Tue Jan 07 2025 Zack Porter talk – Standing Trees by Steve Bailey

Submission type: Other

Tue Jan 07 2025 Zack Porter talk – Standing Trees by Steve Bailey

Zack Porter, the Executive Director of Standing Trees, gave a talk at the Hayes Room of the Kellogg Hubbard Library. It was a cold and snowy night, but there were 23 people there to hear him speak. The talk was titled “Future Wild: the critical importance of protecting Vermont and New England’s public forests.”

Here is a description of the talk: Vermont and New England as a whole have experienced profound changes over the last four hundred years: from thriving indigenous communities and high-functioning ecosystems, to native ecosystem and cultural devastation following colonization, to – most recently – a haphazard and as yet unfinished restoration of environmental health and function. In this presentation and discussion we will explore the past, present, and future of land management in Vermont and the region, and shine a spotlight on the special role of public lands – like those of our beloved Worcester Range or the Green Mountain National Forest – in helping to mitigate climate change, support biodiversity, protect our communities from natural disasters, and strengthen human-land relationships. Zack Porter is a Montpelier resident and Executive Director of Standing Trees.