World 07-31-19
The World World Publications Barre-Montpelier, VT
The World
World Publications
Barre-Montpelier, VT
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SPORTS & OUTDOORS<br />
Governor Phil Scott Joins Nation’s Governors to Launch Outdoor<br />
Recreation Learning Network to Promote Economic Growth<br />
The National Governors Association (NGA) announced<br />
Wednesday the launch of the Outdoor Recreation Learning<br />
Network to help governors and their staffs leverage their<br />
unique natural, cultural and historical resources to advance<br />
economic, workforce, health and environmental benefits.<br />
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that the<br />
outdoors industry employed more than 4.5 million people<br />
nationally in 2016, and generated more than $730 billion in<br />
economic impact.<br />
Vermont outdoor recreation accounts for 34,000 direct<br />
jobs and brings $2.5 billion into the economy.<br />
“As my administration thought about how to grow our<br />
economy, it became clear we could do more by leveraging<br />
our natural and recreational assets – those closely aligned<br />
with our outdoor recreation brand,” said Governor Scott. “In<br />
2017 I established the Vermont Outdoor Recreation<br />
Economic Collaborative by executive order to advise me and<br />
my administration on how to enhance outdoor business<br />
opportunities, improve participation, strengthen our recreation<br />
infrastructure, protect our natural resources, and grow<br />
Vermont’s economy,” Governor Scott said.<br />
“While we have made progress, there is so much more we<br />
can do and we’re looking forward to hearing from other<br />
Governors and states here to learn more because it’s so<br />
important to our economy and the overall health of our communities<br />
– and ultimately a part of our identity as<br />
Vermonters,” Governor Scott added.<br />
NGA Solutions: The Center for Best Practices will partner<br />
with state outdoor recreation directors through the network<br />
to convene governors’ office staffs and other state officials.<br />
Through peer-to-peer exchanges, the network will spotlight<br />
strategies states can use to advance outdoor recreation. It<br />
will focus on key issue areas, including conservation, stewardship,<br />
education, workforce training, economic development,<br />
infrastructure, public health, equity and wellness.<br />
Governors launched the network at NGA’s annual Summer<br />
Meeting, where state leaders share best practices and hear<br />
from experts in various fields. This year, the meeting was<br />
held in Salt Lake City, Utah, from July 24-26. Participants<br />
included Utah Governor Gary Herbert, Maine Governor<br />
Janet Mills, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Vermont<br />
Governor Phil Scott, Montana Governor Steve Bullock,<br />
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak and outdoor recreation<br />
directors from many states. The launch was held at the<br />
Natural History Museum of Utah’s Rio Tinto Center at the<br />
University of Utah and included a guided walk in nearby Red<br />
Butte Garden featuring a narration by Dr. David Strayer of<br />
the University of Utah, a leading researcher in the cognitive<br />
Forest Service Works to Heighten Awareness,<br />
Offers Bear Safety Tips to Recreation Users<br />
Forest Service officials in Vermont announced today that<br />
they have had several reports of bear sightings, bears<br />
approaching and entering shelters and some reports of bears<br />
aggressively getting into backpacks in an attempt to find<br />
food. This week the agency began posting alert notices at<br />
trail shelters and at developed campsites to notify recreation<br />
users about the recent spike in bear activity on the<br />
Manchester Ranger District of the Green Mountain National<br />
Forest. The Forest Service says it has had numerous reports<br />
of bear sightings throughout the months of June and July.<br />
Reports of human encounters with black bears continue<br />
to increase across the Green Mountain National Forest.<br />
While many visitors and campers never encounter a bear,<br />
the Forest is their home and bears can quickly become<br />
