Resources for Kids, Adults & Landowners
Wildlife Information
Wildlife Viewing Month to Month
Animal-Tracks Pocket Guide- excellent guide with ruler to print out at home or school
Making Plaster Casts of Wildlife Tracks
VT & NH Birds in the Big Picture
Citizen Science
Explore and share your observations from the natural world
iNaturalist Contribute to Science. Every observation can contribute to biodiversity science, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed. We share your findings with scientific data repositories like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility to help scientists find and use your data. All you have to do is observe.
Journey North Post your sightings and follow migrations of Monarchs, Birds and other animals
VIDEOS
Moose by Dave Erler - moose ecology, behavior, and other biology
The Social Black Bear by Ben Kilham - black bear communication, learning, intelligence, and sociality
Fisher by George Leoniak - radio collaring fisher to learn about use of habitats and travel corridors
Forest Birds and Conservation Biology by Len Reitsma - avian ecology and ‘conservation biology 101’
Vermont Black Bear by Forrest Hammond - bear populations, ecology, and human interactions
Other videos:
Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy, excellent video about the impacts of invasive plants on wildlife and how quickly wildlife returns if we use native plants
Saving Biodiversity in Vermont Inspiration from Doug Tallamy
Great Webinars
Getting Started in Your Woods Vermont’s forest is 80% privately owned. As a woodland owner, how you care for and engage with your land can have significant impact on our forested landscape. Whether you are new to woodland ownership, or newly engaging with your land, this webinar will provide you with some tips and tools for getting started, including 5 things every Vermont woodland owner should know.
Enhancing wildlife Habitat (And How to Pay For It) The webinar is focused on activities that you can implement on your property to enhance habitat quality for a variety of wildlife, from bears to butterflies. We also discuss how to apply for federal funding that is available for landowners like you to put these habitat-based activities into practice.
Conserving Vermont’s Forest Birds From warblers and thrushes to vireos and flycatchers, Vermont provides summer breeding habitat for some of the greatest diversity of neotropical migratory songbirds found anywhere in the lower 48 states. Many of these species are at risk due to loss of suitable habitat, forest fragmentation, introduced species, incompatible forest management, and climate change.
Managing Forest’s with Birds in Mind On-the-ground actions by landowners are key to the conservation of forest birds. Learn what you can do on your own property!
Useful Publications
A Landowner’s Guide – Wildlife Habitat Management for Lands in Vermont Useful information and guidance to landowners, foresters, wildlife biologists, and others interested in managing land for the benefit of fish and wildlife.
Conserving Vermont’s Natural Heritage A Guide to Community-Based Planning for the Conservation of Vermont’s Fish, Wildlife, and Biological Diversity
Mapping Vermont’s Natural Heritage is a guide that describes the datasets used on BioFinder, interprets them, and lists possible strategies for conserving them.
Habitat Stewardship Brochures An excellent series of 12 brochures from UNH Cooperative Extension to help landowners learn about and help conserve important wildlife habitats found on their land. Visit their site to see all the brochures, then use link above to access/download copies directly.
Wetland, Woodland, Wildland Download book
The Place You Call Home-Vermont Edition
A Guide to Caring for Your Land in Vermont
The Place You Call Home-Upper Valley Edition
A Guide to Caring for Your Land in The Upper Valley
Natural Community Inventory A natural community is made up of the species that live together in a natural setting, along with their physical environment and the processes that affect them. Vermont has more than 90 different natural communities.
Tracks : Life-size Tracking Guide by Lynn Levine, Martha Mitchell, Heartwood Press 2001.
Waterproof, spiral bound book with life size tracks
Reading the Forested Landscape by Tom Wessels
New England Wildlife by Richard M. DeGraaf & Mariko Yamasaki
Working with Your Woodland: A Landowner’s Guide by M. Beattie, L. Levine & C. Thompson
Northern Woodlands Magazine, published by the Center for Northern Woodlands Education
Porcupine
LLA Map Activities
Wildlife Range Transparencies to use with Regional Maps
How Much Land Do a Moose, Bear and Bobcat Require? To use with the transparencies.
