3.

HABITAT CONCEPTS AND FEATURES

By viewing single
W
ildlife habitat is defined as the places where animals live, find
food, mates and meet their life needs. Habitat occurs at several
pieces of property in a scales, and you will need to understand each of these to properly
plan for successful habitat management and conservation. As noted in
landscape context, you the previous chapter on Biophysical Regions of Vermont, habitat occurs
at the landscape scale in the form of large areas of intact, contiguous
will be able to manage forest and the connections between these large forest blocks. Habitat also
occurs at the community scale where assemblages of plants and animals
your property in a way come together to create a wide array of natural communities and habitat
conditions such as black spruce swamps, dry oak forests, or floodplain
that benefits wildlife forests, to name only a few. And lastly, it occurs at the fine scale, where
beyond your own individual species utilize dead trees (snags) for nesting cavities, forested
seeps for foraging habitat in spring, or an area of concentrated American
property boundaries. beech trees as an important fall feeding area. You should consider all
three scales when developing a plan for wildlife habitat management,
even if the plan only affects habitat conditions at the fine scale.
Wildlife do not recognize property boundaries and may require habitat
that extends across lands owned both publically and privately. Habitat
features such as stream corridors, ridge lines, or contiguous forests
connect individual properties into the broader landscape. By viewing
single pieces of property in a landscape context, you will be able to
manage your property in a way that benefits wildlife beyond your own
property boundaries.
This chapter will provide context and help you understand habitat
concepts that are important for developing effective management plans.
This will be useful when you inventory habitat conditions on your land
and develop realistic management goals and objectives.

HABITAT CONCEPTS
The following information will help to define important habitat
concepts:
Habitat is the natural area inhabited by an animal, plant, or other
type of organism. The basic elements of habitat include food, water, and
shelter. Habitat is also a function of the physical environment related
to factors such as temperature, elevation, soil condition, and hydrology.
Habitat occurs at several scales including the landscape scale (e.g.,
large areas of contiguous forest), the community scale (e.g., deep rush
marshes), and the fine scale (e.g., snags and logs).
Natural communities are groups of plants and animals that
recur across the landscape wherever similar environmental conditions
occur, including climate, soils, bedrock type, slope, and water. Many
natural communities are common in Vermont and are easily recognized,
such as northern hardwood forest, spruce-fir forest, cattail marsh, and
alder swamp. Others are uncommon or rare, such as clayplain forest,

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northern white cedar swamp, and rich fen. Natural communities are
useful for understanding the ecological variations on the land and are an
important tool for planning land management and conservation. Many
natural communities are closely associated with the habitat needs of
specific wildlife species. For more information on natural communities,
see examples in Chapter 5, “Managing with a Focus on Natural
Communities” and in Resources at the end of this chapter for Thompson
and Sorenson’s Wetland, Woodland, Wildland: A Guide to the Natural Natural communities
Communities of Vermont.
Here are a few examples of strong associations between natural
are useful for
communities and wildlife species in Vermont: understanding the
• Spruce grouse rely on lowland spruce-fir forests and interspersed
black spruce swamps. ecological variations
• Timber rattlesnakes use warm talus slopes for critical basking and on the land and are
hibernacula habitat.
• Bicknell’s thrush and Blackpoll warbler rely on Vermont’s high-
an important tool for
elevation montane spruce-fir forests. planning land
• Several species of rare and common dragonflies and damselflies occur
only in poor fens and dwarf shrub bogs with some open water. management and
• Hemlock forests are one of the most important forest types providing conservation
winter cover for white-tailed deer.

