Status of Town Forest Census by Town and Forest as of 2/2/25.
Has your town, city or school returned a Town Forest Census yet? You can check that here.
Please let us know if anything is incorrect or there are additional people we should contact. If the forest stewards in your town are having trouble finding or completing the census, please let them know they can reach us at vermonttownforestproject@uvm.edu.
There are two efforts, now occurring in parallel: 1) Inventory outreach, and 2) Census invitations. Therefore, there are two lists showing the status of responses, which will be updated weekly.
Inventory outreach: Access this list HERE
Goal: To develop an initial list of forested areas* and the best person** to fill out the census for each one. (Definitions below.)
Process: We reached out to every municipality in VT, typically the town clerk or manager, with a short survey asking the names of the forest areas* owned by each municipality or school and the best person** to fill out the census for each one. Over 250 municipalities were contacted and about half replied in 2024 (after 5 reminders via email).
Now in 2025, for the municipalities we did not hear back from, we are gathering this inventory information by direct contacts with towns and others who are knowledgeable about local, publicly-owned, forested areas. That could be you!
If your municipality is listed as “Pending” on this list, it means that we are not sure how many forests there are or who we should ask to fill out the census for each one. Do you know? If so, please let us know!
Census invitations: Access this list HERE
Goal: To get a census form filled out for every forested area* owned by local municipalities, schools, districts and tribes.
Process: We email the link to an online census form to the best person** to fill it out for every forest, obtained from the Inventory outreach above. In 2024, we emailed the census to the stewards of 135 forests and received completed forms for 89 forests.
Now in 2025, we continue to follow up with the forests that have not responded, while we send out the census link on a rolling basis to those newly identified in the inventory. We have sent a census to every forest on this “Census invitations” list and have marked them as Complete when the form is filled out.
If your favorite forests are listed as “Sent” on this list, it means we have sent out a census link and are awaiting its response. It is possible we sent it to the wrong email address or person, or it is lost in an overflowing inbox. If your forest does not appear on this list at all, it likely means that we do not yet have confirmation of the forests and stewards for that town and thus have not yet sent a census. If you can help us get the census in the right hands and completed, please let us know.
