• Start-up
  • Planning
  • Action
  • Evaluation

The Long-Range Management Plan for the Victory Management Unit has been written and revised to include climate change considerations. The State of Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation acknowledges the potential impacts of climate change within the Victory Basin WMA. State land foresters are working to incorporate concepts presented in the Adaptation Workbook directly to state lands management as a response to these potential impacts.

 

Vermont’s landscape contains a diversity of forest types, which provide important wildlife habitat. Just as trees and forests are likely altered as a result of a changing climate, many wildlife species will also be affected. This project considers how anticipated changes in climate may affect wildlife habitat across nearly 5,000 acres of forest and wetland of Victory Basin Wildlife Management Area, Victory State Forest, and Darling State Park. This land covers a great portion of the Northeast Highlands Biophysical Region and is a part of the Moose River watershed.

Project Area

A view of the Victory Basin Wildlife Management Unit and Victory Basin State Forest. Photo courtesy Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.
Located in the Northeast Kingdom, or more specifically, the Northeast Highlands biophysical region of Vermont, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department manages the Victory Basin Wildlife Management Area (WMA), which consists of 4,970 acres of wetland and forest complex. The basin is home to a diverse array of natural community types, many of which are uncommon throughout the rest of Vermont. The dominant natural communities are an extensive lowland spruce-fir forest located at high and low elevations and encompass one of the largest deer wintering areas in the state, and northern hardwood forests that encapsulate the regions of middle elevation. Many wildlife species are common in the WMA, including white-tailed deer, moose, snowshoe hare, brook trout, and numerous types of birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Other less common species are spruce grouse and various boreal birds that are more commonly found farther north.

In trying to understand how climate change may affect the habitats and species present in this area, natural resource managers considered the potential effects of climate change on one stand within the WMA. This stand is representative of the larger surrounding area and was intended to serve as a starting point to think about how climate change could affect the entire WMA. Managers are concerned that changing climate patterns could lead to a decline in the softwood component of the basin and an increase in hardwood cover.

Management Goals

In trying to understand how climate change may affect the habitats and species present in this area, natural resource managers considered the potential effects of climate change on the WMA for inclusion in the long-range management plan. This stand is representative of the larger surrounding area and was intended to serve as a starting point to think about how climate change could affect the entire WMA. Managers are concerned that changing climate patterns could lead to a decline in the softwood component of the basin and an increase in hardwood cover. Within the Victory Basin WMA, there are four management classifications seen: Highly Sensitive, Special Management, General Management, and Intensive Management. These classifications allow for managers to allocate use and management by area, which helps to reduce conflict between contending objectives and facilitate a general understanding of the overall type of management in particular areas.

Here is a list of Victory Basin's management goals from the 2017 signed management plan:

  • Provide a range of public use and recreational experiences for visitors.
  • Provide habitats for many species of plants and animals.
  • Sustainably provide forest products for the local economy.
  • Provide examples of sustainable forests and habitat management for the public

Climate Change Impacts

If the current conservative climate change models are accurate (Iverson, Prasad, Hale, & Sutherland), Victory Basin is projected to experience strong impacts over the next 50-100 years, including disruptions to forest nutrient cycling, timber productivity, forest pest ecology, wildlife habitat, and forest recreation. Strategies and actions have been considered, including to

  • Monitor ground conditions, results of management, research, and adaptations of silvicultural guides to inform management decisions and adapt treatment prescriptions as appropriate.
  • Support appropriate research project proposals which further understanding of climate change on the Victory Management Unit

The Victory Basin Wildlife Management Area, like the rest of the region, is expected to face strong impacts from climate change over the next 100 years. These changes may have important consequences for wildlife habitats and species. 
During a Forest Adaptation Planning and Practices training, managers considered numerous anticipated effects from climate change. A few impacts stood out as having the greatest potential to impact the area, including
 

