Located in Vermont, the Green Mountain National Forest is a national forest which occupies a similar forest area of Acadian or New England eco-region (Morin, Domke, Walters & Wilmot, 2017). In 1932, the Green Mountain National Forest was established because of the uncontrolled fires, over logging, and floods. The forest consists of approximately 1,615.31 km 2 and pride of being the largest contiguous area in the country (Morin, Domke, Walters & Wilmot, 2017). When the Finger Lakes National Forest is included as part of the forest, the GMNF becomes the second national forest located in the Northeast region of the border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey with White Mountain National Forest being the other one. Divided into the central and southwest areas, GMNF contains eight areas of wilderness designated by the U.S. Congress in 1964 after it passed the Wilderness Act, which reserved the areas to be off-limits from any form of mechanized gear.
The forest is located in regions of Addison, Bennington, Windsor, Rutland, Windham, and Washington. Just like the Finger Lakes Nation Forest, the headquarters of GMNF is located in Rutland Vermont in the New York (Morin, Domke, Walters & Wilmot, 2017). The GMNF has three nationally recognized trails which include the Long Trail, Appalachian Trail and the Robert Frost National Recreational Trail. Additionally, the forest also has seven Nordic ski areas, three alpine areas and nearly 900 miles of hiking trails, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, cycling and horseback riding. The American Reinvestment Recovery Act of 2008 benefitted the GMNF (Morin, Domke, Walters & Wilmot, 2017). More revenue comes from the sales of timber and recreational fees. In 2009, approximately 429 acres were set aside for the regeneration of the forest. The bigger part of expenditures helps in road reconstruction, management of wildlife and fish, recreation and heritage.
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The GMNF is known as an area of great ecological diversity. The forest has more than 400,000 acres of land most of which is forest and more than 69 communities. The communities are varied including small marsh, northern hardwood, and alpine meadow amongst many others. Whereas much of the forest is occupied by maturing trees of about 60- 130 years old, rocky outcrops, open wetlands and cliffs consist of approximately 7000 acres which constitutes 2% of the forest Beckage et al., 2008). The natural communities are all contained within the 16 landscape and 5 biophysical areas providing a wide range of habitats for animals and plants. The ecological diversity of the GMNF is divided into different areas. The Botany area deals with rare plants and non-native plants and their habitat. There is also wildlife and fisheries department focusing on animals and the habitats. The Vegetation program deals with the management of the different forest types and woody vegetation. The ecology department deals with the management of landscape levels and natural community including the relationships between geology, plants animals, and soil.
The Green Mountain National Forest has a lot of benefits to the local economy. The forest has, for example, provided a lot of wood products to sell in Vermont. The economy includes harvesting forest products and changing them into usable products which can then be sold. The process begins with loggers, foresters, and truckers that transport the raw materials for processing (Beckage et al., 2008). The raw materials are then used to make final products such as furniture and other wood products. Some of these raw woods are also turned into fuel. This is highly beneficial for the local economy as people around the forest get to engage in the local forest business to sustain themselves. For many years, the Green Mountain National Forest has served as a local recreational destination and this has contributed positively to the local economy (O'Brien, 2006). Many people visit the forest for hiking, camping, hunting, cross-country skiing, viewing of wildlife amongst many other recreational activities. Apart from recreational activities and manufacturing processes, the forest also provides employment opportunities for the locals and this also helps in driving forward the local economy.
While the ecosystem services from the Green Mountain National Forest cannot be readily quantified in terms of monetary value, the benefits are of greater significance than the ones which can be quantified. The forest is an ecological life supporting structure which provides an array of services crucial to livelihood and human health. The GMNF provides biological diversity and habitat to many wildlife, clean air, scenic landscape, clean water as well as carbon storages all of which have great value to the society (O'Brien, 2006). Carbon storage is a developing concept creating business for many people. Some trees sequester carbon from the common carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and people with greenhouse business are reaping out of it. Prices in this growing market fluctuate but it can vary from 10 dollars to 12 dollars per ton of sequestered carbon.
Lastly, the forest continues to serve the local residents who use it in many ways. For example, the locals who own part of the forest land participate in the economy as they harvest wood from their pieces of land. A significant percentage of these people have been introduced to the stewardship of forests through Vermont's Use Value Appraisal program (O'Brien, 2006). The program helps in reducing the property tax for over 14000 landowners participating in the program and who own approximately 1.8 million acres of the forest land. For the last fifty years, Forest Service Personnel have acquired land base to help practice forest management and an as a result providing New England and the State of Vermont wood for the local wood industries, fish management, watershed as well as protection for wilderness areas and ecological support.
References
Beckage, B., Osborne, B., Gavin, D. G., Pucko, C., Siccama, T., & Perkins, T. (2008). A rapid upward shift of a forest ecotone during 40 years of warming in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 105 (11), 4197-4202.
Morin, R. S., Domke, G. M., Walters, B. F., & Wilmot, S. (2017). Forests of Vermont, 2016. Resource Update FS-119. Newtown Square, PA: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 4 p. , 119 , 1-4.
O'Brien, E. A. (2006). A question of value: what do trees and forests mean to people in Vermont?. Landscape Research , 31 (3), 257-275.
