Dear Editor, In his recent commentary, “Vermont’s forests need management, not mandates,” Michael Snyder, former commissioner of Vermont’s Departments of Forests, Parks and Recreation, cautioned against the risks of defining conservation too narrowly.   At the New England Forest ry Foundation, where I am deputy director and climate fellow, we couldn’t agree more. To support the long-term health of our region’s forests for the next generation, set the stage for a more climate-secure future and help our region thrive, we have to ask the right questions and hold a fuller view of what conservation means to Vermonters. READ MORE Vermont’s public lands have long included lands for recreation, trails, wilderness, agriculture, forestry and open space. This mix reflects who we are and how, as Vermonters, we live within our landscape, cherishing its wild places while also growing food for our tables, providing trails, lakes and mountains for our recreation economy, and harvesting trees to help build the places where we live, work and socialize. Forestry is also an economic backbone for many of our rural communities. Active management of our forests is an integral part of this system — allowing Vermont to invest in forest health and resilience and to restore and sustain their ecological integrity over time while producing some of the wood we need to build, live and work. At the New England Forestry Foundation, our approach rests on Exemplary Forestry, a gold standard of sustainable forest management that mitigates climate change, improves wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and ultimately grows and harvests more sustainably produced wood. While it’s tempting to imagine that forests would be better off if we just left them alone, this is not the right question to ask in a state, region and world that includes people. If we do not lead the way on managing our forests for a mix of ecological values, climate mitigation, and harvesting the wood we need for our people and places, then who will provide the wood we need and use? Who would Vermonters be asking to do this for us instead of doing it for ourselves? Conservation means safeguarding our lands, waters and wild places to ensure ecological health, human systems, and open space for future generations. Narrowing the definition of conservation lands to include only wilderness would interrupt Vermont’s deep history of working with and living in the land we cherish. Andrea Colnes,  East Montpelier, Vt.  Read the story on VTDigger here: Andrea Colnes: What does conservation mean in Vermont?. ...read more read less