The Department's Community Wildlife Program has offered a biannual webinar series for the municipal land use and conservation audience since 2020. Scroll down to see our current offerings or visit our Video Library to see recordings of previous episodes. All our webinars are live online events that last approximately one hour and offer participants a chance to learn and ask questions to natural resources experts.
We also offer the Environmental leadership Trainings each spring and fall.
Spring 2024 Webinars
An Introduction to Vermont’s Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants
Did you know that the Vermont Natural Heritage Inventory maps and monitors about 600 rare and uncommon plant species across the state? Join State Botanist Grace Glynn for a fun glimpse into some of our rare plants, where they’re found on the landscape, and the ongoing work to conserve them. Learn more about what towns can do to better protect these important pieces of our state’s natural heritage.
Presenters:
- Grace Glynn, Botanist, VT Fish and Wildlife Department
- Jens Hilke, Conservation Planner, VT Fish and Wildlife Department
Repeat sessions of this webinar will be offered on the following two dates:
- Session 1: Thursday, March 7th, 2024, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Register
- Session 2: Tuesday, April 16th, 2024, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m Register.
Using BioFinder 4.0: A step by step introduction to using this updated webmap
The BioFinder website is an online map and database that allows users to explore the patterns of habitat distribution that most impact Vermont’s biodiversity. It hosts the Vermont Conservation Design data – all components of a complete vision for maintaining ecological function to secure our natural heritage for future generations. The Biofinder website was just updated to BioFinder 4.0 and while the functionality is nearly identical to the previous version, now is the perfect time to learn how to better use this multi-faceted tool. Join us and improve your skills in using BioFinder. This webinar will focus on the functionality of the webmap itself. To learn more about the data behind the maps displayed on BioFinder, be sure to join an upcoming "Understanding Vermont Conservation Design" webinar.
Presenters:
- David Moroney, Conservation Planning Specialist, VT Fish and Wildlife Department
- Jens Hilke, Conservation Planner, VT Fish and Wildlife Department
Repeat sessions of this webinar will be offered on the following three dates:
- Session 1: Monday, March 25th, 2024 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Register
- Session 2: Thursday April 11th 2024, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Register
- Session 3: Tuesday, May 14th, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Register
Understanding Vermont Conservation Design: The data behind BioFinder
Vermont Conservation Design is the data and the vision that powers the BioFinder website. It is a prioritization tool that identifies the lands and waters most important for maintaining Vermont's ecologically functional landscape – one that conserves current biological diversity and allows species to move and shift in response to climate and land-use changes. Vermont Conservation Design allows users to see patterns in Vermont’s forests and waterways, and identify the places that connect both into a functional network. The Design was just updated with new landscape scale components and Wildlife Road Crossings. It now features more accurate edges of the habitat blocks, that allow for a better understanding of the pattern and network of connected forests. Join us to learn more about this important conservation science.
Presenters:
- Jens Hilke, Conservation Planner, VT Fish and Wildlife Department
- David Moroney, Conservation Planning Specialist, VT Fish and Wildlife Department
Repeat sessions of this webinar will be offered on the following three dates:
- Session 1: Thursday, March 21st, 2024, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Register
- Session 2: Thursday, April 4th, 2024, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Register
- Session 3: Tuesday, April 30th, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Register
Resilient Rivers: Good for fish and people
Fish and other aquatic organisms face threats from development as well as increasing frequency and intensity of floods and droughts and rising temperatures. Restoring rivers to natural conditions will help ensure the long-term survival of aquatic organisms, and has co-benefits for water quality and flood resilience. This talk will highlight three areas where municipalities can help protect aquatic habitats: forested riparian areas, aquatic organism passage, and log jams. Join VFWD Aquatic Habitat Biologist Will Eldridge to learn how allowing rivers to function naturally where it is safe to do so is more effective and more sustainable in the long run.
