Vermont Turkey Brood Survey Online

WATERBURY , VT – The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s fourth annual on-line wild turkey brood survey with input from the public begins on August 1.

“If you see wild turkeys in the month of August, please help us by reporting your sightings in the online turkey brood survey,” said Vermont Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Wayne Laroche. “The data you provide will help answer questions concerning the impacts of spring and winter weather on the survival of poults and adult turkeys and help us identify any long-term trends in survival of young.

The turkey brood survey will be on the department’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com), starting August 1. The survey allows entry of the number of adult male turkeys, adult females and poults as well as the date, time and location of the observations.

Laroche says the information will be helpful in setting turkey hunting seasons and harvest limits that are designed to manage the turkey population.

Records from the late 1700s and early 1800s indicate wild turkeys were present in southern Vermont in smaller numbers than today. At the time of European settlement, most turkeys seemed to exist along the Taconic Mountain Range in southwestern Vermont and along the Connecticut River Valley in southeastern Vermont . Loss of forestland and unregulated market hunting in the early 19th century led to the elimination of Vermont ’s wild turkeys by the mid-1800s.

Vermont released the first 17 wild trapped New York turkeys in Pawlet , Vermont in 1969. A second release of 14 wild birds in was made in Hubbardton in 1970. Today, Vermont ’s wild turkey population is estimated to number more than 50,000 birds. All of these are believed to directly descend from the original 31 New York wild turkeys. Wild turkeys are now found throughout Vermont .

Vermont has excellent turkey hunting across most of the state with 5,000 to 6,000 turkeys normally taken each year. Turkey hunting is a significant benefit to the people of Vermont by providing hunting opportunity, economic activity and a mechanism to control turkey numbers. Over-abundant turkey populations can result in nuisance or damage situations.

“This is your chance to contribute to the scientific management of Vermont ’s turkey population,” said Laroche. “By entering the information about the turkeys you observe, you can help ensure that Vermonters will continue to enjoy turkeys in the years ahead.”

Special Opportunity Moose Hunt

WATERBURY , VT – Special opportunity moose hunts for as many as three people under 21 years old who have a life threatening disease or illness are being offered by Vermont this year.

All applicants must be sponsored by a charitable organization with 501(c)(3) status. The deadline to apply to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is September 9, 2010, and there is no cost to apply and no cost for the permit. Anyone who held a Vermont moose hunting permit in 2007, 2008 or 2009 is not eligible to apply.

Those who are selected to receive a special opportunity moose hunting permit must purchase a Vermont hunting license before going hunting. In order to purchase the license, the person must have passed a hunter education course or have held a hunting license previously.

Each recipient of one of these hunting permits may take one moose of either sex during the October 16 -21, 2010 moose hunting season. The permittee may designate up to five support personnel who may accompany the permittee on the moose hunt, one of whom may be a second shooter with a Vermont hunting license.

Information and a special application are available from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, 103 South Main Street , Waterbury , VT 05671-0501 . Tel. 802-241-3695. Email: fwinformation@state.vt.us

Vermont Moose Hunting Permit Winners Are Drawn

Waterbury, VT – The winners of Vermont ’s 2010 moose hunting permits were determined July 09 at a lottery drawing in Waterbury .

Michael O’Neill of Sheffield , Vt , who attended to witness the drawing, started the computer-generated selection process that randomly picked 765 winners among more than 12,000 people who applied this year.

The drawing is done by a random sort of applications that were submitted by a June 1 deadline. Lottery applications were $10.00 for residents and $25.00 for nonresidents.

People who applied last year and didn’t get a permit were given a bonus point, increasing their odds of winning a permit in future moose permit lotteries. Read more