The following agencies and organizations are especially well
suited to help towns and other groups develop
good local plans and to implement them with
sound conservation strategies.
Vermont Planning Information Center
(VPIC)
Presented by the Land Use Education and
Training Collaborative, this site
provides information for planning
commissions, zoning boards, development
review boards, zoning administrators,
and their staff, including links to some
of the other organizations and
publications mentioned in this document.
This is an excellent clearinghouse for all
manner of planning related information.
Agency of Commerce and Community
Development Vermont Department of
Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA)
The
DHCA issues planning grants to
municipalities. The grants may be used
to hire consultants to work with towns
to update town plans and craft bylaws,
including bylaws designed to protect
natural resources.
Association of Vermont Conservation
Commissions (AVCC)
The
Association of Vermont Conservation
Commissions fosters local conservation
commissions in the stewardship of
Vermont's natural resources. Over one
third of Vermont municipalities have
established conservation commissions or
similar committees (see 24 V.S.A.
Chapter 118 for more information).
Ecologists, zoologists, botanists, and
conservation planners who are trained in
the principles and practices of
conservation biology. They can assist
towns, watershed associations,
multi-town groups, and individual
landowners with ecological assessment,
conservation planning, and site
management planning.
Elizabeth Thompson
c/o
Department of Botany
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT 05401
802-656-9571
Consulting Foresters Association of
Vermont (CFAVT)
Foresters who can help landowners
develop management plans.
This
web site is an interactive resource for
local land use and environmental
activists who want to learn more about
how the planning process works.
Sponsored by the Vermont Conservation
Education Fund
Mission: To help citizens of rural
America define the future, shape the
growth, and preserve the heritage of
their communities. The Foundation offers
technical tools, such as CommunityViz,
for local planners.
Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans)
Enhancements Program
The
Enhancement Program provides funding to
municipalities, state agencies,
non-profit organizations, and federal
agencies for surface
transportation-related projects. One of
the 12 eligible activities covered under
this program is "Environmental
Mitigation to Address Water Pollution
Due to Highway Runoff or Reduce
Vehicle-Caused Wildlife Mortality While
Maintaining Wildlife Habitat
Connectivity."
The
organization's mission is to assist
Vermont and Vermonters in achieving
compact settlement surrounded by rural
landscape while encouraging community
and economic development to be
consistent with this vision.
The
Vermont Housing and Conservation Board
is an independent, state-supported
funding agency providing grants, loans,
and technical assistance to nonprofit
organizations, municipalities, and state
agencies for the development of
perpetually affordable housing and for
the conservation of important
agricultural land, recreational land,
natural areas, and historic properties
in Vermont.
Founded in 1967, VLCT is a non-partisan,
nonprofit organization owned by
Vermont's municipal governments. The
League provides educational,
legislative, and insurance trust
services, as well as legal advice, to
all political subdivisions of the state
of Vermont. Their Municipal Assistance
Program has lawyers on call to answer your
towns questions as well as a fulltime
wetlands coordinator who can help your town
write language in the zoning that protects
water quality.
The
Vermont Local Roads Program at Saint
Michael's College is part of the Local
Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), a
nationwide effort financed jointly by
the Federal Highway Administration and
individual state departments of
transportation. Its purpose is to
provide road and bridge know-how to
municipal people involved with highways.
Vermont
Local Roads Program
Saint Michael's College
One Winooski Park, Box 260
Colchester, VT 05439
The
following 10 Vermont organizations have
joined together to launch a
collaborative effort to advance policy,
education, and community strategies to
reduce sprawl and achieve Smart Growth
in Vermont. Contact through Vermont
Forum on Sprawl (see page 131) or via
the following Internet addresses:
Association of Vermont Conservation
Commissions (AVCC)
The following
private and quasi-public organizations are
especially well-suited to provide natural
heritage data and to help users interpret those
data. See also
Keeping Track is an organization that
teaches people to observe, interpret,
record, and monitor evidence of wildlife
in their communities, and to support
citizens' use of monitoring data in
local and regional conservation
planning. Information collected by
citizens who have been educated by the
Keeping Track program may allow
communities to document presence of
certain wildlife species and important
habitats. This information may be useful
to inform local conservation planning
activities, monitor changes in wildlife
populations over time and space, and
support land protection projects. The
data may also help communities
understand the degree to which certain
areas are important to the well-being of
wildlife populations.
The
Conserving Grassland Birds section of
the Mass Audubon website has a wealth of
information on the history of grassland
birds in the Northeast, their current
status, survey efforts, and management
guidelines.
(formerly Association for Biodiversity
Information)
General information on the conservation
status and distribution maps of many
native plants, animals, and natural
communities throughout the United
States.
Vermont has 12 Regional Planning
Commissions, each governed by a Board of
Directors composed of representatives
from the member municipalities. Staffed
with professionals in environmental/land
use planning, geographic information
systems (GIS), transportation planning,
economic development and similar
disciplines, these quasi-governmental,
nonprofit Commissions provide technical
guidance and support services to their
member municipalities and the public.
Their primary role is to provide
technical assistance in writing town
plans and zoning ordinances. The Vermont
Association of Planning and Development
Agencies (website address below)
provides more detailed information and
links to each of the 12 RPCs.
The
vision of the Vermont Biodiversity
Project is to maintain ecological
integrity in a manner that ensures the
long-tem viability of all native species
and natural community types in Vermont
within their natural ranges.
