Vermont Fish & Wildlife

09/01/2026

Anglers, this Labor Day Weekend is your chance to pay it forward! 🎣 If you're an experienced angler, it’s likely someone else got you hooked on fishing. Now's your chance to be the mentor and share your love of fishing with someone new!

This coming weekend (September 5 - 7) is Free Mentored Fishing Weekend in Vermont! Licensed anglers can bring up to 4 new anglers fishing with them each day - no license needed! It's an opportunity to share skills and pass on the passion.

Make memories that last this weekend! More details available at: https://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/fish/fishing-events-and-programs/fishing-clinics-and-events/annual-mentor-fishing-weekend

08/28/2026

Check out this handsome green frog! That’s the species name, not the actual color of course. If we were just going by hue, this would be a blue frog. So, what makes a green frog blue? It’s a matter of pigment. Sometimes we’ll get photos of green frogs who are colored banana yellow due to lack of the species blue pigment. This one appears to be the opposite: a green frog with a pigment condition that left them lacking in the yellow department, resulting in this striking robin’s egg look! You might be wondering how, given that the color is so clearly not green, we can tell that this individual is in fact a green frog? It’s all about the eyebrow ridges. Those raised edges that start just behind the eyes and run down the frog’s back towards the hindquarters are not shared by the other identification contender in this case, the bullfrog.

📷 Thanks T. Eaton for sharing this spectacular find out of Addison County!

08/26/2026

If you or someone you know wants to start hunting this year, it's time to get your Hunter Ed requirement squared away! 🏹📖

As a reminder, all first-time hunters must successfully complete the course before getting a license. We have a variety of courses available before the major hunting seasons get underway, but spots are filling up fast! Don't miss your chance to take a course this year. Check out all of our hunter education class offerings and register today on our website: https://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/hunt/hunter-education

08/25/2026

It's kinda chic to wear velvet. Just ask the deer who are rocking their velvet antlers this time of year. Not only is it a fashionable choice of headwear, but it's also a naturally occurring process that happens when antlers grow. Deer grow a new set of antlers every summer. As you can imagine, this means they are an incredibly fast growing bone -- the fastest of any animal in the world! The skin and fur covering the antlers contain blood vessels that feed nutrients to the quickly growing tissue.

Antlers are used by male deer to attract a mate and to fight with other males. Every set they grow will be bigger than those they grew year before, until they reach their prime age, at which point the growth levels out. Why do deer shed antlers in the winter? At that point, the mating season is over, their hormone levels have dropped, and the antlers are simply extra weight. Due to the drop in testosterone, the antlers fall off painlessly and almost immediately a new pair begins to grow.

📷 Trail camera footage from Lamoille county courtesy of J. Morse.

08/21/2026

Summer's not over yet! There's still plenty of fish and fishing to be had, even into the fall. Panfish are always a sure bet (and they’re tasty too). Bluegill, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Yellow Perch, White Perch, Black Crappie, White Crappie, and Rock Bass can be found in lakes, ponds, and slow moving waters pretty much everywhere in the state. No boat or long drive needed! They're also one of the best ways to introduce kids (or yourself!) to fishing and keep them interested. The action tends to be fast and the fish aren't picky.

If you're looking to try something a little different in your pursuit of panfish, check out this video and learn how to target these fun, scrappy, and tasty fish with fly fishing gear! Just another way to spend time outdoors on any one of Vermont's wonderful waterways. Maybe you'll even take home a delicious meal!

Grab a rod, find an access area close by, and get on the water!

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLlW0Bm7bHk

Panfish like Bluegill and Pumpkinseed Sunfish can be found in most ...

08/19/2026

Caught on camera: two elusive forest dwellers having a porch party. It's a pair of fishers! While today they are commonly called “fisher cats” due to how Europeans first described them as being similar in appearance to the European pole cat, fishers are actually members of the weasel family, not cat family. They are mostly carnivores, but as opportunists, they'll eat whatever is seasonally available. Their reputation as vicious predators often precedes them, but they play an important role in the Vermont ecosystem: notably, as the only natural predator of the porcupine!

📷 The two seen in this clip are young fishers, likely siblings. Though they typically reside in forests, they will take advantage of higher prey densities where human-inhabited areas abut forested landscapes. They do not pose a threat to humans, but to minimize conflicts, be sure to make sure all attractants are secured, including chicken coops, birdfeeders, and pet food. Video captured in Chittenden County by P. Landry.

08/17/2026

Connecting habitat is crucial for Vermont's wildlife, but what exactly do we mean by "connecting habitat"? Simply put, wildlife needs more than individual patches of habitat. Connecting habitat is what links larger patches of habitat together, allowing animals and plants to move, migrate, find food, rear young and adapt to an ever-changing climate.

Connecting habitat can take many forms. Riparian habitat along streams and rivers, strips of forest cover between developed areas, and even hedgerows or fencerows are all potential connecting habitat. These areas are sometimes also called “corridors,” though unlike the name implies, they are not always linear.

For wide-ranging animals like black bears and bobcats, connecting habitat helps them move between larger habitat blocks. And some animals, like barred owls and otters, just require a lot of space for their daily needs. Even species with much smaller ranges rely on these connections. For example, in the spring spotted salamanders need to move from their hibernation sites to breeding pools.

