Environment

Event celebrates Hinesburg winning Vermont Tree Farmer of the Year

The Stowe Petal Project repurposes flower arrangements in one of Vermont’s most popular wedding destinations.

Research shows that Vermont could be an important destination for wildlife as the climate changes.

The structure was built with wood repurposed from a building torn down on East Allen Street.

As lead fishing tackle and wake boat activity continue to harm Vermont loons, scientists say simple changes can help protect the birds.

Technology is making the pastime more accessible to Gen Z members, sparking a greater interest in the state’s natural communities. 

As the Trump administration rescinds the definition of “harm,” environmental experts explain what the change could mean for Vermont’s listed species and future environmental policy.

When it comes to flood resiliency, Waterbury homeowners consider their options.

Ginkgo leaves, charred grapevines and secret clay deposits are just some of the materials repurposed by three local artists.

Twenty years after the first atlas, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies is inviting residents to help collect data for the 2nd Vermont Butterfly Atlas.

The students joined Team ROTifer, which uses a University of Vermont research vessel to study microscopic aquatic animals.

How different vendors across the wedding industry are adapting their business practices to embrace sustainability.

How one local team is challenging the fashion norms of the sporting world. 

Legendary herbalists speak to the relationships they’ve built with plants and how others can do the same.

North put skills learned in his youth to the test on the History Channel’s “Alone” series. Now he’s passing them along.

A recent University of Vermont study found that natural causes, including invasive insects, are killing more trees than logging in the Northeast.

Experts attribute the growth of tick-related illnesses to climate change and more frequent tick-human contact.

Experts weigh in on what may be in store for this summer.

With construction nearly complete, the downtown community celebrated with a new art installation.

Greensboro and other communities debate herbicide use on invasives.

The “here-today-gone-tomorrow” wildflowers bud during late April and early May.

Shoreline cleanups and policy reform have helped keep pollutants out of drinking water.

As discussions of land use persists, solar grazing promotes dual-use of space

H.740 would give the Agency of Natural Resources more authority to source data for its greenhouse gas inventory.

Student-athletes face disruptions when the school’s grass field is unplayable, but critics worry about the environmental risk of turf.

Community members, government officials and conservation groups gathered to celebrate nearly 60 years of wild turkey restoration.

As the weather gets warmer, Vermont’s brook trout are staying cool.

A Senate bill has proposed a study group of Vermont officials to evaluate state water quality. 

H.326 was supposed to regulate the state’s usage of pellet poison

A manual for developers would provide guidance to accelerate the permitting process under the Agency of Natural Resources

As fiber arts become more popular, questions flow about the sustainability of the yarn supply

After four years on a federal funding rollercoaster, the utility will begin work on the dormant Smith’s Falls dam.

The seasonal shift adds a whiff to the air that signals the start of spring.

Paraquat, one of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S., would be phased out over five years

Experts say that being outdoors, whether it’s sunny or cloudy, has health benefits.

Chittenden County schools compete for most sustainable practices.

New show explores contemporary art and the environment.

For Maple Open House Weekend, the farm served up syrup and fun activities.

The bill looks at how to make community-based energy education more accessible across all income levels

Homecoming Seeds cultivates varieties to extend the state’s short growing season.

New technology can be more efficient, but is expensive to install

Tracking is a way to read stories in the environment about animals and how they interact with the world.

The Sustainable Charlotte coordinator reflects on the importance of local action in a small town

A dam safety bill passed in the House Committee on Environment on Feb. 20.

Producers adopt new methods as climate change disrupts sugaring season.

Wintervale celebrates the power of natural areas, especially when they are close to home

After almost six years of lobbying, faith-based activists have added a new piece to their annual tradition.

Customer behavior, workforce issues create challenges for cleaner residential heat.

