"When you look at our big species, it looks like we are having successes, and we are. But when you look at all the species, we are continuing to use up their habitat, with more roads, more road traffic, and more development." (Steven Parren, Program Coordinator, Vermont Nongame and Natural Heritage Program, March 1998)
As Vermont's population grew during the past three decades, impacts on the environment also grew. More food, drinking water, and goods were consumed, more waste was produced, more miles were driven, and more people moved onto large lots in rural areas. All these human activities have impacted our native wildlife by compromising or destroying some of the habitat they need to feed, take shelter, travel, breed, and raise offspring.
The life we value in humans is akin to the life that exists in animals and plants.
Other species have an integrity of their own and deserve respect and the
opportunity to flourish simply because they exist.
In addition, plants and animals support and improve human life in many ways.
They provide us with food, medicine, and clothing. Many plants and animals act as
indicators of environmental quality, and plants improve air and water quality and
prevent soil erosion. Other species contribute to our aesthetic and recreational
experiences, including hunting, fishing, birdwatching, photography, and hiking.
Finally, diverse communities of plants and animals maintain the balance of healthy
ecosystems, ensuring that all species have a healthy planet.
What are the Risks to Vermont's Wildlife Habitat?
The most serious risks to our wildlife habitat are widely dispersed human activities. For example, lakes and streams are polluted by run-off from yards, farms, roads, and urban areas. Air pollution that harms surface waters and forest communities comes from cars, heating systems, and fossil fuel power plants.
Vermonters cause the greatest additional threats to the state's ecosystems when we:
The habitats of both common and rare species are compromised by humans, but rare species are especially at risk. Human activities and other causes have placed 187 species on the state's endangered and threatened list, including 34 animals and 153 plants. The common loon, spiny softshell turtle, sedge wren, and wild lupine are all on the list. Eight more species currently are being considered for the endangered or threatened list, and another 586 animals and plants are considered rare or uncommon in Vermont. Risks to Habitats on Land
Human activities degrade the health of Vermont's terrestrial wildlife habitat and species by indirectly harming and directly destroying habitat. For example, humans degrade habitat indirectly by causing air pollution and polluted run-off. Suburban sprawl, or low-density development outside town centers, is one of the most common ways we directly destroy habitat.
Another indirect impact occurs when sprawl and heavy forest cutting result in fragmented forest. Some wildlife species, such as bears, moose, and forest songbirds, require large, connected forest areas for habitat. In addition, predators often disappear from an area when it is fragmented, and when predators disappear, the populations of their prey usually grow rapidly. This upsets the natural balance of an ecosystem and stresses or destroys other species.
Development in certain areas also threatens the species that require highly specific habitats. For instance, deer need specific wintering areas, bears need special feeding areas in spring and fall, and great blue herons, loons, and owl require certain nesting habitats. The Bicknell's thrush breed on mountaintops in the northeastern U.S. and Canada, and its habitat is threatened by ski resort development, communication towers, and heavy recreational use.
Vermont's forests are currently under stress from a variety of causes, including human activities that create air pollution. Air pollution reduced the growth of Vermont's forests by an estimated 5% per year between 1985 and 1990 and is predicted to further reduce growth by 10% per year during the following 20 years. Ground-level ozone pollution (smog) from fossil fuel combustion stunts the growth to native trees such as maple and white pine, and acid rain and snow threaten high-elevation spruce-fir forests.
There is also evidence that toxic air pollutants are building up in Vermont's trees, plants, animals, and soil, although the effects of this are not yet clear. For example, Vermont's forests apear to be retaining a large proportion of the mercury deposited on the land.
In addition, several rare natural communities that include rare species are threatened by current human activities. High-elevation mountaintops are susceptible to damage from air pollution and acid precipitation, and sandplain communites along Lake Camplain are undergoing development. Risks to Aquatic Habitats
The greatest threats to aquatic habitats in Vermont are the human activities that pollute the surface run-off from lawns, farm fields, steets, and parking lots. In addition, aquatic habitats are threatened by excess sediment, shoreline development, dams, fluctuations in water levels, changes to river channels, air pollution, and non-native species. About 18% of Vermont's steam-miles and 22% of our lake and pond acres are estimated to be impaired or polluted, and even more have potential threats to their designated uses.
One of the biggest threats to Vermont's lakes and ponds is phosphorus, which comes from run-off from farms and urban areas. Too much phosphorous causes excessive amounts of algae to grow, which can reduce oxygen levels and kill aquatic life. In a 1990 study, 21,199 lake acres we found to have major or minor impacts from phosphorus and similar pollutants.
Toxic pollutants also have found their way into aquatic life, through both run-off and air pollution. Elevated levels of mercury have been detected in almost every fish tested from a variety of water bodies in Vermont. Elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other toxic pollutants come from fossil fuel combustion, especially coal power plants in other states, and industrial machinery and equipment.
In addition, acid rain and snow cause lakes and rivers to acidify, killing fish, clams, snails, and other life. Six lakes in Vermont are already critically acidic, while another 26 are at least moderately sensitive to acidification.
What We Can Do
If Vermont's population continues to grow in the future, as is predicted, the impact each person has on the environment and on wildlife habitat will have to decrease just to maintain the status quo. To begin to reduce each person's impacts, we can:
Some of these actions require hard work, difficult choices, and personal dedication. But when we begin to decrease the impacts each person makes on the environment, we start building a healthier and more sustainable future for ourselves, our children, and all species that share the planet.
