Code of Vermont Rules
Agency 12 - AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Sub-Agency 010 - DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
Chapter 062 - RULE GOVERNING PUBLIC USE OF VERMONT FISH AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT LANDS (10 V.S.A. APP. section 15)
Section 12 010 062 - RULE GOVERNING PUBLIC USE OF VERMONT FISH AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT LANDS (10 V.S.A. APP. section 15)
Universal Citation: VT Code of Rules 12 010 062
Current through February, 2024
Section 1.0 Authority
1.1 This rule is adopted pursuant to
10 V.S.A. §
4145(a) which authorizes the
Board to adopt rules to "regulate the use by the public of access areas,
landing areas, parking areas or of other lands or waters acquired or maintained
pursuant to
10
V.S.A. §
4144."
Section 2.0 Purpose
2.1 The purposes of this rule is to regulate
public activities and use at Wildlife Management Areas, Riparian Lands,
Conservation Camps and Fish Culture Stations in order to protect, manage, and
conserve the fish, wildlife, vegetation and other natural and cultural
resources of the state, to provide for the safe and efficient operation of the
developed facilities of the Department and to protect the health, safety, and
welfare of the public.
2.2 To
foster quality hunting, fishing, trapping and other fish- based and
wildlife-based activities at these lands and facilities.
2.3 This rule does not apply to Fishing
Access Areas governed by
10 V.S.A. §
4145.
2.4 This rule is not intended to interfere
with deed restrictions, easements, rights-of-way or other applicable legal
agreements.
Section 3.0 Definitions
3.1 "Board" means the Vermont Fish
and Wildlife Board as defined in
10
V.S.A. §
4041.
3.2 "Department" means Vermont Fish and
Wildlife Department.
3.3
"Commissioner" means Commissioner of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife
Department.
3.4 "Wildlife
Management Area" or "WMA" means any lands or portions of lands of the
Department so designated by the Department.
3.5 "Riparian Land" means any lands or
portions of lands of the Department other than WMAs, Fish Culture Stations,
Fishing Access Areas and Conservation Camps so designated by the Department,
such as but not limited to stream bank parcels, dams, and pond sites.
3.6 "Conservation Camp" means any facilities,
lands or portions of lands of the Department so designated by the
Department.
3.7 "Fish Culture
Station" means any facilities, lands or portions of lands of the Department so
designated by the Department.
3.8
"Designated Site" means a delineated area at a WMA, Riparian Land, Conservation
Camp or Fish Culture Station that the Department has designated for a
particular activity or prohibition on an activity, and so identified and
demarcated with signage or identified on a Department-issued map.
3.9 "Designated Corridor" means a road,
trail, path or other linear travel route at a WMA, Riparian Land, Conservation
Camp or Fish Culture Station that the Department has designated for travel by a
particular means or vehicle, and so identified with signage or identified on a
Department-issued map.
3.10
"Authorized Activity" means an activity for which a person does not need prior
permission to engage in, and can engage in at a WMA, Riparian Land,
Conservation Camp or Fish Culture Station, or at a Designated Site or on a
Designated Corridor within a WMA, Riparian Land, Conservation Camp or Fish
Culture Station.
3.11 "Prohibited
Activity" means an activity that no person, group, business or entity shall be
allowed to engage in under any circumstances, and for which no Permit, License
or Lease shall be authorized, except as provided for in Sections 6.0 of this
regulation.
3.12 "Commercial
Activity" means any activity or service that produces income for any person,
group, business or entity, including any activity or service by any non-profit
entity where a fee is required or requested.
3.13 "Special Use Permit" means a written
authorization issued by the Department or its designee issued to a person,
group, business or entity to undertake an activity.
3.14 "Group" means ten (10) or more
persons.
3.15 "Primitive Camping"
means temporary overnight occupancy in a natural environment with no developed
facilities leaving the site in its original condition so there is no or minimal
evidence of human visitation.
3.16
"Self-contained Camping" means camping with a portable shelter equipped with a
self-contained, portable, sanitary toilet.
3.17 "Artifact" means an object produced or
shaped by human craft, especially a tool, weapon, or ornament of archaeological
or historical interest.
3.18
"Emergency situation" means an unintended or unforeseen situation that poses a
risk to health or life of a person or animal.