On-line Tools
Biofinder Layers of Vermont statewide biogeographic data with the ability to overlay and analyze them, intro video
NH GranitView mapping data The GRANITView web mapping application provides access to key NH GRANIT data layers, along with a suite of tools to navigate and interact with those data layers.
New Hampshire Habitat Types and species
Vermont Forest Parcelization Online Tool Use the new online tool created by the Vermont Natural Resources Council to explore forest parcel trends and learn about recommendations to reduce subdivision of land.
Understanding Forest Health in Vermont Using FEMC Online Tool Online tool from the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative (FEMC) monitors forest health in Vermont.
The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Land Mapping Tool As climate change drives shifts in species and ecosystems, conservation plans based on current biodiversity patterns will become less effective at sustaining species and natural processes over the long term, and the current configuration of protected areas may fail to adequately provide access to diverse climatic conditions needed for species and populations to persist and thrive.
The Nature Conservancy’s Conserving Nature’s Stage identifies and maps a representative, connected network of climate resilient sites which if conserved, could help sustain biodiversity into the future as it moves and changes. The network also protects the source water, carbon stocks, oxygen, and recreation space that people depend on.
New England Landscape Futures Explorer (NELF) Use NELF Explorer Online tool to to see how today’s land use decisions impact our land, forests, farms, and water resources. What will the future of your community look like? How would you change it if you could? NELF will help you explore different possible outcomes based on global trends and local decisions.
New Hampshire Taking Action for Wildlife supports communities, conservation groups, and individuals with resources, tools, and training for conserving New Hampshire's wildlife and habitats.
NH Wildlife Action Plan- Town Maps
Staying Connected is a visionary partnership working to restore and enhance landscape connections for the benefit of people and wildlife across the Northern Appalachian/Acadian region of the eastern U.S. and Canada. Each step of the way, from the Tug Hill Plateau and Adirondack Mountains in New York across the forests of New England to the Canadian Maritimes, the actions we take in our own backyards and communities make a difference.
Vermont Alliance for Half-Earth Coming together to advance biodiversity preservation.
Especially for Landowners
It’s Your Legacy A Vermont Landowner’s guide to conservation-based estate planning
Vermont Conservation Design Maintaining and enhancing ecological function across the landscape is fundamental to conserving biological diversity.
Our Vermont Woods All the resources you need to keep our woods healthy
Keep Forests Healthy The tool provides a rapid and simple process to assess forest resiliency. This publication contains background information on important characteristics of resilient and healthy forests and examples of potential adaptation strategies. It is accompanied by a scorecard to be used in the field to evaluate the resiliency of a forest.
Wildlife Habitat Management for Lands in Vermont - A Landowner's Guide This manual provides useful information and guidance to landowners, foresters, wildlife biologists and others interested in managing land for the benefit of fish and wildlife.
Landowner Guides to a Successful Timber Harvest For Vermont, including wildlife, water, economics, working with foresters and loggers
Good Forestry in the Granite State Recommended Voluntary Forest Management Practices for New Hampshire
The Resilient Forest Series by Northern Woodlands Linked print, audio and video works that explore the relationships and traditions that have helped keep forests intact. The series will also consider how human and natural communities are adapting to change.
Vermont Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) For Wildlife Habitat Orange County (802) 828-4493, Windsor County (802) 885-8836
Vermont Audubon Forest Bird Habitat Assessments (802) 434-3068
Vermont Coverts: Woodlands for Wildlife, Inc. (802) 388-3880
County Foresters: Orange County (802) 476-0173; Windsor County (802) 281-5262
Thank you for your continued support
Vermont Institute of Natural Science
Hosting LLA Educational Events
Hosting LLA Educational Events
