A bill proposing major changes to how Vermont makes decisions about wildlife management took an important step forward Tuesday.
The Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy voted to advance the bill — S.258 — Tuesday.
The law requires the state Fish and Wildlife Board to split equally between people who hunt, fish or trap and those who don’t.
Historically, board members were people who hunted, trapped or fished. The bill requires all members to have “a history of involvement and dedication to fish and wildlife, including wildlife biology, ecology and ethics of fish and wildlife management.”
Additionally, members would be appointed by the legislature and state fish and wildlife department commissioners, rather than by the governor, as they are now.
The bill also removes the board’s authority to write regulations. Instead, the law calls for the board to advise the department.
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Right now, the Board of Fish and Wildlife has relatively narrow jurisdiction — over state hunting and trapping regulations. But this bill would change that. Under the proposal, the new board would advise the department any time it makes a rule pertaining to wildlife.
Bob Galvin is with Animal Wellness Action, a nonprofit that lobbied in support of the bill.
Galvin said his organization supports a ban on hunting coyotes with dogs, but is most excited about how the bill proposes to change the makeup of the Fish and Wildlife Board.
“It really brings more Vermonters to the table who historically haven’t been involved in the wildlife rulemaking process,” Galvin said.
Galvin and other wildlife advocates in the state questioned whether the board’s regulations were always based on the latest peer-reviewed science.
But not everyone in the Statehouse shares that concern.
Sen. Russ Ingalls, a Republican from Essex County, said the bill was unpopular with his constituents.
He said from his perspective, the board has been successful in making decisions about how Vermont’s wildlife is managed.
He does not support a ban on hunting coyotes with dogs in the state and said, in his view, the board should be made up of people who hunt, fish and trap.
“You know, this is where it’s at. If I don’t like something, I don’t do it,” Ingalls said. “What we have in this building is that if other people don’t like something, they don’t want anyone else to do it.”
More from Vermont Public: Lawmakers clash with Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board over trapping, coyote hunting
Committee Chair Sen. Chris Bray said he hopes the bill will involve more Vermonters in decisions about wildlife.
“I look forward to the optimistic creation of a new board, I hope that it brings everyone to the table, where they will realize that they share more values than divide them,” said Bray.
Because the bill proposes to end a practice where there is a regulated season that generates state revenue through licenses, lawmakers are waiting to see if the bill needs to be reviewed by committees that deal with spending. and revenues before it can be debated on the Senate Floor.
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