habituated to human food and waste. In recent weeks,<br />
numerous incidents of bears looking for food have been<br />
reported by visitors. It is vital that people recreating on the<br />
Forest keep a clean campsite to ensure that bears and other<br />
animals don’t forage for your food. Be sure to properly store<br />
all food, and odorous items, including toothpaste, condiments<br />
such as ketchup and mustard, food wrappers, and<br />
anything else that may attract bears. Improperly stored food<br />
not only attracts bears to people currently camping at a site,<br />
but lets the bear know that it can find food at that campsite<br />
in the future. The bear may return to the site when other<br />
families are recreating there.<br />
Too many times, visitors believe they have stored their<br />
food safely, but in reality have left it within a bear’s reach.<br />
Bears are meant to be wild and feeding them creates negative<br />
consequences for them. Bears that get too used to people<br />
may eventually have to be killed to ensure your safety.<br />
Peregrine Falcon Nesting Season Complete<br />
Hikers and rock climbers can return to<br />
Vermont cliffs starting August 1 now that<br />
peregrine falcon nesting season has ended.<br />
The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department<br />
has confirmed that all the young falcons have<br />
learned to fly and will not be disturbed by<br />
human presence on the cliffs.<br />
“The young peregrines have fledged, and<br />
nesting data suggest Vermont falcons had a<br />
successful year. A final report will be issued<br />
later this year,” said Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s<br />
bird biologist Doug Morin. “The falcon’s<br />
nesting success is due in large part to the hikers<br />
and rock climbers who observe a respectful<br />
distance from nesting falcons during this<br />
critical period. The nesting success of<br />
Vermont’s peregrines would not be possible<br />
without the more than 50 volunteers who<br />
monitor the nest sites statewide from March<br />
to the end of July.”<br />
According to Audubon biologist Margaret<br />
• • •<br />
• • •<br />
benefits of outdoor recreation.<br />
“This effort hearkens back to the founding of the organization,”<br />
observed Nikki Guilford, NGA interim executive<br />
director and chief of staff. “In <strong>19</strong>08, President Theodore<br />
Roosevelt hosted the first meeting of the nation’s governors<br />
at the White House to discuss conserving America’s natural<br />
resources.”<br />
Following that inaugural meeting, governors decided to<br />
form an association through which they could come together<br />
to discuss mutual concerns and act collectively.<br />
The founding sponsors of the Outdoor Recreation<br />
Learning Network include REI Co-op, the Outdoor Industry<br />
Association and the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable.<br />
“At REI Co-op, we believe a life outdoors is a life welllived.<br />
So, we applaud NGA’s launch of the Outdoor<br />
Recreation Learning Network. And we’re grateful to the<br />
dozen-plus states that have created offices of outdoor recreation,<br />
as well as to states considering them,” said Eric Artz,<br />
REI’s president and CEO. “There are tremendous opportunities<br />
for maximizing the social and economic benefits of<br />
time outdoors – whether that’s improving stewardship,<br />
access, equity, youth development or health outcomes.”<br />
“We have seen states with offices of outdoor recreation<br />
take great steps forward promoting and bolstering outdoor<br />
recreation – bringing more jobs and revenue to rural and<br />
gateway communities and coordinating amongst government<br />
agencies while helping to get more children and families<br />
outside and into healthier lifestyles,” said David<br />
Weinstein, state and local policy director for Outdoor<br />
Industry Association. “The Outdoor Recreation Learning<br />
Network will be a great resource for existing outdoor recreation<br />
offices and for states looking to develop new offices to<br />
collaborate on and improve outdoor programs and initiatives<br />