Species diversity is the number of species, subspecies, and genetic

variants of animals, plants, and other organisms in a given area. Promoting
native species is an important component of any management plan
along with protecting those that are rare regionally and statewide.
Some nonnative invasive species, such as house sparrows and
European Starlings, are abundant near human habitation and compete
with native birds for habitat. Invasive nonnative species are a serious
threat to wildlife, habitats, and ecosystems in Vermont. Some invasive
plants, such as honeysuckle, buckthorn, and purple loosestrife can be
introduced by poorly planned land management activities. You should
make every effort to remove these and other nonnative species if they
become established. For more information, see “Saving Our Open Space:
Effects of Urban Sprawl” in Resources.
Structural complexity refers to the variation of size and age classes
and spacing of trees (both living and dead, standing and down) and
other plants. Increasing the structural complexity of forested habitats, for
instance, can increase the diversity of wildlife that use an area because it
creates more fine-scale habitats within the forest.
Even- and uneven-aged forest conditions are important factors to
consider when planning for forest wildlife habitat management. Even-aged
forest habitat refers to forest habitat where the majority of the trees within
a stand, habitat or area of interest are generally the same age. Even-age
management is an important objective for developing habitat for species
such as ruffed grouse, American woodcock, chestnut-sided warbler, and
snowshoe hare, among many others. Uneven-aged management, on the
other hand, refers to forest habitat where there is a wide distribution of
ages among the trees in a stand, habitat or area of forest. This condition
is important for many forest-interior songbirds such as scarlet tanager,
black-throated blue warbler and oven bird. Following clearing or other
forest disturbance, a forested area will regenerate as an even-aged forest,
with most trees within 10 years of age of each other. In an old forest,
individual trees die and create openings; in turn they are replaced by new

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 or suppressed trees that grow up in the opening, resulting in an uneven-
aged forest. Silvicultural techniques can be used to produce either an
even-aged or an uneven-aged forest. In the absence of natural events such
as fire and blowdowns, silvicultural techniques such as patch cuts may be
appropriate to increase the diversity of species and ages of trees within
a larger forested area and create patches of early successional habitat to
mimic natural gap formation and encourage species associated with early
successional forest. The book, More Than a Woodlot, provides an excellent
overview of these concepts and how to apply them to forest habitat
management.
Forest fragmentation is a condition caused by breaking up large
forested blocks into smaller, isolated forested areas, often surrounded by
If you suspect that residential development, commercial development, or agricultural (e.g.,
a rare, threatened, or row crops). Many wide-ranging species, such as black bear and moose,
endangered species need large areas of unfragmented forest habitat and this should be
may occur on your considered in your management plan. Forest interior songbirds, such as
property, please contact the hermit thrush — the Vermont State Bird, are affected by fragmentation
the Vermont Fish and Wildlife due to increased rates of nest predation and parasitism associated with the
Department. The department fragmentation. For more information, see the link for Threats to Vermont’s
can provide specific Natural Heritage in Resources.
management guidance to Rare, threatened, and endangered species are species of plants,
help you protect these animals, and fungi whose populations are low or are at risk of becoming
important species on your extirpated or extinct. Species listed as “threatened” or “endangered” are
property. legally protected under Vermont’s Endangered Species Law or the Federal
Endangered Species Act. In both cases, the laws prohibit harming or
disturbing the listed species. Many of these species occur in specialized
habitats or uncommon natural communities, or have experienced
significant habitat loss over time. Rare species (those with low population
levels) have less legal protection, but they still provide an important
contribution to species diversity in Vermont. The ANR Natural Resources
Atlas (see Resources) is a web-based GIS mapping tool that provides
access to information on the approximate location of rare, threatened,
and endangered species.
A Buffer is a designated area surrounding an important habitat
feature, such as a stream or wetland, in which the integrity of the plants
and soils are protected. Buffers reduce the impacts of activities occurring
outside the area. Buffer width and specific management practices within
a buffer will vary with the habitat feature being protected. Buffers
incorporated for forest management don’t always assume a hands-off
approach and certain habitat benefits can be realized through careful
management of trees within buffers (e.g., creating snags, providing
downed woody material as habitat). Some buffers provide important
habitat functions in and of themselves, such as riparian habitat along
rivers and streams that provide nesting and feeding habitat for northern
orioles, yellow warbler, and wood ducks as well as travel corridors
between larger areas of habitat for black bear, otter and mink.