Presenters:
- Will Eldridge, Aquatic habitat Biologist, VT Fish and Wildlife Department
- Jens Hilke, Conservation Planner, VT Fish and Wildlife Department
Repeat sessions of this webinar will be offered on the following two dates:
- Session 1: Wednesday, March 13th, 2024, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Register
- Session 2: Tuesday, April 9th, 2024 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Register
Environmental Leadership Trainings
Our trainings are in-depth, collaborative online courses. The two courses teach the science behind conservation planning along with leadership theory designed to help you grow in your capacity and effectiveness as an environmental leader in your community. These courses are primarily designed for Vermonters engaged at the municipal level as members of conservation commissions or planning commissions, and for those working as conservation volunteers. However, they are open to anyone with an active interest in growing their knowledge and taking a more active role in local environmental leadership in the future. Participants must attend all three sessions as well as complete additional brief online coursework.
Environmental Leadership Training
Unit 1: From Science to Planning
This training will introduce participants to important scientific concepts involved in planning for natural resources and focus on skills leaders need to operate effectively. Participants will explore the full suite of issues at play in natural resources planning, from forests and wildlife to floodplains and climate change. Presentations on context, ecological scale, and planning for whole Communities are interspersed with interactive hands-on activities that make this an intensive and exciting training.
Instructors:
- Jens Hilke, Conservation Planner, VT Fish and Wildlife Department
- Joanne Garton, Technical Assistance Coordinator for the Urban & Community Forestry Program of the VT | Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
Note: This is a 3-session training course. You must sign up for all three sessions if you wish to take this class and receive the certificate.
- Session 1: Tuesday, February 6th, 2024, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
- Session 2: Tuesday, February 13th, 2024, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
- Session 3: Tuesday, February 20th, 2024, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
To register, contact david.moroney@vermont.gov
Environmental Leadership Training
Unit 2: From Planning to Action
This training will help you choose locally appropriate land use planning strategies for conserving natural resources and explore how leaders can best work with groups to move ideas forward in a municipal context. It uses case studies and exercises to show how taking action can work in real life. The overall goal is to build an understanding of what you can do, how to work with different people in your community, how to choose strategies to protect natural resources, and how to make it all happen. Completion of Unit 1 is a pre-requisite for this training (or permission from instructors).
Instructors:
- Jens Hilke, Conservation Planner, VT Fish and Wildlife Department
- Joanne Garton, Technical Assistance Coordinator for the Urban & Community Forestry Program of the VT | Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
Note: This is a 3-session training course. You must sign up for all three sessions if you wish to take this class and receive the certificate.
- Session 1: Tuesday, March 19th, 2024, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
- Session 2: Tuesday, March 26th, 2024, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
- Session 3: Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
To register, contact david.moroney@vermont.gov
About Our Staff
Jens Hilke is a Conservation Planning Biologist at Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. He leads the Community Wildlife Program, which provides technical assistance to Vermont municipalities on land use planning. He helps towns, regional planning commissions and non-governmental organizations with their conservation planning efforts. This includes help with GIS natural resource mapping, advice on prioritizing significant natural features and help with implementing town conservation goals. Jens completed his undergraduate work at Connecticut College in Environmental Sociology and then got a Masters in Botany from the University of Vermont as a Field Naturalist. Jens has taught high school science in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New Jersey and for a study-away program in Thailand, Southeast Asia.
Contact Jens at Jens.Hilke@Vermont.gov
Joanne Garton joined the Urban & Community Forestry Program (UCF) of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation in 2017 as the project coordinator for the rural roads portion of the burgeoning Resilient Right-of-Ways project, a state-led initiative focused on assisting municipalities with smart and forward-thinking vegetation management along their roads. Now serving all of the technical needs of communities statewide working with trees in public ways and places, Joanne continues the robust data collection, writing, outreach, and information sharing that the UCF program delivers. Joanne holds a B.Scs. in geology and architecture from McGill University and is a 2015 graduate of the Field Naturalist and Ecological Planning M.Sc. program at the University of Vermont.
Community Wildlife Program
The Community Wildlife Program of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department provides technical assistance to towns, Regional Planning Commissions, and conservation organizations. We keep tabs on the latest in conservation science and help integrate that information into efforts to protect wildlife, habitat, and the most important lands and waters in Vermont. Whether you are drafting a new town plan, seeking a project partner, or looking to level up your conservation planning, we are here to help.
To schedule a consultation with our staff of Conservation Planners, email Jens.Hilke@Vermont.gov. Consultations and follow-up services are free of charge and sponsored by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.