United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Northeastern

Research Station

Resource Bulletin NE-158

The Forests of the

Green Mountain State

Eric H. Wharton

Richard H. Widmann

Charles H. Barnett

Thomas S. Frieswyk

Andrew J. Lister

Bob DeGeus
Published by: For additional copies:

USDA FOREST SERVICE USDA Forest Service

11 CAMPUS BLVD SUITE 200 Publications Distribution

NEWTOWN SQUARE PA 19073-3294 359 Main Road

Delaware, OH 43015-8640

November 2003 Fax: (740)368-0152

Visit our homepage at: http://www.fs.fed.us/ne

The Authors

Eric H. Wharton, Richard H. Widmann, Charles J. Barnett, Thomas S.

Frieswyk, and Andrew J. Lister are foresters with the Northeastern Research

Station, Newtown Square, PA; Bob DeGeus is a forester with the Vermont

Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation at Montpelier.

Photo credits

Pages 1, 3, 9, 18, 19, 25, John David Geery; page 6 top, John D. Hodges,

Mississippi State University, www.forestryimages.org (Image 4798050);

page 6 bottom, Tim McCabe, Natural Resources Conservation Service;

page 17, Robert Burt, USDA Forest Service; page 21, Robert L. Anderson,

USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org (Image 1748049); page 23,

Theodore D. Leninger, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

(Image 3046075).
	

















	





	

	
	


	

	

		









	


		








	






	



 

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USDA Forest Service

Northeastern Research Station, Forest Inventory and Analysis

Newtown Square, Pennsylvania

Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation

Montpelier, Vermont


Vermont’s Resilient Forests

Forests provide wood and other forest products, watershed protection, wildlife habitat,

biodiversity, a setting for recreation, and much more. They have played a major role in the

history and culture of Vermont. The early settlers found nearly all of the State covered by

forests. The initial clearing of these woodlands was slow as most colonists established small

subsistence farms. Forest clearing became widespread around 1800 as Vermont’s farmers

began supplying food and wool to a rapidly growing nation. The thousands of small farms

created a strong agriculture-based economy. The city of Burlington, Vermont, became a

major producer of timber during this time.

By 1880, only about a third of Vermont remained forested. As early as 1845, George

Perkins Marsh warned Vermont farmers about the damage that results from clearing forests.

Eventually, those who once assumed that the State’s forest resource was unlimited were

faced with timber shortages. Soil erosion from farm land increased and silt now muddied

creeks that once ran clear. And because of the rapid runoff of storm water, springs that

previously flowed year round were dry during the summer. As Vermont’s forests

diminished, so did once abundant populations of important species of wildlife, for

example, the beaver, black bear, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and wolf.

During the Industrial Revolution, much of the cleared land in Vermont became unsuitable

for continuous agricultural crops and was abandoned as farmers left marginal hillside farms

to find work in the cities. Through the years, trees become established and what were “old

fields” reverted to forest land. The opening of the West following the Civil War hastened

the pace of farm abandonment across New England. The consequent decline in farming

allowed much of the State to revert to forests. The amount of forested acreage in Vermont

has doubled since 1880, though the sturdy stone walls one finds throughout the State’s

woodlands are reminders of the decline in farm acreage that continues today.

Absent interference by humans, vegetation in abandoned fields undergoes a series of

changes. Plants with seed distributed by wind or birds are the first to become established.

In Vermont, these include such common wildflower species as golden rod, aster, Queen

Ann’s lace, and blackberry.

Danby, Vermont
New Forest Inventory

Early in the 20th century, widespread land abuse in the Eastern United States prompted

Congress to enact legislation that in part mandated the USDA Forest Service to

periodically survey all states and report on the state of the nation’s forest resources. As

part of this legislation, the Green Mountain National Forest was established in western

Vermont.