The executive director of VNRC discusses environmental policy and action in the wake of federal changes and extreme weather events

How adaptive skiing and kayaking programs empower Vermonters of all abilities

The quiet impact of Vermont’s Nongame Fund

Educators who support S.175 still have concerns about integrating the subject into their curriculum.

The advocacy group will zero in on PFAS, local regulations and more on behalf of local farmers

A new bill that would allow customers to install plug-in solar systems without a previously required middle man passes the Senate

As solar grows, so does Vermont’s capacity for agrivoltaics — the dual use of land on solar farms for agriculture.

BLUE BTV is giving residents up to $2,000 for rain gardens, permeable driveways and other fixes to reduce phosphorus flowing into Lake Champlain.

Vermont hawkwatch counting sites saw fewer numbers for the broad-winged hawk population this year.

Alkaline hydrolysis — a cremation process that dissolves body tissue in water and chemicals — has been introduced to Vermont as a greener afterlife alternative.

A conversation with Teage O’Connor

Restrictions on development in certain forested areas spark controversy

Towns across Vermont move snow out of the way for people and traffic, but how do they deal with it when it really piles up?

Urban trees bring benefits but face challenges in Burlington and Vermont as a whole

Traveling via bike — even in such unwelcoming conditions — can be a practical way to get outside while reducing emissions in the process, fans of year-round biking say.

Asian longhorned beetle, found in Massachusetts, not spotted here yet

From Nov. 15-30, Vermont Fish and Wildlife will be collecting deer teeth from hunters to evaluate deer population management decisions.

A new wave of agritech tools — from maple monitors to virtual fences — is revolutionizing how small farms manage labor, costs, and climate challenges.

A state official talks about Vermont’s waste management strategies

Ted Lawson has traveled the world and now directs ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. Here’s what he’s learned

Milton arborist Kris Dulmer keeps a lookout for healthy black ash trees. When he finds one, he volunteers to inject it with a dose of insecticide.

Aviation Director Nic Longo also took questions on F-35 noise, JetBlue service and more

Wildlife Day at the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area Visitor Center took place this year on Oct. 4 in Addison.

Public brainstorming underway about improvements

How trail management is impacted by severe weather

Vermont’s iconic slate roofs are timeless and sustainable — but how do we protect them?

Students and professors from two Vermont State University schools went to Canadian Arctic last spring to collect ice and snow samples for studies – including a search for microplastics.

Formerly a central industrial site, the land turned into what it is now —  abandoned.

Participants come from many backgrounds: some have just graduated high school, some have worked desk jobs and want to pivot to working with their hands and some are trying to get back into the workforce.

The city has allotted $50,000 to fund the early planning stages — collaborating with Drive Electric Vermont to identify crucial building spots and potential speed bumps in the future. 

In May, the University of Vermont published research on a Monkton wildlife underpass that protects amphibians from vehicles. At the same time, a major crossing on Interstate-89 and Route 2 was retracted due to a lack of funding. 

“I like to think that, spiritually, if you wanna put it that way, that the Christmas trees know they’re being grown as Christmas trees. They’re happy with their fate. I’m good with that. And I always say, you cut it down – I’m gonna plant another, don’t worry,” said Steve Moffat of Moffat’s Tree Farm. 

“I remember sitting there thinking how big the world is and how small we are. I hear people say that all the time, but seeing that everything was down there, there’s so much more to Vermont and the world than what most people see,” said Cindy Griffith, club hiker and volunteer. 

Community Supported Agriculture, also known as a CSA, has taken over the Vermont agriculture world. As farms deal with and adapt to climate change, their members are seeing how a warming world creeps onto their dinner plates.

Slow Birding, a meditative and insightful form of birding, is a new concept in Vermont and beyond. Birding enthusiast Bridget Butler has emerged as the reigning “Bird Diva.”

The Bobolink Project pays owners of fields, often farmers, to conduct bird-friendly practices. The birds get time and habitat to nest while the landowners get some compensation for letting them do so.

