Survey: Vermont Logger Damages

A survey on the damages wrought by summer 2023 wet weather and flooding shows the Vermont loggers took a big hit in business damages. Wet summer weather affected many Vermonters who work on the land, and loggers were no exception, say state officials.

According to a survey conducted and published by the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation, the logging industry is estimated to have lost $3 million, but most consider that estimate to be conservative.

In addition to flood-damaged equipment, muddy logging roads prevented workers from accessing woodlots, resulting in a lot of missed work days.

One report notes that Sam Lincoln, the owner of Lincoln Farm Timber Harvesting, says most loggers work 160-180 days a year, but since the end of March he’d only worked 31 days.

While state officials report that lumber mills suffered losses, loggers were hit hardest within the industry. Several companies reported losses topping $100,00. Most of the damages came in the form of business interruption, according to the survey results.