In 1997, the fifth inventory of Vermont’s unique forest resource was conducted by the

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) unit of the Northeastern Research Station in

cooperation with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation. Previous

inventories were conducted in 1948, 1965, 1973, and 1983. The results of the most

recent survey detail the condition and extent of these extensive and diverse forests, and

document their recovery. Highlighted here are significant trends during the last 50 years.

Following data collection for the 1997 inventory, a series of ice storms devastated forested

areas in parts of northern New England and New York State. The storms damaged an

estimated 940,000 acres in Vermont alone. To quantify these losses, plots were selected

within the most heavily damaged areas. During 1998, the field plots were revisited, new

measurements were taken, and the entire inventory was recalculated to include data on ice

damage. Detailed statistical tables were published, as was information on Vermont’s

private forest-land owners and the State’s forest products industry.1 2

	
	
	

 	  

 	 	  	 


		



						

						

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1

Frieswyk, Thomas S.; Widmann, Richard H. 2000. Forest statistics for Vermont: 1983 and

1997. Resour. Bull. NE-145. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest

Service, Northeastern Research Station. 130 p.

2

Birch, Thomas W. 1996. Private forest-land owners of the Northern United States, 1996.

Resour. Bull. NE-136. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,

Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 293 p.
Vermont’s Forests Today

Forests account for nearly 8 of every 10 acres of land in

Vermont, or roughly 4.6 million acres. The remaining 2

acres comprise cropland, improved pasture, and other

nonforest land, e.g., housing, commercial and industrial

facilities, rights-of-way, wetlands, and recreational areas. As

mentioned earlier, by the middle of the 19th century, twothirds of Vermont’s original forests had been converted to

farm land. Since then, the State’s forests have revealed their

resilience. Today, forests blanket more of Vermont than at

any other time in the last 100 years. Between 1948 and

1966 when the first two FIA inventories were conducted,

forest land increased by about 16 percent, from 3.7 to 4.3

million acres. During the next 30 years, forested areas

continued to increase, though only by 7 percent.

Forest land does not exist in a vacuum but in concert with

competing land uses. And Vermont’s forests returned at the

same time the State’s population was expanding. Today,

urban development, which is showing few signs of slowing,

is draining the forest-land base and causing it to fragment

into ever smaller ownerships.





	











Farm Meets Forest in Ira, Vermont

		


	
		

	


		


		


	
	



	 

	 


	
	 




			
			



	 
	 

	 	 
	 

	 




	
	

	
		
	


	

	

			




	 
 
	 
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Forest Ownership

Private owners account for nearly 80 percent of Vermont’s

timberland. Nonindustrial private landowners hold 63

percent of the timberland. The remaining 37 percent is

owned by individuals (other than farmers), corporations

(other than forest industry), farmers, and miscellaneous

owners, e.g., hunting clubs and trust funds.

Public lands accounted for 13 percent of the timberland

base in 1997 compared to 9 percent in 1983. Altered

perceptions about how the State’s forests should be

managed have caused more timberland than ever to be

reserved for public goods and services. Public land is the

primary source of forest-related recreation. With all but

5,300 acres in southern Vermont, the Green Mountain

National Forest contributed 6 percent of total timberland

acreage. The State of Vermont also holds 6 percent or

nearly 275,000 acres. Counties and municipalities own

about 72,000 acres.

There are about 80,500 nonindustrial private forest-land

owners in Vermont with average holdings ranging from

100 to 500 acres. Nearly 70 percent of the timberland is

held by nonindustrial private landowners with tracts

larger than 100 acres; however, these owners account for

only 11 percent of all ownerships.

Characteristics and Trends

Location and Distribution

The forests of Vermont extend northward from [maple/

beech/birch] forests to the south, across the central

mountains of the New England Plateau, and into forests

dominated by spruce/fir that border the Upper

Connecticut River Valley. Of the five counties along this

corridor, Orange County is the least forested at nearly

80 percent. Essex County is the most heavily forested at

95 percent; Chittenden County is the least forested (61

percent). Since the most recent FIA survey, forest

acreage has increased in Caledonia and Orleans

Counties and declined in Addison and Chittenden

Counties.

