The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced March 2 that the animal known officially as the Eastern Cougar is, in fact, extinct. Decades have passed since the last confirmed sighting of a catamount in Vermont.

The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife wants to help private landowners make it easier for the endangered Indiana bats to live on their land.

The state of Vermont is holding a public meeting on its draft plan for managing deer, moose, bear and turkeys in the next decade.

Congressional members from 13 states are asking the Obama administration for emergency funding to keep bats alive.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says its request that people stay out of caves in 17 states doesn't apply to tourist attractions, but some commercial caves might start requiring visitors to wipe their feet to prevent the spread of a deadly bat disorder.

The state is holding a series of meetings over the next week on Vermont's deer herd.

The population of snow geese has grown so much that wildlife officials are allowing the birds to be hunted in six Northeastern states.

The Missisquoi River is scheduled to be treated today with chemicals to kill sea lamprey, a parasitic fish that preys on certain species of sport fish.

Preliminary numbers show the amount of deer taken during Vermont's archery season increased from past years, which Fish and Wildlife officials say is good news for hunters for the upcoming rifle season.

Some Swanton residents are upset about a proposal to remove a dam from the Mississquoi River as a way to reopen seven miles of spawning habitat for several Lake Champlain fish species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expanding the sea lamprey control program for Lake Champlain.

Fish and Wildlife officials hope to expand a program to control lampreys on Lake Champlain. U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials want to expand the use of lampricide. It would be used in new locations including the Lamoille River, Otter Creek in Vergennes, and Mill Brook in Port Henry, New York.

Some Vermont hunters are upset by Department of Fish and Wildlife plans to nearly double the number of antlerless deer permits that will be issued for this fall's hunting season.

A former member of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife board is being fined $200 for baiting deer last November.

Officials are cautioning hikers to prepare for winter conditions that could linger into May in the mountains.

The commissioner of the Department Fish and Wildlife says a recent increase in hunting bodes well for the finances of the department. Wayne LaRouche says hunting and fishing licenses increased slightly last year.  The fees paid for those licenses make up about 37 percent of the department's budget. 

Vermont's Democratic super-delegates have different ideas about the factors they should consider in selecting their party's presidential nominee; Vermont Yankee is reducing its power output for several days so workers can fix a small leak; Eight people were injured when a tour bus slid off I-89 in Highgate; The commissioner of the Department of Fish and Wildlife says a recent increase in hunting bodes well for the department's finances; Green Mountain Power Corporation says its customers saw fewer power outages in 2007 than in previous years; Longtime Democratic activist Violet Coffin has died at the age of 87; and commentator Peter Gilbert on ESP.

Lawmakers are weighing legislation that would dedicate part of the state's sales tax revenues to the Fish and Wildlife Department.

An 80-year-old Milton man and his dog are safe after being rescued from Lake Champlain after the car they were riding in broke through the ice off the Milton shore.

Bats in New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts are dying this winter by the thousands. A mysterious illness called White Nose Syndrome is affecting half a million bats, and scientists worry this may be just the tip of the iceberg. VPR's Jane Lindholm has more.