By Gary Moore
Vermont State Game Wardens are asking Vermonters with information about fish and wildlife crimes to submit them through the Operation Game Thief program.
Operation Game Thief is a joint nonprofit program sponsored by the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs and administered by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. The program provides a way for people to help protect the state’s fish and wildlife by reporting law violators at 1-800-75ALERT (1-800-752-5378). The toll-free hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to report violations. Rewards are paid for information leading to arrests.
“Vermont is lucky to have dedicated wardens patrolling our fields, forests and waterways, but their numbers are limited,” said Col. Justin Stedman. “Operation Game Thief is a great way for Vermonters to assist in reducing fish and wildlife violations by providing tips and information. We’re asking people to call with details such as names and descriptions of perpetrators, and descriptions and plate numbers of vehicles whenever possible.”
New Hampshire Fish and Game says, “If you are aware of poaching, trespassing, destruction of property, littering, or theft, please call Operation Game Thief immediately. If you see someone taking an over-limit of fish, shooting an animal out of season, shooting from the road, or leaving trash in an area where they have been hunting or fishing, let Operation Game Thief know about it.”
You can report violations to Fish and Game’s Operation Game Thief online by visiting www.wildnh.com/ogt or by calling 1-800-344-4262 anytime. You can also use your mobile device to send anonymous tips by downloading the HuntRegs app by visiting the Google Play or iTunes App Store. Confidentiality is guaranteed. Rewards are paid for tips that lead to arrest or citation.
Vermont’s Youth And Novice Deer Hunting Weekend
This coming weekend, November 7 and 8 is youth and novice deer hunting weekend in Vermont.
Hunters who harvest a deer during the weekend are encouraged to bring their deer to one of 18 biological reporting stations to help state wildlife biologists gather data on the health of Vermont’s deer population.
“We encourage youth and novice hunters to bring their deer to one of these biological reporting stations so they can directly contribute to deer management in Vermont,” said the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s deer project leader Nick Fortin. “Examining deer during this weekend is our best opportunity to assess the deer herd because hunters are allowed to harvest any deer, including spike bucks. Biologists will be collecting data on age, weight and antler development to help guide future deer management decisions.”
Hunters are required to report deer in person at a big game reporting station during youth and novice weekend. Online reporting will not be available. This requirement allows biologists to collect important information from as many deer as possible over the weekend.
A youth hunter is a resident or nonresident 15 years old or younger on the weekend of the hunt who has successfully completed a hunter education course. They must purchase a hunting license and obtain a free youth weekend deer tag. The requirements apply to all interested young hunters, including the children of landowners.
A novice hunter is a resident or nonresident 16 years old or older on the weekend of the hunt who previously completed a hunter education course and who purchased their first ever hunting license within the 12 months prior to the novice weekend. They must obtain a free novice weekend deer tag. The requirements apply to all participating novice hunters, including novice hunters who are also landowners.
In both cases, the hunter must be accompanied by an unarmed adult over 18 years of age who holds a Vermont hunting license. The adult may accompany up to two youth or novice hunters. The law requires the accompanying adult to have direct control and supervision of the hunters, including the ability to see and communicate without the aid of artificial devices such as cell phones, radios or binoculars.
I want to emphasize, landowner permission is required to hunt on private land during the youth and novice deer hunt weekend, and the hunters are encouraged to secure permission well in advance. Youth and novice hunters and their mentors are strongly encouraged to wear hunter orange.
A youth or novice hunter may take one deer of either sex on the November 7 and 8 weekend, and the antler restrictions that apply in other deer seasons do not apply. Violation of the youth and novice deer hunting rules can result in a doubled fine that is assessed against the accompanying adult.
These area reporting stations will have a biologist present on November 7 and 8: R&L Archery in Barre, Wright’s Enterprises in Derby, East Corinth General Store in East Corinth, Smith’s Grocery in Greensboro Bend, Lead & Tackle in Lyndonville, Wheelock Village Store in Wheelock, Maplefields in Plainfield and The Gun Room in Thetford Center.