The importance of Vermont’s natural resource varies

with the abundance and character of its forests. A

common characteristic that helps describe the landscape

is the distribution of forest types or forest-type groups.

Their distribution depends on factors such as terrain

position, soil depth, and climate. Northern hardwoods,

specifically, the northern hardwoods forest-type group,

accounts for 67 percent of Vermont’s 4,628,900 acres of

forest land. The next most abundant forest-type groups

are white/red pine and spruce/fir, which account for 11

and 10 percent of the State’s forest land, respectively.

Forest-type groups vary in distribution throughout the

State. Each helps define the character of forests that

occur across Vermont’s mountains and valleys. For

example, the oak/hickory forest-type group is far more

	


	



	



	



	 
 	





 








 




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important component in the southern counties, while

the spruce/fir group is more common primarily in the

northern countries. However, political boundaries often

limit the use of forest-resource data. Over the years,

different criteria have been pressed into service to better

classify the forest landscape. Biophysical regions were

proposed in the early 1990’s and refined in 1995.

Vermont contains a diverse mixture of these regions, or

ecological units, which, in turn, contain blends of

forest-type groups.3

 Eight biophysical regions have been

identified: Taconic Mountains, Vermont Valley,

Southern Green Mountains, and Southern Vermont

Piedmont that stretch across the State’s southern tier,

and Champlain Valley, Northern Green Mountains,

Northern Vermont Piedmont, and Northeastern

Highlands, which encompass nearly all of the 10

northern counties.

3

Keys, J., Jr.; Carpenter, C.; Hooks, S.; Koenig, F.; McKlab,

W.H.; Russell, W.E.; Smith, M-L. 1995. Ecological units

of the Eastern United States—first approximation. Publ.

R8-TP 21. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Forest Service, Southern Region.



	


		

	
  

	








	 

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Autumn in Central Vermont

Mixed Stand of Oak, Maple and Birch, Harvard Forest, Massachusetts

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Northern hardwoods predominate in every region of

Vermont, but account for only about half of the

forest-land area in the two Piedmont regions, each of

which has a significant proportion of white/red pine.

The Northern Vermont Piedmont and Northeastern

Highlands also contain substantial amounts of

spruce/fir and aspen/birch, while the oak/hickory

and oak/pine forest-type groups account for about

52 and 12 million acres, respectively, in the

Southern Piedmont.

Distribution of Forest Land by Forest-type Group

in the Biophysical Regions of Vermont

Northern Green Mountains

Northeastern Highlands

Northern Vermont Piedmont

Southern Vermont Piedmont

Southern Green Mountains

Taconic Mountains

and

Vermont Valley

Champlain Valley

Aspen/birch Northern hardwoods Spruce/fir

White/red pine Other (oak/pine, oak/hickory, and elm/ash/red maple)


Timberland Area

Timberland is forest land that is capable of producing

commercial crops of timber. In Vermont, timberland

accounts for 97 percent of all forest land. In 1997, the

timberland base totaled 4,482,500 acres, an increase of less

than 70,000 acres potentially available for harvesting.

Largely on the basis of cover types, the State’s forest land can

be divided into two geographic units: the beech/birch/maple

forests of southern Vermont and the spruce/fir forests of the

northeastern region. The Northern Geographic Unit

contained 2,265,600 acres of timberland in 1997, an increase

of 3 percent over 1983. The Southern Unit contained

2,216,800 acres of timberland in 1997, a decline of less than

0.05 percent from 1983.

