Valley News – Forum, Nov. 13: No target shooting at Windsor site | Media Pyro

As the biologist who manages the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s 826-acre Windsor Grassland Wildlife Management Area (WMA), I am writing to remind the public that target shooting is prohibited on the property.

WMAs are preserved and managed for many uses. Activities including hunting, hiking and wildlife viewing are permitted in the Windsor Grasslands WMA and the department’s 100 other WMAs. Participants enjoy these and other activities side-by-side on the roads, trails and off-road areas offered by our WMAs.

However, target shooting requires additional infrastructure for safety and to minimize environmental impacts – infrastructure that Windsor Grasslands WMA does not have.

That’s why the department prohibits target shooting at Windsor Grasslands WMA. Since acquiring the property in 2018, we have installed signs to clarify the rules for public use of this property. Our game wardens investigate reports of target shooting in the WMA and issue warnings and tickets to violators. Unfortunately, illegal target shooting continues there.

In October, department staff met with town officials, legislators and WMA users to discuss solutions. Following that meeting, I urge the public to take two steps to help ensure the WMA is enjoyed safely and responsibly.

First, I urge local target shooters to choose the department’s Hammond Cove Shooting Range as a safe place to practice. Just 15 minutes by car from Windsor Grassland WMA, Hammond Cove has the infrastructure you need for safe, responsible and enjoyable target shooting.

Second, I encourage all Windsor Grasslands WMA visitors to help prevent illegal target shooting in the WMA by reporting violators. Reports must include a license plate number and can be made by calling 802-828-1000 or emailing [email protected]. Of course, hunting on the property is legal and should not be reported.

It is everyone’s responsibility to care for our public lands for the enjoyment of all Vermonters and the well-being of our state’s natural resources. Respecting the laws protecting these lands ensures their continued public access and benefits Vermont’s biodiversity.

Chris Bernier

The author is a wildlife biologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and oversees the Windsor Grassland Wildlife Management Area.

Invest in peace, not war

Join us if you think it’s wrong to use half of our federal tax dollars to fund wars and 800 military bases around the world while families in Vermont and New Hampshire live on the streets. Join us Tuesday morning on the Ledyard Bridge with a message of “No War”. You will find many of the hundreds of people passing by during the morning rush hour responding positively to the messages of “No War” and “Abolish Nuclear War” as we did. Actually, given the mainstream media’s strong pro-war messages, we think you’d be surprised.

But there needs to be a greater outcry against war. After all, we are the ones paying for this military, while the White House (Republicans and Democrats) always keeps the door open for a visit from the big arms manufacturers. An example of a conflict of interest that you might recognize is our current Secretary of Defense, who was recently on the board of directors of Raytheon Technologies. These politicians are public servants, not corporate servants. We the people will not stand idly by while our youth and our tax dollars are wasted on these wars abroad.

If you would like to express words of peace to your neighbors, bring a sign and join us – weather permitting – any time on Tuesdays between 7:30 and 9:30 on the Norwich side of Ledyard Bridge. For a list of sponsors and contact information, please see the announcement at Valley News Calendar.

Duncan Nicholls

Thetford

Attend a local school
Art performances

As the high school fall sports season ends, families look forward to the holidays and look forward to the winter sports season. We begin to think of gifts and take out warm clothes; Trying to figure out what can be done before the sun goes down at 4:30.

During this flurry of late fall activity, I urge you to consider attending an arts program at your local school, whether it’s a fall play or a holiday band and chorus concert. In this day and age, when support and value for arts programs seem to be declining, the community’s support of these students’ work is incredibly meaningful.

Like our sports teams, these students have practiced and rehearsed for months, working to achieve the perfection they desire. All the while, perhaps unknowingly, they are building skills that will serve them well beyond their middle and high school years. Our school communities are more than just the budgets and building renovations we vote on each year. They are primarily internal students and affected families. Consider supporting this slice of your community.

Our teachers and school staff work so hard each day to support these students in the classroom, and as a former teacher, I know the school day doesn’t end at the last bell. I ask our teachers and staff… please take an hour and a half after that final bell. Take a moment of your cherished and well-deserved personal time and attend your students’ performances. This brief moment of support can mean the world to one of your performing students.

Hillary Roosevelt

Sunapee