By Gary Moore
Vermont’s four-day muzzleloader season for hunting antlerless deer begins October 29 and ends November 1 and is only for those hunters who received an antlerless deer hunting permit.
A hunting license, muzzleloader license and the antlerless permit are required.
Antlerless permits may be used during this early muzzleloader season, or during the November 14–29 regular deer season, or during the November 30-December 13 muzzleloader season. Only one antlerless deer may be taken per antlerless permit.
Hunters must report deer they take during the muzzleloader seasons within 48 hours either on Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s website or in person at a big game reporting station. The online reporting link for deer as well as a map and list of big game reporting stations is available under “Hunt” on the left side of Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s website. Photos are required for online reporting.
Deer must be field-dressed prior to reporting, and a hunter must take a warden to the kill site of a deer if requested by a warden.
Fish and Wildlife urges hunters to review the regulations and helpful information on the use of license tags in the White-tailed Deer Hunting section on its website home page.
Trapping Seasons Open In Vermont
Vermont’s regulated land and water trapping seasons opened last Saturday.
According to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department traps can be set on land for species such as fox, coyote and raccoon through December and in the water or under ice for species such as beaver, muskrat and otter through March 2027. These species have healthy populations in Vermont that can sustain regulated trapping for fur and food each year.
“If you plan to enjoy Vermont’s outdoors this fall and winter it is important to know when trapping season is open and to be aware that trappers may be using the same public lands or, with landowner permission, private lands,” said Wildlife Biologist and Furbearer Project Leader Brehan Furfey. “Vermont has had regulated trapping seasons for decades and Vermont hikers, hunters, skiers, trappers and others have a good track record of sharing the same landscape safely and respectfully.”
In December 2023, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board adopted amended regulations that require trappers to use traps that reduce harm to captured animals and to follow safety measures to minimize conflicts with pets and other outdoors users.
It is extremely rare for pets to be caught by law abiding trappers during Vermont’s regulated seasons. The department’s website has information on how to free pets from traps in the unlikely event they are caught. Anyone whose pet is caught in a trap should report the incident to a game warden after freeing their pet.
It is illegal to interfere with lawfully set traps in Vermont. Anyone who finds a trap that appears to be in violation of Vermont’s trapping regulations should contact a game warden.
Montreal Scrambling To Stop Invasion
A war is being waged on multiple fronts against the largest outbreak of raccoon rabies in Quebec’s history. The incursion started with one rabid raccoon identified in late 2024 in St-Armand, just across the border from Vermont. It was the first case identified in the province in nearly a decade. In less than two years, the outbreak has spread more than 100 kilometres north from the border.
The mission is to keep the rabies outbreak that has infected hundreds of raccoons, striped skunks and three cats in Quebec this year from infiltrating Montreal.
Nearly 300 raccoons, skunks, foxes and three cats have tested positive for the disease this year, mainly in the Montérégie and Eastern Townships. The variant is called raccoon rabies because raccoons are the main carriers and victims of the disease, which can be spread to other wildlife.
Eradicated in Quebec in 2015, the virus made a concerted comeback this year in three separate regions in the south, transported across the border by infected raccoons.
Quebec has launched a $5-million counteroffensive, seeding fields, parks and residential areas with more than 1 million bait pellets loaded with rabies vaccine. Most of the packets were spread by hand by wildlife officers, but several hundred thousand were sown by aircraft over thick forests that are harder to access on foot.
The ministry has also held two “trap-vaccinate-release” campaigns in regions south and east of Montreal, one in May and June, the other over the last two weeks, to try and vaccinate as many animals close to the city of 1.8 million people as possible.
Bits and Pieces
Doug and Katharine Britton, owners of Britton Timberlands, LLC, have generously gifted to the Upper Valley Land Trust a very significant 301-acre parcel in Newbury, ensuring that the parcel will be preserved and protected forever.
The Britton Property is on Bowen Road, adjacent to the UVLT-owned and managed 120-acre Woodchuck Mountain Conservation Area. It greatly enhances the conservation area by adding road frontage, trails, and forest and wetland connectivity.
The properties will be managed together for forestry, conservation, and public recreation purposes. The Britton Property is also adjacent to the 288-acre Olsen-Long Pond conservation easement, protected by UVLT, and the 636-acre Tucker Mountain Newbury Town Forest, protected by the Vermont Land Trust.
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A multi-town collaborative stream restoration effort has successfully wrapped up in Vershire, Chelsea, Tunbridge and Strafford. Its goal was to bring bring natural habitat complexity and vital flood protections back to the headwaters of the West Branch of the Ompompanoosuc River.
