H. 276, State Wildlands, is scheduled for testimony in the House Environment Committee on Wednesday afternoon at the Vermont Statehouse. Sponsored by committee chair Rep. Amy Sheldon, the bill would create a new Wildlands designation within Vermont’s Ecological Reserves, permanently protecting certain lands from conversion, promoting natural processes and old-growth forest conditions, and permanently designating many state parks as Wildlands.
The adorable Southern bog lemming, delicate small whorled pogonia orchid, mysterious lake sturgeon and humble wood turtle may not seem to have much in common. But, all four are classified as “Species of Greatest Conservation Need” (SGCN) in a newly-drafted update to Vermont’s Wildlife Action Plan, which is now available for public comment.
Vermont hawkwatch counting sites saw fewer numbers for the broad-winged hawk population this year.
The First Day Hikes program includes 18 hikes ranging from easy family walks to challenging mountain ascents, led by volunteers from organizations including the Green Mountain Club, Otter Creek Audubon Society, and South Hero Land Trust, along with state parks staff.
Most notable are the updated regulations referring to panfish and the use of baitfish. Additional changes can be found in the 2026 Fishing Guide & Regulations booklet available free from license agents and on Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s website.
While Vermont property owners who permit recreational use of their land are legally protected, they receive no compensation or tax relief for their generosity.
If you leave the trail, even following another’s tracks, there is a real risk of no way back.
The bird on your table is descended from the wild turkey.
Asian longhorned beetle, found in Massachusetts, not spotted here yet.
Nitrogen is a bit of a conundrum. In its gaseous form it’s the most abundant element in the atmosphere, but few organisms can readily use it. And while all living organisms contain nitrogen, a new University of Vermont study finds that even tiny amounts of nitrogen can fuel cyanobacterial blooms and disrupt lake ecosystems.
More than 140,000 servings of Vermont wild turkeys are harvested each year – that’s 140,000 servings of free-ranging, wild and sustainably harvested protein.
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is asking hunters to participate in its annual deer hunter effort and sighting survey.
The risk of a deer-vehicle collision is 14 times higher in the two hours after sunset than in the two hours before sunset, due to the dramatic reduction in driver visibility in darkness.
Beechnut production excellent in most of Vermont
Hunters who get a deer on opening weekend of the Nov. 15-16 deer season can help Vermont’s deer management program by reporting their deer at a biological check station.
Hypothermia is a real thing. Carry plenty of clothing – not cotton – and a waterproof layer, top and bottom. Headlamps – not one but two! Cell phone battery bank. High calorie snacks and plenty of water.
VTF&W website helps with learning how to process
Holy wildlife housing,next week is Bat Week!
Whether it’s frozen boots or broken tibias, Waterbury Backcountry Rescue Team (WRBT) is prepared to respond to any kind of backcountry crisis.
The true danger for Vermont lies not in the probability of an earthquake, but in the catastrophic consequences a moderate one could have on the state’s beloved historic brick buildings.
Wildlife Day at the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area Visitor Center took place this year on Oct. 4 in Addison.
How trail management is impacted by severe weather
The closure aims to provide a safe corridor for the landlocked Atlantic salmon that gather in Hatchery Cove before migrating up the nearby Hatchery Brook to spawn each fall.
If Andrew Oestringer of Barnet had brought his bass to a certified scale before filleting the fish, he would probably hold a new state record.
Known for its incredibly low-priced $5 lift tickets, the Brattleboro Ski Hill provides an affordable entry point for new skiers and local families.
This year, the prevalence of Virginia Creeper feels particularly pronounced, raising the need for public awareness about its hidden dangers for Vermont families and their unsuspecting dogs.
“Everyone likes a big tree,” Arborist and Milton Tree Warden Kris Dulmer said.
E-bikes have grown in popularity as older Vermonters seek help with pedaling and frugal and/or climate-conscious Vermonters seek practical alternatives to cars. The State of Vermont began an e-bike purchase rebate program in 2022.
New research will explore why.
Unlike a thru-hiking route, the Velomont is designed as a multi-use system with mountain biking as a central focus, weaving together public and private lands across the spine of the Green Mountains.
