witnesses and legislators noted that the roster of reported incidents is small — testimony referenced roughly \"between 6 and 10 a year\" in the report — but they argued that small numbers do not remove the urgency because harmed landowners face legal costs, delayed restoration and, in some cases, loss of eligibility for conservation or current‑use programs. They debated seizure and forfeiture as a deterrent: industry speakers said seizing major equipment could put bad actors out of business and send a strong message; the legislature trimmed seizure provisions during bill negotiations and testimony described ongoing disagreement about use of that authority.

Speakers also described cases that blur civil and environmental enforcement, such as contract breaches that lead to water‑quality violations when inadequate closeout and erosion controls cause runoff. Committee members asked whether responsibility should be clarified so that a logging contractor who breached closeout obligations might be held to fund remediation rather than leaving costs to the landowner.

Witnesses suggested modest, practical outreach steps: add timber‑protection information to property tax mailings and town reports, promote sample contracts and checklists on the Department of Forests and Parks web pages, and have associations point prospective buyers and sellers to a readable registry once the registry is improved.

The committee did not vote on new measures at this session. Members signaled interest in follow‑up: inviting attorney general or department staff to demonstrate the registry, exploring a targeted enforcement position or specialist within a state agency, and preserving the conversation about seizure and forfeiture as a possible enforcement tool.

Ending: Committee members said they do not want momentum around enforcement to stall. Several requested return appearances by industry witnesses and follow‑up briefings from the attorney general and relevant state agencies to clarify registry changes, enforcement roles and possible incremental policy steps.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Agriculture – 2025-03-18 – 1:25PM","oneSentenceSummary","Ed Larson, a consulting forester and longtime association representative, warned a House committee that landowners frequently cannot recover losses from timber trespass, and industry witnesses urged clearer public registries and modest state enforcement capacity.","taxTitle","Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",36721,"location","Vermont","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6119109,"Bill H.386 would create a state agricultural land transfer assistance program, sponsors say",1074,2614000,3688000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2713083-c6bdc1a3c33056b43abfd5393122c0d7&start=2614&end=3688","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2713083-c6bdc1a3c33056b43abfd5393122c0d7/thumbnail_2614000.jpg","/articles/6119109/Vermont/Bill-H386-would-create-a-state-agricultural-land-transfer-assistance-program-sponsors-say","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6119109-6cd398818748e23a89a1051188097de9/orig.mp4?Expires=1775303898&Signature=R1cD1ppDGTaUPHsTYiRgS3RYMXd-hwpFIN-ZNj6AfQCvlHr-zcXxc8GuH1iJuAM8P~iYV1eJd1dfQMtn7s5K67gvR~ojLoCnLq7yFBmYQimCHBrZbpUXOpzb18ITqRicXrHOIL~T82eZSvkFkp0HtX-sgboPNnzEw16~ufbGhtpaklPV4zjBsaOYaIFz8XxYSJhwc4tHePaDIh5TY5DNhN1ThuCiUpRvFPvYf0qeekBaOQp~mHUDnLdXT7bL88h833c6Q~02WmUk8ufNSpZriTHgvnJdavObwUjX2nuDLB1TEh5UzuO0V7B~HgdqQSUo2Tg5rtSXLIl47GFOmYywnQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Supernath introduced H.386 to the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry, proposing an Agricultural Land Transfer Assistance Program at the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets to help keep farmland in production as owners age or exit farming.

\"This bill proposes to marry those two concerns in a way that collaboratively moves forward our vision to keep ag lands in farming,\" Representative Supernath said, summarizing the bill’s purpose to link sellers, buyers, technical assistance and potential financing.

Under the bill as described by Representative Supernath and by Michael Grady of Legislative Counsel, the program would direct the secretary of agriculture to create a succession‑planning toolkit (legal templates, lists of financing, education and professionals), host an online ag‑land portal to post farms and connect buyers and sellers, and provide at least three educational workshops per year. The secretary would also train or contract for \"land transfer navigators\"—staff or contractors who would meet sellers and prospective buyers, assist with regulatory and financing questions, and help shepherd transfers.

H.386 would create a five‑member Land Transfer and Succession Board to advise implementation. The bill text described the board as chaired by a designee of the secretary and including representatives from the Farm and Forest Viability Program, the Vermont Land Trust, Land for Good and the Vermont Farm to Plate Initiative. The secretary, after consulting the commissioner of taxes, would submit recommendations to the House Committees on Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry and Ways and Means, and the Senate Committees on Agriculture and Finance, recommending tax incentives or other financial tools to facilitate succession and transfers.

The bill includes a $250,000 general‑fund appropriation to the agency for implementation. Legislative counsel noted the appropriation does not itemize staff positions; committee members asked about likely staffing needs and budgeting. A budgeting question cited a commonly used FTE cost estimate of about $125,000 per year for a state employee, which committee members used to consider how far the appropriation might go toward paid navigators or contracted assistance.

Committee members asked whether the program would serve both sellers who already have a designated successor and sellers who need help finding a buyer; the sponsors and counsel said the program is intended to help both. Members also noted existing organizations and services (Farm and Forest Viability Program, Vermont Land Trust, Land for Good and others) that already provide components of this work; the bill’s backers said H.386 is meant to centralize and coordinate those resources in a single, agency‑led hub.

Ending: Representative Supernath and counsel said the committee could expect a line‑by‑line review in subsequent meetings; several members signaled support for further discussion about tax incentives, staffing needs, and how to coordinate the program with existing nonprofit and federal resources.","Representative Supernath introduced H.386 to establish an agricultural land transfer and assistance program within the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets to connect retiring owners with prospective farmers, create a toolkit and navigators, host an online portal, form a five‑member succession board, and request a report on tax incentives; the","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Foresters, industry urge clearer timber-theft registry and stronger enforcement

Bill H.386 would create a state agricultural land transfer assistance program, sponsors say