3.19 "Field processing" means the gutting or
dressing or other removal of non-consumptive parts of an animal for the
preservation of the carcass to include the boning and quartering.
3.20 "Tree stand" means a platform or
structure (placed for any period of time) which is fastened to a tree by nails,
bolts, wire, or other fasteners that intrude through the bark into the wood of
the tree, or around the tree.
3.21
"Ground blind" means a structure or manufactured enclosure made of natural or
man-made materials placed on the ground to assist in concealing or disguising
the user or occupant. This does not apply to blinds constructed for purposes of
hunting waterfowl which are governed by 10 V.S.A. App. § 23.
3.22 "Bait" means any animal, vegetable,
fruit or mineral matter placed with the intention of attracting
wildlife.
3.23 "All-terrain
vehicle" or "ATV" means any non-highway recreational vehicle, except
snowmobiles, having no less than two low pressure tires (10 pounds per square
inch, or less) or tracks, not wider than 60 inches with two-wheel ATVs having
permanent, full-time power to both wheels, and having a dry weight of less than
1,700 pounds, when used for cross-country travel on trails or on any one of the
following or a combination thereof: land, water, snow, ice, marsh, swampland,
and natural terrain.
3.24 "Utility
task vehicle" means a side-by-side four-wheel drive off-road vehicle that has
four wheels, or tracks, and is propelled by an internal combustion engine with
a piston displacement capacity of 1,200 cubic centimeters or less, and has a
total dry weight of 1,200 to 2,600 pounds.
3.25 "Waterbody" means any lake, pond, river,
or stream.
Section 4.0 Authorized Activities
4.1 The following
activities are authorized on all lands under this rule:
a) Hunting, fishing, trapping and target
shooting at designated shooting ranges, as well as all other activities
authorized under 10 V.S.A. Part 4;
b) Fish and wildlife viewing and
photography;
c) Boating, including
launching and landing, for fish-based and wildlife-based activities where not
otherwise prohibited by any other relevant regulations or statutes;
d) Dispersed, wildlife-based pedestrian
activities including walking, snowshoeing, swimming, cross-country skiing, and
collection of shed antlers;
e)
Non-commercial picking of berries, nuts, fungi and other wild edibles except
ginseng;
f) Camping for purposes of
hunting, fishing or trapping:
i. Primitive
camping on WMAs designated by the Department for no more than 3 consecutive
nights. Camp sites must be at least 200 feet from any waterbody, property line,
or road;
ii. Self-contained camping
on sites designated by the Department for this purpose, for no more than 16
days during the periods of May 1-31, September 1 through December 15. No
individual parcel will have more than three designated sites for self-contained
camping unless that site's use has been demonstrated to have preceded January
1, 2007.
g) Fish-based
and wildlife-based commercial activities limited to those specified in 4.a -
4.c of this subsection when conducted by a person. This shall include guiding
for purposes of fishing, hunting and trapping.
4.2 Prohibition on Otherwise Authorized
Activities
The Department may prohibit otherwise Authorized Activities for purposes such as, but not limited to: animal and/or habitat management, plant protection, habitat restoration or public safety.
Section 5.0 Prohibited Activities
5.1 The following activities are strictly
prohibited, unless otherwise authorized in accordance with Section 6:
a) The operation of any ATV, UTV, or any
wheeled or tracked motorized vehicle not registered for public highway use,
except as provided for under this subsection and section 6.0 of this
regulation;
i. Pursuant to
23 V.S.A. §
3506(b)
(4), ATV use is prohibited on, "any public
land, body of public water... unless the secretary has designated the area for
use by all-terrain vehicles pursuant to rules promulgated under provisions of 3
V.S.A. chapter 25."
ii. If the
Secretary has previously designated an area of state land for use by ATVs
pursuant to
23 V.S.A. §
3506(b)
(4), the Commissioner shall authorize a
designated corridor on Department lands for under Section 6.0 of this rule
subject to the terms and conditions the Commissioner deems
appropriate.
