By Emma Cotton/VTDigger Vermont is experiencing parallel crises: The state needs more development as Vermonters struggle to find and afford housing, and development is also increasingly encroaching on forests and habitats that are important for ensuring the state’s resilience to […]
Tag: By Emma Cotton
Environmentalists raise alarm about invasive fish in Hudson River, move to protect Lake Champlain
By Emma Cotton/VTDigger Environmentalists and politicians in Vermont are urging New York officials to close a lock in the Champlain Canal to prevent the round goby, an aggressive invasive fish, from entering Lake Champlain. If the small green fish, which […]
House approves bill to include passively managed forest in Current Use program
By Emma Cotton/VTDigger After more than an hour of discussion and questioning, the Vermont House preliminarily passed H.697, a bill that would allow some landowners to enroll passively managed land in the state’s Current Use program. Lawmakers voted 83-43 on […]
Stone quarry in Cavendish triggers new interpretation of Act 250
In towns with no zoning, reopened Supreme Court decision has big implications By Emma Cotton/VTDigger A recent decision issued by the Vermont Supreme Court would change the way Act 250, Vermont’s sweeping land use and development law, functions in towns […]
Centuries-old dam removed in Rutland, pleasing safety officials and environmentalists
By Emma Cotton/VTDigger RUTLAND — The Dunklee Pond Dam is gone, bringing relief to safety officials and the local ecosystem. Where a pond once was, a section of the Tenney Brook now trickles through new riverbanks where workers have removed […]
Northeast lawmakers urge federal government to close organic loopholes
By Emma Cotton/VTDigger Lawmakers from across the Northeast are urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to strengthen enforcement and close loopholes in the National Organic Program that put regional farms at a disadvantage. A bicameral, bipartisan letter from lawmakers, […]
Ravens mascot remains
Rutland school board adopts attorney’s report By Emma Cotton/VTDigger RUTLAND — After a contentious year debating the validity of the mascot for the city’s school system, it appears the new “Ravens” moniker will stick — for now. The board last […]
Environmental groups oppose permit for Rutland County sewer plants
By Emma Cotton/VTDigger RUTLAND — Environmental groups say the Agency of Natural Resources’ pending permits for sewage treatment plants in Rutland County don’t go far enough to address pollutant-laden overflows into local waterways. Permits are currently pending for treatment plants […]
Vermont loons set record for number of active nests
By Emma Cotton/VTDigger These days, birds are susceptible to a scourge of threats — pests, diseases, habitat loss and climate change among them. Still, one species has been thriving in Vermont: the common loon. This summer, across the state, more […]
Goats in Tunbridge sickened after consuming toxic chemical below utility pole
By Emma Cotton/VTDigger Lauren Gitlin knew something was wrong when she found Potato, among the more energetic goats on her Tunbridge dairy farm, lying in the field where she had been grazing that day. On the afternoon of July 31, Gitlin, […]