Tag Archives: Events

Vermont Free Fishing Day 2017

Grand Isle Family Fishing Festival

Vermont Free Fishing Day 2017

Give fishing a try during Vermont’s Free Fishing Day 2017 at the Grand Isle Family Fishing Festival!

Saturday, June 10, 2017
9:00am to 3:00pm
Ed Weed Fish Culture Station,
14 Bell Hill Rd, Grand Isle, VT

Give fishing a try during Vermont’s Free Fishing Day 2017 at the Grand Isle Family Fishing Festival!

Vermont Free Fishing Day 2017 lets both resident and nonresident anglers fish in Vermont for the day without a license.

The Grand Isle Family Fishing Festival is designed for young anglers and families offering basic fishing instruction and the chance for kids to catch big trout in the hatchery pond. The festival is free, open to the public and no fishing experience or equipment is needed.

Saturday, June 10, 2017
9:00am to 3:00pm
Ed Weed Fish Culture Station,
14 Bell Hill Rd, Grand Isle, VT

The event features a series of fishing skills learning stations, including knot-tying, fish identification, line casting, hook setting, fish cleaning, and more. After kids and families complete several stations they will be issued a loaner fishing rod and bait and given a chance to practice their skills by fishing the hatchery pond, stocked with some very impressive trout.

For more information contact the Ed Weed Fish Culture Station at 802-372-3171


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Volunteers Needed for Turtle Beach Clean Up Day

Volunteers Needed for Turtle Beach Clean Up Day

 

Volunteers Needed for Turtle Beach Clean Up Day

Once again it’s time for the annual spiny softshell turtle beach cleanup day, and Vermont Fish & Wildlife is looking for volunteers to help on Saturday, October 22. Participants are asked to arrive at North Hero State Park between 10 and 11 AM, because the group may move on to another site by 11 o’clock.

Volunteers will help by pulling up vegetation on nesting beaches to prepare the turtle nesting sites for next year. They may also find a few hatchlings that have remained in nests underground this late in the year. In addition to threatened spiny softshell turtles, these nest sites are also used by map turtles, painted turtles, and snapping turtles.

 

Volunteers Needed for Turtle Beach Clean Up Day Spiny Softshell Turtle

Spiny Softshell Turtle

Vermont Fish & Wildlife biologist Steve Parren will have hatchling spiny softshell and other turtles on hand and will talk about his long-term recovery efforts with the species. Some hatchling turtles will be raised in captivity by the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center while they are small and are most vulnerable to predation. They will then be released back into Lake Champlain next spring.

 

“This is a great way to help conserve a threatened species right here in Vermont,” said Parren. “It’s also a fun way to learn more about the turtles and to see some recently hatched baby turtles.”

 

Volunteers Needed for Turtle Beach Clean Up Day Snapping turtle hatchling

Snapping turtle hatchling next to my granddaughter Gabby’s foot.
Photo taken in North Hero, Vermont by Molly McHugh

What You’ll Need For The Turtle Beach Clean Up

Participants are asked to dress in layers of warm clothes and to bring work gloves, a leaf rake, short-handled tools such as trowels, and their own lunch. Families and kids are welcome. The cleanup may run until 4 p.m., although participants can choose how long to help.

“This has turned into a very popular annual event for people interested in conservation,” said Parren. “We’ve had nearly 100 people show up to help in recent years, so we’re glad to see so many people care about wildlife.”

How To Get To North Hero State Park

To get to North Hero State Park, follow Route 2 north past Carry Bay in North Hero. Take a right on Lakeview Drive, just before Route 2 swings west toward Alburg. Follow Lakeview almost to the end until you reach the North Hero State Park entrance sign on the left. Drive to the end of the road always bearing right.

For more information, please contact Eric Lazarus at 802-658-8505 or lazarericus@gmail.com.

 

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Dead Creek Wildlife Day 2016

Dead Creek Wildlife Day 2016

Dead Creek Wildlife Day 2016

Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area

Dead Creek Wildlife Day offers something for everyone. The day is filled with wildlife demonstrations and guided nature walks. Come for an hour or stay for the day! 
Saturday, October 1, 2016
9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department’s Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area

Free Admission and Parking

Schedule may change due to conflicts, please check the schedule again before arriving for the most up-to-date information. 

