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(05/02/13 12:57am)
The walls of Kate Gridley’s backyard studio are covered in tall canvases, each featuring a man or a woman between the ages of 17 and 24. These figures stand with hands clasped or resting on hips, heads tilted, smiles curled upwards. They are part of her current work “Passing Through: Portraits of Emerging Adults,” a show of portraits of 17 individuals who are somewhere on the bridge between adolescence and adulthood. These portraits, accompanied by oral stories, will be exhibited at Middlebury College beginning in August 2013.
Gridley did not formally study art during her time at Williams College, but when she graduated she was awarded the Hutchinson Memorial Fellowship, which allowed her to study painting and drawing in Europe. Her current technique is rooted in the traditional painting techniques she studied while abroad in Japan during college and in Europe post graduation. Those formative years allowed her to create a style that was much her own, but influenced by her experiences. Following the completion of her fellowship, Gridley settled in Middlebury, determined to remain a full-time painter and to create the work by which she was inspired.
Gridley sees her art not as subscribing to a certain path, but rather creating her own.
“For me it has always been a way of constructing a life where we can live decently and pursue those things which are important to us,” she said.
The individuals chosen for this project have each passed through Middlebury at some point in their lives: one boy is a ninth-generation Vermonter; another spent his summers in Middlebury as a Fresh-Air Fund participant. It is their similarities that ties them together, however. Each shares the connection of Middlebury, each is on the path towards adulthood, and each has a connection to Gridley.
This body of work is the first time Gridley has painted a piece with a unified mission. The inspiration for the work came from a visit to a favorite portrait in a favorite museum, The Frick, in New York City about four-and-a-half years ago. While looking at this portrait of a young man, Gridley realized that he appeared to be the same age as her eldest son. As she noted the differences between the two men, she considered how they, although the same age, were in different stages in life.
“I started to think about people in this age group in different cultures and of different socio-economic strata,” she said. “I considered how adults see them, how they see themselves, how they are valued in their cultures and I realized that this time between adolescence and adulthood has gotten longer. During this time these individuals are doing more and learning more, but I wonder if they have really assumed the mantle of owning themselves.”
Gridley has always enjoyed working with teenagers and emerging adults. She and her husband run a youth group at the Unitarian Church and through that, as well as by getting to know her sons’ friends and making connections with Middlebury College students, Gridley has come to form relationships with many young people. She believes that this time in individuals’ lives is vibrant and important and she enjoys witnessing them encounter chaos, question their identities and beliefs and make connections. Wishing to capture this time in a way that viewers could understand and connect to, Gridley conceived of this portrait work. For the first time Gridley’s artwork was paired with her community work, giving her art an active and personal connection.
Accompanying each portrait is an oral profile of each subject speaking about his or her life. By bringing a digital aspect to the work, Gridley hoped that a more complete story of each individual could be shared.
“I am using the media to get into a narrative about the subjects and when you layer the digital sound on top of it, it becomes something that is connected to the now,” said Gridley. “These pieces are very easily accessed to the viewer — they are not mysterious. What you see is what you get.”
“Passing Through: Portraits of Emerging Adults” will travel throughout Vermont and New England, connecting groups of other emerging adults. Gridley’s hope is that each exhibit will not only feature her 17 portraits, but also a sound booth and a photo booth where viewers can have their images projected on the wall and oral stories compiled.
“I wanted to create a piece that could reverberate with institutions or within communities,” said Gridley. “I want to provide the potential for interaction, for kids to come in and have a contemplative experience by looking at people who are like them — who they know, almost.”
Although Gridley has spent the last four-and-a-half years dedicated to this project, she has also completed some other notable pieces during her time in Middlebury. She was commissioned to paint the official portraits of former Governor Jim Douglas and the Honorable William K. Sessions III, which hang in the Vermont statehouse and the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building in Washington D.C., respectively.
While Gridley also does many still life paintings, she prefers the process of portraiture and the connection she makes with her subject.
