The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department’s Green Mountain Conservation Camp program and wildlife management course for educators are being canceled for the 2020 season.
“The cancelation is due to concerns related to COVID-19 over the safety and health of participants and staff,” said Education Manager Alison Thomas.
The Fish & Wildlife Department, working with the Department of Health and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development and other Vermont camp operators, tried to develop increased personal safety and sanitation measures to allow the camps to operate. Ultimately, the nature of the camps made operating with those necessary measures in place impractical.
“This is a difficult decision, as the Conservation Camps play a vital role in providing quality conservation education by reaching thousands of youth, families and staff every summer,” said Thomas. “The Wildlife Management Course for educators is especially appreciated by Vermont teachers. However, the health of campers, staff and the communities they return to is the most important consideration, and we were simply unable to develop an operational approach that was both functional and sufficiently protective.”
Nearly 900 children attend the department’s conservation camps annually. Close to half of those students attend with the help of scholarships, many provided by hunting, fishing, trapping and conservation organizations. Many of those campers would be unlikely to be able to attend summer camp in the absence of those scholarships.
Anyone who has already registered for GMCC will receive a complete refund. For questions about this process, please contact FWGMCC@vermont.gov or call 802-828-1460.
“Wildlife Management and Outdoor Education Techniques for Educators,” is a one-week, three-credit graduate course taught by Vermont Fish and Wildlife and other Agency of Natural Resources staff through Castleton University.
If you have questions, you can email Alison.Thomas@vermont.gov
For Immediate Release: May 22, 2020
Media Contact: Alison Thomas, 802-371-9975