This commentary is by Sen. Chris Bray of Bristol. He serves as the chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, and is the lead sponsor of S.258.
I am writing to share information on S.258, “An act relating to the management of fish and wildlife.”
Because there is quite a bit of misinformation circulating about this bill, I am providing a link here to the bill so you can read for yourself what it does, and does not, do.
The wildlife of Vermont is held in public trust, “owned” equally by every Vermonter. It is appropriate to manage that population in the best interest of all residents, hunters and non-hunters alike. The bill focuses on mutual respect, and provides a means for hunters and non-hunters to sit together on a reformed advisory Fish and Wildlife Board (FWB).
The bill assigns all rulemaking for fish and wildlife matters to the commissioner. This is in line with how most boards operate: they advise and give recommendations to the agency they serve.
The FWB will expand its role to advise the commissioner regarding game species (its current role) and non-game species. This includes the habitats for both because in nature there is no differentiation between these groups and the habitats they share.
The board will be made up of 15 Vermonters “…[with] a history of involvement with and dedication to fish and wildlife, including a knowledge of fish and wildlife biology, ecology, and the ethics of fish and wildlife management.”
The board will be balanced with consumptive members (people who hunt, fish and trap) and non-consumptive members (people who engage in other wildlife activity such as watching, photographing, or listening to wildlife). Vermonters have differing relationships with wildlife, and the FWB needs to reflect this diversity.
The board’s members will be appointed in equal numbers by the governor, Senate and House.
The rulemaking directed by the commissioner will be based on science:
“The rules shall be designed to maintain the best health, population, and utilization levels of the regulated species and of other necessary or desirable species that are ecologically related to the regulated species. The rules shall be supported by the best science available through Department and peer reviewed research.”
In short, science, not sentiment, will determine the department’s rules.
Finally, the bill will make permanent the recent moratorium on hunting coyotes using hounds, and it will correct three “errors” in a Fish and Wildlife rule brought before the General Assembly’s rule-reviewing committee this past November.
The corrections include the definition of a public trail; the definition of trapping (restoring it to its original language); and clarifying that all types of trapping must be set back 50 feet from public trails.
While only one in seven Vermonters hunt, we all share an interest in keeping our wildlife healthy, and this bill brings everyone’s voice into the conversation while ensuring that the trained professionals at the Department of Fish and Wildlife manage using the best science available. This is a positive and respectful path forward for our state.