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FINE-SCALE HABITAT FEATURES
Some buffers provide
The following information will help to define important habitat
features. important habitat
Lakes, ponds, rivers and streams are aquatic habitats that are
essential for many species of fish and wildlife. To protect aquatic habitats
functions in and of
from erosion, bank slumping, sedimentation, and loss of shade, buffers
should be established along the edges of these aquatic habitats. Buffers
themselves, such as
should be largely undisturbed, naturally vegetated areas extending from reparian habitat along
the edge of the aquatic habitat feature. While buffers should always be
treated with great care, there may be instances where active management rivers and streams
is important such as when dealing with invasive species, pathogens,
pests, and overall forest health concerns. Fisheries and wildlife biologists that provide nesting
in the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department can help you plan for the
conservation of these important features. Buffers should be applied to and feeding habitat for
both sides of stream channels and, in the case of wetlands, around the
perimeter of the wetland.
northern orioles, yellow
In addition to protecting water quality and aquatic habitat, buffers
also provide nesting and brooding cover for birds and travel corridors for
warbler, and wood
bobcat, fisher, otter, and other wildlife that depend specifically on wetland ducks as well as travel
and stream habitat. Although buffer widths and dimensions will vary
depending on the conditions of the aquatic habitat or other features, in corridors between larger
general, maintaining a relatively wide buffer will maximize those wildlife
benefits as well as other ecological benefits such as streambank and areas of habitat for black
lakeshore stabilization. Most streams require a minimum of 50 feet for a
buffer to protect the aquatic functions. However, to protect the wildlife bear, otter, and mink.
functions along a stream corridor, it is often necessary to protect a buffer
width of up to 660 feet. For more information on buffers and how to plan
for appropriate widths see Chapter 14 “Riparian Habitat
Management.”
If possible, the ideal buffer strip should extend at least
100 to 300 feet from water. It is important to be realistic
when establishing buffers and understand that it can
limit certain management activities. If the landowner has
an interest in timber production as part of their habitat
management plan, it may be necessary to find room to
accommodate those interests.
Wetlands include swamps, marshes, bogs, and
seasonally flooded areas which are extremely important to
wildlife. The Vermont Wetland Rules regulate activity within
wetlands and within a buffer zone around any wetland that
provides significant functions and values (including wildlife habitat) as
designated by the Wetlands Section of the Department of Environmental
Conservation. Buffer zones are also recommended for any wetland that is
determined to provide important wildlife habitat functions, including small
forested wetlands. While the Vermont Wetland Rules typically require a
50-foot buffer around wetlands, many species will benefit from larger
buffers. For instance, American bitterns require wetlands with buffers
greater than 300 feet from development to avoid displacing those birds
from suitable nesting and feeding habitat. Beavers may search out food
supplies several hundred feet from a wetland.
In areas where agriculture is in close proximity to wetland habitats,
fencing can restrict livestock from damaging plant stems and roots.
Keeping livestock away from wetlands helps to prevent manure from
contaminating water with nutrients that cause algal blooms that reduce
the value of wetlands for a wide array of wetland dependent wildlife.

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 Naturally occurring logs, branches, and stumps in and around wetlands
provide important basking, feeding, and refuge sites for turtles, frogs, and
In terms of the overall snakes. Cedar, locust or other rot-resistant wood are all excellent choices
landscape in Vermont, for constructing waterfowl nest structures, rather than using chemically
treated wood. For more information on wetland management, refer to
open habitats are a Chapter 25, Waterfowl and Chapter 12, Wetland Habitat Management.
Springs and seeps are small wetlands usually found within forested
smaller percentage of habitats. The shoots that emerge there in early spring provide an
the landscape and merit important source of food for many species of wildlife, as well as a reliable
source of water and succulent plants during the summer. These features
attention when you are are also an important source of cold water for streams and rivers, and play
an important role in maintaining aquatic habitat for species such as brook
planning for habitat trout.
Vernal pools are temporary woodland pools that are especially
management. important to breeding salamanders and frogs because, unlike in other
wetlands, fish that eat eggs and larvae are absent in these pools.
When standing water is absent, vernal pools can be detected by land
depressions with matted, water-stained leaves. In general, a 100-foot
buffer is recommended to protect these habitats from ground disturbance
and to maintain shade. An additional limited buffer is recommended
to 600 feet, in which timber is carefully harvested to minimize soil
disturbance and at least 70 percent crown closure of the tree canopy
is maintained. Avoid placing landings, roads, slash, or operating heavy
machinery in the pool habitat in order to avoid destroying the conditions
of the pool. Refer to Chapter 12, Wetland Habitat Management for more
specific information on management recommendations.