This
is the primary source for digital map
data on Vermont. Data range from basic
things such as roads and town boundaries
to complex analyses such as landforms
and core forest. Many data layers can be
downloaded for use with ArcView or other
GIS software; others are available only
on CD.
Vermont Institute of Natural Science
(VINS) and
Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas
Protecting Vermont's natural environment
through education and research designed
to engage individuals and communities in
the active care of their environment.
Maintains Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas.
VINS
has three offices, in Woodstock,
Manchester, and Montpelier.
Distribution information, by town, on
all Vermont's reptile and amphibian
species based on sightings, photographs,
and specimens. This information is
regularly updated by professionals and
trained volunteers. Training for
volunteer participation in surveying is
available and encouraged. The Atlas can
be ordered in hard copy or viewed
online.
The following
state and federal agencies provide a diversity
of services, from data and technical assistance
to regulatory functions.
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
(ANR)
The
mission of the Vermont Agency of Natural
Resources is: "To protect, sustain, and
enhance Vermont's natural resources: for
the benefit of this and future
generations." The following departments
are under the administration of ANR.
Keeps
track of information on rare species and
significant natural communities
throughout the state. Lists of rare
plants and animals are available on the
NHIP website.
Vermont Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC)
DEC
administers most of ANR's regulatory
programs plus several voluntary
pollution and waste reduction programs.
Program areas include: air quality,
environmental assistance, public
facilities engineering, geology,
environmental permits, solid waste,
hazardous waste, surface water quality,
watershed planning, stormwater
management, drinking water supply.
Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and
Recreation
Operates the Vermont State Parks system,
manages state forests and natural areas,
and provides assistance in the areas of
forestry, recreation, and conservation
education.
Manages Vermont's fisheries and wildlife
resources, enforces the state's hunting
and fishing laws, and studies and
inventories nongame wildlife species and
natural communities. Department staff
can assist planners in interpreting and
applying the information presented in
this manual.
103
South Main Street
Waterbury, VT 05671
802-241-3700 (Waterbury)
802-476-0199 (Barre office and the
Community Wildlife Program)
The
goal of the Water Quality Division is to
maintain and enhance the quality of
Vermont's lakes, rivers, and wetlands to
support healthy ecosystems and
appropriate public uses. The Division
provides assistance to municipalities
and individuals to meet this goal,
including administering several grant
programs. A large division with programs
in Biomonitoring and Aquatic Studies,
Hydrology, Lakes and Ponds Management
and Protection, River Corridor
Management, Stormwater, and Wetlands.
The
Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) is a
federal, state, and local initiative to
restore and protect Lake Champlain and
its surrounding watershed for future
generations.
A
locally guided federal agency that is
responsible for helping Vermonters to
manage and sustain their natural
resources. NRCS administers the Wildlife
Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), which
offers financial and technical
assistance to private landowners for
fish and wildlife habitat restoration
conducted on private lands. There are 10
field offices throughout the state.
This
agency works to develop water resources
while also restoring, managing, and
enhancing ecosystems. They manage five
dams and their impoundments in Vermont.
Managing Missisquoi National Wildlife
Refuge, Silvio O. Conte National Fish
and Wildlife Refuge, Pittsford National
Fish Hatchery, and Bethel National Fish
Hatchery. Leading the Lake Champlain
Ecosystem Team from offices in Essex.
The program offers financial and
technical assistance to private
landowners for fish and wildlife habitat
restoration conducted on private lands.
U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners for Fish and
Wildlife Program:
This
program provides technical and financial assistance
to landowners wishing to restore aquatic habitats.
Vermont
Geologic Survey (VGS):The survey is part of the Vermont
Agency of Natural Resources and can provide data on
surficial and bedrock geology for your area.
University
of
Vermont Spatial Analysis Laboratory
:
The
University
of
Vermont
has developed a GIS data layer that identifies
contiguous forest habitat. This layer depicts those
areas in
Vermont
that are at least 100 meters (330 feet) distant from
a zone of human disturbance. Human disturbance zones
are defined as developed, industrial, or residential
areas, agricultural openings, and roads.
The Natural
Resources Board (NRB) was created to
succeed the Environmental and Water
Resources Boards. The NRB is a nine
member board which is divided into two
panels, the Land Use Panel and the Water
Resources Panel.
As of February 1, 2005 all appeals from
District Environmental Commission (Act
250) decisions and District Coordinator
Jurisdictional Opinions are heard by
the expanded Environmental Court. All
appeals from permitting decisions of the
Agency of Natural Resources are also
heard by the Environmental Court, as
well as local land use decisions.
Land trusts
are primarily involved in protecting land
through acquisition or through conservation
easements. The more local the land trust, the
more likely it is to be able to help you
conserve land in your community. The location of
local land trusts can be found at the following
website:
http://crs.uvm.edu/landtrusts/listlt.htm
The
Nature Conservancy's mission is to
preserve the plants, animals, and
natural communities that represent the
diversity of life on earth by protecting
the lands and waters they need to
survive. The Nature Conservancy towns
more than 30 nature reserves throughout
Vermont, and has worked to plan for the
conservation of biological diversity in
three ecoregions that include Vermont.
Antioch
New England Institute Vision to Action Forum The
Institutes provides community goal-setting
and problem-solving workshops
for town members to communicate their values
and address their futures.
University
of Vermont Place-based Landscape Assessment and
Community Education (PLACE) Program The
PLACE Program helps towns to research their cultural
and natural history and present it to the town in
several presentations.
University
of Vermont Landscape Change Program This
website shows thousands of scanned historic
images of the Vermont landscape as well as
current photos for comparison.
