Forests, Farms, and the Future: The Pivotol Role of New England's Working Landscapes in the Long-Term Ecological Health and Economic Sustainability of the Region

This presentation will focus on the importance of protecting New England’s forests and farms as a central component of regional conservation and sustainability. Bob Perschel will highlight two recent W&W-associated reports. New England’s Forests, the Path to Sustainability, recently released by the New England Forestry Foundation, documents in detail (and 12 technical reports) the forests' existing ecologic, economic, and cultural contributions and future potential to support New Englanders' lives and lifestyles. The second report, A New England Food Vision, is a collaborative report that examines the value of agriculture in the region, the potential to grow 50% of our food locally, and how we need to triple the amount of farmland in the region to six million acres to achieve that goal. He will discuss how the two reports expand and enrich the W&W vision of a healthy and sustainable New England landscape of forests, farms, and clustered “smart growth” development, and chart a vital and achievable course for the future.