Swimming in natural waters, also known as open water swimming, has taken over the world recreationally and competitively. These Vermont swimmers talk about the serenity it brings them, but also how it empowers their connection to nature.

A St. Albans food digester that opened in May transforms organic waste into energy, fertilizer, and water. 

Activities in the park such as a live music series and a community garden are threatened by flood risk

“The first flush is the most concentrated pollution load, and over time, dripping oil in grease from cars, road grit, and leaf litter are all built up. This system is specifically created to treat that buildup,” said Patrick Hurley, the Project Manager at Memphremagog Watershed Association. 

The Bolton Babe Force, an all-female and nonbinary sports group, wrapped up their mountain biking camp this past July. 

“These young people could have jobs doing other things, but they’re choosing to work really hard and they’re choosing to come out here in the elements and spend their time doing manual physical labor that then makes a strong change in their state” said Devon Cooke, director of development and community at Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. 

“One thing that I’d want to point out is the resiliency, the flexibility, the loyalty and passion that folks have in this industry. So many people have been in it for decades and we really believe in what we’re doing and making a difference in young people,” said American Camp Association New England Executive Director Michelle Rowcliffe. 

Branch out Burlington, a tree nursery located in the University of Vermont Horticulture Farm, has been providing trees to Vermont towns and organizations for nearly the last 30 years.

But there are ways to improve those roads that reduce pollution and strengthen against floods. 

The Telephone Gap Integrated Resource project had a historic level of public engagement, according to advocates, before it passed in June.

“We are always looking for opportunities on the stream where we can feasibly drop wood,” said James King.

“They were lying on top of the hay bales staring up at the sky, watching for shooting stars.”

“From poetry, to movement, to film, to visual art, to music, the arts and storytelling are a way to deeply touch our, go into our psyche,” said Vermont painter Cameron Davis.

Quebec’s first case since 2015 was found just a mile across the border from a rabid raccoon in Highgate.

The Green River Reservoir State Park needed an alternative to a gas-powered boat. Park supporters gave them an electric canoe in order to maintain the land properly without causing a noise disturbance. 

“This spring, we collected 960 grams of seeds. That was mostly fluffy seeds, so that’s millions and millions of seeds,” said land steward Jess Colby. 

As plant species face population decline, herbalists teach foragers to be mindful of what they are taking

Many residents are familiar with recycling and composting — but one Vermont initiative focuses on making it easier to reuse.

According to Curt Lindberg, chair of the Waitsfield Conservation Commission, the project spans a cumulative 260 worksites across the region.

When Canada geese molt their flying feathers in the summer, scientists see a key window to study and track them.

Community members share their concerns about water quality through state grants that could clean up waterways

As ash trees in Vermont face extirpation by the invasive emerald ash borer, residents come together to recognize the trees’ ecological importance and cultural history.

Researchers have studied how greenspace influences human health. These forest bathing participants find benefit in surrounding themselves with nature.

Since 1900, annual temperatures in Vermont have increased by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit, and annual precipitation has increased by 21% over the same span, according to the state.

If any damage is incurred to the town’s culverts before the new fiscal year, Charlotte will be able to cover the costs out of pocket, the road commissioner said.

The story behind the clean-up

Simplicity, soil and sacredness at Green Mountain Monastery

What South Burlington’s Parks and Open Spaces Master Plan is trying to do

Chocolate is one of Vermont’s top food exports. But cacao doesn’t grow here — and climate change has been disrupting the global supply chain.

“What can I do more?” Abe Rosenberg asks

Walleye season started this month. Almost 5 million of the fish have been stocked in Vermont’s waters since 2009, the state says.

Lawmakers earlier this month listened to the report.

A House committee recently heard the introduction of seven new bills covering five topics legislators hope to tackle.

Pre-K students at the Tinmouth Mountain School are learning traditional lessons in outdoor, natural classrooms as part of the Mill River Unified Union School’s Trailhead Initiative.