In the Northern Unit, the amount of spruce/fir and [aspen/

birch] has increased by 13 and 17 percent, respectively, since

1983. Only the combination of oak/pine, oak/hickory, and

elm/ash/red experienced a significant decline. This resulted

from a significant drop in the elm/ash/red maple component,

which was reduced by nearly half from 1983 to 1997 (65,000

to 33,000 acres). There were similar declines in the Southern

Unit as elm/ash/red maple declined from 67,000 acres in

1983 to 28,000 in 1997. Aspen/birch showed a similar

decline in timberland area, dropping by 42 percent during

the same period. By contrast, the northern hardwoods foresttype group increased by 7 percent.


	

	


		
	



	
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Timberland Area by the Geographic Units of Vermont

Autumn Colors in Wallingford, Vermont

	














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Composition and Structure

Species Diversity

The Green Mountain State itself is a rich tapestry of

biological diversity. Forest vegetation—living trees and

shrubs, dead and downed woody stems, microflora,

lichens, mosses, and herbaceous plants—provide diverse

habitat for wildlife in the form of forage and shelter for

both forest-dwelling species and those that inhabit

forest-dependent aquatic systems.

Such diversity is evident in the number and variety of

wildlife species encountered in the State’s woodlands.

The most recent FIA inventory identified 88 different

tree and shrub species, the most common of which are

beech, birch, maple, ash, aspen, oak, fir, spruce,

hemlock, brambles, raspberry hobblebush, viburnum,

and spirea. Hemlock is the leading softwood species,

often found growing with eastern white pine. Balsam fir

and spruce are the primary species used in the

manufacture of wood fiber. Of the hardwood species,

sugar maple is the most prevalent, followed by

American beech, red maple, yellow and paper birch, and

white ash.

Distribution of Tree Species

In Vermont’s forests, hardwood species outnumber

softwood species by a ratio of 2 to 1. Sugar maple is the

most prevalent tree species, reaching concentrations as

high as 50 percent in the Northern Piedmont region

and 20 to 50 percent in the northern Green Mountains

and Champlain Valley. Red maple also is prevalent

     

	
	



	






	
		





	 

	
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throughout Vermont, particularly in

the southern region. Paper birch

extends primarily along the entire

range of the Green Mountains, and

yellow birch is found mostly along the

same range but at higher elevations.

Hemlock is the leading softwood

species and is concentrated in the

southwestern corner of the state,

northern Green Mountains, and north

of Lake Champlain. This species often

grows in conjunction with eastern

white pine, which is found primarily

along the Connecticut River in

southern Vermont. Balsam fir is

distributed primarily in the

Northeastern Highlands and Northern

Piedmont, while spruce is prevalent

throughout the southern Green

Mountains.

Other common tree species in

Vermont include ash, aspen, beech,

and northern red oak. Of these species,

only beech is found in concentrations

as high as 20 to 50 percent.

	



 	




  

	

	

	
 
  

 





 





 	




	
		
		

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Timber Volume

The volume of timber in Vermont has

increased by nearly 75 percent over the

past three decades, from 5.0 billion

cubic feet of growing stock in 1973 to

8.7 billion cubic feet today. Initially,

most of this increase was in

hardwoods, but both softwoods and

hardwoods increased at nearly the

same rate between 1983 and 1997.

The trend was similar for sawtimber,

which doubled from 1973 to 1997.

During that time, hardwood

sawtimber increased by nearly 45

percent, though softwoods increased at

a faster rate between 1983 and 1997.

Sugar maple leads all species in both

growing-stock and sawtimber volume.

Vermont’s sugar mapling industry is an

excellent example of a sustained forest

use that does not require tree removal.


     

	

	







	

	
	
	



 	

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Distribution of the Total Resource

Standard means of measuring the forest, e.g., in cubic feet or board feet, can exclude

as much as half of the total quantity of trees and shrubs. One way to capture this

material is by measuring its weight of biomass. In 1997, the forests of Vermont

contained more than 375 million dry tons of tree and shrub material. The bulk of

this biomass (54 percent) was in growing stock. The remainder was in nongrowingstock components: portions of growing-stock trees outside of the merchantable bole

(26 percent), cull trees (10 percent), saplings between 1.0 and 5.0 inches in diameter

at breast height (d.b.h.) (7 percent), seedlings and shrubs (2 percent), and salvable

dead trees (1 percent).


