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.

To qualify for special biodiversity conservation funding from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, every state is required to have a Wildlife Action Plan.  The plans are written by each state’s fish and wildlife agency—in Vermont, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department—and revised every decade.

Vermont is now in the final stages of updating its Wildlife Action Plan for the next 10 years, following an extensive review and drafting process in partnership with top wildlife experts from around the Northeast.

“Over the past two years our biologists have teamed up with outside experts including faculty from the University of Vermont, Middlebury and other colleges, and scientists from our NGO partners to update Vermont’s SCGN list and identify new conservation strategies,” said Dr. Rosalind Renfrew, who leads the department’s Wildlife Diversity Program.  “Now, a new draft of Vermont’s 10-year Wildlife Action Plan is ready for public input.”

To develop the new draft plan, department biologists and their collaborators worked in teams based on their areas of expertise, focusing on groups of species including mammals, reptiles and amphibians, insect pollinators, and fish.  The process also included teams for plants and even fungi, earning Vermont a place among the handful of states whose Wildlife Action Plans cover the latter.

Each expert team recommended conservation actions to restore or maintain healthy populations of dozens of related species.  For species that are already listed as threatened or endangered, like Vermont’s lake sturgeon, recommendations are geared to recovering the species’ numbers.  For those that are not threatened or endangered but are at risk of becoming so, like the wood turtle, the plan identifies ways to keep populations from veering into decline.

Regardless of conservation status, a key for nearly every species in the new draft Wildlife Action Plan is habitat.

“Both department biologists and our outside partners really pushed for strategies that benefit whole groups of species using the same habitats to be the core of our new draft plan,” said Renfrew.  “The speed and scale of threats like climate change and habitat loss mean that single-species conservation measures alone cannot keep pace.”

To encourage a shift from single- to multi-species conservation, the new draft Wildlife Action Plan emphasizes strategies that restore, enhance and protect landscapes encompassing the full range of habitat types in the state.

Vermont is among the states best positioned to make this shift thanks to its longstanding strategic mapping initiative, Vermont Conservation Design (VCD).  VCD prioritizes landscapes and habitat blocks for conservation based on their potential to support species and provide benefits like clean water and wildlife travel corridors.  Drawing from VCD, Vermont’s new draft Wildlife Action Plan offers guidance for conservation groups looking to improve the outlook for many species at once.

“Our new draft Wildlife Action Plan outlines ways to give all of Vermont’s species their best shot in the face of threats like climate change,” said Renfrew.  “Now, we’re inviting Vermonters to let us know if what we’ve developed lines up with their vision for biodiversity conservation in our state.”

Vermont’s draft 2025-2035 SWAP can be reviewed on the department’s website.  Public comments can be submitted via online form through February 27, 2026, on the department’s website or directly at the following web address: https://forms.office.com/g/megnWGwpZG

The department will also offer presentations on key elements of the draft plan with opportunity for public comment at a series of in-person and virtual meetings to be held:

• January 22, Edward Kehoe Conservation Camp.  636 Point of Pines Road, Castleton
• February 5, U32 Middle and High School.  930 Gallison Hill Road, Montpelier
• February 10, Orleans Lake Region Union High School.  317 Lake Region Road, Orleans
• February 17, Microsoft Teams or phone conference call at (802) 828-7667, conference ID 999 402 398#

All sessions will begin promptly at 6:00 p.m. and end by 8:00 p.m.  In the event of cancelations due to weather, the department will issue updated dates and locations on its website.