New report shows forest cover declining in New England

After almost 200 years of natural reforestation, forest cover is declining in all six New England states, according to a new report by Harvard Forest, the forest ecology research center of Harvard University.

The authors of the Wildlands and Woodlands report calls for the conservation of 70 percent of New England as forestland to adequately protect clean water, steel against climate change and ensure a woods industry – and sets out a strategy to do so.

“We’ve been given a second chance to determine the future of the region’s forests. This report calls attention to the pressing need to couple New England’s existing conservation capacity and shared land ethic with a vision for the next century in which forests remain an integral part of our livelihoods,” said David Foster, lead author of the report and Director of the Harvard Forest.

The 70 percent would require a tripling of the amount of conserved land in New England, but would also leave room for future development, according to the report. It calls for conserving most of the landscape (63%) as working woodlands owned and managed by private landowners, and protecting a smaller portion (7%) as wildland reserves.

The regional vision has roots in similar report Harvard Forest did for Massachusetts that called to protect one half of Massachusetts - 2.5 million acres- in forest.