Timber Supply

Stocking Levels

Forests use tree size and number per acre to determine how well a stand is stocked.

Measures of stocking in growing-stock trees indicate how well a site is being used to grow

trees of economic value. In fully stocked stands, trees are fully using the potential of the

site. If allowed to grow, these stands eventually will become overstocked. In overstocked

stands, trees become crowded and growth slows. Such trees are less vigorous and more

susceptible to insect and disease attacks than less crowded stems. If not thinned or

removed, commercial trees will die and their value for timber products will be lost.

Poorly stocked stands have widely spaced trees or trees with little or no commercial value.

These stands often are the result of removing the largest and most vigorous trees and

leaving those with poor form or that are otherwise weakened. This creates gaps in the

forest canopy.

Historically, Vermont’s forests have increased in stocking levels. The number of acres of

poorly and moderately stocked stands has decreased while fully stocked stands have

increased. The abundance of these stands presents opportunities for management without

reducing forest growth, and for preventing overstocking.

     

	
	
		

	

	
	


	



	

















     

	
	
		

	

	
	


	



	


















 	

	







	







   


 
 
 


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Timber Quality

The value of a tree for timber products

rises as the tree becomes large enough to

produce high-value products. Value

increases first as trees grow large enough to

produce small sawlogs, and again as the

trees become large enough to produce

high-grade sawlogs or veneer logs. Small

trees that can be used to produce

pulpwood (cord wood) typically are sold

by landowners for about $10 per cord. If

the same amount of wood were sold as

high-grade, quality sawlogs, the landowner

could realize 500 or more times as much.

Although the timberland base remained

essentially unchanged from 1983 to 1997,

the inventory of growing-stock volume, increased significantly, up 33 percent since 1983.

Today, as much as 71 percent of this volume is in poletimber and small sawtimber (less

than 15.0 inches in d.b.h.). However, the volume of trees larger than 15.0 inches in d.b.h.

increased by nearly 70 percent from 1983 to 1997.

Northern red oak has the greatest percentage of trees that are 15.0 inches or larger in

d.b.h., followed by white ash, yellow birch, and sugar maple. Half of these large red oak

trees were grade 1 versus 9 percent for large red maple trees. Increases in board-foot volume

for red maple and hemlock have outpaced those of some of the more valuable tree species.

Products from Vermont’s Forests

Unlike coal and oil reserves, the forest resource

renews itself, that is, trees can be thought of as a

crop—stands can be harvested today and again by

future generations. Vermont’s forests have been

harvested repeatedly for a variety of wood

products, yet the State’s forests remain productive

and continue to provide a host of benefits. Except

for parks and preserves, nearly all forests have been

harvested at least three times. The keys to this

remarkable sustainability are sensible regulation

and the adoption of Best Management Practices by

timber harvesters.

Typically, when a tree is harvested, the high-quality

lower trunk is used for lumber and veneer while

the upper stem and large branches are used for

pulpwood and firewood, as are small trees and

undesirable species. Parts of the tree are left in the

woods as logging residue, which aids in returning nutrients to the soil for

future tree growth. In Vermont, 56 percent of the total volume of harvested

trees is used for industrial products, 28 percent is logging residue, and 15

percent is converted to fuelwood.

