Harvard Forest Report: New England Woods Are Declining

Forests are declining in all six New England states for the first time in 150 years, threatened by urban sprawl in the south and by recreational development and forest ownership fragmentation in the north, according to a new report released by researchers at the Harvard Forest (Harvard University).

The report, Wildlands & Woodlands: A Vision for the New England Landscape, was authored by twenty researchers at a dozen institutions. Released this week, the report calls for renewed conservation efforts with the goal of protecting 70 percent of the region’s forests from development over the next 50 years, mainly through voluntary conservation easements given by private landowners.

For more information, go to this Harvard Gazette article and to the full report:

     Harvard Gazette: Rolling back the forest canopy

     Wildlands and Woodlands: A Vision for the New England Landscape

For more information about Harvard Forest, visit:

     Harvard Forest