The project restored natural hydrology along approximately 8.45 miles of critical headwater streams.
This work was made possible through a grant funded by Watersheds United Vermont with additional support from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s Clean Water Initiative Program. The project was led by the Connecticut River Conservancy and planned and executed on the ground by ecological forestry firm Redstart, Inc., working in close coordination with local landowners.
By reintroducing large wood into the waterways, the project delivers highly effective, nature-based environmental benefits, including habitat for trout and dispersing of flood waters.
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Entries are being accepted for the 2027 Vermont Student Fish Art Contest in partnership with Wildlife Forever.
The Fish and Wildlife Department invites Vermont students in grades K-12 to select a fish species found in Vermont waters and submit an illustration and one-page creative essay on the species. The essay is not required for grades K-3.
Winners will be selected for five grade categories: K, 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. They will receive a prize, and their art will be entered into a selection process to be featured in the department’s forthcoming 2028 Fishing Guide and Regulations publication.
Rules and information about the contest are available at this link: Fish Art Contest | Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
Entries to the 2027 Vermont Student Fish Art Contest must be submitted by February 28, 2027 at: https://form.jotform.com/262144789661164
Teachers who have questions may contact Corey Hart by email at Corey.Hart@vermont.gov or by phone at 802-505-5562.
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Making the most of the meals provided by deer taken in hunting seasons starts with processing them quickly and correctly which is why the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department has three online videos demonstrating how to process deer. Finding the videos is easy on the Fish and Wildlife website, https://vtfishandwildlife.com/. Click on “Hunt” and then White-tailed Deer, Tips and Techniques, and then Processing Your Deer.
The educational videos are titled Field Dressing a Deer, Skinning a Deer and Butchering a Deer.
“Correctly processing game can make a big difference in the taste of the meat,” said Hunter Education Program Coordinator Nicole Meier with the department. “Taking the time to do it correctly assures that you and your family will have many enjoyable meals ahead.”
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The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s podcast, On the Nature Trail is based on the New Hampshire Wildlife Journal’s popular column of the same name. Author and Fish and Game Wildlife Educator Lindsay Webb has shared her wildlife encounters while hiking, biking, kayaking, and exploring throughout the Granite State.
Each unique podcast has taken listeners on a 5-minute journey to a different location and introduced them to the fascinating wildlife Webb has met along the way, including garter snakes, water scorpions, and the curious saw-whet owl. One hundred of these popular installments have been produced, and the latest edition was released last Thursday.
On the Nature Trail podcasts are available now on iHeart Radio, Spotify, CastBox, and Apple Podcast, or by visiting nhfishgame.com/series/otnt-nhfg/.
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The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will hold a public hearing on re-adopting rules on Tuesday, November 10 at NHFG Headquarters, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord. The hearing will begin at 6 p.m.
These rules are being re-adopted involve: Possession and Use of Live Fish for Bait, Hooks or Other Devices for Attachment of Bait, Lake Trout and Salmon Waters, Importation of Finfish for Bait, General Restrictions for Fishing Tournaments, Importing Bait Fish”“Marking Prohibited, Round Whitefish, Free Fishing Day. River Herring, Salmon Falls River, Great East Lake, and Umbagog Lake.
The public is invited to attend to provide feedback or submit comments until November 18, 2026, via e-mail to comments@wildlife.nh.gov. The proposed rules can be viewed ahead of the meeting by visiting https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/proposed-rules.
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Mark Breen reports in the Fairbanks Museum's Skywatch Almanac that on October 28, 2008: “An early season nor'easter blanketed the mountains with 6 to 12 inches of snow, including 8 inches in Walden, VT. Even more fell in the Adirondacks, with 12 to 18 inches.”
October 29, 1952: “‘Early winter is surely winter’; Bloomfield, VT 11.5 inches of snow, St. Johnsbury, VT 7.2 inches, and Northfield, VT 6 inches.”
Mark also supplied the October Records and Averages.
Warmest: 56.1°F in 2017 Coldest: 39.1°F in 1925
Wettest: 8.60 inches in 2005 Driest: 0.29 inches in 1924
Parting Shots
It’s recommended that all outdoor enthusiasts heading into the woods this fall think safety by wearing blaze orange. Hikers are reminded to stick to established trails and to review safe hiking guidelines by visiting hikesafe.com.
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Don’t trust everything you see. Even salt looks like sugar.
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