Yellow buoys mark the wrecks’ locations, and divers can follow their lines down to submerged signage identifying each.

Artists across disciplines see their approaches as ways to rethink how materials are sourced, processed and consumed.

The bugs have been spotted in 96 out of Vermont’s 247 municipal areas, the state says.

Neither version of the bill will get voted out of the Legislature this year, but lawmakers are making moves to develop the proposals ahead of the second half of the biennium.

Volunteers across Vermont gather to help herps traverse the roads. Most often, that entails people scooping critters into their hands and shuttling them to safety. 

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship When one of Vermont’s oldest lumber mills, run by the A. Johnson Company in Bristol, shut down its saws in 2023 after 117 years in business, it seemed like another sign of a waning timber industry.  Now, a sweeping executive order from President Donald Trump […]

A company with Rutland ties has developed a way to transform human urine into useable fertilizer in a process they refer to as “pee-cycling.”

For years, dams have been built to control river flow, power industry and prevent floods. Ecologists argue they just move the damage further downstream.

Over the last two years, “persistently rainy conditions made many forested areas too wet to harvest,” a logging industry rep told legislators.

The Trump administration paused access to more than $16 million sent to Vermont through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. 

The biochar project is designed to help curb methane emissions from cow manure at the sprawling property along Lake Champlain.

A Richmond-based entrepreneur puts a local touch into each piece of her bespoke outdoor clothing.

Program continues in its mission despite attacks and uncertainty.

Native plants provide the preferred food source, habitat and host for native birds and pollinators, as well as prevent invasive species from moving in.

The federal government matches every dollar donated to the program roughly threefold so that the $15 stamp purchase turns into $60.

With a background in environmental law, she steps into the role at a crucial time for the lake’s health.

Guy Crosby collects plastic waste from farms and brings them to a landfill in New Hampshire, where they are compacted into a bale. 

Legislators were eyeing a pool of $7.5 million for the 2026 fiscal year, though the bill on the Senate floor now leaves the price tag to be determined.

It was the third-highest snowpack reading for that date since 1954, when the stake was installed, making this winter one of the snowiest on record.

Sustainable Charlotte connects a community that’s committed to sustainability.

Starting in 2027, builders will replace the floodgates with thicker, sturdier ones and swap out the bridge above the spillway.

Legislators in both chambers have been in talks about chloride’s impact on waterways.

“This event is a way to help people with a little bit more background to show them the tools and give them the opportunity to use the tools without having to purchase things and not know what’s going on,” staff said. 

Engineers’ recommendations revolve largely around the construction of two new bridges on Main Street across tributaries of the Winooski River.

“Our whole mission is trails that go somewhere,” one org director said. “The whole point is that you could use it to commute.” 

Group members say weather patterns may have contributed to the huge uptick in sightings this year.

Following a population dip in the 1960s and 1970s, the muskellunge were seemingly wiped out after an untreated waste spill.

The project is part of the Vermont Green Schools Initiative, a partnership between the Lake Champlain Sea Grant, state environmental conservation department and Greenprint Partners.

The project aims to eventually provide New York City with 20% of its annual energy needs through hydropower. It’s pegged to cost some $6 billion.

The July 2024 flooding was more destructive downstream while the December 2023 flooding resulted in higher flow because it involved snow and rain, said one scientist.

“The only way we know a lot of this stuff is because thousands of people have helped us collect data across the landscape,” one Vermont expert said.

The event marked the first Abenaki log burn in the delta in over 300 years, said a member of the Nulhegan Abenaki tribe.

“You can control a lot of things — but the one thing you can’t control is if the fish is gonna bite,” said the coach of last year’s state champs.

Another approach to addressing climate crisis in Vermont? One grounded in spirituality.

Following an Act 250 investigation last year, the shipyard was issued an after-the-fact permit for construction.

With their own kits, groups measure E.coli bacteria levels, the marker used by the EPA to measure how safe water is to swim in.

