Vermont’s Bear Hunting Season is Sept 1–Nov 17

WATERBURY, VT – Vermont ’s bear hunting season is September 1- November 17 this year.

Vermont’s bear population is healthy and estimated at more than 5,500 black bears, according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. The bear population has increased slowly for the last two decades, and regulated hunting is used to control the population’s growth. Under the recently enacted 2010-2020 Big Game Plan the population objective is to maintain bear numbers to between 4,500 to 6,000 animals. Hunters took 629 bears in Vermont ’s 2009 hunting season.

“Carefully regulated hunting allows for the sustainable utilization of black bears for food and other purposes,” said wildlife biologist Forrest Hammond. “Bears also have ecological and aesthetic values for Vermont .”

“ Vermont ’s black bears appear to have plenty of food available as we approach fall,” Hammond added. “ Berry crops are abundant, and we have a good crop of apples and acorns in many areas of the state.”

The biggest long-term threat to Vermont ’s bears continues to be habitat loss. “Each year Vermont loses many acres of critical bear habitat to development,” said Hammond . “The ability to keep bears in Vermont over the next 50 years will depend on how much habitat we keep to support bears.”

Although wearing fluorescent orange clothing is not mandatory for hunting in Vermont , hunters and others are urged to wear a fluorescent orange vest and hat while in the woods. Anyone hunting deer during archery season, waterfowl or turkeys will normally wear camouflage clothing.

Hammond also asks successful bear hunters to help in determining the age of bears taken by removing the bear’s pre-molar tooth and sending it to the Fish and Wildlife Department. Special envelopes are provided to big game check stations for this purpose.

Vermont’s Fall Turkey Hunting is Expanded

WATERBURY , VT – Vermont ’s fall turkey hunting season opportunities are expanded as the result of a regulation change in effect this year.

Following strategies outlined in Vermont ’s Big Game Management Plan, the Fish and Wildlife Department recommended expanding fall turkey hunting based on scientific data and public input. As a result, the Fish and Wildlife Board passed a regulation that allows turkey bow hunting statewide, a seven-day shotgun season is expanded to nine days, and Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) B, D1, D2, and H1 are opened for the fall shotgun season for the first time. Only WMUs A, C and E remain closed to the hunting of turkeys with shotguns in the fall season.

Vermont’s 2010 Turkey Fall Seasons:

Bow & arrow only: October 2-22 in all WMUs statewide

Shotgun or bow & arrow: October 23-31 in WMUs B, D1, D2, G, H1, H2, I, J1, J2, L, M1, M2, O1, O2, P, and Q

Shotgun or bow & arrow: October 23-November 7 in WMUs F1, F2, K1, K2 , and N

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department tracks the abundance of turkeys using harvest data, nesting success provided by turkey brood surveys, winter severity, and hunter pressure based on license sales. Vermont ’s wild turkey population is estimated to be more than 50,000 birds.

“Weather conditions appear to have been favorable for chick survival this year, so hunters should expect to see a higher of number of turkeys going into the fall season,” said Forrest Hammond, Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s lead biologist on wild turkeys.

September Canada Goose and Youth Waterfowl Hunts Set

Waterbury, VT – September dates for Vermont ’s resident Canada goose hunting season and the youth waterfowl hunt weekend have been set by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board.

A statewide open hunting season for Canada geese will occur September 7-25, 2010. The daily bag limit will be five Canada geese except in that portion of the Lake Champlain Zone within Addison County north of Route 125, where the limit will be two per day. The purpose of the season, which is held earlier than the regular waterfowl hunting seasons, is to help control Vermont’s resident Canada goose population prior to the arrival of Canada geese migrating south from northern Canada.

“This September goose season is prescribed for resident Canada geese that have built up a sizeable breeding population here in Vermont ,” said State Wildlife Biologist William Crenshaw.

Vermont’s youth waterfowl hunting weekend will be held September 25-26, 2010. Hunters under age 16 may hunt ducks and geese statewide during this season while accompanied by an adult 18 or older. Both must have Vermont hunting licenses. The adult may not hunt or carry a firearm. Neither the youth nor the adult is required to hold a state or federal duck stamp on this weekend.

This year, as in 2004 the September Canada goose season and the Youth Waterfowl Hunting Weekend overlap by one day, Saturday, September 25. On this day the daily bag limit for Canada geese will be the same as the September Canada Goose Season. On Sunday, September 26, the daily bag limit will be three, the same as the late (October-November) Canada goose season.