– OIA looks forward to helping build it.”<br />
“Outdoor recreation is a crucial part of America’s economy,<br />
contributing 2.2 percent of the gross domestic product<br />
and growing faster than the economy as a whole,” said Jessica<br />
Wahl, president of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable.<br />
“ORR is proud to partner with the National Governors<br />
Association to launch the game-changing Outdoor<br />
Recreation Learning Network. This partnership will ensure<br />
that the outdoor recreation sector has the support it needs to<br />
continue to grow in states across the country, providing outdoor<br />
access for all, jobs, and health and quality of life benefits<br />
for generations to come.”<br />
For more information about the Outdoor Recreation<br />
Learning Network, see www.nga.org/outdoors.<br />
Following safe food storage practices protects both you and<br />
the bears. It is your responsibility to ensure your safety and<br />
that of future campers by not purposefully or inadvertently<br />
feeding bears. It is illegal in the State of Vermont to feed<br />
bears. So remember:<br />
• Always keep a clean camp.<br />
• Don’t leave any food (including condiments) out when<br />
not in use.<br />
• Store food in bear-resistant units, hard-shelled vehicles or<br />
car trunks.<br />
• Keep sleeping areas, tents, and sleeping bags free of food<br />
and odor (like toothpaste or deodorant).<br />
• Don’t sleep in clothes you cooked or handled fish or game<br />
in.<br />
• Never bury or burn food waste.<br />
• If camping in the backcountry, hang your food bag at least<br />
10 feet off the ground and 5 feet out from a tree limb that<br />
could support a bear, or better yet pack and use bear resistant<br />
containers.<br />
• If possible, in backcountry areas, place sleeping tents at<br />
least 100 yards away from food storage and cooking areas.<br />
• If hiking with a dog keep it on a leash or leave it home.<br />
Persons should report bear sightings or damage caused by<br />
bears to their nearest Vermont Fish & Wildlife office (802)<br />
828-1000 or a local Vermont State Game Warden at (802)<br />
442-5421 prior to taking any control action on their own.<br />
Vermont Fish & Wildlife personnel will recommend appropriate<br />
measures or control strategies that can alleviate bear<br />
related problems.<br />
Fowle, who coordinates the monitoring<br />
effort on behalf of the Fish & Wildlife<br />
Department, biologists and volunteers monitored<br />
peregrine pairs that occupied at least 55<br />
Vermont cliffs in early spring and summer.<br />
“We greatly appreciate the time and effort<br />
volunteers put in to monitoring the population<br />
this year, and we thank landowners and<br />
recreationists for their cooperation in protecting<br />
nesting peregrines from human disturbance,”<br />
said Fowle.<br />
Vermont Fish & Wildlife and Audubon<br />
Vermont partner to monitor and protect<br />
peregrine nesting sites in Vermont. Peregrine<br />
falcons were removed from the state’s<br />
Threatened and Endangered Species List in<br />
2005. Ongoing cooperation from recreationists<br />
and continued monitoring efforts by<br />
Vermont Fish & Wildlife and Audubon<br />
Vermont will help ensure the peregrine’s<br />
remarkable recovery in future years.<br />
CENTRAL<br />
VERMONT’S<br />
BEST<br />
COUNTRY<br />
ANOTHER THURSDAY NIGHT OF<br />
EXCITEMENT AT THE ROAD!<br />
Thursday, August 1st!<br />
WDEV RADIO NIGHT!<br />
Post Time 7:00PM<br />
Free Parking!<br />
Late Models, Flying Tigers, Street<br />
Stocks and Road Warriors Features!<br />
GO TO: THUNDERROADVT.COM<br />
DON’T MISS OUT!<br />
Sunday, August 4th!<br />
BOLDUC METAL RECYCLING<br />
ENDURO 200!<br />
A 200 lap test of<br />
endurance for<br />
both cars and<br />
drivers! sa d<br />
Plus an Allen<br />
Lumber Street<br />
Stock Feature!<br />
Featuring the<br />
Calkins Portable<br />
Toilets<br />
PORT-A-POTTY<br />
GRAND PRIX!<br />
$3,000 TO THE<br />
WINNER!<br />
Over 100 cars racing<br />
200 laps of PURE MAYHEM!<br />
Post Time 6:00PM<br />
Kids 12 & Under FREE!<br />
Plus Free Parking!<br />
GO TO: THUNDERROADVT.COM<br />
July <strong>31</strong>, 20<strong>19</strong> The WORLD page 23