September Long Trail Day fundraiser aims to power ongoing trail work.

The public will get a chance to learn more about the project at an August public meeting.

The mission is to reduce the distance pollinators like bees and butterflies must go to get nectar and pollen. The gardens, in effect, form a highway.

Researchers also announced the Lake Champlain Sea Grant was awarded just under $300,000 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

As of mid-July, none of the property owners nor local officials had heard back from FEMA. A year after floods ripped through Vermont, they have been left in the lurch. 

The NEK org’s $1 million fundraising goal from last summer has gone up to $2.5 million.

Barely a month after workers cut a tree off a bridge from last year’s floods, two more logs are jammed into the structure.

“We’re trying to start small and tackle this issue,” said a junior involved in the effort. “It’s hard to see the world destructing and not take action.”

The sound of rain during the press conference brought a sense of déjà vu as foreboding forecasts rolled in — and then delivered on their worst promise by flooding the town again.

A number of Vermont vineyards and wineries practice regenerative agriculture — that goes beyond minimizing farming’s costs on land to instead help restore it.

Youth Lobby is a group of students from around Vermont who advocate for climate change-related legislation.

The Climate Action Collective includes students from St. Michael’s College, the University of Vermont and Champlain College.

Activists try to strike a balance between being passionate and getting burned out.

“We’re not on the level of having gigantic fires in Vermont yet,” Dillner said. But officials believe Vermonters should pay attention and prepare to protect their homes and health.

Close to 500 landowners have expressed interest in being paid around $300 an acre, dispersed over a 20-year period, for preserving forestland.

It has become increasingly more expensive to keep and repopulate his hives, the vetoed bill’s sponsor said, because colonies are dying at faster rates in recent years.

The commission denied the project March 27 after seven months of deliberation.

The hope is to train volunteers in planting and caring for the 50-plus trees set to occupy the green space over the next two years.

It’s a conundrum with many variables and few easy answers. As Murdoch put it, “What other tools do we have in our toolkit?”

The project has amassed 123,000 entries since its founding in 1994.

The institute, its partners and others in the sustainability industry see the practice — dubbed “peecycling” — as a cheap, easy and less-destructive method than synthetic fertilizer.

The bill says companies that distribute PCBs must pay for the testing and removal of the chemicals in Vermont’s schools.

Researchers have concerns about the relation between the bald eagles’ rise and a receding blue heron population in the state.

In a survey by the state after last summer’s flooding, 70% of farmers said they didn’t have crop or livestock insurance. Another 10% said the insurance didn’t apply to their industry — meaning only around one in five had coverage for those losses.

Mark Krawczyk grew up in the suburbs in Wisconsin and entered the farming world through holistic planning and designing permaculture zones.

Ben Mattern, a senior at Thetford Academy, lives and works on Mt. Pleasant Farm in Tunbridge, Vermont.

With this winter’s relatively weak snowfall, more people may have turned to birding as an outdoor activity for the season.

To Amanda Adams, growing on her family’s land was not only an opportunity to start something new, but a chance to give back to the land.

Abdoulaye Niane is from Senegal, and he also has lived in Italy, New York and Minnesota before he moved to Berlin, Vermont, 13 years ago. 

Students from Windham Elementary School and Compass Middle School were tasked with the mushroom selection.

The bill would rebrand the board that sets rules for implementing Act 250.

Management last year rolled out parking fees, carpooling incentives and bus service improvements — but it may not be doing enough. 

Montalban asked neighbors within a 3-mile radius to not use seeds treated with the pesticide, and he said many have been receptive to the request.

Neonicotinoids are insecticides that coat plants’ seeds, so the toxins are taken up into a plant’s tissue as it grows.

The gathering encouraged the community to reconnect and rejoice in the wake of a disaster.

The lead sponsor of the bill says the legislation is important for residents in areas likely to suffer flooding in the future.

