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John Todd was just a boy, growing up on the north shore of Burlington Bay, Ontario, when his world seemed to collapse around him. Within a few years, his childhood playgrounds of nearby marshes and forestland were transmogrified into subdivisions and a golf course.

“I was a sunny kid, and then I became depressed,” recalls Todd, now 69, who says he was left “psychically rudderless” by the rapid destruction of his once-familiar landscape.... Read more

A coalition of groups dedicated to supporting wildlife recreation in Vermont wants the state to set aside a portion of the sales tax to fund the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.

George Gay, of the 2-year-old Vermont Wildlife Partnership (VWP), said the state’s “wildlife legacy” benefits all Vermonters, but that funding challenges are a growing concern.

“Vermonters are consistently in favor of finding new ways to help support a resource that directly affects the quality of life in this state,” Gay said. “Our goal is to make that vision a reality.”... Read more

Traditional sportsmen know half the excitement of hunting is in the chase. As Vermont’s rifle toters track down deer, moose or coyote, they learn volumes about the habits of the critters they’re aiming to kill.... Read more

MONTPELIER — Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources Secretary George Crombie is attempting to make his agency more compatible with contemporary issues — such as global warming — by reconfiguring ANR’s three existing departments into 18 “centers.” But some say he has ruffled too many feathers in the process.... Read more

Vermont’s young bucks gathered Sunday at the Neshobe Sportsman Club in Brandon for a barbecue celebrating the annual Youth Deer Hunting Weekend. Scores of young hunters toting rifles and gear bags emerged from parent-driven SUVs and pickups bearing bumper stickers like “Gut deer?” and “Hooked on quack.”... Read more

Many Vermonters are aware that their physical environment is out of whack. Lake Champlain, for instance, is freezing much less frequently than it used to, and global warming threatens the state’s maple-syrup industry. Local ecosystems, you might say, are crying out for help.... Read more

Mark Freeman has a soft spot for cats. And he prefers them oversized and mean. Every weekday morning, while the rest of us coast along in civilization, this burly but mild-mannered grad student traps, tranquilizes and collars specimens of the wild bobcat - a belligerent uncle of the household tabby. The project isn't just about feline fancy, though: Bobcat behavior reflects dramatic changes in Vermont's ecological and cultural landscapes.... Read more

It's late Thursday afternoon, and moose biologist Cedric Alexander is battling the weather -- not in the field, but in the classroom. Alexander, the "moose team leader" with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife in St. Johnsbury, is giving a guest lecture at the University of Vermont on the state's moose population. Trouble is, it's a gorgeous spring day, and the students in this resource-management class would rather be doing something -- anything -- outdoors.... Read more

Todd Sheinfeld climbs into the bed of his tan GMC pickup, hoists his leg over a new all-terrain vehicle and deftly backs it down an aluminum ramp to the Irish Hill trailhead, not far from Berlin Pond. Sheinfeld is 41, tall and lanky, with blue eyes, curly brown hair and a thin mustache. More importantly, he's a colorful spokesperson for the 2500-member Vermont All Terrain Vehicle Sportsman's Association. As VASA's executive director, he's gung-ho about trying to present the kinder, gentler face of all-terrain riding.... Read more

At Blueberry Hill in Goshen, innkeeper Tony Clark treats his guests to great food in a charming old farmhouse surrounded by some of the finest cross-country skiing in the state. The good-natured host presides over the scene with an English-accented extroversion that puts even the most tightly wound weekend warrior immediately at ease. For backup, he's got the chocolate chip cookie jar -- it's never, ever empty.... Read more