Throughout final week’s presentation by Vermont Fish and Wildlife biologist Jaclyn Comeau, organized by the Mad River Valley Bear Initiative, she famous a rise in human-bear conflicts in recent times. The Fish and Wildlife Division anticipates nicely over 1,200 such conflicts in 2022, in comparison with fewer than 500 such cases yearly in 2011-2017. “Studying how one can higher coexist with our black bears is a extremely vital step,” Comeau mentioned.
Fish and Wildlife estimates there are roughly 6,000 black bears within the state. Whereas the black bear inhabitants in Vermont was principally confined to the backbone of the Inexperienced Mountains and the Northeast Kingdom again within the Sixties and Nineteen Seventies, the bear inhabitants has now been distributed all through the state. Comeau known as the Mad River Valley a “hotspot” for bear exercise.
BECOME HABITUATED
Black bears primarily stay and hunt for meals in wetlands, younger forest habitats and mature forest habitats, looking for a various and versatile omnivorous food plan. When meals comparable to beech nuts, acorns and fruit are usually not available of their pure habitats, they search meals elsewhere, comparable to again yards. With quick access to meals in and round human habitats, bears turn into habituated and current an absence of wariness and concern round folks.
In line with Comeau’s well-attended Zoom presentation final week, 45% of human meals driving conflicts within the state are present in rubbish, whereas 15% are birdfeeders, 13% are yard chickens, 10% compost, 7% beehives, 6% different livestock and 4% crops. “We’re offering approach too many alternatives for bears to study to turn into food-conditioned and habituated,” Comeau mentioned. It’s unlawful to feed bears within the state of Vermont.
She mentioned crucial technique to deter conflicts with bears is to take away meals sources from backyards, comparable to by securing rubbish and compost and controlling odors, solely feeding birds through the winter (she advised ready till at the very least December 1 to place birdfeeders up), putting in electrical fences round rooster coops, conserving grills clear and storing pet/livestock meals in safe constructions. She additionally mentioned to make bears uncomfortable round houses by making a number of noise (from safely inside) when bears are in your yard (yell, bang pots and pans, activate a automotive alarm).
She additionally inspired folks to report bear conflicts and repeated sightings with the Fish and Wildlife Division or native recreation warden and share details about bear sightings with neighbors. Moreover, she advised utilizing a tool comparable to a CritterGitter, which is a motion-detected gadget that deters bears with flashing lights and high-pitched noises, round rooster coops or different areas the place bears are prone to search meals. Folks also can attain out to the Fish and Wildlife Division for extra steerage.
The Mad River Valley Bear Initiative has organized a sequence of shows on coexisting with bears to teach folks. It’s comprised of Fayston, Waitsfield and Warren Conservation Commissions, the Moretown Recreation Fee, the Duxbury Land Belief, Stark Mountain Basis, Pals of the Mad River, Sugarbush Resort and different native volunteers.
Investigators say a tip led to the arrest Sunday of a man accused of shooting a Vermont police officer on Friday afternoon.
Scott Mason, 38, of St. Johnsbury was taken into custody around 2 a.m. Sunday after he was located inside a residence at 251 Portland St. in St. Johnsbury, the house next door to the location where St. Johnsbury police Capt. Jason Gray was shot and seriously injured on Friday afternoon.
At a press conference Sunday afternoon, Vermont State Police Maj. David Petersen said tips from the community were “integral to the investigation.” In particular, one tip that pointed investigators to the home next door to where Mason lived, which is where he was ultimately apprehended 32 hours after the shooting occurred.
“Late in the evening Saturday night, we had a tip about a possible location of where Mason was located on Portland Street. We had detectives with the Criminal Division interview this individual, which led to the issuance of a search warrant,” Petersen said. “Coinciding with that, we had members of our Tactical Services Unit respond and secure the perimeter.”
He said police were able to draw out a number of people from inside the property, who were interviewed by police. The Tactical Services Unit then used technology and other means to investigate what was inside the residence.
After that, police prepared to deploy a K9 unit to enter the residence. Warnings were given, and once those warnings were announced and the dog started barking, Mason announced his presence and came out.
“He was confrontational, he damaged some equipment of Vermont State Police,” Petersen said. “We had to use control and restraint techniques to secure him.”
State police said weapons were recovered, though they have not confirmed that any of them were the one that was used to shoot Gray.
Mason was initially brought to state police barracks in St. Johnsbury and later to the hospital for a medical evaluation. He was then returned to the barracks and brought to jail on the arrest warrant, where he was held without bail pending his arraignment at 1 p.m. Monday in Vermont Superior Court in St. Johnsbury.
Authorities said it is too early to say if anyone else could face charges in conjunction with the investigation.
The town of St. Johnsbury and the FBI had each offered $25,000 rewards for information leading to Mason’s arrest. State police said no reward money has been handed out yet, and it will ultimately be up to those agencies to decide whether anyone receives that money.
St. Johnsbury Police Chief Joel Pierce said Sunday that Gray is hospitalized in stable condition and continues to receive treatment. He noted that Gray was wearing a vest at the time of the shooting.
“He’s still sedated, intubated, chest tubes… He’s still got a lot going on,” Pierce said. “We’re hoping he’ll make a recovery. They’re still in the very beginning stages of that whole process, making sure he’s OK.”
“I also do want to say too that his family does feel the support of the community,” he said. “Hopefully, he’ll see it too.”