Birch Sawlogs at Vermont Sawmill

	

	



	











 



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Sawlogs, veneer logs and pulpwood are the primary industrial uses for wood

harvested in Vermont. Wood used for specialty products such as dowels and

turning stock is included with sawlogs. Furniture manufacturers from around the

world have recognized the State for its high-quality hardwood lumber,

particularly that from sugar maple. Also valued is lumber produced from

Vermont’s white pine, spruce, white

ash, red maple, and birches. In 1996,

281.6 million board feet of sawlogs

and 9.4 million board feet of veneer

logs were harvested. Pulpmills in

neighboring states and Canada

provide important markets for lowvalue wood. About 415,000 cords of

pulpwood—divided nearly equally

between hardwoods and softwoods—

were shipped out of the State in 1996.

Besides commercially valuable timber,

Vermont’s forests produce maple syrup

and candy, boughs, cones, and floral

Sugar Shack in Mendon, Vermont

		
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Firewood Stacked in Belmont, Vermont

	

				




	

	

	




	



	






  

greenery, weaving and dyeing materials, botanical flavorings and medicinal

herbs, mushrooms and berries, and specialty and novelty items. Early settlers

relied on forests as an essential source of raw materials needed for daily life.

Today, commercial markets provide substitutes for most of these products.

Nevertheless, a substantial number of Vermonters continue to gather or make

them as a means of supplementing the

family income.

Fuelwood includes that which is

burned by many Vermont

homeowners for heat as well as wood

burned in commercial boilers. In

1996, more than 285,000 cords of

wood—mostly hardwoods—were

used for fuelwood. On average, each

household in the State used 1.4 cords,

second only to homeowners in Maine.

About 75 percent of the fuelwood in

Vermont is from dead and cull forest

trees and trees from yards and fence

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Sustainability

The self-sustaining nature of forests is measures

by their ratio of growth to removals. Net growth

is the total growth of trees plus gains from land

coming into forest, minus losses to mortality to

insects and disease outbreaks and disturbances

such as wind and ice storms. Removals include

harvesting plus losses due to changes in land

use. In Vermont, the net growth of trees has

exceeded removals since the first FIA inventory

in 1948. Between 1983 and 1997, annual net

growth averaged 164.8 million cubic feet versus

an average of 92.9 million cubic feet in annual

removals. Eighty-eight percent of removals is

due to harvesting, 7 percent to the conversion

of forests to nonforest uses, and 5 percent to the

reclassification of forest land to the reserved or

other noncommercial categories.

This surplus growth amounts to an annual net

increase of 71.8 million cubic feet (0.8 percent),

and underscores increases in tree numbers, size,

and volume. During the past decade, the ratio

of net growth to removals has been about 1.8 to

1, that is, nearly two times as much wood was

grown as was harvested. In Vermont, tree species

with the most favorable growth-to-removals (G/

R) ratio are, in order, hemlock, ash, the oaks,

red maple, sugar maple, and aspen. Historically,

more softwoods (other than hemlock) than

hardwoods have been cut in Vermont. From

1983 to 1997, the G/R ratio for spruce and

paper birch was 0.9 and 0.6 to 1, respectively.

	




 	



 



	







	




	





















 



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Forest Health

Insects and Diseases

In 1997, sugar maple, spruce, and fir incurred considerable dieback from attacks by a

variety of biotic and abiotic agents. Thousands of acres of Vermont’s hardwood forests

were killed or declined due to the effects of frost, drought, or flooding (the latter

attributed to beaver dams). In 1990, the State experienced a small infestation of the

hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), which sucks the sap from young twigs. Such trees

become weakened and die within several years. Since the initial HWA outbreak, state

officials have imposed a quarantine on nursery stock, though recent infestations by HWA

in surrounding states have been a cause of concern among scientists and land managers.

The widespread damage incurred by oaks in Vermont and neighboring states due to gypsy

moth has been well documented. By the early 1930’s, this insect pest had reached the

eastern portion of the State. Today, the gypsy moth is found nearly everywhere in

Vermont. Only persistent control efforts have helped minimize its adverse effects.

Conversely, little can be done under forest conditions to control the Strumella canker,

which attacks the oaks, particularly white oak.

