Vermont Coverts: Woodlands for Wildlife

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Vermont Coverts: Woodlands for Wildlife Inc.
PO Box 81, Middlebury, Vermont 05753
info@vtcoverts.org
802-388-3880

COVERT, an English word dating to the 14th century, refers to a dense thicket that provides shelter for wildlife.

About VT Coverts

 The mission of Vermont Coverts is to enlist Vermont landowners in a long term commitment to maintain and enhance diverse wildlife habitat and healthy ecosystems.

Vermont Coverts pursues its mission by:

•  training Cooperators with 3-day workshops offering classroom and field studies

• one day Forest Stewardship workshops targeted to forest management related topics

• communications with its newsletter Woodlands for Wildlife

• with this website and our Facebook site

•  by personal contacts with individual landowners, public agencies and private organizations in the conservation arena.

History

In 1983 the Ruffed Grouse Society received a grant to look at ways of reaching the millions of private forest landowners with wildlife management information. The Coverts project was developed by the Extension Service forester in Vermont. Joining the effort the Connecticut Extension along with Vermont received funding for this effort. The first Coverts training took place in 1985.

The idea of the program was to educate forest landowners about sound forest management and wildlife stewardship. That with thoughtful planning forest land use goals could be achieved for the benefits of the forests and wildlife. The individuals trained, called Cooperators, would then go back to their neighbors and communities and share what they had learned. The goal was to affect changes on a larger scale using Cooperators as messengers to local communities.

This program was so successful it expanded to 14 states in the East and Midwest. The states include: ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, NY, PA, MD, W. VA, VA, OH, IN, MI and WI. In 1991 the Vermont Coverts program incorporated as Vermont Coverts, Woodlands for Wildlife, Inc. a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. It is the only Coverts program to do so.

In 1997 the Coverts Project was nominated for, and won, a National Natural Resources & Environmental Management award as a National NREM Flagship for the Cooperative Extension Service.

A 1998 survey of all participating states determined that 1,770 cooperators had been trained since 1984. These individuals own or manage 1,900,000 acres. They have passed along management information to 110,000 other landowners who own or manage 1,600,000 acres.

Awards

Vermont Coverts presents two awards each year. One award is presented to an outstanding Coverts Cooperator who through action on their own land, within the Coverts network, and within their communities exemplifies the Coverts mission and goals. The second is awarded to a person who is not a Cooperator but exemplifies and demonstrates strategies to further the mission of sound forest management and wildlife stewardship in Vermont.

Last Updated: Mar 9, 2013