That money would make up what lawmakers are calling a climate superfund to help pay for natural disaster recovery in Vermont. 

The crowd included families with young children, experienced anglers, locals and visitors, all there for a day out on the ice.

The bill seeks to update the state endangered species list more frequently, establish critical habitat spaces, prohibit the sale of species and curtail rules that allow endangered animals to be taken from the land. 

If a business is culpable, H.614 allows police to seize any equipment it used for illegal activity. Furthermore, the bill increases fines and limits the logging activities of businesses with two or more outstanding fines or judgements.

U-32 Middle and High School in East Montpelier has joined dozens of schools in the state testing positive for the toxins, also called polychlorinated biphenyls.

Vermont Huts is reaching out to groups and “saying, ‘Look, we have accommodation out there, and we have funding, and we can help you achieve whatever your goals are to access the space that is out there.’”

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Green Mountain Transit rides have been free.

Despite a dreary sky overhead, the Bolton Valley Resort base lodge bustled with lively activity and eager skiers on the first day that ski lifts opened for the winter.

The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost. A team of scientists at the University of Vermont believe meat lovers will soon reach for a substitute for their beef, chicken and pork that’s made in a […]

Wind turbines are popping up across Vermont and beyond to answer demands for a more sustainable energy system, but they also threaten some of the animal species that live and fly around them. Wildlife Imaging Systems, based in Hinesburg, is striving to temper risks.

The space in the commercial center of Hinesburg, off of Route 116, is DandyLion’s first store.

Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability initiative at Shelburne Community School connects Vermont schools to coordinators at Shelburne Farms and Up for Learning, a national organization that helps educators increase student engagement, to teach the future generation about sustainability and climate change.

Agricultural, food and nutrition advocates in the state want to see increased focus on climate, protection for nutrition initiatives and stronger support for small-scale growers and dairy farmers, among other things, in the next bill.

Winooski residents want infrastructure improvements along Main Street to make crossing, walking and biking safer, according to local leaders working on a new walk-bike plan for the city.

The group’s numbers have expanded to 150 women. “I was all by myself for 30 years, fly fishing,” one co-founder said. No longer.

For the last two years, a heated debate has swirled around the serene setting, stemming from the U.S. Forest Service’s plan to cut and harvest 690 acres of trees around the lake.

The situation around Struthers, his weed and his ducks has evolved into yelling matches, lawsuits, letters to legislators and an Essex Junction neighborhood on edge.

Invasive species are a big issue in Vermont, and the debates surrounding their management often center on another contentious issue — herbicides and pesticides.   

Adelman and fellow PFAS activists believe that preventing further damage from the chemicals requires public education.

Fourth generation farmer Keith Sprague, 52, has watched the dairy farms around him in Brookfield disappear.

Construction on the walk-bike bridge known as the East-West Crossing in South Burlington is expected to start at the end of 2024.

The July 10 floods that decimated many Vermont farms’ crops had squashed Winooski’s pumpkin prospects.

While a state game warden demonstrated a deer processing, kids and parents whittled away at wooden ducks around a table under the next tent over.

People in the industry believe the problems caused by the floods will worsen with winter weather soon setting in and, within the next few months, artists could be left wondering what they’ll do without accessible indoor spaces.

Forest preservation activists are waiting to see whether their lawsuit to stop logging on about 3,760 acres on public lands around Camel’s Hump still has life.

“We rely on that water for training, and if those beaches are closed because of the quality of the water, that really impacts us,” said the Burlington diving center’s co-owner.

The leaves may be brighter earlier this year, meteorologists have suggested, because of the summer’s flooding and waterlogged tree roots.

The commission plans to look at draft amendments to the regulations at its next meeting on Oct. 19.

Fewer than one-fifth of agricultural business applicants had received payments. Those that did, on average, received tens of thousands of dollars less than needed.

Our journalists interviewed 16 lawmakers about their environmental priorities ahead of the session.

