WOLCOTT – VT. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and conservation partners will host an Open House in Wolcott on Wednesday, February 20 from 5:15 to 6:00 p.m. The Open House will be held at the Wolcott Town Office prior to the regular Select Board meeting.
The purpose of the Open House will be to go over details and answer questions about a wildlife underpass project along Route 15 in Wolcott on lands owned by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. The project promotes safe movement of wildlife under the road and is being completed through a partnership with VTrans, Vermont Fish & Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, Lamoille Regional Planning Commission and the town of Wolcott.
The Wolcott Wild Branch Project will include a wildlife shelf under the Route 15 bridge that encourages wildlife to pass safely under the bridge, in addition to tree plantings on the surrounding lands along the bridge that will allow wildlife to feel safe approaching the underpass. The project will also include the removal of a nearby bridge owned by the town of Wolcott. The bridge abutment sits in the water acting as a barrier to both water and wildlife and has caused dangerous ice jams in the winter.
The Open House will consist of several stations that the public can walk between to ask questions and learn more, covering the topics of Community Connections, River Processes, and Wildlife Connectivity. Vermont Fish & Wildlife fisheries biologist Will Eldridge, Rob Moore from the Lamoille Regional Planning Commission, Paul Marangelo from The Nature Conservancy & James Brady from VTrans will be there to discuss the project and answer questions.
The Nature Conservancy raised $225,000 for the project through a grant from the Canaday Family Charitable Trust and is managing aspects of the project. Other funding for the project comes from a $30,000 grant from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation.
For more information on the project, please contact Jens Hilke with Vermont Fish & Wildlife at jens.hilke@vermont.gov.
Tom Rogers
Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
Information and Outreach
1 National Life Drive, Dewey Building
Montpelier, VT 05620
[phone] 802-377-2628
[website] www.vtfishandwildlife.com
Oct 3, 2024, 9 AM to 5 PM
H.U.G.S (Huge Used Garment Swap)Oct 4 to 5, 2024
Free Class Introducing the Skill of Real DialogueOct 7, 2024, 5 to 7 PM