News from Vermont Fish & Wildlife
March 19, 2022Editor’s note: These items are taken from recent news releases from the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife
Black bears are waking up and hungry
A black bear ambles near woods in this Fish & Wildlife file photo by Kris and Norm Senna.
It’s no secret spring is in the air and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says bears are waking up and heading out of their winter dens in search of food.
The first reports of bear activity came in on March 7, prompting wildlife experts to recommend taking down bird feeders and keeping them stored until December to avoid attracting bears.
“Although we typically recommend taking down bird feeders by April 1, we are asking Vermonters to take them down early this year,” said Jaclyn Comeau, the state’s bear biologist.
Bear tracks in spring snow. Photo by John Hall, Vt. Fish & Wildlife
Bears wake up hungry and will seek out food sources they can smell such as birdseed, garbage, chickens, pet food, and barbecue grills.
“Preventing bears from having access to human-related foods, such as bird seed, is key to successful coexistence,” Comeau said.
It’s also important to not purposely feed a bear, Comeau added. It brings bears closer to you and your neighbors, “and it is illegal,” she said.
In addition to taking down feeders, wildlife experts recommend storing trash in bear-proof containers or inside a structure and using electric fences to keep chickens and honeybees safe.
For those who enjoy attracting songbirds to their property, the state will be partnering with Audubon Vermont to highlight alternatives to feeders such as the Native Plants for Birds program.
“Birds and native plants co-evolved over millions of years together,” said Gwendolyn Causer, Audubon Vermont’s communication coordinator and environmental educator.
“Native plants provide essential food resources for birds year-round and also host protein-rich native butterfly and moth caterpillars, the number-one food for songbird nestlings. And best of all, they do not attract bears.”
To help better understand interactions with bears and inform measures for coexistence, Vermonters are encouraged to submit reports of bears engaging in potentially dangerous behavior such as targeting bird feeders or garbage bins, feeding on crops or livestock, or investigating campgrounds or residential areas, using the Fish & Wildlife Department website’s Living with Black Bears page.
Hearings will focus on deer, moose management
A bull moose spent time along Vermont Route 100 in Waterbury Center last summer. Photo by Sarah Milligan
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board will hold public hearings on deer and moose management for 2022 on March 21, 23, 24, and 29.
Officials will share results of Vermont’s 2021 deer seasons and discuss prospects for deer hunting next fall. The public will have an opportunity to share their observations and opinions about the current status of the deer herd.
The hearings will also include a review of the proposed 2022 moose hunting seasons and offer an opportunity for the public to provide feedback on the number of moose permits recommended for 2022 in the department’s 2022 Moose Harvest Recommendation document.
The hearings all begin at 6:30 p.m. Three are in person: Monday, March 21, at Spaulding High School in Barre; Wednesday, March 23, at Kehoe Conservation Camp in Castleton; Thursday, March 24, at Lake Region High School in Orleans.
The final hearing on March 29 will be online via this Microsoft Teams meeting link which also will be live on the 29th on the department’s website homepage under Upcoming Events. To attend by phone (audio only), call 802-828-7667 and use the conference ID: 904 108 179#.
More information including moose management recommendations is online under the Public Hearings Schedule heading at vtfishandwildlife.com. The public may also leave comments with a telephone message at 802-828-7498 or an email to ANR.FWPublicComment@vermont.gov. Comments on moose management are requested by March 31 and for deer by May 14. Anyone with a disability needing accommodations to attend a hearing should contact Nick.Fortin@vermont.gov, 802-793-8777 (voice), 1-800-253-0191 (TTY).
State removes bald eagle, adds other species to endangered list
The bald eagle has been removed from Vermont's endangered species list. Photo by John Hall, Vt. Fish & Wildlife
The state recently announced the highly anticipated de-listing of the bald eagle from Vermont’s Endangered and Threatened Species List after over a decade of restoration efforts.
“The bald eagle’s de-listing is a milestone for Vermont,” said Wildlife Division Director Mark Scott. “This reflects more than a decade of dedicated work by Vermont Fish & Wildlife and partners. It shows that Vermonters have the capacity to restore and protect the species and habitats that we cherish.”
The announcement was made along with new designations for six other species and three critical habitats on the Endangered and Threatened Species List. In addition to the bald eagle, the short-styled snakeroot, a flowering plant of dry woodland habitats, was also removed from the list.
Other changes included new listings of species now designated as endangered: the American bumblebee and a species of freshwater mussel known as the brook floater, along with two plant species, Houghton’s sedge and rue anemone. State endangered species are considered at immediate risk of becoming locally extinct in Vermont.
One bird species, the Eastern meadowlark, received a new designation as threatened, which signifies it to be considered at risk of becoming endangered without timely conservation action.
Three important landscapes also received new designations as critical habitats that are essential for the survival of threatened or endangered species in Vermont. The sites support species including the common tern and Eastern spiny softshell turtle, as well as little brown, Northern long-eared, and tri-colored bats.
Wildlife Diversity Program Manager Rosalind Renfrew, PHD, explained that the new listings reflect the stressors affecting Vermont’s plant, fish, and wildlife species. “In the face of climate change and habitat loss, our mission is to conserve these species and others to the very best of our ability on behalf of all Vermonters, who demonstrate time and again that they care about the survival of wildlife populations,” she said.
By listing the species and habitats, they can be added to management plans and the focus of various actions such as developing recovery metrics and population monitoring.
“We dedicate incredible resources through population monitoring, habitat conservation and improvement, and education and outreach to preventing species from reaching these thresholds in the first place,” Scott said. “But, when necessary, we also draw on our successful track record leading endangered species recovery efforts including restoring Vermont’s populations of common loon, osprey, peregrine falcon, and now the bald eagle. We will bring that same dedication to each of these new listings.”