The Vermont Sierra Club strongly supports H.276, The Vermont Climate Resilience and State Wildlands Act. This is a landmark bill that will strengthen Vermont’s natural defenses against climate change, restore critical wildlife habitat, and advance the state’s commitment to ecological integrity and community resilience.
Although Vermont is one of the most forested states in the nation—with roughly 76% of our land covered by forest—less than 1% of those forests are old growth. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department has recommended that at least 10% of Vermont’s forests be managed to grow old in order to support an “ecologically functional landscape.” The Vermont Climate Resilience and State Wildlands Act (H.276) moves us significantly closer to that goal by protecting 268,000 acres of State Parks, State Forests, and Wildlife Management Areas as Ecological Reserves, increasing the portion of state lands managed to recover old forests from 4% to 7% of Vermont’s landscape.
These protections align precisely with goals established under Act 59 of 2023, The Vermont Climate Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act, which calls for a new statutory designation for Ecological Reserves. Acting on those recommendations, H.276 creates this much-needed designation, ensuring that some of our most ecologically valuable lands are protected for the long term, while simultaneously securing enduring benefits for flood and drought protection, recreation, and our climate.
According to Vermont Conservation Design, old forests once covered the vast majority of our state, forming the original habitat for countless native species. Their complex structure, mix of old and young trees, deep root systems, dead and dying wood, and undisturbed soils provide unique features largely absent from younger forests. These characteristics make old forests more resilient to extreme weather events and the best possible upland land cover to protect downstream communities from flooding.
Old forests also play a powerful role in climate-change mitigation. They sequester and store vast amounts of carbon, filter pollutants to improve water quality, and reduce sediment and phosphorus runoff into Vermont’s rivers and lakes. Scientists estimate that if the Northeast’s forests were allowed to mature naturally, they could store twice as much carbon by 2100—a critical contribution in the fight against climate change.
The State Wildlands Act is a low-cost, high-impact strategy to build climate resilience. It does not require additional taxpayer funding to implement, nor does it change public access or recreational use. Hiking, hunting, fishing, trails, campgrounds, cabins, ski areas, and foraging can all continue as before — the State Wildlands Act just ensures that the surrounding public lands are better-protected. H.276 also does not impact housing or development, since development is already not permitted on state lands.
Wildlands complement Vermont’s actively-managed forests. Eighty percent of Vermont’s land is privately owned, and the vast majority of timber harvests occur on those lands. In fact, only 2% of Vermont’s annual wood harvest comes from state lands, and Vermont currently harvests about 50% more timber than it consumes each year. This bill strikes a thoughtful balance—protecting irreplaceable ecosystems and climate functions while maintaining a healthy and sustainable wood products industry.
By passing H.276, Vermont legislators have an opportunity to make significant and enduring safeguards for our natural heritage while preparing our communities for the storms, floods, and droughts that climate change will continue to bring.
Wild forests are Vermont’s natural climate infrastructure—quietly storing carbon, slowing floodwaters, and providing life-sustaining habitat. Protecting and restoring them is among the simplest, most effective actions we can take to ensure a livable future.
The Vermont Sierra Club urges lawmakers to support H.276, The Vermont Climate Resilience and State Wildlands Act, and to continue leading the nation in smart, science-based climate and biodiversity policy.
Submitted: 1/13/26 Robb Kidd, Vermont Sierra Club Chapter Director, robb.kidd@sierraclub.org.