MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – A range of protestors representing hunters, loggers, and grassroots environmentalists banded together at the Statehouse Thursday to take aim at a slate of bills they say is undermining Vermont’s traditional identity and squeezing them and their families out.
Vermonters donning blaze orange, camo, flannel, and orange ribbons, came to Montpelier Thursday to say they’ve had enough.
“All of whom are rather upset with the treatment we feel we’re receiving from the political leadership in Montpelier,” said James Ehlers with Vermonters for a Clean Environment.
The coalition asserts that state lawmakers are advancing new taxes, fees, regulations, and policies that are putting a squeeze on rural communities. “More and more, we’re losing dignified, skilled and land-based work. Now, we build second homes, wait tables, and run ski lifts,” said Meghan Wayland with Northeast Kingdom Organizing.
The groups see the expected double-digit spike in property taxes as a prime example of how lawmakers in Montpelier are out of touch.
“I’m not anti-education, I’m just anti-going broke paying for it,” said Chris Viens, a former Waterbury Selectboard member.
They’re also decrying one of the most controversial bills of the year, which would ban hunting coyotes with dogs and change the makeup of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board to include non-hunting interests. “The concept that use of our wildlife is a zero-sum game is an outright lie,” said Mike Covey with the Vermont Traditions Coalition.
Former Democratic state Senator John Rodgers, who says he is considering running for the Orleans County seat vacated by Senator Bobby Starr, saying urban communities are trampling over the interest of rural Vermonters. “The Legislature has decided it’s okay to discriminate against the culture of the people whose families built this state,” he said. Rodgers says changes to issues of hunting and fishing, the environment, and property rights hit deep at what it means to be a Vermonter.
Statehouse observer and longtime lobbyist Kevin Ellis says the policies coming out of the Legislature are a reflection of the big demographic shift Vermont has seen in recent decades. “I think a lot of this boils down to culture, and they feel the Vermont they knew is slipping away,” he said.
Ellis compares their concerns to the legalization of civil unions in 2000 that prompted the “Take Back Vermont” movement, which helped Republicans briefly regain power at the Statehouse. But he says unlike 20 years ago, Republicans only ran candidates in 88 out of 150 House seats last election. “That was a Republican party that is alive and functional. This one is not.”
Democratic legislative leaders at the Statehouse declined requests for an interview Thursday. In a statement addressing the Fish and Wildlife Board measure, House Speaker Jill Krowniski, D-Burlington, said she has had an open door for organizations who both oppose and support S.258. “The committee has diligently considered testimony from a wide range of perspectives and we remain committed to listening to all Vermonters. This isn’t about pitting rural communities against urban communities; rather, it’s an example of the House’s dedication to bringing everyone to the table,” she said.
