At a time when our forests are more important than ever, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a U.S. Forest Service Reorganization Plan that authorizes the near elimination of place-based forest research that is the basis for sound forest management and increases the distance between the agency and practitioners.

Julie and Doug Weisman, consider investing in Center's Northern Forest Fund to investing in their community.

Center President Rob Riley highlights the importance of thoughtful dialogue about managing the region's forests, leaning into a "both/and" approach.

VT/NH Program Director, Mike Morin shares his reflections following his attendance at the NEK Day at the Statehouse.

Gaye Symington and her husband, Chuck Lacy, are longtime Vermont leaders and investors in the Center's Northern Forest Fund.

Connie and Craig Weatherup made a donation and an impact investment to help the Northern Forest Center reverse the decline in young families and the collapsing of school systems in the Adirondacks.

As our understanding of forest ecosystems has deepened – and the pressures and demands on them have increased – foresters have recognized the need to go further. Today, foresters incorporate carbon uptake and storage, climate resilience, a greater focus on biodiversity, and other critical concerns in forest management.

Let’s not fall prey to calls for blanket “hands off” management that cherry-pick science and ignore the much broader consensus that forest management can in fact support the underlying ecological conditions and complexity that ensures public and private forests are healthier and stronger for future generations.

USDA agencies are crucial partners in active and locally relevant stewardship of public and private forests to maintain the many benefits nature provides, and in supporting thriving rural economies and resilient lands. Maintaining these essential benefits depends on a well-resourced, experienced, and locally rooted USDA. Any reorganization should strengthen – not weaken – these capacities.

Liz Baum and Bill Berman invest in the Center's work because they see it as part of a movement to revitalize rural communities in ways that honor their unique histories and economies.