We just sent out an email to members asking everyone to get involved on these issues.

Time to get involved

There are several legislative issues facing VT Hunters and Anglers that have the ability to impact hunting and fishing in VT- now and into the future.
VT Fish & Wildlife Conservation Group is working on Gov. Scott’s proposed budget cut that would close the Salisbury Fish Hatchery paired with potential legislation to increase hunting and fishing license fees by a small amount to cover the budget shortfall. In addition, bills of note this week in the House Committee on Natural Resources, Fish, and Wildlife are concerning for hunters and anglers- H.410/H.411, which would negatively alter trapping and use of hounds; H.190, which would change governance of the F&W Dept; and H.357, a wanton waste bill. All of these issues warrant discussion, but jumping into them without some serious thought is short sighted.
We continue to work on these matters on behalf of our members, but are asking that you submit comments to your legislators this week- our strength relies on engaged members like you!

Below is a comment that you can cut and paste into an email to your legislators.

Located below that are the email addresses of Representatives for our region, please find yours and send them a polite email. If you need to find out who represents you, use this tool.

Lastly, please stay involved. Feel free to share this with your hunting and fishing friends. There will be further opportunities to engage our elected officials and we need you to help us protect our heritage now, and for future generations. Thank you!

**Suggested Comment to your Representative(s):

Thank you for your service to VT as my Representative. As a concerned hunter and angler, I’m writing to you about 1. The proposed closure of the Salisbury Fish Hatchery by Gov. Scott, 2. H.190 An act relating to the management of fish and wildlife, 3. H.410 An act relating to hunting and trapping, 4 H.357 An act relating to prohibiting the wanton waste of wildlife.

1. Please vote for a nominal increase in hunting/fishing license fees to close the budget gap around the hatchery, which will allow stocking to continue, an activity that generates approximately $31.6 million to our economy.
   2. Please oppose H.190 and allow Agency of Natural Resources and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to work on expanded funding options and management concerns before making this a legislative issue.
   3. Please oppose H.410/H.411. Hunting and trapping regulations are the purview of the F&W Board. Wildlife should not be managed legislatively.
   4. Please oppose H.357. Wanton waste is an issue of serious concern to hunters and anglers, however, this bill has made it to committee without discussion about its implications and enforcement by the many people it impacts.
   Thank you.
   Respectfully,
   [Your Name]

The VTFWCG formed a committee to generate comments opposing the closure of the Salisbury Hatchery.

Our comments are below. In general, the sporting community reacted quickly and new options to manage the budget shortfall are being discussed.

February 16, 2019
Re: Budget Proposal- Closure of the Salisbury Hatchery
Governor Scott and Secretary Moore,
We are writing to oppose the closure of the Salisbury Hatchery. Our membership is made up of concerned hunters and anglers primarily from Essex, Orleans and Caledonia counties who support policies that promote conservation, environmental education, and outdoor activities. This proposal runs counter to our mission.
We oppose this closure because it is a short-sighted fiscal move that will have long lasting implications. Instead, we would prefer to see the budget shortfall managed through a modest license fee increase, plus we feel there should additional mandated funding through targeting of non-fishing/hunting recreationalists on the landscape. The current plan will undermine fishing in VT for the next few years and will likely lead to a long-term loss of anglers through decreased opportunity, decreased participation in school programs, as well as the loss of cooperative programs like ours that engage people at a local level.
We also feel there are enough question marks surrounding the effluent measurement at the Salisbury Hatchery that a broader discussion among all parties should occur; there seem to be several assessment options that are open to interpretation. We strongly support clean water initiatives, but feel this may be an over reach, especially when we compare it to the magnitude of other issues affecting water quality in that region. The easiest option would be to restore the original assessment point where the effluent enters Halnon Brook. At that point, it is likely that no further action would need to be taken. Failing a change in the assessment that would allow the hatchery to remain open, it seems most reasonable to plan a phased closure to allow for brood stock capabilities to be established at other locations, including the almost-completed Roxbury Hatchery rather than an immediate closure.
We urge you to think long term about the fisheries program in VT and realize that this hatchery is a foundational piece of how VT citizens and youth connect to our woods and waters. Please reconsider your budget proposal and the DEC assessment point.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of VTFWCG members,
Matthew Breton, President
VTFWCG
PO Box 207
East Charleston, VT 05833
Cc: Commissioner Porter, Dept of VTF&W

Greetings F&W Conservation Group Community!

After a holiday lay off and a slow start to 2019, things are ramping up.

Here are a few highlights of what we covered:

A big “Thanks!” to Coon Fortin (not pictured), Mike Kolsun and Molly Cook for getting the hatchery roof shoveled, with a few other folks “supervising”.

Theresa Darling won our rifle raffle draw.

The brook trout in the hatchery have started eating, so over the next two months they’ll be getting bigger so that when we stock them, they’ll be ready to grow into catch-able fish for anglers to get connected to our wonderful landscape.

In partnership with the VT F&W Dept, we’ll be hosting an information on CWD at the North Country Career Center on Feb 12th at 6:30pm.

In partnership with the NorthWoods Stewardship Center, we’ll be hosting the VT Big Game Trophy Club on March 14th at the Center for some measuring and a dinner. Stay tuned for more details.

Our annual meeting will occur after our regular board meeting in April. Members are welcome to attend. Contact a director if you’re interested.

In important news, the Salisbury Hatchery is slated for closure in Governor Scott’s upcoming budget. This is concerning due to the brood stock at that hatchery, with potential implications for fishing in VT for years to come. We’re working on a formal response to this in coordination with a number of other sporting groups in VT. Please contact us if you want to get involved.