Although elm is a minor species in Vermont’s forests, its graceful charm and ability to

grow well in compacted soils and under polluted conditions have made it a favorite in

urban settings. But since the 1930’s when Dutch elm disease made its way to the United

States via diseased logs brought here from Europe, millions of elms have been killed and

those that remain are threatened. Control is impractical under forest conditions as

sanitation (removal) is the only effective treatment.

Other agent that damage the State’s forest trees include white pine blister rust, which

causes dieback in mature trees and kills seedlings and saplings; Bruce spanworm, which

has been found on sugar maple; birch leafminer, which in 1997 defoliated 4,500 acres,

most of which were in the Green Mountains; spruce gall adelgid, commonly found in

nurseries, Christmas tree plantations, and urban settings, maple leafcutter, which

defoliated or caused decline in more than 9,500 acres in 1997; beech bark disease, which

continues to cause scattered mortality; and eastern dwarf mistletoe, which damages spruce.

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Infestation
Mortality

Fire, wind, ice, insects, diseases, and other destructive

agents contribute to tree mortality. From 1983 to 1997,

average annual mortality was nearly 48 million cubic

feet of growing stock, or 0.6 percent of the standing

growing-stock volume of 1997. Trees incurring the most

mortality were balsam fir, paper birch, beech, aspen,

and red spruce. The high mortality of fir and spruce is

attributed to an outbreak of spruce budworm that lasted

from 1974 to 1984; beech trees across New England

and New York were devastated by beech bark disease.

The high mortality rate for some species was caused by

the ice storm that ravaged the area during the winter of

1997-98. And many of the surviving trees that sustained

heavy damage likely will die prematurely. The mortality

of the relatively short-lived paper birch and aspen is

related more to natural changes that occur in a forest.

Despite this widespread mortality, the primary foresttree species of Vermont are healthy and vigorous. Even

elm mortality is only 19.9 percent of its growing-stock

volume.

Crown Dieback

Simply tracking mortality due to damaging agents such

as insects and diseases does not provide a complete

picture of forest health. Vermonters have long been

inundated with prophesies of withering vegetation,

heavy defoliation, and denuded hillsides from exotic

agents ranging from acid rain to global climate

warming. In response to these dire warnings, the

National Forest Health Monitoring Program looked at a

wide set of indicators that reflect forest conditions,

including crown dieback. Eighty percent of the forest

trees in Vermont that were measured by Program

scientists had no or little dieback and only 3 percent

had more than 20-percent dieback.

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Vermont’s Changing Forest

Stand Size

The number of wildlife species that inhabit a forest

environment change as the forest matures. In saplingseedling stands that regenerate following major

disturbances such as fire, clearcutting, and land

abandonment, some wildlife species use the low-growing

and shrub vegetation. In Vermont, examples include the

song sparrow, American goldfinch, cedar waxwing, eastern

cottontail, and moose. The area in such regenerating stands

has declined in the State because most of the farm land that

was abandoned has reverted to forest. Among the wildlife

species that inhabit mature stands, which have increased as

a result of the overall growth and maturing of Vermont’s

forests, are the pileated woodpecker, porcupine, black bear,

and fisher, beaver, white-tailed deer,

and wild turkey.

Wildlife Habitat

Hard mast such as nuts and hard

seeds produced by overstory trees is

an important source of forage for

forest wildlife in Vermont. Wildlife

species that depend on acorns and

other mast include bear, deer, turkey,

ruffed grouse, red-headed

woodpecker, blue jay, squirrel,

chipmunk, gray fox, and striped

skunk. Beech and the oaks are

important mast-producing tree

species. Since 1983, oak and beech

trees that are 11 inches or more in

diameter at breast height (4.6 feet above the ground) have

increased by 26 and 50 percent, respectively. Standing

dead and cull trees are important feeding and nesting sites

for wildlife. Cavities in these trees are used by the

woodpecker, other cavity-nesting birds, and small

mammals.

