Forest Watch -- Saving and re-creating wild forests, advocating for wilderness in Vermont and the northeast, protecting imperiled species


Save and create wild forests \| Reform public land management Eco-Forestry \| Imperiled species \| Watch over the forests There is great deal going on in the woods that we never see or know about. Thin strips of uncut trees are routinely left along roadsides and trails to hide the effects of industrial logging from passersby. In addition, clear cuts are often done on remote mountainsides where few people visit. Federal and state agencies build roads, and log and extract other resources from public land, but do little to report the results--good and bad--of their actions to citizens. We know that something is amiss when rivers in the valley run brown with silt after a rainfall. But we do not know exactly what disturbed the soils or where it occurred out of sight, out of mind. Forest Watch works to bring more of the forest into the public eye and into the minds of policymakers, public land managers, local officials, and community members. By helping community members watch over the forest and by acting as a clearinghouse, Forest Watch raises awareness, improves stewardship, and improves accountability. Forest Watch helps local citizens and groups to watch over the forests and become a voice for the wildlife and trees. While on walks and hikes or cross-country ski trips, a network of citizen volunteers observes forest conditions, signs of wildlife activity, and evidence of environmental harm. Their findings are reported to Forest Watch for action and record keeping. ACTION PLAN Forest Watch will use a combination of advocacy, research, public education, and citizen organizing and outreach to achieve six goals. Our program goals are to: Promote dialogue among local citizens, organized groups and public land managers. Produce and broadly distribute an annual "State of the Forest" report; Create a network of volunteer forest watchers to track forest conditions in their local watersheds and act as a clearinghouse for the information they collect and report; Maintain a network of citizen activists committed to forest protection and catalyze them into action when necessary; Monitor programs and budgets of public land management agencies, and report results to agency officials and citizens; and Review and comment on proposed actions by public land management agencies to ensure compliance with the law and advancement of the public interest.
Forest Watch • PO Box 188 • Richmond, Vermont 05477 tel. (802) 434-2388 \| www.forestwatch.org © 1999-2002 Forest Watch and artists/contributors • Privacy Policy • Contact Us Legitify Web Hosting