Nongame and Natural Heritage Program Support Letter

December 17, 2003

Elizabeth McLain
Secretary of Agency of Natural Resources
103 South Main Street, Center Building
Waterbury, VT 05671-0301

Dear Secretary McLain:

The Nongame and Natural Heritage Program (NNHP) performs vital work related to research and management of nongame species, natural communities, and threatened and endangered species in Vermont. In recognition of this work, the undersigned collectively support an increase in the overall budget of the Nongame and Natural Heritage Program.

The Nongame and Natural Heritage Program receives approximately only three to four percent of the overall budget of the Fish and Wildlife Department (FWD). Budgetary constraints are affecting the ability of the NNHP to perform its duties. For example, 195 plant and animal species are currently listed as threatened or endangered in Vermont, yet only a handful of recovery plans have been finalized to date. Quite simply, increased program funding is needed.

According to the NNHP, a budget increase of $550,000 - $600,000, or an annual budget of approximately $1,060,000, would help curb deficient funding and staffing and allow the NNHP to implement important monitoring and inventory efforts, recovery planning, and state permitting procedures (see attached budget). A reallocation of funds within the FWD will not remedy the situation. The time is ripe for the state of Vermont to support the FWD and NNHP through additional financial support. We realize this will require new funding sources, and we encourage you to utilize all available options including a dedication of general fund dollars.

Sixty percent of Vermont residents believe that more money should be spent on managing and protecting endangered species. Furthermore, an overwhelming 87% of Vermonters support allocating general fund dollars for FWD Programs that do not already receive appropriations from the general fund.

As residents of Vermont, and as professionals who incorporate nongame and natural community management into our careers and businesses, we strongly encourage you to increase the funding of the FWD and the Nongame and Natural Heritage Program.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Jamey Fidel
Forest and Biodiversity Program Director
Vermont Natural Resources Council

Elizabeth Courtney
Executive Director
Vermont Natural Resources Council

The Nature Conservancy of Vermont
Bob Klein, State Director,
Alan Parker, Director of Communications,
John Roe, Director of Conservation Programs
Montpelier, VT

National Wildlife Federation - Northeast Natural Resource Center
Eric Palola, Director
Margaret Fowle, Wildlife Biologist
Steve Wright, Regional Organizer & Wildlife Biologist
Montpelier, VT

Audubon Vermont
Jim Shallow, Executive Director
Huntington, VT

Otter Creek Audubon
Warren King, President
Ripton, VT

Ascutney Mountain Audubon Society
Wally Elton, President
Springfield, VT

Connecticut River Watershed Council
David L. Deen, River Steward
Saxtons River, VT

Conservation Law Foundation
Christopher M. Kilian, Esq.,
Senior Attorney and Natural Resources Project Director
Montpelier, VT

Forest Watch
Jim Northup, Executive Director
Montpelier, Vermont
VT Sierra Club
Carol Groom, Chair
Montpelier, VT

Bryan Pfeiffer
Consulting Naturalist / Founder
Vermont Bird Tours
Plainfield, VT

Tom Butler
Editor, Wild Earth Journal
Director of Education and Advocacy, Wildlands Project
Richmond, VT

Jeff Meyers
Executive Director, Vermont River Conservancy
Montpelier, VT

Hazen's Notch Association
Rolf Anderson, President,
Montgomery Center, VT

Rick Paradis
Director of the Natural Areas Center
Environmental Program
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT

Marc Lapin, Ph.D.
Ecosystem Science and Conservation,
Champlain Valley Clayplain Forest Project Coordinator
Cornwall, VT

Carl Reidel, Ph.D.
Daniel Clark Sanders Emeritus Professor of Environmental Studies, Natural Resources, and Public Administration.
Vice President for Policy Studies, New England Environmental Policy Center
North Ferrisburgh, VT

Virginia Barlow
Redstart Forestry
Corinth, VT

Chris Rimmer
Director of Conservation Biology
Vermont Institute of Natural Science
Woodstock, VT

