Town Office Updates:

Town Offices are now open to the public. Masks are required for non vaccinated people and social distancing is still in place.

Vermont 2022 Primary Election: August 9th 2022

2022 Primary Election Voters Checklist:

June 14, 2022 | Montpelier, VT – The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is receiving reports from across the state of black bears seeking food in yards, outbuildings, and livestock enclosures this spring. Many of these situations can be prevented if people take steps to make their backyards bear-safe before a bear shows up.

Bears – and people – are at risk when bears spend time in human-dominated landscapes. And every time a bear finds an easy meal of birdseed, compost, or unsecured garbage, they are learning a dangerous association between people and food. Coexisting with bears starts with you taking the following steps to help keep bears wild:

Birdfeeders are a big problem! Take down birdfeeders until December. You can attract birds by planting bird friendly native plants instead – check out Audubon’s Native Plants for Birds Program: https://www.audubon.org/native-plants
Make your garbage inaccessible. Store garbage in a secure structure and a bear proof container. Learn how to make your garbage can bear proof here: https://vtfishandwildlife.com/sites/fishandwildlife/files/documents/Learn%20More/Living%20with%20Wildlife/Living%20with%20Bears/bear-resistant-retrofit-polycart.pdf
Dispose of garbage frequently. If you have pick-up services, wait until the morning to put your garbage out.
Demand bear proof dumpsters for your community.

Follow steps for composting in bear country. Compost needs to be 3 parts brown materials to 1 part kitchen scraps, turned frequently, and kept in a sturdy tumbler or bin: https://vtfishandwildlife.com/node/260
Use electric fencing to keep chickens and bees safe. Fences need to be 4,000-6,000 volts, tested regularly and baited: https://vtfishandwildlife.com/node/1996
Clean your grill after every use.
Make bears feel uncomfortable in your yard. Yell, bang pots and pans, or use other noise devices from inside your home. Never shoot a bear to scare it. Even BBs can seriously injure bears.
Please report your bear encounters to Vermont Fish & Wildlife. These reports allow us to help you prevent future bear incidents. They also give us information to help all Vermonters better coexist with bears: https://anrweb.vt.gov/FWD/FW/WildlifeBearReport.aspx

Following these steps can save bears’ lives, and help protect you, your neighbors, and your property. Please do your part to be a good neighbor and help keep Vermont’s bears wild!

If you have questions, contact the Vermont Fish and Wildlife department at 802-828-1000, or fwinformation@vermont.gov

For Your Information – Avian Influenza

THREE BALD EAGLES TEST POSITIVE FOR HIGHLY PATHOGENIC AVIAN INFLUENZA IN VERMONT

RECENT DETECTION OF AVIAN INFLUENZA IN NORTH AMERICA RAISES CONCERNS FOR VERMONT BIRDS

April 14, 2022 | Montpelier, VT – With the unfortunate discovery of three deceased bald eagles, one in North Hero and two in Shelburne on March 29, Vermont joined 33 other states across the country in detecting highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the environment.

The bald eagles were found near Lake Champlain in both towns. Sampling was conducted by USDA Wildlife Services and tests were conducted for presence of HPAI at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. The discovery reinforces the important public message of awareness and vigilance for poultry owners, farmers, and hunters and outdoors recreationists to not only report sick and dead birds, but to recognize the dangers of HPAI to our small backyard poultry owners and commercial operators.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the risk to the general public from this HPAI virus to be low, but the virus is deadly to domestic and commercial poultry and backyard birds. All bird owners are strongly encouraged to review the below biosecurity measures to help protect their flocks.

For the agriculture community and poultry owners:

The HPAI virus is often initially introduced to domestic poultry by infected wild birds, through direct contact or contact with their droppings, and then may spread between poultry flocks due to poor biosecurity and/or unfavorable environmental conditions. While some waterfowl species can carry the disease without becoming sick, the HPAI virus is generally fatal for domestic poultry. Risk factors for the spread of HPAI include:

Poultry housed outside
Ponds or other wild bird attractants on the farm
Piles of debris located close to poultry areas
Introduction of poultry from other farms without a quarantine period
Lack of personal protective equipment such as dedicated coveralls and boots
Sharing of equipment between farms
Unrestricted human movement and interaction with poultry

Anyone involved with poultry production, from the small backyard coop to the large commercial producer, should review their biosecurity activities to ensure the health of their birds, restrict human movement onto the farm and limit contact with poultry to only those who need to be there. Non-essential personnel and visitors should not be allowed.

USDA has materials about biosecurity, including videos, checklists, and a toolkit available here. In addition to practicing good biosecurity, all bird owners should prevent contact between their birds and wild birds and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to State/Federal officials, at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets at 802-828-2421 or through USDA’s toll-free number at 1-866-536-7593 as soon as possible. Additional information on biosecurity for backyard flocks can be found here.

For the fish and wildlife community:

If you hunt wild fowl during Vermont’s available hunting seasons, please keep these tips in mind. Make sure to review the department’s avian influenza bulletin under the wildlife diseases section of our website for the most up to date information on reporting possible cases and safety measures.

For Vermonters:

No human infections with this HPAI virus have been detected in the United States, and Vermonters may take these steps to prevent infection. Influenza in poultry does not constitute a food safety risk. Vermonters are asked to be alert for dead or sick birds and to alert the USDA or Vermont authorities at 802-828-2421 or through USDA’s toll-free number at 1-866-536-7593 as soon as possible.

For more details on the national cases, visit the USDA website at: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/2022-hpai
Find the USDA toolkit for biosecurity at: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/defend-the-flock-program/dtf-resources/dtf-resources
Find additional backyard biosecurity information at: https://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov.

Please contact us with any thoughts or concerns you may have. Thank you again for your assistance.

Scott Waterman – VAAFM Director of Communications
802-622-4662 | scott.waterman@vermont.gov

CONCORD, VT
Schedule of SATURDAY
Bulky and Construction & Debris (C & D) Days

Click here to view the E-Z Trash, LLC Schedule of SATURDAY Bulky and Construction & Debris (C & D) Days.

NEK Community Broadband Update:

Twenty-three NEK towns are slated to have broadband service by 2023, according to a new Study written by the technology infrastructure firm Tilson. The NEK Communications Union District was formed in March to bring high-speed internet to our region – the most rural, sparsely populated, and worst-served counties in the state. The following towns will get the first broadband buildouts: Albany, Barnet, Barton, Brighton, Burke, Concord, Coventry, Craftsbury, Derby, Glover, Greensboro, Groton, Hardwick, Irasburg, Lyndon, Newark, Newport, Ryegate, Sheffield, St. Johnsbury, Sutton, Walden and Waterford. Other towns in the region won’t go without broadband service in the meantime, as the district looks to connect existing fiber infrastructure to serve those areas. The study’s infrastructure plans describe a three-year timeline and construction is scheduled to start in July, 2021.