FPR briefs Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry committee on forest health, parks and industry challenges

Commissioner Danielle Fitzko of the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation briefed the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry at a committee meeting, outlining the agency’s programs, staffing, finances and pressing issues for Vermont’s forests and state parks.

The briefing stressed the scale of the resource — roughly three‑quarters of Vermont is forested — and the economic and public‑access pressures that accompany that scale. Fitzko said the department oversees roughly 360,000 acres of state lands, manages 55 developed state parks and a year‑round staff of about 130 (with roughly 450 seasonal hires to run parks in summer). She said the forests and recreation economy accounts for roughly $2 billion in economic impact and that state parks generated more than $100 million in economic activity this season.

Why it matters: lawmakers pressed agency leaders on two linked challenges — keeping forests healthy and resilient in the face of pests and climate change, and sustaining the forest products sector while state parks and other recreation lands face rising visitation and infrastructure strain. The department…