b) Use of
motorized vehicles except on roads specifically designated for such
use;
c) Snowmobiling except as
approved by the Department and on designated corridors;
d) Horseback riding, dog sledding,
non-motorized cycle riding, or use of motorized vehicles except on designated
corridors;
e) Draft and pack
animals, except for retrieval of legally harvested moose, deer and black bear
during the respective hunting season(s);
f) Commercial Activities except those allowed
under 4.1(a-c);
g) Artifact or
fossil collection;
h) Fires except
in emergency situations, or for non-primitive and primitive camping in
accordance with 4.1(f);
i)
Abandoning, or disposing of any animal carcass, or their parts, except that
portions of fish or game legally harvested on the property may be deposited on
site during routine field processing for preservation and transport, or parts
used in conjunction with legal trapping;
j) Construction or placement of temporary or
permanent structures, except as provided under Section 7 of this rule or for
primitive and non-primitive camping in accordance with Section
4.1(f);
k) Collection of plants,
trees, evergreen brush or limbs, except wild edibles as allowed under Section
4.1(e) of this rule;
l) Use of any
fireworks or pyrotechnic devices except signal flares in an emergency
situation;
m) Feeding or baiting of
wildlife except if otherwise authorized by law;
n) Taking of fish from a fish culture station
except during special events established by the Department, including but not
limited to fishing derbies, clinics and educational events;
o) Entering within 500 feet of any building
or other associated infrastructure that is associated with a Department Fish
Culture Station or Conservation Camp during times of the day other than those
times posted for public use;
p)
Parking of vehicles except while engaged in an Authorized Activity;
q) All other activities not specifically
authorized by this rule, or authorized in writing by the Commissioner
including, but not limited to: para-sailing, hang-gliding, recreational rock
climbing, and geocaching.
Section 6.0 Special Use Activities and Designated Sites on Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department Lands
6.1 The Commissioner may grant a Special Use
Permit, Lease or License for any activity under this rule, subject to Section
5.1(a), so long as the Commissioner has determined that there will be no
adverse impact on Authorized Activities or other adverse impacts on the primary
purposes of ownership.
6.2 The
Commissioner may designate a site, by means of signage, or being identified on
a Department-issued map, for any activity under this rule, subject to Section
5.1(a), so long as the Commissioner has determined that there will be no
adverse impact on Authorized Activities or other adverse impacts on the primary
purposes of ownership.
6.3 The
Commissioner may permit accommodations to persons with a qualified disability
pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Section 7.0 Use of Tree Stands and Ground Blinds on WMAs
7.1 Permanent tree stands and
ground blinds are prohibited on state-owned WMAs.
7.2 Temporary tree stands and ground blinds
are permitted on state-owned WMAs under the following conditions:
a) Tree stands and ground blinds may be
erected and used without written permission from the Department during the time
period from the third Sunday in August through the third Saturday in December
annually, May 1 through May 31, all dates inclusive, or during any Youth
Hunting Day or Weekend. This does not include blinds constructed for purposes
of hunting waterfowl pursuant to 10 V.S.A. App. § 23.
b) Tree stands and ground blinds may be
erected and used at other times of the year with advance notice to, and written
permission from, the Department's District office staff responsible for
managing and administering state land in the District in which the land is
located.
c) Tree stands and ground
blinds used on WMAs must be constructed and erected in such a way that:
i. No damage is done to any living tree in
erecting, maintaining, using, or accessing the stand or blind except that:
a) Dead limbs, trees or shrubs may be removed
as needed to erect and use the stand or blind, and;
b) No live limbs, trees or shrubs may be cut
for any purpose except those one inch or less in diameter at either ground
level or from the main stem or branch of the tree where the stand or blind is
located as appropriate (for guidance, a United States quarter is .9 inch in
diameter), and;
c) No nails, bolts,
screws (including access steps), wire, chain or other material that penetrates
through the bark and into the wood of live trees shall be used in erecting any
stand or blind, and;
d) All tree
stands or ground blinds used on WMAs must be clearly and legibly marked with
the owner's name and address. Marking shall be legible and placed in a manner
that enables a person to conveniently and easily read it.
7.3 Tree stands and
ground blinds that do not conform to this regulation are prohibited and may be
confiscated and/or destroyed by the Department. Building, erecting,
maintaining, using or occupying a non-conforming tree stand or ground blind is
prohibited. Construction of any tree stand or ground blind does not confer
exclusive use of its location to the person who built it. Any person may use
that location for purposes consistent with this rule.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Vermont may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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