March 14, Whitehall, NY– March 15, Essex, VT—March 16, Newport, VT

ESSEX, Vt. -- Public hearings on the status of waterfowl populations and proposed waterfowl hunting seasons for the State of Vermont and Lake Champlain zone in New York will be held Tuesday, March 14, in Whitehall, New York, Wednesday, March 15 in Essex, Vermont and Thursday, March 16 in Newport, Vermont.

The annual hearings are being held by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and Board.

The March 14 meeting will be held at the Skenesborough Rescue Squad building, 37 Skenesborough Drive, Whitehall, New York 12887. The March 15 meeting will be held at Memorial Hall, 5 Towers Road, Essex, Vermont 05452. The March 16 meeting will be held at the Emory Hebord State Office Building, CCV Conference Room, 100 Main Street, Newport, VT 05855.

The hearings will run from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Waterfowl hunters are encouraged to attend one of the hearings and share their preferences and opinions about the proposed seasons.

Under Federal regulations, waterfowl seasons, bag limits, and shooting hours in the Lake Champlain Zone must be uniform throughout the entire zone. Waterfowl seasons in New York's portion of the Lake Champlain Zone must be identical to the waterfowl season in Vermont's portion of the Zone.

Comments received, as well as input and recommendations from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, will be reviewed by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board.

The proposed 2017 migratory bird hunting seasons are on the Fish & Wildlife website (vtfishandwildlife.com). Comments can be sent to ANR.FWPublicComment@Vermont.Gov.

Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities are available upon request at the Vermont meeting. Please include a description of the accommodation you will need. Individuals making such requests must include their contact information. Requests should be made as early as possible, for example an interpreter must be requested at least two weeks in advance, if possible. Please send an e-mail to:
David.Sausville@Vermont.Gov or call the office staff at 802-878-1564 (voice), 1-800-253-0191 (TTY).




Media Contacts: Media Contacts: Vermont - David Sausville -- (802) 878-1564