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 Openings are both naturally occurring and man-made. These
areas — such as beaver meadows, meadows, and rocky outcrops — all
provide important wildlife habitat. While not every species may use these Beech trees with bear
openings, they are a valuable habitat for many species. Maintaining these
areas where they already occur is a great habitat management technique.
claw marks are a
Avoid creating openings where they will fragment large areas of forest in
order to minimize the effects of predation and nest parasitism to nesting
clear indication that
forest interior songbirds, minimize the risk of wind damage to forest those trees have a
stands, and minimize the risk of weed and invasive plant invasion.
These sort of open habitats are an important condition for many types reliable history of nut
of wildlife such as eastern towhee, golden-winged warbler, American
woodcock, bobcat. In terms of the overall landscape in Vermont, open production.
habitats are a smaller percentage of the landscape and merit attention
when you are planning for habitat management. Location is critical when
planning for this type of habitat and must be considered in the broader
context of landscape habitat conditions to ensure that the location is
suitable and appropriate to manage for these habitat conditions. Keep
in mind that if you’re enrolled in UVA, the creation of large openings,
generally 20 acres or more, will likely require amendments to your UVA
plans.

Mast trees, such as oak, beech, hickory, and apple, provide many
species with critical sources of nutritious food. Species that are attracted
to mast crops include chipmunks, evening grosbeaks, turkeys, ruffed
grouse, deer, squirrels and bears. Because “hard” mast trees like oak and
beech don’t produce viable seeds until at least 25 years of age, preserving
mature trees is important. Beech trees with bear claw marks are a clear
indication that those trees have a reliable history of nut production.
Cutting away shrubs and other trees that are crowding and shading apple
trees is a good way to extend the productive life of these important
“soft” mast trees. Other soft mast sources include cherries, mountain ash,
blackberries, and raspberries. For more information on managing mast
habitat, see Chapter 20, “Black Bears” and Chapter 10, “Apple Tree
and Soft Mast Shrub Management” within Part Three: Managing for
Production of Wildlife Food Resources.

Heron rookeries are home to great blue herons, which often nest in
colonies ranging in size from a few nests to hundreds. You can recognize
these rookeries by the presence of large stick nests typically found in
trees on islands, wetlands, or hillsides. Rookeries may be used for decades
or even centuries; rookeries in dead trees flooded by beavers persist
for shorter periods of time than rookeries in live trees. Intact trees and
uncontaminated adjacent wetlands or shallow waters are important. If
nests are disturbed, herons may desert their individual nests or the entire
rookery, or young birds that are alarmed may fall from the nests to their
death.
Different kinds of buffers are recommended for protecting heron
rookeries:
• A primary buffer zone of 300 feet from the outermost nest trees in
a rookery should exclude tree harvesting, roads, trails, and building
construction year round and should exclude hiking, hunting, fishing,
and camping outside the nesting period. Do not allow human intrusion
to occur between the March 15 and August 1 nesting period.
• A secondary buffer zone from 300 to 650 feet from the rookery
perimeter should exclude sand or gravel extraction, land clearing, and
construction of permanent structures or roads. Other activities to avoid

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 between March 15 and August 1 are temporary road construction,
Try to leave two or timber harvesting, and ATV use. To be clear, this area does not
preclude timber harvesting, but those activities should be timed
more large den trees appropriately and planned and implemented to avoid impacting the
hydrology of the habitat. Existing farming operations, including maple
per acre within 300 feet sugaring and the use of existing paths by non-motorized traffic, are
unlikely to result in adverse impacts at this distance during the nesting
of lakes and ponds to season.
accommodate cavity- • You might also consider a tertiary buffer zone 650 to 1300 feet from
the rookery perimeter. Construction of small buildings, temporary
nesting ducks and other roads, and timber harvesting may be feasible outside the nesting
period.
larger cavity users.
Raptor nest trees are home to forest hawks and owls. To protect
the large stick nests of these birds, provide buffers around the nest trees
during timber harvests. Avoid harvesting timber within the buffer during
the nesting season (typically April through June). The buffer should be
equal to or greater than the height of the tallest tree within 20 feet of the
nest. Be sure to drop all harvested trees away from the nest tree.
Avoid creating large openings or clearcuts within 300 feet of a raptor
nest to avoid isolating and exposing it to predators. An isolated raptor
nest tree is more vulnerable to predators such as raccoons, which may
force raptors to abandon these nests. When large areas are cut, leaving
some large trees or clumps of trees for perches and future nest trees is
important. You can do this by designating one or more trees 12 inches
or greater in diameter at breast height per acre wildlife trees. These trees
need not be high-quality timber, and culling trees with profuse branching
may be appropriate.