Bits and Pieces
Tune in to WYKR 101.3 FM or 1100 AM on Thursday at 6 p.m. for The Outdoor Edge. Thoughts on the Out-of-Doors airs as a segment of the program on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month.
My guest will be Nick Fortin, Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s deer team leader. We will be talking deer, what to expect, what has changed and what is proposed.
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Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department biologists survey oak and beech stands around the state each fall to assess how plentiful acorns and beechnuts are because they are important fall foods for wildlife.
“We observed variable acorn production this fall across Vermont,” said bear biologist Jaclyn Comeau. “Areas surveyed in Northern Vermont had poor acorn crops while sites across central and southern Vermont ranged from poor to excellent. We found acorn production varied widely from site to site. Crop failures were observed at some locations, while a nearby site could have a bumper crop,” added Comeau.
Acorns are plentiful in our woods. Earlier this fall you needed a hard hat when walking under the oaks as the acorns kept dropping in large numbers. There are so many under the large oaks that it is like walking on marbles.
“Beechnut production is poor throughout much of Vermont,” said Comeau. “Most sites we visited were complete crop failures. However, we did find abundant crops at a few isolated locations in the Northeast Kingdom and southern Green Mountains.”
As far as the beeches of which we have a great many, we had a complete crop failure as Comeau mentioned.
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Jaclyn Comeau said, “In areas where acorns or beechnuts are not abundant, many of Vermont’s wildlife species will be on the move looking for alternative food options before winter, and some bears will enter winter dens early.
“But no matter where you live, it is important for Vermonters to remain diligent about securely storing common bear attractants such as garbage and birdseed until winter conditions arrive and all bears enter their dens,” added Comeau. “We recommend waiting until December when snow is on the ground before putting out bird feeders.”
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The Green Mountain Club says it has secured the last key trail easement needed to move roughly 3 miles of the Long Trail in Lamoille County off of a road and into the woods after more than 30 years of negotiations with local landowners.
Long Trail hikers in Johnson have to walk for about half a mile along West Settlement Road. It’s one of the last remaining stretches of road that hikers have to walk on to complete the 272-mile long distance hiking trail.
Hikers still have to walk along a roughly 1-mile stretch of road in the Winooski River valley and another 1-mile stretch near Manchester.
The reroute in Johnson was made possible by seven separate agreements with landowners in the Lamoille River valley.
The easement means more than 98% of the Long Trail is now protected, with roughly 4 miles of trail along 13 properties remaining without legally protected status.
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New Hampshire’s 2026 moose hunting season ran from Saturday, October 17 through Sunday, October 25. There were 34 lottery-issued permits and one permit each was donated to the Dream Hunt Program and the Wildlife Heritage Foundation of New Hampshire for a total of 36 either-sex permits. Lottery hunters harvested 29 moose: 23 bulls, 5 cows, and 1 calf. This translates to an 85% success rate, which is higher than the 10-year-average of 70 percent.
The heaviest moose weighed 878 pounds dressed and was taken in Wildlife Management Unit C1. The largest antler spread was 57 inches, taken in WMU B.
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Mark Breen reports in the Fairbanks Museum's Skywatch Almanac that on November 4, 1927: “Great Flood of '27; 99 year ago, Vermont's worst natural disaster as excessive rains pushed rivers to unprecedented heights; rainfall amounts of 6 inches or more covered over half of the state.”
Parting Shots
This day can not end soon enough for me. I am so sick and disgusted by the negative campaign ads that dominate the airwaves. I watch the news on WCAX and NBC5 and get vey angry that they are both dominated by ads for and against candidates that I find disgusting. At this point both the ads and the candidates.
If I never hear about New York’s Anthony Constantino or Blake Gendebien or New Hampshire’s John Sununu or Chris Pappas, I will be happy.
Luckily Vermont has had little negative ads except for a couple in the race for the U.S, House and for Lt. Governor. Civility is what I hope for, not the mudslinging we are see in states to our east and west. I want to know about the candidates and what they stand for not rubbish about their opponents.
Syndicated columnist Gary W. Moore may be reached by e-mail at gwmoore1946@icloud.com or at Box 454, Bradford, VT 05033. copyright 2026 Gary W. Moore