Activities include:duck calling contest poster

  • Live Critters of New England
  • Waterfowl Calling Contest for Young and Old
  • Decoy Carving
  • Hunting Dog Handling
  • Fishing How-tos
  • Wildlife Photography Tips & Tricks
  • And Much, Much More….

And don’t miss out on loads of family fun like…

  • Building Blue Bird Boxes
  • Face Painting
  • Nature Art and Crafts

Where is Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area?

Dead Creek WMA is located on VT Rte. 17 about one mile west of the junction of Rte. 22A and Rte. 17 in Addison, Vermont. For more information call (802) 828-1000.

get a map and directions

Dead Creek Wildlife Day is hosted by Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreations, and Otter Creek Audubon Society.

 

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Making Flood Resiliency a Reality in the South Lake Champlain Region

Five Years after Tropical Storm Irene: 

Making Flood Resiliency a Reality in the South Lake Champlain Region

As part of the South Lake Champlain Partnership, the Poultney Mettowee Conservation District and the Rutland Regional Planning Commission have teamed up to facilitate flood resiliency education, planning and project implementation in the Flower Brook Watershed shared by Tinmouth, Danby, and Pawlet.

The watershed approach used in our project, titled Weathering the Storm: Community-Based Planning for Flood Resiliency in Flower Brook , is an important component of flood protection in vulnerable villages and towns, because the effects felt in one town are the accumulation of impacts from upstream.

In addition to this information sharing and feedback gathered in the three project towns, the Partnership will offer workshops in July and August leading up to a three-town gathering on August 28, 2016 (the 5th anniversary of TS Irene) from 11-2 at Edie’s Green in Pawlet Village. All events are open to the public.

July/August Flood Preparedness Workshops:
July 30: Lets Talk Runoff: Keep Your Driveway Out of the Stream
Many driveways cross Flower Brook and contribute to the water, gravel, and sediment in the stream during storms, increasing the damage downstream. Learn stormwater management tools to minimize impacts to Flower Brook with Southern Vermont Stream Alterations Engineer Josh Carvajal, Danby Road Foreman Charlie Bush, Pawlet Road Commissioner Keith Mason, and Trout Unlimited’s Erin Rodgers leading the discussion at 844 Little Village Road, Danby from 8-10 am.

Aug. 3: Green Stormwater: What You Can Do At Home
A presentation with UVM Sea Grant’s Becky Tharp at the Tinmouth Old Firehouse at 7 pm. Find out what you can do to be more flood resilient using rain gardens and other stormwater retention methods on your own property.

Aug. 13: Flower Brook Hike: Explore Your Watershed
Led by Conservation District Manager, Hilary Solomon, this hike along Flower Brook from Danby to Pawlet will explore the results of weather and land use changes on a sensitive landscape. Please wear sturdy shoes and be prepared for a several mile hike along an abandoned road. Some off-trail walking will be included. Meet at Lilly Hill Road and the Pawlet Danby Road at 9:00 AM for this informational hike.

Five Years Vermont Strong: Tropical Storm Irene, Five Years Later – Where Are We Now?

Join the three towns of Tinmouth, Danby, and Pawlet for a Flower Brook Community Event on August 28 from 11 am – 2 pm at Edie’s Green in Pawlet. This event is free and open to the public.

Share your stories of resiliency as we learn what Pawlet, Danby, and Tinmouth have done and will continue to do to protect their towns from future flood events. Presenters include Ned Swanberg, VT DEC Rivers Program; Ethan Swift, VT DEC Watershed Coordinator; and Hilary Soloman, PMNRCD Director. There will also be Tropical Storm Irene Photo and Story Displays.
There is great fun for the kids as well: Wonderfeet Museum and the Rutland Area Food and Farm Link (RAFFL) will have hands-on activities, and there will be a Watershed Model and Flume Table: an interactive display with sand and running water that helps users visualize how dynamic streams interact with the landscape.

Of course, no great community gathering is without food and music! We’ll have Pizza, BBQ, Pies and Ice Cream for sale and rousing music by Spruce Knob Uprising.

For those who would like to explore the stream and to better understand its dynamic potential, there will be a hike along the Flower Brook from 2-4 pm starting from Edie’s Green.