Den trees and snags are living or dead upright

trees with cavities or dead limbs that provide important
habitat for a variety of birds and mammals. These trees
are especially important to wildlife, especially when
located near water. Among the many wildlife species
that benefit from dead and dying trees are some of
Vermont’s now rare bats who use the loose bark and
cavities to roost. Standing dead trees may also pose
a risk to human safety, so you should consult with a
professional forester or wildlife biologist who is familiar
with the Vermont Occupational Safety and Health
Administration’s guidelines on logging before planning
a harvest in or near unsound trees. To address safety
issues, consider clustering cavity and snag trees in
areas such as riparian zones and wetlands, and away
from access roads and trails. If a den tree or snag must
be felled for safety reasons, leave the material on the
ground as important downed wood habitat.
To recognize trees that provide cavities used by wildlife for dens, look
for broken-off tops and large branches, old scars, conks, and existing
cavities. Hardwood trees with cavities closer to the top of the tree are
ideal. When possible, leave a selection of different diameter den trees
for cavity-using wildlife. Tree cavities near open water, including some
wetlands, will also be used by wood ducks, common goldeneyes, hooded
mergansers, and common mergansers. Try to leave two or more large
den trees per acre within 300 feet of lakes and ponds to accommodate
cavity-nesting ducks and other larger cavity users.

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 Snags, or standing dead trees, may also serve as den trees. They
provide perches and feeding sites for insect-eating birds such as All snag and den trees
woodpeckers, nuthatches, and black-capped chickadees, and feeding
as well as resting sites for some snakes. Try to retain as many of these have wildlife value, but
trees as possible while observing human safety concerns. When snags
are infrequent or absent in a forest, consider girdling trees or leaving larger snags can provide
unhealthy trees to eventually become snags.
Live trees showing signs of reduced vigor, broken limbs, or scars for a wider range of
may be good candidates for replacement snags. This may be especially
important in young stands. To maintain the maximum number of downy wildlife species and may
woodpeckers in the northeast, the U. S. Forest Service reported that
four snags of 6-inch diameter or greater should be maintained per acre.
provide more wildlife
Guidelines in Maine use this same ratio as a “rule of thumb” for den value for longer periods
trees and snags combined for all wildlife, but suggest maintaining one
tree greater than 18-inch diameter, two trees 14- to 18-inch diameter, and of time.
three trees 6- to 14-inch diameter per acre when circumstances allow.
As with many management prescriptions, your personal analysis of the
on-site situation is very important in deciding what makes the most
sense. Exceeding these recommendations will likely benefit wildlife, and
providing fewer snags will likely reduce the wildlife habitat benefits.
Try to leave six or more snags with 15 inch or greater diameter within
300 feet of openings, ponds, and lakes. Snags near openings may be used
as hunting perches by the Eastern bluebird and red-tailed hawk. Snags
near open water, even those with small diameters, may develop
cavities used for nesting by tree swallows. All snags and den
trees have wildlife value, but larger snags can provide for a wider
range of wildlife species and may provide more wildlife value
for longer periods of time.
The following are management recommendations for
maintaining and managing for den trees and snags:
• Manage for at least six cavity, snag, and/or decadent, living
trees per acre on average, with one exceeding 18-inch
diameter breast height (DBH) and three exceeding 16-inch
DBH.
• Leave trees that have cavities of varying sizes and are located
in the upper trunk of the tree. Also, give priority to hardwood
trees with cavities, rather than softwood, as they remain intact
longer.
• To address safety issues, consider clustering cavity and snag
trees in areas such as riparian zones and wetlands and away
from access roads and trails. Over time, these will become
downed woody material and provide additional, long-term
ecological benefits to fish, wildlife, and forest health.