Since 2014, the Department has partnered with the Agency of Transportation to monitor bridges and culverts to better understand wildlife movement under and over roads. The data collected from these efforts has helped create tools and plans that identify and inform important wildlife crossings and conservation approaches. Today, Vermont maintains a relatively well-connected landscape and landowners across Vermont play a big role in maintaining connectivity by maintaining their forest land. We can further enhance the state's network of connectivity by paying closer attention to habitat along roadsides that connects to larger forest blocks.

To learn more about the science of connectivity and how your land fits into Vermont's larger ecological context, visit the BioFinder website at https://anrmaps.vermont.gov/websites/BioFinder4/

📷 Snapshots of connectivity hotspots throughout Vermont, captured aerially in 2025 by partner organization LightHawk.

08/12/2026

We've just released our updated bear population estimate based on 2025 data. Our model tells us there were somewhere between 7,500 - 8,900 bears on the landscape last year, making 2025 the fifth year in a row that the bear population estimate was above our objective of 3,500 - 5,500 bears. Here are a few points to have in mind as you think about what those numbers mean:

🐻 We use a statistical model to estimate a range that includes the likely number of bears on the landscape each year. For example, our model tells us there were *between* 7,500 - 8,900 bears in Vermont in 2025, compared to between 6,800 – 8,000 bears in Vermont in 2024.

🐻 Our model results are always one year behind the current year. This is because we use the breakdown of ages and the number of female and male bears harvested during Vermont's regulated bear hunting season, plus data from bears killed by cars and in conflicts with humans, to run our model. Those data are compiled over the course of a whole year and analyzed the following year.

🐻 When you’re reading this graph, keep in mind that tighter ranges generally indicate better quality data to feed our model from a given year. Broader ranges generally indicate spottier data and a less reliable output. So, our tight 7,500 – 8,900 estimate for 2025 comes from a good, reliable dataset for that year. When you see a really broad range like we have in 2010 or 2011, that reflects a year with spotty data. For those two years, it’s likely we had a population closer to the 2008, 2009 and 2012 sizes.

🐻 You’ll notice our model results show tight ranges and consistent population growth since 2018. We’re very confident about that trend because we see it in more places than just our model. Our hunter data shows high harvest numbers over the past few years as well as more young adult bears in the 2-3 year old range being harvested, and we are also getting more and more anecdotal reports of bears with large litters of 3 or 4 cubs.

🐻 This all tracks with the hypothesis that we have a lot of healthy bears with access to plenty of food on the landscape. If this is in fact the case, those are conditions that would let bears have more cubs and raise those cubs to the point that they can fend for themselves. We’re doing a GPS collaring and health tracking study of black bears and their cubs right now to learn more about why the population might be growing.

08/11/2026

It seems we have a snake in the grass here. But that's not just any snake. It's a Timber Rattlesnake, which is in fact native to Vermont; however, the snake pictured here has likely traveled a ways from home.

Timber Rattlesnakes in Vermont are state endangered, legally protected, and restricted to western Rutland County. They occupy similar rocky, forested terrain on the New York side of Lake Champlain. So, what was this one doing in Shelburne?

While we can't know for certain, our state herpetologist believes this snake may have dispersed from a New York population and swam across Lake Champlain. Both this rattlesnake and the rattlesnake in Grand Isle last year were found along the lake's shoreline, which suggest the snakes arrived via water. Other possibilities include someone unknowingly transporting the snake (by car, boat, etc.) from elsewhere in Vermont or another state, or the snake may have been an illegal pet that escaped or was intentionally released. Rest assured, this snake has been captured and will soon be on its way back to a home in the wild.

What should you do in the rare event you come across a rattlesnake? Stay back and keep children and pets away. Take as clear of photos as you are safely able to, and call Vermont Fish & Wildlife for more guidance. You can also report your sighting to the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas.

📷 Using a snake hook or tongs, our biologist and game warden get the snake into a bucket, then hold a tube in front of its face. Eventually, it will climb up the tube. When it reaches halfway, they will grab the snake and the tube so that it can't keep moving through. The real trick? Picking the right size tube. Too big, and it can turn back around towards you. Too small, it can't get halfway up.

08/06/2026

This native plant and native pollinator duo have a special bond, can you name both species? Hint: if you know the common name of one, you're not far off from the other! Tomorrow, we'll update this post with the answer and share a little more information about the relationship between these two.

UPDATE: This is the Common Evening-Primrose (Oenothera biennis) and Primrose Moth (Schinia florida).

While Common Evening-Primrose nectar is popular among many species including bees, bats, and hummingbirds, this plant is especially important for the Primrose Moth! The Primrose Moth will lay eggs on the buds of the plant, which then serve as food for the hungry caterpillars once they hatch. After going through several molts, the caterpillars bury themselves in the soil around the plant and overwinter a few inches beneath the surface. Then, the cycle repeats when the colorful yellow and pink adults emerge the following summer. This pair is just one example of the remarkable co-evolution of native plants and native pollinators.

📷 Observed in Windsor County by E. Schiff