Vermont FPR outlines forest management, state parks pressures and a roadmap for the sector

Danielle Fitsko, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, told the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on Jan. 23 that forests cover about 76% of Vermont and that the department is working across forestry, parks and recreation to keep forests healthy and sustain a growing outdoor economy.

Fitsko said the department manages 55 developed state parks, welcomed more than 1,000,000 visitors during the last operating season and recorded a roughly 40% increase in state-park visitation over the past six years. "State parks is really a business," she told the committee, noting the department handles thousands of invoices, reservations and refunds and holds roughly $280 million in infrastructure assets.

The department described forestry programs that work on forest health monitoring, a small wildland fire team and partnerships for mutual aid. Fitsko said FPR now has 24 staff who are "red-carded" to national wildland-fire credentials so they can be deployed under the Incident Command System, and the agency also brings in logistical staff to support large events.

FPR staff outlined a multi-pronged Vermont Forest Future Strategic Roadmap, developed after a General Assembly request in 2021. The roadmap focuses on five pillars including forest management and land use, business environment and workforce development, research and innovation, industry reputation and the link between the forest economy and Vermont communities. Fitsko said the roadmap is now in an implementation phase guided by a steering committee.

The department said Vermont's forest economy generates direct annual benefits on the order of $130 million and, accounting for multipliers, more than $2 billion; the sector employs roughly 10,000 people directly and more than 13,000 with indirect jobs included. Fitsko said workforce aging, equipment costs and marketplace unpredictability have stressed the supply chain; two sawmills closed in the previous year, she told the committee.

On adaptation and resilience, Fitsko described investments the department is making to help loggers withstand wetter and more variable seasons, including a $1 million appropriation the General Assembly provided to support best practices and more resilient road networks and landings. She said FPR is working with the Department of Environmental Conservation and other partners on low-interest loans and other mechanisms to help logging operators buy lower-impact equipment.

Fitsko also described the agency's forest protection work: long-term monitoring plots for forest health, a diagnostic laboratory for pest and disease testing, and expanded wildland-fire staffing and training with local fire departments and the Vermont Fire Academy. The department noted it used mutual-aid agreements this past season, including bringing an engine from New Hampshire.

On state parks, Fitsko emphasized climate resilience, accessibility and staffing constraints. She said FPR currently employs about 45 year-round state-park staff and brings on roughly 450 seasonal employees; a statutory limit on temporary seasonal employment of seven months constrains the department's ability to operate longer seasons and expand shoulder-season services. She also said the parks modernization study and related planning will prioritize resilient siting of facilities, shorelines and roads as well as energy and accessibility improvements.

The commissioner named a small team working on a forest economy program and said earlier one-time funding from the General Assembly (about $1 million) and other grants are supporting logger and industry assistance, plus an implementation steering committee is meeting to move roadmap recommendations into practice.

Asked about maple-sugaring leases on state lands, Fitsko deferred to Rebecca Washburn, director of lands administration and recreation, who confirmed FPR issues multi-year licenses (typically 15-year leases) for tapping on state land and that those licenses yield modest revenue and research opportunities in partnership with UVM's Proctor Maple Research Center.

Fitsko and staff fielded questions from committee members about climate impacts on logging days and harvest windows, tariff risks for the forest products market, and interagency coordination with the Green Mountain National Forest. The department repeatedly framed many responses as ongoing efforts: monitoring, partnerships, pilot programs and capacity-building rather than newly adopted rules or votes.

The presentation concluded with an offer to provide more detailed briefings on the roadmap and implementation plans to the committee.

A number of funding and program details remain implementation steps rather than completed policy decisions: the roadmap is in rollout, federal grants and one-time appropriations are being spent, and the department is refining programs for loggers, forest health monitoring, and state-park resilience and staffing.