Mapping for Healthy Forests: Vermont

2017
Volunteers take part in a citizen science project to assess and prioritize treatment areas for invasive plant management.

Observations made by volunteers are linked to spatial location, photos, information on seed production, and level of infestation of the specific observation.

The observations are valuable for understanding the breadth of the species occurring along common routes of infestation (roads, rivers, disturbed areas). Because the issue of invasive plants is a landscape scale issue, we have opened this project up to the entire state!

The data you are collecting as a project member is already being used by land stewards, thanks!

2015
This project is continuing to grow, and in the next steps we will be opening this project to observations from the whole state! Stay Tuned!!

2014
In a part of the state where invasive plants are a landscape level problem, solutions require landscape level strategies. The goal of this project is to create a seamless map of invasive plants that affect our forests by mapping common invasion pathways along roads, utility corridors, streams and rivers. This project is intended to identify the leading edge of expanding infestations, satellite infestations and most importantly, areas where invasives are generally absent. This information will be invaluable for identifying opportunities for prevention education, project prioritization and efficient use of volunteer energy and public and private resources.

The story that these data will tell is intended to help landowners, foresters and other managers recognize control opportunities and threats and help citizens organizing around the control of invasive plants adopt strategies that will have a high likelihood of success.

This project is not yet active. If you are interested in being notified when it is up and running (or working on some testing of the project framework) please contact Keith.Thompson@state.vt.us. menos ↑