Governor Shumlin recently encountered a mother bear and her three cubs who were interested in his bird feeder at his home in Montpelier. The current population of around 6,000 bears in Vermont is believed to be the highest since European settlement began in the state. Combine this with continued residential and commercial development and the likelihood of human-bear interaction increases.

State wildlife biologist Forrest Hammond discusses Vermont's efforts to control the bear population and the factors that impact the Eastern Black Bear's environment.We also hear from author Ben Kilham on bear behaviors. 

Also on the program, we get another perspective on dairy issues and milk supply from Robert Wellington, Senior Vice President for Economics, Communication and Legislative Affairs for the Agri-Mark dairy cooperative. Wellington has been in Washington this week lobbying legislators to include a revenue insurance program in the new Farm Bill that he says would help stabilize supply issues for farmers around the country and help stop the hemorrhaging of Vermont dairy farms.

And Middlebury College has sent a slam poetry team of their top five poets to the national competition in La Verne, California this week. Forty schools from around the country are competing. We hear about the Middlebury team called Poor Form Poetry.