Title 10, Conservation and Development

§ 2614. Mollie Beattie Distinguished Service Award In commemoration of the centennial of the Vermont State Parks in the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation and in honor of the conservation and public land accessibility values of the late former Commissioner of Forests, Pa…

§ 2621. Duties of owners It shall be the duty of a landowner or operator of forestland, whether public or private, to manage, operate, and harvest forest crops that promote conditions favorable for regrowth consistent with the policies of this chapter. All forestland on which a l…

§ 2622. Rules; harvesting timber; forests; acceptable management practices for maintaining water quality (a) Silvicultural practices. The Commissioner shall adopt rules to establish methods by which the harvest and utilization of timber in private and public forestland will be co…

§ 2622a. Water Quality Assistance Program (a) Creation of program. There is established the Water Quality Assistance Program under which the Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation shall provide technical and financial assistance to timber harvesters and others for complian…

§ 2622b. Accident prevention and safety training for logging contractors (a) Training program. The Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation shall develop a logging operations accident prevention and safety training curriculum and supporting materials to assist logging safety…

§ 2622c. Financial assistance; logger safety; master logger certification; cost-share (a) The Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation annually shall award grants to the following entities in order to provide financial assistance to loggers for the purposes of improving logg…

§ 2623. Reports, management plans, and licensing In order to implement the purpose and policies of this subchapter, the Commissioner may: (1) Require the filing of an annual report by a mill operator covering timber products cut, lumber produced, and source of timber. Such report…

§ 2624. Marked timber sales (a) The Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation may provide marked timber to Vermont citizens for personal use at a reasonable price to be determined by the Secretary of Natural Resources. (b) The Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation may e…

§ 2625. Regulation of heavy cutting (a) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) “Acceptable growing stock” means a stem having a diameter of 4.5 inches or greater at breast height that has the potential of producing a sawlog product o…

§ 2641. Town forest fire wardens (a) The chief of the fire department, fire district, or private fire department with the jurisdictional responsibility to respond to a municipality, unorganized town, or gore is designated as the town forest fire warden and shall have the authorit…

§ 2642. Salary and compensation of town forest fire wardens (a) The salary of a town forest fire warden and any deputy town forest fire warden shall be determined by the selectboard members for time spent in the performance of the duties of the warden’s office, which shall be pai…

§ 2643. Town’s liability for suppression of forest fires; State aid (a) A municipality in which a forest fire occurs shall pay the cost to suppress a forest fire that occurs on land that is not owned by the Agency of Natural Resources, including the costs of personnel and equipme…

§ 2644. Duties and powers of fire warden (a) When a forest fire or fire threatening forestland is discovered in the warden’s jurisdiction of responsibility, the town forest fire warden shall enter upon any premises and take measures for its prompt control, suppression, and exting…

§ 2645. Open burning; permits (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person shall not kindle or authorize another person to kindle a fire in the open air for the purpose of burning natural wood, brush, weeds, or grass without first obtaining a permit to kindle a fire…

§ 2646. Proclamation by Governor prohibiting kindling of fires: Closing of forestlands (a) Whenever it appears to the Governor that there is excessive danger of forest fires, the Governor may prohibit by proclamation the kindling of a fire in or adjoining forestland or close any …

§ 2647. Fires in forestland of another; permission No one shall build a fire in the forestland of another without the permission of the owner. (Added 1977, No. 253 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2025, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. July 1, 2026.)

§ 2648. Slash removal (a) A person may cut or cause to be cut forest growth only if all slash adjoining the right-of-way of any public highway, or the boundary lines of forestland owned by adjoining property owners, is treated as follows: (1) All slash shall be removed for a dist…

§ 2651. Municipal forest; definition As used in this subchapter, “municipal forest” means a tract of land primarily devoted to producing wood products, maintaining wildlife habitat, protecting water supplies, providing forest recreation and conservation education. A municipal for…

§ 2652. Municipal forests, State aid At any legal meeting, a municipality may vote sums of money for the purchase, management, and improvement of a municipal forest within or without the municipality. Any appropriation so voted shall qualify the municipality for such matching Sta…

§ 2653. Designation of municipal forest A town owning a tract of land may have the same examined without cost by the Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation for the purpose of determining whether the same is suitable for a municipal forest. If, upon such examination, he or …

§ 2654. Management Municipal forests shall be managed under the direction of the Commissioner. The protection of such forests shall be under the town forest fire warden who shall be paid for his or her services in connection therewith by the town at the same rate as he or she is …

§ 2655. Receipts All monies received for the sale of lumber, wood, or other products from a municipal forest shall be paid into the treasury of the municipality. In the event any of the lands held by a municipality for municipal forest purposes are sold, advances made by the Stat…

§ 2661. Surveys and investigations The Commissioner shall make surveys and investigations to determine the threat or presence of infestations and control of forest pests. For this purpose, duly designated representatives of the Commissioner may enter at reasonable times on public…

§ 2662. Control measures (a) Whenever the Commissioner finds that an area in the State is infested or threatened to be infested with forest pests, he or she shall determine whether measures of control are needed and are available and the area over which the control measures shall…

