State: VT

Contact: Joe Bachar, Coordinator, Northeastern States Why It Matters: Firearm suppressors increase safety for sportsmen and women taking part in shooting activities. Contrary to popular belief, suppressors (also known as “silencers”) do not completely silence firearms, rather they serve to reduce the sound signatures of gunshots to minimize the risk of hearing damage. Although suppressors…

Contact: Joe Mullin, Manager, Northeastern States Why it Matters: Firearm suppressors are often referred to as the hearing protection of the 21st Century. Vermont recognized this in 2015 when it authorized their ownership. However, since then, their use has not been legal while hunting. In the 40 states that have already authorized the use of…

Contact: Joe Mullin, Assistant Manager, Northeastern States Why it Matters: Without question, fish and wildlife management authority should and must remain within the respective state agency’s purview. They are unequivocally the best entities equipped to address fish and wildlife management issues within their respective borders. Recent efforts in the northeast region, such as S. 281,…

Contact: Joe Mullin, Assistant Manager, Northeastern States Why it Matters: State fish and wildlife agency boards and commissions have instrumental roles in setting the frameworks that result in the successful conservation and management of a state’s fish, wildlife, and their habitats. Sportsmen and women (including hunters, anglers, recreational shooters, and trappers) have played a crucial…

Contact: Joe Mullin, Assistant Manager, Northeastern States Why it Matters: State fish and wildlife agency boards and commissions have instrumental roles in setting the frameworks that result in the successful conservation and management of a state’s fish, wildlife, and their habitats. Sportsmen and women (including hunters, anglers, recreational shooters, and trappers) have played a crucial…

Contact: Joe Mullin, Assistant Manager, Northeastern States Highlights Why it Matters: State fish and wildlife agencies serve as our nation’s primary, and most well-equipped, managers of fish and wildlife and their habitats. Staffed by trained professionals with backgrounds in a wide variety of fields, including biology, law enforcement, lands management, and numerous other disciplines, these…

Contact: Brent Miller, Senior Director, Northeastern States, and States Program Administrator On November 11, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department announced that hunters in the state would now be able to check in their deer using an online tool, rather than bringing their harvests to a physical check station. As previously reported by the Congressional…

Contact: Brent Miller, Senior Director, Northeastern States and States Program Administrator On October 7, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board convened for a virtual meeting, during which the Board voted in unanimous support for 20-P017 – a proposed rule to authorize the Commissioner of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department to implement the electronic reporting…

Contact: Brent Miller, Senior Director, Northeastern States and States Program Administrator On August 11, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department announced that the state’s sportsmen and women will now be able to earn their bowhunter certifications through an online education course. As previously reported by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), this decision falls in-line with…

Contact: Brent Miller, Senior Director, Northeastern States and States Program Administrator The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department published a draft Big Game Management Plan for 2020-2030 in preparation for a virtual public meeting on August 5. The proposal offers a report on the previous decade’s management accomplishments as they pertain to white-tailed deer, black bear, moose,…

Contact: Brent Miller, Senior Director, Northeastern States & States Program Administrator On Wednesday, March 11, the Vermont Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee will meet on Senate Bill 321 (SB 321). SB 321 was originally a fish and wildlife omnibus bill that cleaned up some statutory language, and provided the Fish and Wildlife Department additional…

Contact: Brent Miller, Senior Director, Northeastern States and States Program Administrator On February 11, all four Co-Chairs of the bipartisan and bicameral Vermont Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus provided remarks to an energized crowd of sportsmen and women at the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs (VTFSC) Legislative Mixer in Montpelier, VT. Co-Chairs Senator John Rodgers, Senator Alice Nitka,…