Related Segments
habitat
Bear Habitat
Thanks to returning forests and habitat protection, the bear population in Vermont is growing 3 to 5% each year.
Download the teaching materials created by Robin Gannon (and students), E. Montpelier Elementary School, E. Montpelier, VT.
Batten Kill River Restoration Project
Vermont is home to many productive trout streams, but none as famous as the Batten Kill. For more than 150 years, the river's reputation for producing big brown trout and beautiful native brook trout has lured anglers from across the country to southwest Vermont. Starting in the 1970s, the Batten Kill was managed strictly as a wild trout stream, initially with great success. But in the mid-90s a dramatic decline in the number of yearling trout had state biologists, anglers and others scrambling for answers. Thanks to a lot of hard work from a variety of groups, efforts are now underway to restore the Batten Kill as one of New England’s premier wild trout waters.
Wildlife Habitat
Bird Mountain Wildlife Management Area
Bird Mountain WMA straddles the towns of Castleton, Ira and Poultney. It gets its name from the prominent 2,216-foot outcrop on the northeastern edge of the property locally known as Birdseye Mtn. It was purchased in 1976 shortly after the banning of DDT, a chemical pesticide that led to the demise of the state's peregrine falcon population. Common wildlife species include deer, wild turkeys, gray squirrels, rabbits, ruffed grouse and woodcock, along with numerous songbirds.
Wood Turtles
Wood turtles have been a part of Vermont's diverse wildlife for the past ten thousand years. These moderately sized turtles with reddish-orange skin and roughly textured shells may live 60 years. But despite their long history, concern for this species is on the rise in the northeast due to the turtles' region-wide decline. Humans are the main cause of this. As more housing and commercial development takes place near streams, rivers and wetlands, turtles loose habitat. The building of roads through turtle corridors creates a dangerous situation for the creatures. In addition, wood turtles have been removed from the wild and kept as pets by individuals unaware that they were seriously impacting the turtle population. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department monitors wood turtle populations by tagging selected turtles with radio transmitters in an effort to learn more about how they adapt to the changing landscape. We venture out into the field with Steve Parren, chief of the department's Nongame and Natural Heritage Program (NNHP) to track tagged wood turtles.
Working for Wildlife
About a decade ago, a group of hunters got together to do volunteer work improving the habitats of Vermont's wild creatures. From that small beginning, the Working for Wildlife program has spread to an effort involving volunteers at dozens of sites around the state on the last weekend in April. The focus is always on making the wild land work better for the wildlife that live there. We travel to the White River to look at efforts to reform a riparian buffer and to the woods of central Vermont to watch apple trees being released.
Natural Communities
A natural community is an area that has experienced minimal human alteration. But when people spend time outdoors, in the woods or fields or along a stream, chances are they're passing through more than one natural community, sometimes resulting in a disturbance in the natural order. Understanding how these assemblages of plants, animals, insects, fish and reptiles co-exist can help preserve and protect the environment in which they live. We join Leif Richardson of the Vermont Non-game and Natural Heritage Program for a look at several natural communities in Niquette Bay State Park in Colchester.