Regardless of identity, the Mountain endures.
Scientists say the fish are a reliable measure of lake and basin ecological health.
The Bobolink Project pays owners of fields, often farmers, to conduct bird-friendly practices. The birds get time and habitat to nest while the landowners get some compensation for letting them do so.
Given the timing and novelty of the event, two primary explanations quickly gained traction online: a rocket launch and the Perseid meteor shower, which was expected to peak that same night.
In the Netherlands, a design group called Why Knot turns knotweed into lightweight, formaldehyde-free building panels. Vermont’s regulatory system is too antiquated to see it as a win-win.
The Telephone Gap Integrated Resource project had a historic level of public engagement, according to advocates, before it passed in June.
A new pathogen called beech leaf disease (BLD) is spreading across Vermont forests.
Rebeka Arias, 33, of Bellows Falls, was hiking to a popular overlook on July 15 when she became lost. At approximately 5 p.m., a third party notified conservation officers that Arias was feeling faint and nauseous. Shortly after making a call to a family member for help, her phone battery died.
These outdated trapping and hunting policies do not reflect the majority of the people. Protect Our Wildlife focuses on securing stronger protections for individual wild animals, recognizing that they feel happiness, pain, fear, sadness, and so much more.
This year, over 40 community members and 11 partner organizations participated in Local Working Groups to identify the top three funding priorities. Each priority will receive $200,000 through separate Local Fund Pools.
Two boys, ages 14 and 11, and a 12-year-old girl were taking part in an organized camp and set out on a trail off Duxbury Road for what was expected to be a 30-minute hike.
Situated next to railroad tracks (offering plenty of sunlight) and near the pond (offering plenty of water), the thirsty softwood dwarfs all other Vermont trees with a height of 127 feet.
The Vermont Warden Service, Vermont State Police and other local law enforcement agencies will be partnering with the National Association of Boating Law Administrators and the U.S. Coast Guard by participating in the Operation Dry Water heightened awareness and enforcement weekend, which takes place July 4-6, 2025.
Leave the bunnies be – and the bears too, of course.
Grayson Carey reeled in a new LCI Derby record sheepshead the morning of Sunday, June 15. It weighed in at 28.51 pounds, beating the previous record of 24.97.
These Vermonters are trying to make the outdoor recreation industry safer and more joyful for people of color.
The outbreak appeared shortly after a foul, burning odor was reported on May 16. Resident Priscilla Foster likened the smell to “rotting flesh” and said flies filled the area two days later.
Amphibian road mortality drops by over 80% with wildlife underpasses, study shows.
A supporter says the timber industry feels encouraged by order; a critic says it’s just red meat for Trump’s base.
The effort has been greatly helped be targeting sea lamprey which were attacking the trout.
Steelhead can be spotted moving up the falls during warmer days in mid-to-late April and sometimes into early May.
Picking up young wildlife can do more harm than good, according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, and it is also against the law.
Bear incidents have been on the rise over the past several years.
It was the third-highest snowpack reading for that date since 1954, when the stake was installed, making this winter one of the snowiest on record.
Deer is Vermont’s most popular game species with about 60,000 resident hunters and 7,500 out-of-state hunters heading into the autumn woods.
Bill supporters have consistently stated their opinion that all the tools we use to hunt predators are “unfair”, and we shouldn’t be allowed to hunt them at all. Activism-driven bills like this are a waste of the legislature’s time, a waste of the taxpayers money, and a disservice to the people.
The resort’s snow report quickly pivoted to a sharp rebuke of what she described as the administration’s “attack” on National Forest lands, climate science agencies, and public funding programs that support adaptive skiers, veterans, and international workers.
Hunters who obtain antlerless permits would be allowed to harvest antlerless deer during the regular November season, which is currently limited to antlered (buck) deer.
Hikers and climbers can help nesting peregrine falcons by avoiding several Vermont cliff areas this spring and early summer.
It’s time to respect the constitutional rights of Vermonters, the cultural significance of trapping, and the practical realities of rural life.
VT Fish & Wildlife at the Yankee Show, Jan. 17-19; Hunters took more than 17,000 deer in 2024
Green Mountain State maintains #2 ranking for outdoor recreation as part of GDP.
