The Windham Foundation of Grafton, Vermont, in collaboration with the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), announces the completion of its most recent Grafton Conference Report focusing on Vermont’s Forest Economy. The conference, entitled ‘Vermont’s Forest Economy: Advancing Creativity and Entrepreneurship in Value-Added Forest Products,’ was attended by 32 representatives of the state’s forest products and government sectors who convened to brainstorm issues and ideas on how to invigorate a Vermont forest economy that has seen more than 40 percent decline in the past decade.
First created in 1984 by the Windham Foundation, Grafton Conferences are two-day informal sessions held at the Grafton Inn that address public policy issues affecting Vermonters. They are free-flowing, non-partisan ‘think tanks’ that offer a forum to debate issues that may lead to unique Vermont solutions. Reports are subsequently created and distributed throughout the state to key influencers with the goal of fostering new ideas and implementing procedures that benefit the Vermont.
The Vermont Forest Economy is the 35th Grafton Conference and included state officials, foresters, loggers, furniture makers, pellet and syrup producers, and representatives of various trade associations.
"Grafton Conferences are noted for encouraging important conversations with sector leaders holding a wide range of perspectives,’ said Windham Foundation board of trustees chair Elizabeth Bankowski. ‘This conference was about the urgent need to recognize and support the recreational, tourism and economic resources our forests provide. There is much we can do. We hope the conference will result in new collaborations and actions to strengthen Vermont's commitment to its forests."
The future of the Vermont working landscape is founded in the Vermont forest products economy. While Vermont has heavily invested in the future of food systems and hubs to the Agricultural Viability Program, of equal importance to Vermont is the Forest Products industry. Competition in an uneven global field has meant the loss of approximately 40% of the mills and production capacity in Vermont’s forest products economy in the past decade. Notably, nearly half of the wood harvested in Vermont is milled and processed outside the state.
‘The working forest in Vermont is no accident; it is the result of innumerable economic decisions made by generations of rural families as they make a living from the land,’ explained Paul Costello, VCRD Executive Director. ‘Their stewardship contributes so much to us all, recreation, beauty, clean air and water and a creative variety of wood products. But their role, and their importance in providing an economic foundation to our working landscape, has been underappreciated. It’s wonderful to see the forest products economy celebrated, and to see forward thinking about how it is innovating to support the ecology and prosperity of Vermont into the future.’
The approximately 30-page Grafton Conference Report highlights ideas for improvement including: brand building initiatives such as "local wood, local good" to bring awareness and added value to Vermont wood products, public education and communication about our forests, including a curriculum for school children, tools to enhance networking across this sector, better information and support for the management of small forest lots, building new markets and infrastructure inside the state for increased state-made products and job creation; and, strengthening ties to preserving Vermont’s landscape through existing agricultural programs. Interested parties are encouraged to download the report in its entirety online at www.Windham-Foundation.org.
"The Grafton Conference provided an important opportunity to network and brainstorm with people from so many sectors of the forest products industry, as well as key leaders from state government,’ said Carolyn Partridge, Vermont State Representative for Windham County, who chairs the House Committee on Agriculture and Forest Products and led the effort to extend the name of the Agriculture Committee to Agriculture and Forest Products: ‘This kind of collaboration is critical as we continue to seek ways to sustainably use our forestry resources, create jobs and promote economic development, which will benefit all Vermonters."
About the Windham Foundation
The Windham Foundation is an operating foundation engaged in philanthropic, charitable and educational activities. Its mission is to promote Vermont’s rural communities through its philanthropic and educational programs and its subsidiaries whose operations contribute to these endeavors, including The Retreat Farm, Grafton Village Cheese and the Grafton Inn. Learn more at www.Windham-Foundation.org.
About VCRD
The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the support of the locally-defined progress of Vermont's rural communities. VCRD is a dynamic partnership of federal, state, local, non-profit and private partners. Actively non-partisan with an established reputation for community-based facilitation, VCRD is uniquely positioned to sponsor and coordinate collaborative efforts across governmental and organizational categories concerned with policy questions of rural import. Learn more at www.vtrural.org.
A downloadable copy of the 35th Grafton Conference Report can be found online here.
Source: Windham Foundation. 10.10.2013