Stewarding for Wildlife Habitat

Habitat Resources Available to Landowners

Good habitat takes a little work to create and maintain. With over 80% of Vermont being privately owned, landowners are critical to maintaining healthy wildlife populations in our state. But managing land and creating habitat for wildlife can be intimidating, confusing, and sometimes overwhelming. That’s why the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, along with our conservation partners, provide habitat management resources to make it easy and affordable for you to boost wildlife habitat on your land. Here are our top five picks:

• Cost-share funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can make it affordable for farmers or family woodland owners to create or improve wildlife habitat on their land. If you’re a landowner interested in benefiting wildlife on your farm or woodlot, Vermont Fish & Wildlife will work with you and the NRCS to put together an Environmental Quality Incentives Program application.
• A network of neighbors connected through Vermont Coverts’ Woodlands for Wildlife program provides plenty of hands-on learning and connections to experts for landowners who want to take stewardship into their own hands. If you’re a landowner interested to learn what you and your neighbors can do to improve wildlife habitat in your neck of the woods, Coverts is the community for you.
• Experts on call with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and the National Wild Turkey Federation will walk your land with you and help identify where you can make the most impact for game species and biodiversity. If you’re new to habitat management and want a professional’s opinion on your property, give us a ring.
• Book learning has its place, and our Wildlife Habitat Management Guide—available free on our website—offers 140 pages of wisdom on everything from apple tree release to creating cover for small game. If you like to move at your own pace, this is your one-stop guide.
• Crowdsourced wildlife identification with iNaturalist’s dynamic “Seek” app lets you identify wildlife and plants on your property by snapping a photo to match against the app’s impressive database. If you’re looking for a cost-free, all-in-one field guide that fits in the palm of your hand, seek no further.

This list is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of resources for landowners who want to make their properties welcome for whitetails, wild turkey, and more. Visit our website at to learn more or get in touch with our biologists.