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 described current programs, funding sources and partnerships it says are intended to address those pressures.

Key takeaways from the briefing

- Climate and forest health staffing: Fitzko introduced the agency’s leadership and noted a dedicated climate forester, Al Figmini, who has been on staff a little more than a year and is working across program areas. Fitzko said Figmini “is very much in demand and we’re thrilled to have her as part of our team.”

- Forest cover and management metrics: Oliver Pearson, director of forests, summarized long‑term inventory data and management challenges. He highlighted two measures committee members flagged as important: the share of Vermont that is forested (about 76 percent, based on the agency’s forest inventory extrapolations through 2023) and a net growth‑to‑removals ratio the agency uses to understand harvest relative to growth. “The number in Vermont is at 3 right now,” Pearson said, meaning net growth of forest biomass is roughly three times removals.

- Pest and pathogen threats: agency staff described active monitoring for pests and pathogens, including emerald ash borer and beech leaf disease, and said the forest health team conducts aerial surveys and on‑the‑ground response and outreach to landowners.

- Parks visitation and infrastructure: Fitzko said Vermont State Parks had more than 1,000,000 paying visitors during the most recent season and noted that visitation, flooding events and expanded public use of state lands require additional infrastructure such as trails, parking and toilets. She told the committee that some high‑use state lands are managed like parks and need the same investments even when they do not generate admission revenue.

- Grants and partnerships: Fitzko and staff described a $5 million award from the U.S. Forest Service using Inflation Reduction Act funds to help landowners manage for climate resiliency. The department said it will work with partners — including UVM Extension and faculty such as Tony D’Amato and UVM Extension forester Dr. Ali Kasiba — to develop a forest resilience standard and roll it out with foresters, loggers and landowners.

- Forest economy and processing capacity: staff and lawmakers discussed mill closures and the loss of in‑state processing capacity. The department framed this as a challenge and an opportunity, citing the Vermont Forest Futures Roadmap created at the legislature’s request in 2022 and an implementation committee that Representative Lipsky sits on. Fitzko gave an example of a Working Lands Enterprise Board grant that helped a cabinetmaker purchase a digital router after a local mill closed.

What was requested and next steps

Committee members asked for current data and clarifications. Pearson said the agency can provide the most recent forest inventory figures and agreed to return with further detail and materials. Fitzko offered tours and suggested legislators contact Kate Eberle, the department’s legislative affairs and communications manager, for follow‑up questions or site visits.

The briefing included technical explanations and tradeoffs — for example, staff noted that young, rapidly growing stands can sequester carbon quickly after harvest and that durable wood products also store carbon — and lawmakers discussed how forest cover statistics and harvest levels relate to agricultural land use and local economies. No formal committee actions or votes were recorded during the presentation.