Vermont

We can be thankful for Vermont’s wild turkeys

Published

1 year ago

November 23, 2024

We can be thankful for Vermont’s wild turkeys

One of our native wildlife species historically played an important role on Thanksgiving Day. North America’s native wild turkeys were the ancestors of the Thanksgiving turkey on our dinner table.

Originally found only in the wild, turkeys now exist as meat-producing domesticated varieties — the broad breasted white, broad breasted bronze, white Holland, bourbon red, and a host of other breeds – all of them descended from our native wild turkey.

More than 140,000 servings of Vermont wild turkeys are harvested each year – that’s 140,000 servings of free-ranging, wild and sustainably harvested protein.

Wild turkeys exist throughout Vermont today, but that was not always the case. Wild turkeys disappeared from Vermont in the mid-to-late 1800s due to habitat destruction when land was cleared for farming and only 25 percent of the state was covered by forest.

The wild turkeys we see in Vermont today originated from just 31 wild turkeys stocked in Southwestern Vermont by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department in 1969 and 1970. Vermont’s forest habitat was once again capable of supporting turkeys. State wildlife biologists moved groups of these birds northward, and today Vermont’s population of turkeys is estimated at close to 50,000.

This is just one of many wildlife restoration success stories we can be thankful for in 2024. Funding for Vermont’s wild turkey restoration was derived from the sale of hunting licenses and a federal tax on hunting equipment.

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Vermont

Women’s Lacrosse Bested in Burlington by Vermont – University at Albany Great Danes

Published

2 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Women’s Lacrosse Bested in Burlington by Vermont – University at Albany Great Danes

Score: UAlbany 4, Vermont 14

Location: Virtue Field | Burlington, Vt.

Records: UAlbany (10-5, 5-1 America East) | Vermont (8-6, 4-1 America East)

Short Story: UAlbany women’s lacrosse fell to the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday afternoon.

Key Stats

Grace Cincebox recorded a total of 14 saves with 13 goals allowed for a .565 save percentage.

Ravan Marsell led the Great Danes with two points on one goal and one assist.

Four different UAlbany players scored in the contest.

Reggie Williams was the team’s leader with three ground balls.

Delilah Mile caused a team high three turnovers.

How It Happened

The Catamounts came out of the gates hard and heavy, scoring all three goals between both sides in the first quarter.

Vermont would take an 8-0 lead in the second quarter before Amanda Williamson found the back of the net on a women-down goal to put the Great Danes on the board and make it 8-1.

The Great Danes would allow one more goal in the first half to trail 9-1 after 30-minutes of play.

Grace Cincebox would enter the half with 10 saves.

Riley Forthofer started the Great Danes off in the second half to make it a 9-2 game, before Vermont put up three more goals to take a 12-2 lead entering the final quarter of play.

Mya Carroll and Ravan Marsell both scored on back-to-back free-position goals to make it a 12-4 game.

The Catamounts finished the game with two more goals to take the win 14-4.

Up Next
The Great Danes will next have a bye week and wait to see the outcome of next week’s Vermont vs UMass Lowell game to see who will host the America East Tournament.

Social Central: Stay up to date with UAlbany women’s lacrosse by following the team on Instagram (@UAlbanyWLax), Facebook (UAlbany Women’s Lacrosse), and X (@UAlbanyWLax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.

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Vermont

Vermont lands two cities in America’s top 15 happiest list

Published

14 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Vermont lands two cities in America’s top 15 happiest list

Is creativity the missing key to better health?

Research suggests creative activities like art, music and crafts may benefit mental health as much as other key health habits.

Here’s another reason Vermont is the best New England state: It’s home to one of the top 5 happiest cities in the United States.

Plus, it has another within the top 15.

Massachusetts, on the other hand, doesn’t even break the top 50. Nor, does Connecticut or Rhode Island.

The personal finance website analyzed 182 of the largest cities in the country, and ranked Boston 63rd overall. Although the city is home to some of the nation’s top universities, high-ranking hospitals, and well-regarded companies, it didn’t break the top 50.

To get the rankings, WalletHub compared the cities using 29 metrics, including life-satisfaction index, depression rate, poverty rate, job security, and acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, and cities were assigned an overall happiness score.

Here’s a look at how the cities ranked.

South Burlington is No. 4 happiest city, Burlington is No. 11

South Burlington came on top for Vermont in WalletHub’s list of the happiest cities in the United States, ranking at No. 4. In scored very high for emotional and physical well-being coming in at the No. 4 spot, which made up for coming in No. 48 for community and environment. It was No. 9 for income and employment ranking. That gave it a total happiness of score of 70.15

Burlington wasn’t far behind at all, taking the No. 11 spot on the list and a happiness score of 67.54. It’s highest score was for income and employment ranking where it came second. It ranked No. 13 for community and environment and No. 21 for emotional and physical well-being.

