UVM Extension Forestry

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UVM Extension Forestry

Science-based information on forest ecology and management

04/30/2026

Spring ephemerals are out right now in Vermont!

These early woodland wildflowers take advantage of the brief window before the forest canopy leafs out, soaking up sunlight and racing to grow, flower, and set seed in just a few weeks. By early summer, they’ve already gone dormant, waiting underground for next year.

Look closely on your next walk and you might spot dutchman’s breeches, trout lily, spring beauty, or blue cohosh (among many others) on the forest floor.

Beyond their beauty, these plants play an important role in forest ecosystems by supporting early-season pollinators.

If you go looking, tread lightly. These species are sensitive to disturbance, and many take years to establish.

03/23/2026

It’s a winter wonderland! Have you seen these ice crystals on trees? Hoar frost forms when water v***r in the air hits cold surfaces like twigs and needles. The water v***r freezes as a solid without first becoming liquid - a process called deposition (or desublimation)🧊 🍃

03/06/2026

🍁 New Micro-Badge Course for Maple Producers and Foresters! 🍁

Want to build a healthier, more resilient sugarbush for the future? Resilient Sugarbush Management Level 1 is a new online micro-badge course designed to help maple producers, forest landowners, and natural resource professionals strengthen tree health and adapt to changing conditions.

🌱 Strengthen your management skills
📊 Learn to use climate data for better decisions
🍁 Support sustainable sugaring into the future

In just 4 hours, you’ll explore maple tree biology, sap flow and tapping best practices, insects and diseases, and how shifting weather and climate trends may impact sap yield and long-term sugarbush productivity. The course is fully asynchronous, so you can complete it anytime, at your own pace, with engaging videos and interactive learning activities.

Register today for $25: https://discover.maine.edu/product?catalog=Resilient_Sugarbush_Management

10/20/2025

Visiting a Northern Hardwoods - Spruce old growth stand at The Cape Research Natural Area.

09/26/2025

A wonderful Northeast Silviculture Institute on Northern Hardwoods hosted by and

Key messages from a long history of research at the USFS Bartlett Experimental Forest:

✅ Site matters! There is no one sized fits all approach.
✅ Soils matter! Nutrient rich sites result in much different outcomes compared to poorer sites
✅ Land use history matters! High grading and other non sustainable practices can have a long lasting legacy

09/21/2025

A perfect day for a tour of an old-growth northern hardwoods hemlock forest at Giffford Woods State Park to mark the end of the

09/04/2025

The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension has openings for the two upcoming Northeast Silviculture Institute modules:

• September 24 & 25 Northern Hardwoods - Bartlett, NH

• October 14 & 15 Spruce-Fir - Stewartstown, NH

The Northeast Silviculture Institute for Foresters provides practicing foresters with new and up-to-date silvicultural knowledge to help them with forest management in the northeast.

If you are interested in attending one or all of the sessions, please use this link to apply:

https://unh.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_72HcpyT7l65wuMu

Accepted applicants will be notified and will receive information regarding registration. Registration for each session is $150 which includes boxed lunches for both days.

Please e-mail Steven Roberge with any questions: [email protected].

08/05/2025

Some pics from our time in the field last week at the Green Mountain Audubon Center!! 📸

We were lucky to be joined by Conservation Biologist Steve Hagenbuch and his intern Lizzie who are a part of Audubon Vermont’s Forest Bird Initiative. They helped us collect data for our Climate Resilience Adaptation Monitoring project. 🌲🌲🌲

We are in the process of getting our digital data collection survey up and running. There have been a few bumps in the road but progress is being made.

If you want to get involved with this project or learn more about it, click the link in our bio!

07/11/2025

Join VT Coverts as they host University of Vermont Extension Forester Ali Kosiba to discuss some of the key issues and questions around forest and woodlands facing Vermont landowners.
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This online session will be very informal, looking to answer your questions!
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Ali will start with a brief presentation followed by time to answer your questions about our woods. Register at the link below where you can also submit your questions.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/2vnzgfKsQ4yY8rTACpWl_A

06/18/2025

Some images from Mondays field day in Granby, VT with !
🌲🌲🌲🌲

It was our first day out in the field collecting data for the forest resilience and climate adaptation project. This project involves establishing a set of plots based on forest condition and management history. It measures trees, saplings, seedlings, deadwood, and herbaceous plants now and again in 5-10 years to assess management and climate adaptation.

Huge thank you to the NorthWoods crew for all the help and to the lovely landowners for letting us survey their land!

We are looking for more landowners who have done active forest management with an ecological focus in the last 10 years and want to continue this into the future. Click the link in our bio to learn more!
🌲🌲🌲🌲

06/17/2025

Photos from the inaugural Sugarbush Silviculture Research Symposium hosted by ! 🍁

We talked about
-the importance of regeneration, species diversity and multiple size classes in a sugarbush
-how crown health can be a useful indicator of tree health and sap yields and help guide management
-the mechanisms of wound healing and compartmentalization and how different depths and sizes of taps make a difference

Address

140 Kennedy Drive
South Burlington, VT
05403

Website

https://www.uvm.edu/extension/forestry, https://linktr.ee/uvmextforestry

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