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These outdated trapping and hunting policies do not reflect the majority of the people.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).
This week we celebrate the first Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) in Vermont starting work in Danby, June 5, 1933.
Loons, lampreys, and moose hunting application deadline.
Grand Isle Family Fishing Festival, Bass Opener both on Free Fishing Day
Sea lamprey are native to Connecticut River, beneficial to the aquatic ecosystem.
Two UVM scientists will contribute to the First National Nature Assessment.
Jason Herman, the facility’s chief operator, confirmed that these incidents are becoming more frequent.
The bear euthanized this morning in Underhill was attracted into an area resident’s yard by recycling left outside the front door this morning.
Many first-time small-scale poultry farmers are discovering that several species of wildlife like the taste of chicken as much as we do.
More and more people are trekking off-path without being prepared, increasing the danger, say those in the field.
By taking steps to improve indoor air quality during these seasons, Vermonters can keep their homes healthy and allergy symptoms at bay.
Part of the bill aimed to ban hunters from using dogs and bait — without a trappers’ license — to hunt coyotes in the state.
“I think the majority (of Democrats) didn’t want to take it up in an election year with all the sportsmen voters out there defending Vermont traditions,” said Rep. Smith, of Derby.
Experts see few other ways to stem the grisly pests.
Hunters have been the primary force for conservation since it’s inception in the US.
Misinformation is a threat to our democracy, both nationally and as a state. At least here, being fact-based and credible is important to the bulk of advocates,
The project has amassed 123,000 entries since its founding in 1994.
State Fisheries Biologist Lee Simard: “We are evaluating the new Eagle Lake strain of rainbow trout against our traditionally stocked Erwin-Arlee strain…”
Rod Coronado of Orange boasts about his work ‘monitoring’ coyote hunters. One of those hunters said he saw Coronado in the woods.
Bears have begun emerging from their dens earlier than usual this spring.
Researchers have concerns about the relation between the bald eagles’ rise and a receding blue heron population in the state.
The science-based hunt is expected to result in a harvest of about 94 moose, or about 10 percent of the current moose population in Wildlife Management Unit E.
Vermont’s “Trophy Trout” stocking program for 2024 includes nine river sections and 37 lakes and ponds receiving the two-year old trout, some over 18 inches long.
With this winter’s relatively weak snowfall, more people may have turned to birding as an outdoor activity for the season.
Despite lingering snow cover in some areas, VT Fish & Wildlife says anglers can still have fun and be successful early in the season.
The Senate has approved another year of funding for the Salisbury fish hatchery.
VT clothing brand Thicket Adventure recently hit its Kickstarter goal of $30,000 after only four days.
S.258 is strongly supported by anti-hunting and fishing organizations, but passage on the Senate floor is not certain.
Also, be alert for frogs and salamanders while driving.
Vermonters need to take steps now to prevent bear conflicts.
A recent study concludes that explosive repopulation of Arctic terrain by beavers is thawing large areas of tundra and releasing climate-destroying methane.
One drone operator understands the lawmakers’ concern, but said he thinks details in the bill are too arbitrary.
Salisbury hatchery ALIVE. Coyote hunting ban NOT SO MUCH. The latest from the State House.
“We expect to see a large volume of visitors to the region in the days before, during and after the event. With this in mind, the Lake Champlain Chamber is encouraging cities, towns, and businesses in the region to plan accordingly.”
Opponents of S.258, reconfiguring the Fish & Wildlife Board, speak out in this VDC video of a Tuesday, February 20 State House gathering.
The Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee Wednesday has made a bill strongly opposed hunting advocates even more restrictive.
A patch of thin ice was the scene of a family riding a side-by-side plunging into the icy waters of Lake Memphremagog Saturday.
S.258 would seize rule-making power from the Fish & Wildlife Board, expand the role of non-hunters, and prohibit coyote hunting with bait and dogs.