§ 2663. Infestation control; agreements with owners The Commissioner under the provisions of 3 V.S.A. § 2853 may apply measures of infestation control on public and private forest and other lands anywhere in the State to any trees, timber, plants, or shrubs thereon harboring or w…

§ 2664. Cost prorated; agreements If in any area the owners of a majority of the acreage to be protected from pests execute agreements with the State, the Commissioner shall be authorized to carry out control work on other adjacent or interior holdings, that, if uncontrolled, wou…

§ 2675. Penalties A person who commits a violation under subsection 2645(a) or 2648(a) of this title shall be subject to a fine of not more than $75.00 per violation. In the case of a violation which continues after the issuance of a fire prevention complaint, each day’s continua…

§ 2681. Importation of firewood; protection from invasive pests (a) Definitions. As used in this section: (1) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation. (2) “Department” means the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. (3) “Firewood” means untre…

§ 2701. Policy It is the policy of the State to encourage the sustainable management and use of its forests and woodlands; to preserve the natural beauty of the State’s forests and woodlands; to protect its wildlife; to preserve and protect the forest environment and health; and …

§ 2702. Value-added forest products; financial assistance The Commissioner shall award grants of up to $10,000.00 to applicants engaged in adding value to forest products within the State. A grant awarded under this section may be used by the applicant to pay for expenses associa…

§ 2721. Vermont Forestry and Forest Products Viability Program (a) The Vermont Forestry and Forest Products Viability Program is a voluntary program established at the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation to provide assistance to Vermont timber harvesters, foresters, and f…

§ 2750. Harvesting guidelines and procurement standards (a) The Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation (the Commissioner) shall develop voluntary harvesting guidelines that may be used by private landowners to help ensure long-term forest health and sustainability. The Com…

§ 2751. Biomass renewability standards; RES (a) Definitions. As used in this section: (1) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation. (2) “Distributed renewable generation” shall have the same meaning as in 30 V.S.A. § 8005. (3) “Energy transformation …

§ 2801. Definitions As used in this section: (1) “Ecological reserve area” means an area having permanent protection from conversion and that is managed to maintain a natural state within which natural ecological processes and disturbance events are allowed to proceed with minima…

§ 2802. Conservation vision and goals (a) The vision of the State of Vermont is to maintain an ecologically functional landscape that sustains biodiversity, maintains landscape connectivity, supports watershed health, promotes climate resilience, supports working farms and forest…

§ 2803. Conserved land inventory (a) On or before July 1, 2024, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, in consultation with the Secretary, shall create an inventory of Vermont’s conserved land and conservation policies to serve as the basis of meeting the conservation goals …

§ 2804. Conservation plan (a) On or before December 31, 2025, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, in consultation with the Secretary, shall develop a plan to implement the conservation goals of Vermont Conservation Design and to meet the vision and goals established in se…

§ 4001. Definitions Words and phrases used in this part, unless otherwise provided, shall be construed to mean as follows: (1) Closed season: that period of time during which fishing or hunting is prohibited. (2) Open season: that period of time during which fishing or hunting is…

§ 4041. Department of Fish and Wildlife; Fish and Wildlife Board; members, term, chair (a) There is hereby established a Department of Fish and Wildlife that shall be administered by the Commissioner. (b) There is hereby established a Fish and Wildlife Board. The Board shall cons…

§ 4042. Commissioner; appointment The Commissioner shall be appointed pursuant to the provisions of 3 V.S.A. § 2851. The Commissioner shall also be Executive Secretary of the Board. (Added 1961, No. 119, § 1, eff. May 9, 1961; amended 1985, No. 215 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. June 2,…

§ 4045. Cooperative fisheries projects The State of Vermont hereby assents to the provisions of the act of Congress entitled “An act to provide that the United States shall aid the states in fish restoration and management projects, and for other purposes,” approved August 9, 195…

§ 4046. Cooperative wildlife projects (a) The State of Vermont hereby assents to the provisions of the act of Congress entitled “An act to provide the United States shall aid the states in wildlife restoration projects, and for other purposes,” approved September 2, 1937 (Public …

§ 4047. Department of Fish and Wildlife funds (a) The receipts of the Department of Fish and Wildlife shall not become a part of the General Fund of the State but shall be used solely for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Interest on the cash balance of Department receipts sha…

§ 4047a. Raffles; Department authority (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of 13 V.S.A. chapter 51, the Department may organize and execute raffles to dispose of property, and a person may participate in raffles executed by the Department, provided that the proceeds of raffles exe…

§ 4048. Nongame Wildlife Account; expenditures (a) A Nongame Wildlife Account is created and shall consist of: (1) funds appropriated by the General Assembly, subject to availability of funds generated pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 5862a; (2) funds from public and private sources that …

§ 4049. Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund (a) The General Assembly recognizes the importance to the people of Vermont of conserving Vermont’s fish and wildlife resources. Therefore, in order to provide the opportunity for Vermonters to invest in the future of its fish and wildlife res…