The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost. Reducing personal use of gasoline powered vehicles is a top priority of state Rep. Mollie Burke, D-Brattleboro, heading into the next legislative session.  “The priorities have been so […]

Adjusting after a natural disaster takes many forms, and for Vermonters in the wake of this summer’s flooding, that includes changes to used car purchases. 

Federal officials are set to disclose next month the environmental effects of a proposal to cut down trees on about 11,800 acres of the Green Mountain National Forest — and activist groups are hoping to see some changes to the plan amid campaigning to let trees stay up.

Farmers are grappling with what could soon be a hay shortage that threatens their livelihoods and the normal food routines of their animals.

Here’s how the heating Charlotte selectboard meeting played out.

More than 50 years, a slew of roadblocks and $45 million later, the controversial Champlain Parkway is set to push forward along Burlington’s southern edge.

When it was introduced in the Legislature last year, a bill called S.201 proposed prohibiting the use of leg-hold traps in Vermont — rigs with metal pressure plates that, when stepped on, trigger spring-loaded claws to ensnare an animal’s leg.

With bear season starting Sept. 1, and rising reports of bear encounters in Vermont’s more urban areas like South Burlington, the state is faced with new discussions on how best to manage its bear population, if at all.

Even though Winooksi was spared direct damages from the recent Vermont floods, farms that benefit businesses and food programs in the city have been wiped out, causing delays in restaurants and disrupting free food services people relied on. 

Moved inside from the rain, state and federal leaders joined together at SunCommon in Waterbury on Wednesday to announce new funding through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All program.

About 20 volunteer came out to the 100-foot-wide strip of land at the Ethan Allen Homestead in Burlington on April 18 for One Tree Planted Day, an event hosted by the Intervale Center, Winooski Valley Park District and the nonprofit One Tree Planted.

The sweet scent of maple rose with the steam from the Shelburne Sugarworks evaporator on a recent afternoon as Steven Palmer dipped a hydrometer into a metal cylinder holding newly boiled sap to measure the sugar content. The instrument read 66 percent sugar — the correct content for maple syrup. Palmer and two assistants released […]

A novel experiment at Shelburne Farms aims to enhance that process along Lake Champlain by using fungi.

As the state pushes toward its solar goals, what environmental questions must be examined?

In late March, students traveled to New York City, where they learned about United Nations’ environmental policy and sustainability goals and sat in on a U.N. General Assembly session.

When scientists detected a small, bug-eyed gray fish two years ago at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers in New York, it set off alarms everywhere along the waters of Lake Champlain.

Officials are cutting back how many lake trout are released annually into Lake Champlain after finding, for the first time in decades, sustained successful reproduction in the species — exciting news for biologists and anglers alike.

As part of an ongoing recovery project, wildlife officials have announced the annual closings of cliffs where peregrine falcons nest across Vermont.

Vermont is the only state in the country where farmers cannot readily access a program meant to pay them back for restoring habitats around their farms.

A proposed solar farm in Charlotte would see about 12,500 panels lined in rows across 21 acres on Lake Road.

Whether towns and cities can charge farms for stormwater utility fees is at the center of a bubbling debate between state agriculture officials and municipal leaders around Vermont. 

With mud season just beginning, experts warn that Vermonters should stay away from high-elevation trails for now to protect natural areas from erosion and further damage.

A bill to help small farmers diversify their products with a new grant program crossed over from the House to the Senate, but not without a significant cut in the money behind it. 

South Burlington officials want to eliminate 60% of the city’s carbon footprint by 2030, and with transportation accounting for two-thirds of that figure, the city’s climate action plan finalized last October is pushing for more electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. 

House lawmakers passed a sweeping land and water conservation bill March 24, in what is effectively a do-over of legislation vetoed last year by Gov. Phil Scott. 

