was there more forest cover in 1850's Vermont or in present day Vermont?

Answer 1

Apparently, Vermont is now covered with more forest than in the 1850's. 3/4 of the forest were gone by the 1850's for farming. Since then, the forests have made a come back and now cover about 78% of the state.

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/Env03/forknow.html