Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 12 - AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES › Sub-Agency 010 - DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE › Chapter 012 - VERMONT ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES (10 V.S.A. APP. Section 10) › Section 12 010 012 - VERMONT ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES (10 V.S.A. APP. Section 10)

Current through June,
				2024
Section 1.0
				Authority.
This rule is adopted pursuant to 10 V.S.A. Chapter 123 which
				  provides that the Secretary "shall adopt by rule a State endangered species
				  list and a State threatened species list," and may "adopt rules for the
				  protection, conservation, or recovery of endangered and threatened
				  species."
Section 2.0
				Purpose.
The purpose of this rule is to identify and list species of
				  wild plants and animals and designate critical habitats that have been
				  determined by the Secretary to require protection under Vermont law. The rule
				  also sets out a process for the issuance of permits for the taking and
				  possession of endangered and threatened species and the destruction or adverse
				  impact to designated critical habitat.
Section 3.0 Definitions.
3.1 "Accepted silvicultural practices" means
				the accepted silvicultural practices defined by the Commissioner of Forests,
				Parks and Recreation, including the Acceptable Management Practices for
				Maintaining Water Quality on Logging Jobs in Vermont adopted by the
				Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation.
3.2 "Critical habitat" for a threatened
				species or endangered species means:
(A) a
				delineated location within the geographical area occupied by the species that:
(i) has the physical or biological features
				that are identifiable, concentrated, and decisive to the survival of a
				population of the species; and
(ii)
				is necessary for the conservation or recovery of the species; and
(iii) may require special management
				considerations or protection; or
(B) a delineated location outside the
				geographical area occupied by a species at the time it is listed under 10
				V.S.A. § 5402, Vermont Endangered and Threatened Species Rule that:
(i)
(I) was
				historically occupied by a species; or
(II) contains habitat that is hydrologically
				connected or directly adjacent to occupied habitat; and
(ii) contains habitat that is identifiable,
				concentrated, and decisive to the continued survival of a population of the
				species; and
(iii) is necessary for
				the conservation or recovery of the species.
3.3 "Destroy or adversely impact" means, with
				respect to critical habitat, a direct or indirect activity that negatively
				affects the value of critical habitat for the survival, conservation, or
				recovery of a listed threatened or endangered species.
3.4 "Endangered Species" means a species that
				has been listed as endangered by the Secretary because the species normally
				occurs in the State and its continued existence as a sustainable component of
				the State's wildlife or wild plants is in jeopardy, or it is listed as an
				"endangered species" under the federal Endangered Species Act.
3.5 "Farming" shall have the same meaning as
				used in 10 V.S.A. § 6001(22) of this title.
3.6 "Forestry operations" means activities
				related to the management of forests, including a timber harvest; pruning;
				planting; reforestation; pest, disease, and invasive species control; wildlife
				habitat management; and fertilization. "Forestry operations" include the
				primary processing of forest products of commercial value on a parcel where the
				timber harvest occurs.
3.7
				"Habitat" means the physical and biological environment in which a particular
				species of plant or animal lives.
3.8 "Harming," as used in the definition of
				"take" or "taking" in this rule means: an act that kills or injures a
				threatened or endangered species; or the destruction or imperilment of habitat
				that kills or injures a threatened or endangered species by significantly
				impairing continued survival or essential behavioral patterns, including
				reproduction, feeding, or sheltering.
3.9 "Plant" means any member of the plant
				kingdom, including seeds, roots, and other parts thereof. As used in this rule,
				plants shall include fungi.
3.10
				"Possession" means holding, controlling, exporting, importing, processing,
				selling, offering to sell, delivering, carrying, transporting, or shipping by
				any means a member of a species.
3.11 "Secretary" means the Secretary of the
				Agency of Natural Resources except where otherwise specified.
3.12 "Take and taking"
(a) With respect to wildlife designated a
				threatened or endangered species, means:
(1)
				pursuing, shooting, hunting, killing, capturing, trapping, harming, snaring, or
				netting wildlife;
(2) an act that
				creates a risk of injury to wildlife, whether or not the injury occurs,
				including harassing, wounding, or placing, setting, drawing, or using any net
				or other device used to take animals; or
(3) attempting to engage in or assisting
				another to engage in an act set forth under subdivision (1) or (2) of this
				subdivision.
(b) With
				respect to a wild plant designated a threatened or endangered species, means
				uprooting, transplanting, gathering seeds or fruit, cutting, injuring, harming,
				or killing or any attempt to do the same or assisting another who is doing or
				attempting to do the same.
3.13 "Threatened Species" means a species
				that has been listed as threatened by the Secretary because the species is a
				sustainable component of the State's wildlife or wild plants; it is reasonable
				to conclude based on available information that its numbers are declining; and
				unless protected, it will become an endangered species or, a species determined
				to be a "threatened species" under the federal Endangered Species
				Act.