Lindsay Aldrich peered into the vat of syrup, getting a noseful of the sweet aroma.  It was a far trip from her home in Burlington to the sugarhouse in Bethel where she and Luke Briccetti now gazed at rows of bottled syrup perched up along the windowsills. But they were excited they’d made it.  They […]

Communities near proposed telecommunications facilities may get to have more involvement in the siting process through a bill in the House Committee on Energy and Environment.

Earlier this year, the Hinesburg Town Forest Committee learned that Lyman had gone into the town forest with heavy machinery and destroyed three beaver dams.

The Lewis Creek Association is a local environmental group that has been working to protect and restore Vermont waterways since 1990.

Alarmingly high levels of E.coli were found in an early February sample from a small town wastewater facility outflow into the Missisquoi River, but local officials say the testing lab didn’t tell them until weeks later — meaning the bacteria could have continued to leave the plant for most of the month.

The conflict between the desire to maintain open space and the need for more housing in Shelburne came to the forefront on Town Meeting Day when residents cast votes on whether the town should set aside funds to acquire and preserve more undeveloped land.

An oil spill of at least 200 gallons occurred 100 feet away from Lake Champlain in late February, and while state officials say they can’t yet be sure, they’re optimistic the spill won’t reach the lake. 

A new Senate bill would prohibit the manufacture and sale of cosmetic and menstrual products and textiles containing PFAS and dozens of other materials dangerous for people and the environment.

A power outage Monday caused up to 500,000 gallons of partially treated liquids to flood out of the city’s wastewater treatment plant and into an outflow area near Stevens Brook, a waterbody that’s connected to Lake Champlain and flows downstream into St. Albans. 

Chemicals are discharged into the Winooski River

More than a dozen House Republicans are looking to repeal the Global Warming Solutions Act and scrap the Vermont Climate Council — but even Gov. Phil Scott doesn’t think their bill will go anywhere.  The bill, H.74, would move away from the expansive 2020 law and toward the state’s Comprehensive Energy Plan, which is renewed […]

Environmental advocates across the state head into this year’s legislative session with the goal of updating Act 250 — Vermont’s land use and development law — to protect one of the state’s biggest natural resources: working forests. 

Communities statewide are set to start a series of wastewater projects funded by federal Covid-19 relief money.

Winooski River’s Salmon Hole is part of Vermont’s list of impaired and threatened waters.

Underwater robots developed by Greensea in Richmond help militaries with underwater explosive disposal and maritime industries with ship streamlining.

With a veto-proof majority, Democrats aim to take another crack at a clean heat bill and make climate issues their first priority next year in the State House.

Rachel Elliott is a reporter with Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program. A possible plan to cut down trees on nearly 11,000 acres of the Green Mountain National Forest is heightening tension between climate advocates and federal officials who claim the logging would help ecosystems. The U.S. […]

One in every five taps tested was at or above the level requiring that it be removed, because it has a higher chance of harming children. Thousands of lead-tainted taps have been replaced or are no longer in use. Photo illustration by Natalie Williams; photo by Skitterphoto via Pexels State officials have been making the […]

The board Oct. 17 declined to approve a $3,500 request from the Andrews Town Forest Committee to pay for a trail plan study the committee had contracted and completed without approval. Officials then approved it Nov. 7 after some discussion, said Duncan Wardwell, assistant to the town manager.

Environmental groups see an opportunity to change Vermont’s energy standards and infrastructure next year as more than a third of the state’s legislators will be new to the State House.

The Montpelier Roxbury Public School Board is considering a proposal to replace the high school’s aging cinder track with rubber and add an artificial turf field.

Anti-fossil fuel activists say officials have done too little to let people know about what’s going on.

CVFiber, the regional broadband district aiming to offer service to central Vermont towns, is set to start building its internet infrastructure in the coming weeks.

Fairlee residents expressed frustration Monday that they’ve been kept in the dark by officials about cyanobacteria blooms in Lake Morey

U.S. Rep. Peter Welch on Friday praised President Joe Biden’s recent moves to boost solar energy