by John Gonter
It may be time for the changing views of Vermonters towards wildlife to be addressed, but bill S.258 will not accomplish it.
Currently and historically the 14 members of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board have been appointed by the Governor with input from the legislature. One seat represents each county.
Under S.258 the Governor will be stripped of their appointments. The appointments would be allocated: Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife (5), The Speaker of the House (5) and the Committee on Committees (5). Somehow, those 15 appointments will be divided across 14 county seats and one at large seat.
This is a perfect set up for gerrymandering. S.258 proposes to force a “balanced” mix of licensed and non-licensed [hunting/fishing/trapping] members. Who will be appointing the licensed and non-licensed? Adding politics where it doesn’t belong is what this will do.
The Board will also be stripped of its current authority over Fish and Wildlife rules and the Department of Fish and Wildlife will have the authority. The current set up is in place because a half century ago the legislature acknowledged its lack of expertise around wildlife management and wisely placed it with citizens. Why would we want to make the same mistake again? Keep the power with the citizens, not the legislature.
The anglers, hunters and trappers on the current Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board are Vermont’s most committed wildlife advocates and conservationists. Don’t think for a second that because they fish, hunt and trap that they don’t have a deep love for all species and understand the challenges of conserving and protecting the people and wildlife of Vermont.
The starting point for change should be for special interest groups to work with their legislators and donors to find financing and new management structures for the wildlife management they seek, not re-allocate taxes mostly paid by anglers, boaters, shooters and hunters and replace a fish and wildlife management structure that has been successful for over 50 years.
The promoters of S.258 are determined, vocal and have resources. They are truly anti-hunting and trapping, despite their occasional claims about fair-chase. They should put their effort and money towards future programs that reduce development and vehicle traffic and increase regenerative land use. That will do far more for wildlife in Vermont than S.258 could ever do.
The author is a longtime Burlington resident and now part time Williston resident. He teaches foraging, fishing, hunting and trapping with Vermont Fish and Wildlife and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Discover more from Vermont Daily Chronicle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categories: Commentary
“Adding politics where it doesn’t belong is what this will do.” Really?! If politics doesn’t belong in the long-term management of public lands for all Vemonters, where does it belong?
That’s what these liberals want, they don’t like your Vermont lifestyle or traditions,
they know best, just ask them……………….. if they are in charge, we lose……again !!
Wake up people, we don’t need them in our life or our state.
Can Vermont accomplish anything without assigning a partisan, unelected board, task force, committee, council, or commission? The fake authority bestowed upon these friends, large donors, relatives and business associates who serve on these panels, is unconstitutional and illegitimate. They are not elected, yet they set policies that are forced down the people’s throats regardless. Enough with these charlatans and their fraudulent shenanigans – let my People go indeed!
I suggest anyone opposed to s258 make a quick call to the state sergeant of arms (802) 828-2228 and ask them to pass along a message to senator Bray to drop s258. It only takes a minute.
“Under S.258 the Governor will be stripped of their appointments. The appointments would be allocated: Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife (5), The Speaker of the House (5) and the Committee on Committees (5). Somehow, those 15 appointments will be divided across 14 county seats and one at large seat.”
Because the Speaker of the House, the “Committee on Committees”, and one “at large seat” are professional wildlife managers, and/or would listen to those who are ? The present relationship between the professional managers, at VT F&G and the appointed board, has worked very well as evidenced by the condition of wildlife resources in Vermont . The squeaky wheels that are bound, and determined to upset this apple cart should be seen as what they are, a loud, but distinct minority determined to change Vermont into Rhode Island, or Massachusetts, you know, the places where the people that want these changes come from.
Since the early 1960’s,even befor reapportionment, the Vermont Legislature recognized the wasted energy,inefficiencies and unscientific approach that the political football managing the Department of Fish and Wildlife on a year to year basis had become, they wisely replaced a Comission with a small, since expanded, Fish and Wldlife Board. Until relatively recently, ever since State licensing began over 100 years ago, and Federal sources in 1937 and 1950 respectively, asked for by sportsmen, all of the Fish and Wildlife budget was supported. Currently about 75 percent comes either from state or national sportsmen, with +/-25% coming from Vermonts General Fund…also coming in part from sportsmen.
Over 80 % of the current serving Vermont Legislature was not born in Vermont. While the percentage what attended schools here in their formative years is not known,I am willing to bet most. These are the people who are deciding this issue…and also the direction that our public schools have taken. Call them, educate them.
My previous comment should have read that most of our current legislators did NOT attend school here in their formative years…darn autocorrect
Not to worry all you hunters out there if they put a few Commiecrats on the F&W Board, they won’t ban your Winchester M70 with the scope on it till they reclassify it a Sniper Rifle.
Most of the current members of the Vermont legislature need to be barred from the Fish and Wildlife Board. Geez! They shouldn’t be allowed to own goldfish, hamsters, or houseplants!
So according to “fairness” in government, most Vermonters utilize the forests, but only a mere 400 or so who engage in “recreational” trapping should have a voice in land management? Ummmm….no.
And by the by, a head biologist for VT F &W stated on record in FRONT of the legislature that trapping is NOT necessary for animal population control. See VT Digger, Nov. 20, 2024.
Trapping, torturing, and killing wildlife for “RECREATION”. How humane and Godlike.
Ummmm…no.141,000 Vermont hunting and fishing license holders pay…as do the estimated 50% of the households(+/-350,000) Vermonters that have firearms through the afore mentioned laws. Not sure what you mean by land management…The bill is about the Fish and Wildlife board. You,of course, are all about banning trapping, and I suppose all hunting. Thus,the rational for the existence of the Board is lost on you.
Sorry. ALL Vermont residents pay toward the maintenance and upkeep of forests, state parks, recreational areas, etc. Fact. And thereby ALL Vermonters have the right to partake in decisions as to what activities are allowed within including restrictions and safeguards that protect the public and the public’s property.
Maybe once you and yours cease from believing you alone hold right to the outdoors and to the flora and fauna which live within, when you develop a respect for other living beings and begin to treat other Vermont residents, who compose the majority of people, who dont find torturing and slaughtering animals as sport or recreation with civility, perhaps when you begin to comprehend that American citizens have the inalienable right to move or live wherever they wish as of nearly 250 years ago and that you dont dictate who can reside here, and finally when you can prevent yourselves from murdering people’s dogs and cats and show some accountability and remorse for the suffering you have caused, then MAYBE the majority of Vermonters might care about how creating an equitable F & W board puts a damper on your list for killing.
WOW!
For goodness sake, don’t let anyone stand in the way of your inalienable right to move away! I would suggest going south, like to Massachusetts or Connecticut.
An that was your LUST for killing.
And just so that everyone is on the same page here, the last commenter to post or the commenters who post the.most have NO bearing on the decisions that will inevitably be made concerning the brutality and danger of trapping. That will be decided by the legislature. Not by VDC. And those decisions will be made this year and in the years that follow. Like it or not.