Warming temperatures, indicating shorter winter season, reduced snowfall, and less consistent snowpack, which could reduce winter operability for forest harvest
Increase in overwinter survival of pests and forest pathogens, such as balsam and hemlock woolly adelgid
Increased physiological stress, resulting in increased susceptibility to pests and disease, decreased productivity and increased tree mortality
Increased evapotranspiration, resulting in a decrease in soil moisture; moisture limitation/stress negatively impacts productivity and survival in many plant species
Decrease in winter snow pack, leading to change in deer and moose browsing patterns, which may affect regeneration
Lengthening of growing season resulting in changes in species competitiveness, especially favoring nonnative invasive plants and change in thaw/freeze cycles that can damage buds and roots
More frequent and intense storms, which could lead to tree blowdown
Declines in northern and boreal tree species
Increase in fire risk

Challenges and Opportunities

Challenges

Manage forests stands under a changing climate may create challenges for existing harvesting equipment that relies on frozen conditions to operate.
Many of the goals in the Victory Management Unit plan rely heavily on a forest products industry that seems to be in a state of flux.
Manage impacts of increasing recreational pressure on natural resources and visitor experiences in the basin.
Contain additional recreational development in areas identified in the LRMP as appropriate for expansion of recreational infrastructure.

Opportunities

Manage forested natural communities at a landscape scale across the larger Victory Management Unit. This will include a range of implementation options and opportunities to monitor effectiveness of various treatment activities over time.
Manage for a range of habitat conditions to benefit regionally significant wildlife species on the multiple state ownerships.
Manage forest conditions to help meet the Vermont Conservation Design goals for this biophysical region and be adaptive to management on adjacent private property.

Adaptation Actions

Land managers from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources used the Adaptation Workbook to consider what actions could be used to respond to the anticipated effects of climate change on the Park. These actions have been obtained from the updated 2017 Victory Basin signed LRMP. These strategies will together, help the full native range of wildlife and plant species, natural communities, and ecological processes that are subject to climate change.

Area/Topic
Approach
Tactics
Wildlife management area
1.1 Reduce impacts to soils and nutrient cycling.
1.2. Maintain or restore hydrology.
1.3. Maintain or restore riparian areas.
Enhance nutrient cycling and soil protection by retaining woody material on the forest floor
Match harvesting equipment to the site for soil protection
Minimize the number of skid roads and trails
Maintain roads in good condition and following all Acceptable Management Practices
Replace and enlarge inadequate culverts and stream crossing structures
2.1. Maintain or improve the ability of forests to resist pests and pathogens.
Manage Beech Mast Production Areas to promote resistant trees
2.3. Manage herbivory to promote regeneration of desired species.
Avoid negative impacts of overbrowsing through deer and moose population management
4.1. Prioritize and maintain unique sites.
4.2. Prioritize and maintain sensitive or at-risk species or communities.
6.1. Manage habitats over a range of sites and conditions.
Maintain areas not subject to timber harvesting and rare and sensitive natural communities as potential refugia
Maintain and developing biological “legacies,” such as very old trees
Maintain lowland spruce-fir forests as potential refugia
5.2. Maintain and restore diversity of native species.
9.1. Favor or restore native species that are expected to be adapted to future conditions.
Maintain and develop a forest with a diversity of species and age classes
Retention of biological legacies from a variety of tree species
Promote natural softwood regeneration
Enhance natural softwood regeneration with underrepresented, native species such as white pine
Favor species expected to do better in a changing climate (such as red spruce over balsam fir)
Maintaining lowland spruce-fir forests as potential refugia.
Facilitate community adjustments through species transition.
Increase ecosystem redundancy across the landscape.
Maintain and enhance genetic diversity.
7.1. Reduce landscape fragmentation.
7.2. Maintain and create habitat corridors through reforestation or restoration.
Maintain a landscape-scale focus, by planning in conjunction with the other nearby lands, and being mindful of management in the surrounding region
Reduce landscape fragmentation by closing designated roads in Core Area

Monitoring

Regular monitoring will be done to ensure resources are protected from insects, fire, disease, impacts, and natural events. Minor adjustments in the plan may be made to reflect a change in climate conditions or unanticipated management plan results. Inventory, assessment, monitoring, and research are all necessary to aid assessment of progress toward achieving the stated management goals and to determine the productivity and success of the management actions. If adjustments do occur, public involvement will be necessary.

Project Documents

Project Videos

Learn More

Keywords

Management plan

Last Updated