Happiest cities in the US, per WalletHub

Here are the 25 happiest cities in the U.S., and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:

Fremont, California – 74.09
Bismarck, North Dakota – 73.11
Scottsdale, Arizona – 71.36
South Burlington, Vermont – 70.15
Fargo, North Dakota – 69.36
Overland Park, Kansas – 68.45
Charleston, South Carolina – 68.44
Irvine, California – 67.99
Gilbert, Arizona – 67.96
San Jose, California – 67.79
Burlington, Vermont – 67.54
Madison, Wisconsin – 66.35
Columbia, Maryland – 66.28
Chandler, Arizona – 65.69
Seattle, Washington – 65.62
Plano, Texas – 65.34
San Francisco, California – 64.99
Lincoln, Nebraska – 64.90
Portland, Maine – 64.59
Tempe, Arizona – 64.30
San Diego, California – 64.30
Raleigh, North Carolina – 63.47
Peoria, Arizona – 63.38
Durham, North Carolina – 62.84
Huntington Beach, California – 62.80

Least happy cities in the US, per WalletHub

Here are the 25 least happy cities in the U.S., and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:

Detroit, Michigan (#182 overall) – 29.55
Memphis, Tennessee (#181 overall) – 34.39
Shreveport, Louisiana (#180 overall) – 34.93
Cleveland, Ohio (#179 overall) – 36.50
Huntington, West Virginia (#178 overall) – 37.20
Toledo, Ohio (#177 overall) – 37.21
Augusta, Georgia (#176 overall) – 38.24
Fort Smith, Arkansas (#175 overall) – 38.66
Dover, Delaware (#174 overall) – 39.08
Akron, Ohio (#173 overall) – 40.11
Baltimore, Maryland (#172 overall) – 40.28
Birmingham, Alabama (#171 overall) – 40.37
Baton Rouge, Louisiana (#170 overall) – 40.47
Columbus, Georgia (#169 overall) – 40.61
Montgomery, Alabama (#168 overall) – 41.35
Gulfport, Mississippi (#167 overall) – 41.65
Charleston, West Virginia (#166 overall) – 42.18
Jackson, Mississippi (#165 overall) – 42.60
St. Louis, Missouri (#164 overall) – 43.53
Knoxville, Tennessee (#163 overall) – 44.04
Wilmington, Delaware (#162 overall) – 44.34
Little Rock, Arkansas (#161 overall) – 44.48
Mobile, Alabama (#160 overall) – 44.85
New Orleans, Louisiana (#159 overall) – 45.19
Tulsa, Oklahoma (#158 overall) – 45.33

Where New England cities ranked

Here are the 12 happiest cities in New England, and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:

South Burlington, Vermont (#6 overall) – 70.15
Burlington, Vermont (#11 overall) – 67.54
Portland, Maine (#19 overall) – 64.59
Nashua, New Hampshire (#27 overall) – 62.49
Manchester, New Hampshire (#51 overall) – 59.10
Boston, Massachusetts (#63 overall) – 56.88
Warwick, Rhode Island (#66 overall) – 56.59
New Haven, Connecticut (#95 overall) – 54.14
Bridgeport, Connecticut (#96 overall) – 54.01
Providence, Rhode Island (#98 overall) – 53.52
Worcester, Massachusetts (#116 overall) – 50.12
Lewiston, Maine (#145 overall) – 47.28

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Vermont

Tornado with winds up to 90mph touches down in Vermont amid storms

Published

1 day ago

April 17, 2026

Press Room

Tornado with winds up to 90mph touches down in Vermont amid storms

A tornado touched down in Vermont Thursday, when a strong storm system moved through the area, the National Weather Service said.

Winds are believed to have hit 90 mph when the tornado churned through Williamstown at about 9:15 p.m., the agency said Friday. That makes it an EF1 tornado on the Fujita Scale, which goes from 0 at the weakest to 5 at the strongest.

Lasting three minutes, the twister traveled for more than four-tenths of a mile, with a maximum width of 100 yards, according to the National Weather Service’s preliminary assessment. It damaged a pair of buildings and numerous trees, shearing tree tops. Golf ball-sized hail was also reported in the area.

Severe thunderstorms popped up across the North Country Thursday night, including in central Vermont — Williamstown is south of Montpelier.

The town thanked its road crew, firefighters and locals who spent hours in the wake of the storm cleaning up.

“We appreciate all that you do to keep the town functioning though an emergency situation,” the town said.

People in the area told NBC affiliate WPTZ that the storm was shockingly powerful, and National Weather Service staffer Marlon Verasamy said that while tornadoes in Vermont are rare, they’re even rarer in this part of the state.

“Generally, when we do see tornadoes around the area that they’ve been in Addison County and not here, so it make it really, really unique to get a tornado in this kind of terrain in this part of the state,” Verasamy said.

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