State police said this is the first time Vermont has put out a Blue Alert since the system was put in place in 2019. It is designed to spread information to the public when a law enforcement officer has been seriously injured, killed or gone missing in the line of duty, and if suspects involved have fled or continue to be a threat.
The alert went out to law enforcement agencies across New England, though state police said the search was mostly focused on Vermont, New Hampshire and New York.
Petersen also addressed the fact that Mason was ultimately found in the home next door to where he lived, saying investigators searched that property on multiple occasions throughout their investigation. He said they searched it right after the scene was cleared Friday and multiple times on Saturday as well.
“At this point I can’t conjecture about whether he was there or not the whole time,” he said. “But I can tell you that our resources were in that property multiple times before he was apprehended.”
CARY, N.C. — The stakes are the highest they’ve ever been for Vermont soccer: Win Monday night and claim an NCAA national championship.
The Catamounts, who have knocked out three of the top-seven seeds in this NCAA Tournament, are ready for another big-stage chance. Vermont (15-2-6) meets No. 13-seed Marshall (15-1-7) at 8 p.m. Monday at WakeMed Soccer Park on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
“It doesn’t matter what is their record or what is their ranking. We just believe in ourselves,” Vermont star striker Yaniv Bazini said.
Vermont would be the first unseeded national champion since Marshall accomplished the feat during a field-shortened 2020 tournament. Akron, in 2018, was the last unseeded team to reach a full tournament of 48 teams. And the 2006 UC Santa Barbara squad was the last unseeded champion in a full field.
“Now it’s the final game. I’ve been saying that every single round since the knockout, and now it’s the best time to show Catamount soccer,” Bazini said.
Here’s what to know about the Vermont-Marshall matchup:
Playing in their 14th NCAA Tournament and fourth in a row, the Catamounts rocked Iona 5-0 at home in the opening round before going on the road for their next three victories to advance to the College Cup semifinals.
Vermont outlasted seventh-seeded Hofstra 2-1, beat San Diego 1-0 in overtime and then dropped No. 2-seeded Pittsburgh 2-0 in the quarterfinals. Vermont’s quarterfinal appearance was its second in three seasons after a three-decade wait between bids.
At the College Cup, Vermont rallied to force overtime before outlasting Denver 4-3 in the penalty shootout to book a spot in the program’s first championship game.
Vermont’s 10 NCAA tourney victories since 2022 are the most of any team in the country over that span, and the Cats’ 11 goals in this year’s tourney lead all teams.
After earning a first-round bye, the Herd cruised past Furman 4-0 at home in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In the third round, also at home, Marshall struck twice in the first half to earn a 2-1 victory over North Carolina State.
The Herd traveled to Dallas for their quarterfinal showdown vs. No. 12-seeded SMU. Marshall turned a 1-0 halftime lead into a 3-1 advantage by the 76th minute, holding on for a 3-2 triumph to seal its College Cup berth.
In the semifinals, Marshall banked on an early strike to stun No. 1 Ohio State for a 1-0 decision.
► Goals scored: Vermont (46), Marshall (45).
► Goals per game: Vermont (2.0), Marshall (1.96).
► Goals allowed: Vermont (18), Marshall (19).
► Goals allowed per game: Vermont (0.78), Marshall (0.78).
► Shots: Vermont (338), Marshall (275).
► Shots on goal: Vermont (142), Marshall (119).
► Corner kicks: Vermont (131), Marshall (104).
► Fouls: Vermont (280), Marshall (252).
► Yellow cards: Vermont (35), Marshall (59).
► Red cards: Vermont (0), Marshall (4).
► Yaniv Bazini: 14 goals, 2 assists.
► Maximilian Kissel: 10 goals, 2 assists.
► Sydney Wathuta: 1 goal, 14 assists.
► Max Murray: 4 goals, 4 assists.
► David Ismail: 3 goals, 3 assists.
► Marcell Papp: 4 goals, 1 assist.
► Zach Barrett: 1 goal, 5 assists.
► Niklas Herceg (goalie): 6 shutouts, 10 goals allowed in 15 games and 85.5% save percentage.
► Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos: 15 goals, 5 assists.
► Marco Silva: 5 goals, 2 assists.
► Tarik Pannholzer: 2 goals, 5 assists.
► Pablo Simon: 4 goals, 1 assist.
► Rai Pinto: 4 goals.
► Alexander Stjerngaard: 2 goals, 4 assists.
► Aleksa Janjic (goalie): 8 shutouts, 10 goals allowed in 15 starts and 79.6% save percentage.
Two former Burlington High School stars have played a role on this year’s Catamounts: Redshirt sophomore Nash Barlow and redshirt junior Karl Daly.
Daly has appeared in eight matches this fall, picking up his first career point, an assist, in the 5-0 win over Fairfield. Barlow made his college debut on Sept. 7 vs. American and has seen action in 12 more games. He scored his first goal in the 5-0 triumph over Harvard.
And associate head coach Brad Cole is a South Burlington High School graduate who played for the Catamounts from 2010-14. He was a senior captain for Vermont as a senior.
Cole returned to the Vermont staff ahead of the 2023 season for his second coaching stint with the Catamounts.
Vermont soccer vs. Marshall will broadcast nationally on ESPN+, which is ESPN’s subscription-based streaming service.
The Vermont soccer vs. Marshall game starts at 8 p.m. eastern Monday at WakeMed Soccer Park at Cary, North Carolina.
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.
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Marshall will face Vermont for the 2024 NCAA Division I men’s title on Monday night when they meet in the Men’s College cup final in Cary, North Carolina.
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