Public Meeting

When: May 9, 2023. Meeting starts at 6:30 PM

Where: Middlebury Union Middle School – 48 Deerfield Lane, Middlebury | map

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A virtual public hearing on revisions made to the Baitfish Rule. 

Date: Thursday, May 11, 2023 | 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Microsoft Teams meeting

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Meeting ID: 295 677 233 009 
Passcode: 9A2BM5 

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Overview of Revisions

The amendments to the rule include a technical correction to the terminology that describes those waters where the use and transport of bait is restricted, for greater accuracy. Note that the technical correction does not change the meaning of the rule. 

The amended rule also updates the list of waters where baitfish are not allowed to be used and reflects updates from biologists on waterbodies where a pond trout fishery is being sustained. 

Beck Pond, Newark; Cary Pond, Walden; Lake Pleiad, Hancock; Mud Pond, Hyde Park; and West Mountain Pond, Maidstone were added to the list of waters where bait is not allowed. The use of baitfish on these waters could undermine the trout fisheries. 

The rule is also amended to allow bait on McIntosh Pond, Royalton because there is no sustainable trout fishery there.  

Read the Baitfish Rule

In-person public hearing on revisions made to the Baitfish Rule. 

Date: Wednesday, May 10, 2023 | 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: ANR Annex, Street Address: 190 Junction Rd, Berlin, VT 05602 | map

Overview of Revisions

The amendments to the rule include a technical correction to the terminology that describes those waters where the use and transport of bait is restricted, for greater accuracy. Note that the technical correction does not change the meaning of the rule. 

The amended rule also updates the list of waters where baitfish are not allowed to be used and reflects updates from biologists on waterbodies where a pond trout fishery is being sustained. 

Beck Pond, Newark; Cary Pond, Walden; Lake Pleiad, Hancock; Mud Pond, Hyde Park; and West Mountain Pond, Maidstone were added to the list of waters where bait is not allowed. The use of baitfish on these waters could undermine the trout fisheries. 

The rule is also amended to allow bait on McIntosh Pond, Royalton because there is no sustainable trout fishery there.  

Read the Baitfish Rule

Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities are available upon request. Please include a description of the accommodation you will need. Individuals making such requests must include their contact information. Requests should be made as early as possible, for example an interpreter must be requested at least two weeks in advance, if possible. Please send an e-mail to: fwinformation@vermont.gov or call the office staff at 802-828-1454.

You must provide 48 hours of cancellation notice before the event, if the accommodation is no longer needed.

The Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative—a working group of fisheries professionals from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—will host a State of the Lake meeting for anglers and other individuals interested in the fisheries of Lake Champlain.

Where: SUNY Plattsburgh Hudson Hall, Lecture Room 106 | 317 Hudson Hall, Plattsburgh, NY 12901 (map)
When: Saturday, March 25, 9:00am - 1:00pm 
 

Information will be provided on restoration, research, assessment, and other work that has been accomplished over the past year, as well as work planned for the coming year.  Species to be discussed include lake trout, landlocked Atlantic salmon, sea lamprey, muskellunge, walleye and bass.

View Agenda

The department will hold three in-person public hearings on the proposed 2023 moose hunting season and current health status of Vermont’s deer herd in March. 

The three in-person hearings will begin at 6:30 p.m. at these locations:

March 20 -- Lake Region High School, 317 Lake Region Rd, Orleans, VT 05860

March 23 – Woodstock Union High School, 100 Amsden Way, Woodstock, VT 05091

March 24 – Manchester Community Library, 138 Cemetery Ave., Manchester Center, VT 05255

Click here to find out more about Public Meetings.

The department will hold three in-person public hearings on the proposed 2023 moose hunting season and current health status of Vermont’s deer herd in March. 

The three in-person hearings will begin at 6:30 p.m. at these locations:

March 20 -- Lake Region High School, 317 Lake Region Rd, Orleans, VT 05860

March 23 – Woodstock Union High School, 100 Amsden Way, Woodstock, VT 05091

March 24 – Manchester Community Library, 138 Cemetery Ave., Manchester Center, VT 05255

Click here to find out more about these Public Meetings.

The department will hold three in-person public hearings on the proposed 2023 moose hunting season and current health status of Vermont’s deer herd in March. 

The three in-person hearings will begin at 6:30 p.m. at these locations:

March 20 -- Lake Region High School, 317 Lake Region Rd, Orleans, VT 05860

March 23 – Woodstock Union High School, 100 Amsden Way, Woodstock, VT 05091

March 24 – Manchester Community Library, 138 Cemetery Ave., Manchester Center, VT 05255

Click here to find out more about Public Meetings.

The department is holding a public hearing on the status of migratory game bird populations and proposed 2023 migratory game bird hunting seasons for the interior zone of Vermont and Lake Champlain zone. Waterfowl and webless migratory game bird hunters are encouraged to attend the hearings and share their preferences and opinions about the proposed seasons. There will be no virtual meeting offered.

Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023 | 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm 

Location: Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, 111 West Street, Essex Junction, Vermont 05452-4695 (To be held in the Act 250 conference room) | map

View the proposed 2023 migratory bird hunting seasons

Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities are available at the meetings on request.  Please include a description of the accommodation you will need as early as possible. For example, an interpreter must be requested at least two weeks in advance.  Please send an e-mail to:  Andrew.Bouton@vermont.gov.

The department is holding a public hearing on the status of migratory game bird populations and proposed 2023 migratory game bird hunting seasons for the interior zone of Vermont and Lake Champlain zone. Waterfowl and webless migratory game bird hunters are encouraged to attend the hearings and share their preferences and opinions about the proposed seasons. There will be no virtual meeting offered.

Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2023 | 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm 

Location: Ticonderoga Fish and Game Club, County Route 56, Ticonderoga, NY 12883 (Across from Reale Construction) | map

View the proposed 2023 migratory bird hunting seasons

Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities are available at the meetings on request.  Please include a description of the accommodation you will need as early as possible. For example, an interpreter must be requested at least two weeks in advance.  Please send an e-mail to:  Andrew.Bouton@vermont.gov.

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department has scheduled a public information meeting on draft changes to the state’s trapping regulations. 

Date: Tuesday, November 29, 2022
Time: 6:30 - 9:00 pm on Tuesday, November 29.
Location: White River Valley High School, 223 S. Windsor St., South Royalton | map

Read the VFWD Trapping BMP Draft Recommendations and Stakeholder Recommendation Synopsis

The draft regulation changes are responsive to Act 159, which directed the Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife to identify ways to improve the welfare of trapped animals and propose updated regulations to the Legislature and the Fish and Wildlife Board. 

The November 29 meeting is not a referendum on trapping but an opportunity for the public to provide early feedback on draft changes to the regulations. 

The draft changes draw from a recently completed series of meetings with a range of stakeholders and the best available trapping data and research.

Department staff will review this input before the Commissioner advances a proposal to the Fish and Wildlife Board for deliberation. 

A formal public comment window will occur when the Board begins its official rulemaking process in early 2023.