Kent McFarland
Senior Research Biologist
Vermont Institute of Natural Science
Woodstock, VT

Rosalind Renfrew
Director, VT Breeding Bird Atlas
Vermont Institute of Natural Science
Woodstock, VT

Steve Faccio
Senior Staff Biologist
Conservation Biology Department
Vermont Institute of Natural Science
Woodstock, VT

Brendan Collins
Conservation Biologist
Vermont Institute of Natural Science
Student-Antioch New England Graduate School
Middlebury, VT

James S. Andrews
Research Herpetologist
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT

Elizabeth Thompson
Consulting Conservation Biologist
Burlington, VT

Elizabeth Cooper
Naturalist & Environmental Educator
Naturewalk Vermont
East Dorset, Vermont

Dr. Stephen C. Trombulak
Mead Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT

Joan Waltermire
Curator of Exhibits
Montshire Museum of Science
Norwich Vermont

Ted Levin
Author, Nature Writer, and VPR Commentator
Former Naturalist for the Montshire Museum
Thetford Center, VT

Patrick Parenteau
Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic and Professor of Law
Vermont Law School
South Royalton, VT

Karin Sheldon
Associate Dean for the Environmental Program
Director of the Environmental Law Center and Professor of Law
Vermont Law School
South Royalton, VT

Michael H. Blust, Ph.D.
Dean of the Humanities Arts and Natural Sciences
Professor of Biology
Green Mountain College
Poultney, VT

Michael Lew-Smith, Dori Barton, Jeff Parsons
Consulting Ecologists
Arrowwood Environmental
Huntington, Vermont

Kimberly Hagen
Science, Math and Technology Coordinator
Community Connections
Montpelier, VT

Gwynne David Lewis Ph.D., Biologist
Gary Ann Lewis, Nature Photographer
Montpelier, VT

Mark LaBarr
Director of Conservation
Audubon Vermont
Huntington, VT

Lori Barg
Hydrogeologist
Plainfield, VT

Peter T. Hope
Instructor, Biology Department
Saint Michael's College
Colchester, VT

Dr. Cynthia Moulton
Department of Natural Science
Castleton State College
Castleton, Vermont

Dr. Declan McCabe
Biology Department
Saint Michael's College
Colchester, VT

Douglas E. Facey, Ph.D
Professor of Biology
Saint Michael's College
Colchester, VT

Brad Moskowitz
Assistant Professor of Outdoor Education
Johnson State College
Johnson, VT

Malcolm J. Lippert
Assistant Professor of Biology
Saint Michael's College
Colchester, VT

Michele Patenaude
Natural History and Ornithology Professor
Community College of Vermont
Colchester, VT

Peter B. Kimmel
Professor and Department Chair
Natural Sciences Department
Castleton State College
Castleton, VT

Robert B. Genter, Ph.D.
Environmental & Health Sciences
Johnson State College
Johnson, Vermont

Warner Shed
Writer/Former New England Regional Executive for the National Wildlife Federation
Calais, Vermont

Gale Lawrence
Naturalist/Writer
Member of Fish & Wildlife Advisory Committee
Huntington, VT

Ginny McGrath
Citizen
Montpelier, VT

Mary Burnham
Environmental Technician
Vt. Dept. of Forests, Parks & Recreation

John Liccardi
Attorney
Rutland, VT

John Duffy
Historian
Isle La Motte, VT

Julia Nicholson
Long Time Volunteer
Vermont Institute of Natural Science
Woodstock, VT

Jill L. Hindle
Writer/Editor
Vermont Rivers Conservancy Contributor

Clare McFarland
Citizen
Woodstock, Vermont

Tammy E. Newmark
Citizen
Burlington, VT
Virginia Wallis
Citizen
Thetford Center, VT

cc Honorable James Douglas, Governor
Michael Smith, Secretary of Administration
Wayne Laroche, Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife Department