VT  F&W urges you to remember nongame wildlife tax checkoff

Vermonters interested in conserving wildlife are encouraged to donate to the Nongame Wildlife Fund on their state income tax form this year, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept. stated this week. The fund helps protect some of Vermont’s most threatened wildlife such as bald eagles, lake sturgeon, spruce grouse, and Indiana bats.

Donations are leveraged by matching federal grants, meaning that a $35 donation can help secure up to another $65 in federal funds for wildlife conservation in Vermont.

“The nongame checkoff donations, along with hunting, fishing and trapping license revenue, have helped recovery efforts for Vermont’s peregrine falcons, loons, ospreys, bald eagles, American martens, Indiana and northern long-eared bats, spiny softshell turtles, and other species,” said Director of Wildlife Mark Scott. “We are also supporting surveys of Vermont’s pollinators so we can determine their conservation needs and manage our Wildlife Management Areas for their benefit.”

“The common loon, osprey and peregrine falcon are no longer endangered species in Vermont due to management that continues to benefit those species, and we hope the bald eagle can be removed from Vermont’s endangered species list in the near future,” he said.

Steve Parren and other fish and wildlife biologists manage nongame wildlife projects for the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept.  Their work is diverse and includes mammals, birds, turtles, fish, frogs, bees, freshwater mussels, and plants, as well as the habitats and natural communities they need.

“The Nongame Wildlife Fund has helped some of our great wildlife success stories in Vermont,” said Parren.  “Thanks to the generous donations of thousands of Vermonters, we are restoring many of the iconic species of our Green Mountain State.”