Vermont Fish & Wildlife Newsroom

WHITINGHAM Vt. -- The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is offering a New Instructor Training Course for people interested in volunteering to teach Hunter Education, Trapper Education or Bowhunter Education courses in Vermont. The training will take place Saturday, September 15, at 8:00 a.m. at the Deerfield Valley Fish & Game Club in Whitingham, Vermont. Policies and procedures, field techniques and teaching methods will be covered to give instructors the tools to teach future hunters how to have a safe and enjoyable experience. “The skills and ethics that our instructors impart to their students will serve them for a lifetime,” said Training Coordinator, John Pellegrini.  “There is no better way for a hunter to give back to the outdoors than by instructing the next generation of hunters.” All applicants are required to pass a background check with a warden and apprentice-teach with a Chief Instructor before they can teach on their own.  Upon course c...

One careless resident can cause problems for the entire community MONTPELIER, Vt – As incidents of bears breaking into homes, garages, sheds and vehicles in Vermont increases, so too should efforts by residents to bear-proof their homes and secure potential outdoor food sources that can attract bears. While searching for food in early July, one bear broke into a Killington home through an open window, and another Killington bear entered the Northstar Lodge through an open door. A Pownal woman awoke to the sound of a bear breaking through a kitchen window to access a honey comb that had been left within reach, while a similar incident occurred in Townsend where a bear broke into a kitchen freezer. According to Vermont State Game Warden Sergeant Chad Barrett, bears don’t naturally break into homes. They must first have had experience receiving food from humans. The process of habituation begins with attractants that residents leave out such as birdseed, pet food, or unsecure...

MONTPELIER, Vt. – The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department will be hosting seven free hunting seminars that will be helpful for hunters who have some experience as well as for beginners. The seminars will be taught by Vermont Fish & Wildlife staff and hunter education volunteers. “Both experienced and first-time hunters stand to benefit from these seminars,” said John Pellegrini, Hunter Education Training Coordinator with Vermont Fish & Wildlife.  “We will provide useful information including practical hunting tips, ecology and behavior of these animals, and how to have a fun, safe experience in the woods.” Participants are urged to bring a lunch for the day-long seminars and dress for the weather, as these seminars have an outdoor portion to them and will be held rain or shine.  Space is limited, and they fill up quickly, so signup as early as possible at  www.vtfishandwildlife.com and clicking on the seminar portion of the Hunter Education pag...

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- The five winners of Vermont 2018 moose hunting permits for resident military veterans were determined in a randomized computer lottery drawing August 1 at the Fish & Wildlife office in Montpelier.  The five permit winners were among 100 military veteran applicants who applied at no cost by a July 6 deadline.  The winners’ names are posted on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s website ( www.vtfishandwildlife.com ). No regular public lottery was held because only thirteen moose hunting permits were authorized this year.  If any public lottery permits had been offered, all those with bonus points from past seasons would have had to apply or lose those points, as required by statute.  By law, five permits were available to Vermont resident military veterans and up to three permits are available for “Special Opportunity” recipients with life-threatening illnesses.  Also required by law, the remaining five permits will be auctioned with p...

MONTPELIER, Vt. – Wild turkeys are found throughout most of Vermont, but their reproductive success is monitored annually by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department with help from “citizen scientists” who report the number and size of turkey families they see during August.   Fish & Wildlife is again asking the public for help.  If you see a group of young turkeys in Vermont during August, the department asks you to go to the turkey brood survey on its website ( www.vtfishandwildlife.com ) so you can record where and when you observed the number of adult and young turkeys, or poults.  When combined with annual harvest data, information gathered from this survey helps to establish long-term trends in Vermont’s wild turkey population,” said Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s wild turkey biologist Chris Bernier.  “It also helps us assess the impacts of spring and winter weather on the survival of poults and adult turkeys which is an important considera...

COLCHESTER, Vt. – Drew Price of Colchester, VT, has completed the state’s first-ever ‘Master Angler Sweep’ by catching at least one trophy-sized specimen of all 33 eligible fish species that are part of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department’s Master Angler Program. Price spent eight years in his quest to be the first to catch and enter all 33 species in the Vermont program.  “This is a remarkable achievement,” said fisheries biologist Shawn Good, who founded the Master Angler Program with fisheries biologist Jud Kratzer and currently administers it.  “He called me from the lake moments after landing his final species – a 30-inch pike-pickerel hybrid.  He was kind of deliriously happy and I don't blame him.” Price, who started fly fishing in 1993, said “Once I found fishing, I was like ‘this is it, this is my calling.’” In 2010, he began entering fish in the department’s new Master Angler Program, spending the time he wasn’t working as a full-time school ...

MONTPELIER, Vt. – Hikers and rock climbers can return to Vermont cliffs starting August 1 now that peregrine falcon nesting season has ended.  The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has confirmed that all the young falcons have learned to fly and will not be disturbed by human presence on the cliffs. “The young peregrines have fledged, and nesting data suggest Vermont falcons had a very successful year.  A final report will be issued later this year,” said Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s migratory bird biologist John Buck.  “The falcon’s nesting success is due to a combination of good weather and the cooperation from hikers and rock climbers who observe a respectful distance from nesting falcons during this critical period.  Peregrine nesting success would not be possible without more than 50 volunteers who monitor the nest sites statewide from March to the end of July.”  According to Audubon biologist Margaret Fowle, who coordinates the monitorin...