Vermont

Logging business fined in Vermont

Published

2 years ago

May 13, 2024

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PLAINFIELD, Vt. (WCAX) –

A logger most of his life, Matt McAllister has seen nearly everything that can go wrong on a logging site.

“I’ve had plenty of issues I’ve had to fix,” McAllister said. “It’s just the nature of the beast.”

But McAllister, a native Vermonter, never lets those issues fester. He says he’s diligent about Acceptable Management Practices, or AMPs, regulations loggers must follow to maintain water quality on logging sites. “We’re not in it for two years. I mean, we’re in it for life. You wanna do a good job, you wanna keep the water clean, you wanna follow the AMPs. Most of it’s just common sense anyway,” McAllister explained.

Still, other loggers cut corners or fail to meet AMPs. Another logging company, Thomson Timber Harvesting and Trucking LLC, was just fined over $32,000 for violating AMPs. Between 2017 and 2020, the agency says Thomson Timber caused water quality and wetland issues on sites in Bridgewater and Thetford. Thomson Timber didn’t respond to our request for comment.

Watershed Forester David Wilcox with the Agency of Natural Resources says the state works hard to educate loggers about AMPs. “It’s a little frustrating. We try to make the rules as easy to follow as possible,” Wilcox explained. He says AMPs are there to preserve the environment: soil runoff can strip wetlands of nutrients, erode water banks and harm wildlife habitats. “We have a responsibility to follow the rules and implement good water quality practices so that we can show that we can harvest in Vermont and protect the environment.”

But even the most responsible loggers can struggle to meet AMPs. McAllister says they’re not only pricey but hard to maintain through increasingly unpredictable weather conditions like this winter. He recently met with Governor Scott to ask for support. “We really do need some help, especially when Mother Nature is at her worst.”

Wilcox says the state is working to offer loggers financial support so they’re better able to meet regulations.

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Vermont

This Day in History: Vermont’s state flower is chosen

Published

3 hours ago

February 2, 2026

Press Room

This Day in History: Vermont’s state flower is chosen

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont’s state flower was chosen on this day in history.

An act of the legislature on February 1st, 1895, made the red clover the official flower of the Green Mountain State.

The red clover was seen as hardy, durable, like Vermont’s population, and widespread across the state’s agricultural lands.

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Vermont

Vermont House passes mid-year budget adjustment

Published

15 hours ago

February 1, 2026

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Vermont House passes mid-year budget adjustment

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont House lawmakers gave final approval this week to a mid-year adjustment of the state budget.

The spending plan passed unanimously and includes more money for state police overtime, an expansion of the Chittenden County Accountability Court and money for Meals on Wheels.

The budget also allocates $5 million to maintain Section 8 housing vouchers. That money comes from a $60 million fund set aside last year in the event of cuts from the federal government.

“We’re a quarter of the way through the game. We want to be careful to not spend everything now because given everything that’s happened in the last 12 months, who knows what’s going to happen in the next 12 or longer,” said Rep. Robin Scheu, D-Middlebury.

The budget adjustment bill now heads to the Vermont Senate.

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Vermont

Woman killed in Vermont snowmobile crash

Published

1 day ago

February 1, 2026

Press Room

Woman killed in Vermont snowmobile crash

A Vermont woman is dead after her snowmobile struck a group of trees Saturday afternoon on a trail in Brighton.

State police say they were notified around 12:55 p.m. of a snowmobile crash on VAST Trail 2001 and arrived to find a 50-year-old female operator with critical injuries.

Life-saving measures were performed, and the woman was taken to North Country Hospital in Newport where she was later pronounced dead, according to police. She has since been identified as Laurie Jackson, of Proctorsville.

An investigation shows Jackson was traveling north on the trail near Meadow Street when she failed to negotiate a left-hand turn, driving off trail to the right where her 2001 Skidoo Renegade hit several trees, according to police, who noted that Jackson was wearing a helmet at the time, and described the trails as groomed/fair condition.

Further information was not provided Saturday.

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