The board held its regular monthly board meeting on Thursday Oct 4th. Several guests were in attendance, including Commissioner of the VT  Dept of Fish and Wildlife, Louis Porter. Topics discussed included holding an informational meeting in the coming months, potential habitat work and commenting on fish management plans, including the trophy lake designation.

Upcoming in the next month will be the Big Game Processing seminar at NorthWoods on Oct 20th from 9am-12pm. For more info: http://www.northwoodscenter.org/wordpress/event/modern-traditions-in-hunting-angling-advanced-game-processing/

Also coming up will be dock removal. Tentatively occurring the first week of November, VTF&WCG helps the state maintain, install and remove seven docks. This activity is highly weather dependent due to the use of a crane, so contact a director if you are interested in helping out.

Hatchery plans are beginning to take shape. Water for the hatchery will be hooked up before freeze-up, probably in December.

The November meeting was canceled due to deer hunting and low attendance in the past.

Lastly, the Annual Meeting was discussed and will be held in early February, exact date and location TBD. Members will be invited.

In the last couple weeks, VTF&WCG has sponsored events in collaboration with NorthWoods Stewardship Center. The first was an adult-focused hunting education/learn to hunt weekend led by long-time VT hunter-ed instructor Mike Kolsun, assisted by several folks including Jason Morin, Jon Cox, and Gabe Muraca. The delicious food for the weekend was prepared by Walt Driscoll. Seven new hunters left Sunday afternoon feeling ready to safely use a firearm and go hunt!

The next week, 12 people joined Matt Breton for a deer tracking seminar. Topics covered included finding an area to hunt, how to select a track, understanding rubs and scrapes, rifle selection and set up, etiquette in the woods and a discussion on the need for hunter-conservationists. Five new members joined the Conservation Group.

Class at the Shooting Range, West Mountain WMA

Listening to Nulhegan Basin Division Manager, Steve Agius, about the Conte NWR

THINKING ABOUT LOCALLY GROWN-ORGANIC MEAT?

WONDERING IF WILD GAME WOULD PROVIDE THAT PROTEIN SOURCE?

NEVER HUNTED BEFORE AND AT A LOSS AS HOW TO APPROACH YOUR OPTIONS?
Then we have the answer for you. The NorthWoods Stewardship Center, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA) & Vermont Fish & Wildlife Conservation Group (VTFWCG) is sponsoring a one and a half day, with overnight, intro to hunting. This class is geared to those with no hunting experience, background or mentored family support.

Wild game, harvested where you live, is the premiere choice for healthy, organic protein. How one gets it “from field to fork” can be confusing to the non-hunter.

We can help you. Local staff of the sponsoring organizations will provide the knowledge, tools and strong foundation, in a safe environment, to start your journey into harvesting wild game. You will leave with a HUNTER SAFETY EDUCATION CERTIFICATION, which allows you to purchase a license to hunt in any state.

DATES: Sat. & Sun. September 22 & 23, 2018 ( Overnight Stay Required )

LOCATION: Northwoods Stewardship Center, 5 Mile Square Rd, Charleston, VT

REQUIREMENTS: Complete the Online Version of the Hunter Education Home Study class and arrive with the printed certificate of verification.

REGISTRATION: Class size is limited to only 15 students. We expect this class to fill quickly, so don’t delay. PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.

COST:   $25 fee for NorthWoods accommodations at their newly constructed bunkhouse. BYO lunch. Supper and Breakfast are provided. Hunter Safety Education Certification is free of charge and taught by experienced, certified, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Volunteer Instructors.

For more information and to register for the class, contact those listed below:

Michael Kolsun & Molly Cook,  802-723-6678, mwkolsun@gmail.com

The July 2018 VTFWCG Board meeting kicked off the start of an exciting summer-fall season.

With standard business complete, discussion with guests (now members) Mike Kolsun (Essex County F&W Board Rep) and Molly Cook, both VT Hunter Ed instructors, about some progressive ideas around hunter education, including recruitment of adult-onset hunters. Another guest, Maria Young of NorthWoods Stewardship Center, arrived with a proposal for a year of programming that would tie in to the adult-onset hunter education.

Stay tuned for more!

On May 3rd the Board of Directors met for the VTFWG monthly meeting.

Discussion included the upcoming dock installations, getting a newsletter out, the hatchery wrap up, and increasing membership.

The gun raffle winner needs to work on his handwriting- Jason ?? we’ll be in touch with you soon!

A membership dinner is being planned for August.

Committees are forming around Projects, Advocacy and Membership.

If any members are interested in helping out, please let a director know. Contact info is in the ‘About Us’ section of the website.

The fish are headed out!

Brook trout stocking has begun. After the first week, about 70,000 trout have found their way out into a variety of active beaver ponds. With about 15-20,000 left, we’ll be providing them to interested participants on April 21/22 from 7-9 am if available.

                                                        (reprinted from the Newport Daily Express)

Remember, no private ponds. Should stay in Region 5 of VT according to VT FPR.

Let them acclimate 15-30 minutes after putting the bag in the pond and then release.

(VTFWCG member Richard Breton releases a bag of rout into a remote beaver pond)

4/4/2018, Morgan, VT

The April monthly meeting was well attended and included the annual meeting.

Hatchery update- The brook trout are doing well and the annual stocking will begin April 14th. People who stock will be asked to fill out a form on location of the stocking- no private ponds and within VT FPR District 5.  Those who stock will also be given instructions on letting the fish acclimate before releasing fish into the beaver pond or brook.

The VTFWCG will be placing docks this spring. There will be a new dock in Norton this summer. The range will be inspected and brought up to speed once the roads are open.

The Gun Raffle winner was drawn- Walt Driscoll won.

Comments were submitted in March on H.636. This bill has passed the house and is in committee in the senate.

Annual meeting results: Directors with terms expiring were re-elected for a 3 year term. Matt Breton of Charleston was elected president.