This is the first story in a two-part series that examines the increasingly inflamed debate about wildlife management in Vermont. Part I of the series looks at the voices that are most often heard in the Legislature and in Vermont media. Part II analyzes the opinions of the broader public and asks whether it’s possible to find common ground.
MONTPELIER — In early April, more than a dozen people stood at one end of a carpeted room in the Statehouse holding signs with slogans such as “hunting coyotes with hounds IS legalized dog fighting” and “all voices matter.”
At the other end of the room stood Mike Covey, executive director of the Vermont Traditions Coalition, which advocates for rural interests in the Statehouse. He was observing and sometimes recording video. Two reporters stood in the middle, the only other people in the room.
Brenna Galdenzi, who was standing among the group holding signs, addressed the room.
“I just want to take a minute to say that (we) are not animal rights terrorists, extremists. We are not ‘antis.’ We are not invasive species taking over Vermont,” said Galdenzi, president of Protect Our Wildlife, a Stowe-based organization that has advocated for increased hunting regulations.
Her ad-libbed comments at the press conference, held to support a bill related to wildlife management, show how polarized conversations about wildlife management have become. Across Vermont, people’s experiences and views related to wildlife come in shades of gray. But at the Statehouse and in the press, they often appear in black and white.
In the Legislature, much of the conversation has been focused on the membership of the Fish and Wildlife Board. Currently, its 14 citizen members, appointed by the governor, create and approve all of the hunting, trapping and fishing regulations for Vermont’s game species. The board is typically made up of active hunters, trappers and anglers.
As wildlife adapts to stressors such as climate change and habitat loss, a growing range of people want to see the animals’ needs prioritized over those of hunters. They argue that the board unfairly prioritizes the interests of hunters, who represented about 10% of Vermont’s population in 2023, according to data from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.
In the past few years, the dispute has become increasingly pitched. Some influential lawmakers have moved to address that perceived disparity, along with complaints about the impacts of certain hunting and trapping practices on landowners.
Their proposals have raised the hackles of many hunters and trappers, who defend the current composition of the board and see ongoing debate as a threat to their way of life.
This legislative session, the conversation has focused on S.258, a bill that would significantly tweak Vermont wildlife management by adding two new members to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board whose primary backgrounds would not likely be hunting and trapping. The bill would also ban the controversial practice of hunting coyotes with hounds.
Perhaps most significantly, S.258 would shift rulemaking authority from the board to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. Staffed with 150 people, many of whom are wildlife biologists, the department currently provides advice and recommendations to the board, which are largely accepted.
When the bill reached the Senate floor earlier this year, Sen. Russ Ingalls, R-Essex, told lawmakers that the measure is “the biggest anti-hunting bill that’s ever reached the Senate, in my opinion.”
“If this bill passes, this is the end of hunting as we know it in the state of Vermont,” Ingalls said.
Ingalls and other opponents of the bill argue that people who hunt, trap and fish have the appropriate experience to craft regulations related to those activities.
Vermonters who have grown up in a hunting culture often describe the potential for humans to be a healthy part…
Read More: Valley News – Wild divide: A debate over wildlife management in Vermont runs