Patrick Leahy: “I would like to recognize the 75th anniversary of an integral Vermont institution, the Proctor Maple Research Center…”

“I would like to recognize the 75th anniversary of an integral Vermont institution, the Proctor Maple Research Center, which is housed at the University of Vermont. The Proctor Maple Research Center has been an international leader in the development of knowledge in maple production and in the sustainability of the maple tree and the Northern Forest for the past 75 years. The practical and scholarly research conducted at the center has contributed to increased efficiency and sustainability of maple production and to the well-being of maple trees and their habitat. In fact, the work of the Proctor Maple Research Center has been essential to the development of the entire North American maple industry. In 1946, former Vermont Governor Mortimer Proctor purchased the Harvey Farm in Underhill to give to the University of Vermont as a site to conduct research on the extensive maple stand located there. In 1947, Dr. James Marvin and Dr. Fred Taylor opened the Proctor Maple Research Center, marking its first year of maple research and production. Today, it has close to 6,500 taps for production, with research located on 200 acres of land on the western side of Vermont's Mount Mansfield, and new trees added each year for research. Maple research has been a proud part of the University of Vermont's history since the 1890s, and the establishment of the Proctor Maple Research Center has made UVM a leader in maple research globally.…”