On Saturday, December 21, Sugarbush Resort will debut its newest upgrade, the Heaven’s Gate Quad, providing a more spacious ride to the summit of Lincoln Peak.
“Our whole mission is trails that go somewhere,” one org director said. “The whole point is that you could use it to commute.”
Also, Vermont 2025 hunting and fishing licenses and lawbooks available
Wakeboard sports ban meeting today.
At dusk in November, lights will flicker on and in the hills, dales, and deep woods throughout VT as hunters gather for our 16-day unofficial holiday.
“Winter bird feeding is a great way to observe and learn about our year-round bird residents such as black capped chickadees, nuthatches and blue jays. “
“This unmet need underscores our call for robust funding to support critical projects in this region,” Welch and other senators wrote.
While western Vermont valleys offer more deer, the mountains and the Northeast Kingdom have fewer but bigger game, state biologists say.
Metal pellets and recent wounds consistent with shotgun fire were found in the eagle’s body.
With the continued dry weather outlook and the abundance of dry leaves and dry fuels in Vermont’s forests, wildfires have the potential to spread rapidly, officials said.
A new state law requires drivers to give most non-drivers a wide, four-foot berth. Critics suggest rules for bicyclists.
Peak foliage – enjoy it while it lasts!
The victim was a man in his 70’s who had been hospitalized since August and died in September.
Reports indicate that the lynx has moved about 60 miles north of where it was first sighted in Rutland County into Addison County, traveling around a dozen miles at a time and then staying in the same general area for several days before moving on.
The show aims to educate, entertain, and inform outdoor enthusiasts of all experience levels.
A hunter may take up to four deer in Vermont’s two-part archery season if they do not shoot any deer in the other deer seasons.
The leashed tracking dog owners, who provide their services free of charge, must pass an extensive exam in order to be certified and licensed to provide their services.
The daily bag limit is four gray squirrels, and the possession limit is eight.
Most VT lynx sightings – although still rare – are in the Northeast Kingdom.
Bear population down some but still high.
Get out and see the wonders of the State we call home this year!
The mission is to reduce the distance pollinators like bees and butterflies must go to get nectar and pollen. The gardens, in effect, form a highway.
Every summer the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department puts out a call for citizen scientists to count young turkeys, or “poults,” between the start of July and the end of August.
Volunteers needed to help in rounding up, placing id. bands on the legs of Canada geese at the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area in Addison.
In stifling, almost oppressive heat and humidity, a small troop of aged, sweaty volunteers waged war against an invasive pest proliferating across the landscape.
Homeowners should follow the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s recommendations on when and how to protect the living space and do a bat eviction.
Landowners who post their land may not apply for a landowner priority muzzleloader antlerless deer permit.
Its 301 miles are peppered with 30,300 feet in total climb — all on public dirt roads between a dozen rocky sections.
VT Fish and Wildlife Department is offering a New Instructor Training Course for people interested in volunteering to teach hunter, trapper or bow hunter education.
“He poured water over her head and had her lying on cool shady ground, which doesn’t sound very romantic but these are both good was to dissipate heat.”
Blue-green algae produces neurotoxins and liver toxins. The problem is growing rapidly as politicians accelerate development and fail to regulate polluters.
The data that F&W published in their report was incomplete, likely because the public would be unhappy to know hunters killed cubs, yearlings, and many females.
“We’re not on the level of having gigantic fires in Vermont yet,” Dillner said. But officials believe Vermonters should prepare to protect their homes, health.
Here’s a great opportunity to go on a wild goose chase that can make a difference: Fish & Wildlife seeks volunteers for goose banding.
VT Fish & Wildlife reminds people that open fires and swimming are prohibited at all Vermont state fishing access areas.
Three of the currently scheduled clinics focus on a general introduction to fishing while a fourth will highlight worm drifting for trout in mountain streams.
“While we’re unsure of how the bear got stuck in the can and why it was drawn to it, this story serves as an important reminder of how curious and food-driven bears are,” Fish & Wildlife said.
The RES Series, Part II: The advice of Annette Smith, Executive Director, Vermonters for a Clean Environment (VCE).
