Gus Seelig

Founding Executive Director, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board

Since the Vermont Countryside Commission’s report more than 80 years ago, Vermont has continually recommitted itself to compact settlements surrounded by the working landscape. Across generations, through policy and increased investment, Vermonters have stated their desire to protect the values reflected in our landscape and for our villages and downtowns to be vital places where the people in our communities connect with each other.

Vermont’s decision to bring together housing, conservation, and historic preservation provides the opportunity to look holistically at development, conservation, social justice, and displacement of natural systems and people.

A globalizing economy requires both the agricultural and forest economy to innovate and change. Suburbanization and sprawl continue to challenge Vermont whether in Chittenden County or through large lot subdivision of farmland and fragmentation of Vermont’s forests. Our growing understanding of climate change and the health of our waters adds new dimensions to the urgency of our work. Homelessness scars our sense of justice.

Whether it is economic forces driving Vermont’s economy or the expectation that our grandchildren will experience North Carolina’s climate in Vermont, we need to step up our efforts investing in and building vibrant communities while protecting our landscape. Seeking a “sustainable future” will require reinventing our economy and forcefully addressing social equity.

To succeed we will need a greater commitment working together and investing in our collective future.

Gus Seelig outside the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board building on State Street in Montpelier, VT. Photo by Dorothy Weicker.