Weathering the Storm is funded by a grant from the High Meadows Funds as part of a series of watershed alliance projects throughout the state.

For more information, please contact Hilary Solomon, PMNRCD at (802) 287-8339; hilary@pmnrcd.org or Elysa Smigielski, RRPC at (802)779-4454;elysa@rutlandrpc.org.

49th Annual Mayor’s Cup Festival Events

Officials Outline 2016 Mayor’s Cup Festival Events

Mayor's Cup featival logo on tee-shirt

Plattsburgh officials have outlined the schedule for this summer’s Mayor’s Cup, one of the city’s largest annual events.

The 39th Annual Mayor’s Cup Festival will combine the largest sailboat race on Lake Champlain with numerous on-shore events over four days from July 7-10th.

The Sunrise Rotary coordinates the festival and regatta with the City of Plattsburgh. Sunrise Rotary President Elect and Festival Chair Joanne Dahlen calls the race, which features 80 to 90 sailboats,  the keystone of the festival.  “The regatta has been going on for so long. There’s such a loyal following of boaters. They tend to register year after year and I believe that the race structure before Burlington and Plattsburgh is based around the dates of the Mayor’s Cup because it’s that important to the racing community.”

Dahlen says the popularity of the Mayor’s Cup has grown over its 39 years.  “It started out as really just a single race through the Valcour Sailing Club before Sunrise Rotary took it over and then it became part of the four day regatta and festival. That collectively elevates all events and adding the parade of lights as sort of the kickoff to the four day festivities I think has been huge, I think for the regatta as well, because it’s just fun.”

Parade of Lights Competition

The Mayor’s Cup Festival kicks off the evening of July 7th with the 10th annual Parade of Lights Competition: a floating procession of decorated and lighted boats along the Plattsburgh shoreline.

There will be traditional events such as music, carnivals, movies, garden tours and fireworks.

Nova Bus bus pull

New events this year engage the region’s burgeoning transportation manufacturing sector.  Promotions and Special Events Coordinator Sandra Geddes approached Nova Bus for help to create a new competition.  “It’s the Nova Bus bus pull. There are going to be six man teams and we’ll have a woman’s, a men’s and a coed category. So okay. They do strongmen competitions. So we just thought it would be something fun to do. And you have to go a hundred feet. Whoever gets a hundred feet in the quickest amount of time.”

Downtown Rising

Another new feature invites visitors to step back in time. “Downtown Rising,” is a weekly summer series of food, music and farm market festivals.

“We’re going to be doing a horse drawn trolley ride which is going to run from Trinity Park down to the waterfront. So you can hop on the trolley, ride it through town, go down to the waterfront. You can hop off there if you choose or you can ride it back.  And I think they’re actually willing to stop and let people on and off. Kind of like an old fashioned trolley from the waterfront up to the city.”

Plattsburgh Mayor James Calnon notes that while the city budgets about $60,000 for celebrations throughout the year, events like the Mayor’s Cup are auspicious investments.  “The economics of it are at least two fold. It puts a lot of people downtown and we hope that in the course of the day that brings a lot of business downtown. The other piece of this that I think is really important is and I talk about this a lot, you know, you want your cities to be good places to live, to visit and to work. And having a vibrant downtown with lots of activities is really important in recruiting particularly young and highly skilled workers. We want to really send that message that that’s what Plattsburgh is: a real four seasons community. And in the summertime having events like this and the Fourth of July fireworks, the Battle of Plattsburgh, that there’s so much going on that people get to make choices. And so the more choices we can have in activities generally that raises the economy of the region.”

Registration packets for various competitions are being prepared and will be available on theMayor’s Cup website.

 

 

Ghosts and Legends of Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is located between New York’s majestic Adirondacks and Vermont’s famed Green Mountains. Yet despite the beauty of this region, it has been the site of dark and mysterious events; it is not surprising that some spirits linger in this otherwise tranquil place. Fort Ticonderoga saw some of early America’s bloodiest battles, and American, French and British ghosts still stand guard.
Champlain’s islands–Stave, Crab, Valcour and Garden–all host otherworldly inhabitants, and unidentified creatures and objects have made appearances on the water, in the sky and in the forests surrounding the lake.
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