Wildlife Talk: Habitat and Connectivity in Putney

How do fox, deer, fisher, bobcat and other wide-ranging animals move among Putney’s remaining woodlands to find the food, water, shelter and water they need to survive? Jens Hilke, Conservation Biologist at the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, presents a talk on wildlife habitat and habitat connectors in Putney, and throughout Vermont. The Putney Wildlife Road Crossing Map is the culmination of six years of tracking and data entry by over 40 Putney, Dummerston and Westminster volunteers coordinated by the Putney Conservation Commission (PCC). Hilke will put into context the in-depth results of a structural analysis based on the tracking data that were collected. “Wildlife road crossings are important local connections in our statewide network of habitat connectivity” said Hilke. “The work of the Putney trackers is critically important in finding out exactly where these places are so that appropriate planning can take place.”