Exposed perches are large exposed branches and isolated

or tall trees that provide perch sites for raptors and other birds.
However, brown-headed cowbirds, a grassland species that
invades forests to lay their eggs in the nests of other birds,
benefit from perches offering good vantage points to scan the area for
nests. Avoid leaving exposed perches when forests are fragmented and
there is nearby farmland that provides grassland habitat and livestock
feed for cowbirds.

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 Stumps provide feeding and den sites for small forest-floor animals
In most situations such as mice, voles, shrews, chipmunks, squirrels and even weasels,
which will use the decaying root system as ready-made tunnels.
you should leave Course woody material, such as logs, provides display sites
naturally downed for ruffed grouse, travel lanes, and important microhabitats for small
mammals, salamanders, frogs, fungi, and overall forest health (nurse
trees where they logs for tree regeneration). Larger logs provide greater value to wildlife
because they persist for
fall. many years. In particular,
large hollow logs used
as shelter or denning
habitat only come from
large, standing hollow
trees, so the best way to
create this habitat is to let
large trees grow, decay,
and fall naturally. Fallen
trees, decomposing logs,
bark slabs, and slash
all serve as important
habitat features for small
mammals, salamanders, snakes, and nesting wild turkeys.
Trees that naturally fall into wetlands, lakes and ponds, and rivers and
streams are beneficial to wildlife for shade and cover. In most situations
you should leave naturally downed trees where they fall. In contrast, slash
and other logging debris can create negative impacts to aquatic habitats.
Leaving an unmanaged buffer zone along a waterbody will provide an
appropriate amount of downed wood for the aquatic habitat.
Brush piles, including treetops and other slash, provide roost and
nest sites for some birds, cover for chipmunks and rabbits, and may
provide a safe spot for a newborn fawn. Animals as large as bears use
brush piles in remote forested areas for denning. In addition to providing
habitat values, slash returns nutrients to the forest floor as it decomposes
and can retard over-browsing by “locally
over-abundant” deer and moose. However,
slash in streams can disrupt water flow and
cause sedimentation problems and should be
removed during timber harvest operations.
Rock piles such as stone walls, old
foundations, and other exposed rocks
provide cover and microhabitats used by
small, forest-floor mammals, reptiles, and
amphibians. Some of these sites are valuable
as cultural resources in addition to their
wildlife habitat value.

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 RESOURCES
Austin, J. et al. 2004. “Threat to Our Natural Heritage” in Conserving Vermont’s
Natural Heritage. 2nd ed. Waterbury, Vermont.
Bryan, R.R. 2007. Focus Species Forestry: A Guide to Integrating Timber and
Biodiversity Management in Maine. Falmouth, ME: Maine Audubon.
DeGrasf, M. Yamasaki, W.B. Leak, A.M. Lester. 2005. Landowner’s Guide to
Wildlife Habitat – Forest Management for the New England Region. Lebanon,
NH: University Press of New England.
Flatebo, G., C.R. Foss, S.K. Pelletier. 1999. Biodiversity in the Forests of Maine –
Guidelines for Land Management. 1999.
Long, S. 2012. More Than a Woodlot: Getting the Most from Your Family Forest.
Corinth, Vermont: Northern Woodlands.
Thompson, E. H. and E. R. Sorenson. 2005. Wetland, Woodland, Wildland:
A Guide to the Natural Communities of Vermont. Lebanon, NH: The Nature
Conservancy and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Web version:
http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/books/Wetland,Woodland,Wildland/_0i_to__xi_
frontmatter.pdf
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“Artificial Nesting Structures.” http://directives.sc.egov.usda.gov/
OpenNonWebContent.aspx?content=25175.wba
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources ANR Natural Resources Atlas.
http://anrmaps.vermont.gov/websites/anra/
—.Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. 2000. “Saving Our Open Landscape:
Effects of Sprawl on Wildlife.”
—. Department of Environmental Conservation. “Vermont Wetland Rules.”
http://www.watershedmanagement.vt.gov/rulemaking/docs/wrprules/wsmd_
VWR%207-16-10.pdf#zoom=100

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