Vermont

Ranking Vermont’s forest products industry is a vital component of the state’s economy. The industry employs 8,000 workers with an annual payroll of $170 million. Vermont’s paper and wood manufacturing workforce represents 11.8 percent of the state’s total manufacturing workforce.

Approximately 78 percent of Vermont is forested. Credited to regeneration and planting programs, the net annual forest growth exceeds harvests by a substantial margin.

Vermont's Land Area (in thousands of acres)
Total Land Area: 5,920
Forests: 4,607
Forests as Percent of Total: 77.8%
Federal Lands: 376
National Forest System: 376

Timberland (in thousands of acres)
Government
    Federal: 251
    State: 271
    County & Municipal: 70
Forestry Industry: 227
Other Private Non-industrial: 3,642
Total Timberland: 4,461

Federal Land Set-Asides (in thousands of acres)
National Parks: 22
Reserved National Forest: 96
Fish & Wildlife Service: 33
Total: 151

Tree Planting (acres)
Federal: 185
State, County & Municipal: 10
Farmer & Other Private: 45
Total: 240

Value of Industry Shipments (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $419,582
Paper Manufacturing: $382,141

Capital Expenditures (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $13,756
Paper Manufacturing: $25,068

Annual Production
Softwood Lumber (million board feet): 122
Hardwood Lumber (million board feet): 123
Paper (in thousands of short tons): 238*
Paperboard (in thousands of short tons): **
*also includes Connecticut’s paper production
**withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual company

Timberland Ownership
Government: 13%
Forest Industry: 5%
Other Private Nonindustrial: 82%

Vermont’s total softwood and hardwood inventory has more than doubled since 1953 despite increasing production of wood and paper products.

Employment
Forestry: 428
Lumber & Wood Products (includes logging): 5,841
Paper & Allied Products: 2,085