In Vermont, 11 percent of all standing trees are dead.

There are 24 dead trees per acre of timberland in trees 5.0

inches or larger in diameter, and 1.6 dead trees per acre in

those 15.0 inches or larger in diameter, Sugar maple and

beech have the most large-diameter dead trees; balsam fir

has the most dead trees with a diameter of 5.0 to 10.9

inches. Cull trees are those that exceed maximum

allowances for defects for the manufacture of timber

products. Yet some of the characteristics that make these

trees undesirable for forest products are beneficial to

wildlife. Besides cavities, these include broken tops,

pockets of rot, and tree boles with numerous forks and

limbs. On average, there are 21 cull tree per acre of

timberland in Vermont.

	



	

	


	

	


	

		
			





 



















	




 	
 

	
	

  























	















	







 


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Vermont’s Future Forests

Over the past half century in Vermont, the amount of abandoned farm land that has

reverted to forests has more than offset losses of forest land due to development. It is

doubtful that this trend will continue because there are fewer farms and continued

development pressure from a growing State population. Population increases also

influence how forests are used as greater demands are placed on them to produce both

traditional and nontraditional benefits. At the same time, the parcelization of timberland

into smaller holdings has made it more difficult to use the forest in traditional ways.

Landowners with small holdings are less likely to manage their forest tracts for timber

products. Also, many of these small parcels are home sites, which makes it unlikely that

owners will allow others to use their land.

Vermont’s valuable forests have been maturing since 1948. These forests have more and

larger trees and by all measures and despite repeated attack by damaging agents ranging

from ice to insects are healthy and vigorous. There have been subsequent changes in

species composition, through cutting has interfered with this natural process. Low cutting

rates and shaded conditions on the forest floor have promoted the growth of hemlock and

red maple throughout the State. Currently, species that require full sunlight to reproduce,

e.g., aspen, paper birch, and white pine, are at a distinct disadvantage in the more

prevalent shaded forested areas.

Fading Autumn in Danby, Vermont

For more information contact:

 Forest Inventory and Analysis, USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station

11 Campus Boulevard, Suite 200, Newtown Square, PA 19073

(610) 557-4051; www.fs.fed.us/ne/fia/

 Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation,

103 South Main Street, Waterbury, Vermont 05671-0601

(802) 241-3670; www.state.vt.us/anr/fpr/index.htm
Printed on Recycled Paper

Wharton, Eric H.; Widmann, Richard H.; Barnett, Charles H.; Frieswyk, Thomas S.;

Lister, Andrew J.; DeGeus, Bob. 2003. The forests of the Green Mountain

State. Resour. Bull. NE-158. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 25 p.

A report on the fifth forest inventory of Vermont conducted in 1996-98 by the Forest

Inventory and Analysis unit of the Northeastern Research Station. Explains the

current condition and changes from previous inventories for forest area, timber

volume, biomass, growth and removals, and harvesting. Graphics depict data at the

state and geographic-unit level and, where appropriate, by biophysical region and

county.

Keywords: forest inventory; volume; biomass; growth and removals; Vermont.
Headquarters of the Northeastern Research Station is in Newtown Square,

Pennsylvania. Field laboratories are maintained at:

Amherst, Massachusetts, in cooperation with the University of Massachusetts

Burlington, Vermont, in cooperation with the University of Vermont

Delaware, Ohio

Durham, New Hampshire, in cooperation with the University of New Hampshire

Hamden, Connecticut, in cooperation with Yale University

Morgantown, West Virginia, in cooperation with West Virginia University

Parsons, West Virginia

Princeton, West Virginia

Syracuse, New York, in cooperation with the State University of New York,

College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry at Syracuse University

Warren, Pennsylvania

The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and

activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political

beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all

programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of

program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA's TARGET

Center at (202)720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W,

Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call

(202)720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

“Caring for the Land and Serving People Thr ving People Through Research”