“The painting of a portrait is always collaborative,” she said. “By the time I’m done with a painting, it is not about a likeness. Because of the collaborative nature of the work, for me the painting becomes a record of the hours I spent working with this person.”
Despite the collaborative aspects of painting portraits, ultimately Kate Gridley spends hours in her studio working alone, trying to create a visual representation of her subjects. Although an experienced painter, she still is challenged with each painting.
“There is something about painting that is still and contemplative,” she said. “For me it is about layers. I literally paint layers, but it’s about layers of personality, layers of time, layers of paint. And yet every time I start a painting, I feel like I’ve never painted before — like I’ve just started again, at the alter of possibility. ”
(04/17/13 10:34pm)
I am almost 22 years old and last week at the Gensler Symposium I was shown, for the first time in my life, how to use a female condom. (And, for that matter, a male condom as well.) I have attended five different schools, three public and two private (including Middlebury), have open, supportive parents and have been involved in groups and workshops about sex and sexuality. But never before have I been exposed to a lesson that has taught me about proper condom-use. I am sure I am not the only one.
Since arriving at Middlebury three-and-a-half years ago I have been impressed with the College’s progression in confronting the issue of sexuality and sex on campus. However, as I have been loosely connected with the Sexual Assault Oversight Committee and other groups that cover sexual assault, I have found that Middlebury is vocal about the issue of sexual assault and rape, or more broadly, the problems that sex has created on this campus. By no means do I wish to speak ill of these programs; rather I wish to address what is still missing here: the presence of sex education programs. With such a strong emphasis on prevention, Middlebury is not recognizing how to encourage students to explore the enjoyment of sex.
Many of us arrive at Middlebury without having received health education — or if we have, it has not gone so far as to educate us about how to effectively use protection, much less how to explore ourselves and others. Middlebury is a place of firsts for many students: first time living away from home, first time getting a bad grade, first time having sex. We address other firsts by providing tutors, counselors, support groups and student leadership groups, but we don’t have any events where students can learn how to effectively use a condom, how to get oral contraceptives or ask about spermicide. We need to offer all students an opportunity to learn about safe sexual practices and how to attain sexual pleasure, both alone as well as with others.
In my first year I attended a sex-toy talk and presentation in the Chateau, but since then no other similar programs have been offered. My hope is that with the hiring of the new director of health and wellness this campus will see an increase in events such as this, which will promote further conversations about sex. I also hope that events will cover topics on which many of us have speculated, but rarely talked about such as what a female condom looks like and how it is used; or how one uses a diaphragm or dental dam. Many of these questions are not discussed and remain unanswered, but there are many students seeking answers and a space in which to discuss these topics. The College should be commended for providing spaces to increase awareness of the possible harms of sex; now it should do the same for the benefits of sex as well.
(03/20/13 12:32am)
On Wed Feb. 27 the highly debated bill that would impose an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages was approved by the Vermont State House Health Care Committee with a vote of 7-4.
The bill was first proposed in December by lead sponsor Rep. Dave Sharpe of Bristol with the support of the Alliance for a Healthier Vermont, which is a coalition of over 40 organizations including the American Heart Association, the Vermont Medical Society, many Vermont hospitals and other advocates outside of and within the statehouse. The primary goal of the bill is to address the growing issue of obesity in the state. It defines sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) as any drink that has sugar, including high fructose corn syrup. The tax would not be imposed on water, diet drinks, milk products or 100 percent fruit juice.
“There is a growing scientific knowledge base and understanding that sugar-sweetened beverages are a major contributor to heart disease, diabetes, tooth decay and obesity and we need to do a much better job of educating and changing the behavior of Vermonters and Americans towards their consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages,” said Sharpe.
Sharpe sees the proposed tax as an effective means of educating people on the risks of consuming sugary beverages.
“The approach that I took with the bill I submitted is to change behavior by creating a situation where it was more expensive [to buy sugar-sweetened beverages] than some healthier drinks,” he said. “This would create the kind of price differential for people whose behavior with regards to buying beverages is shaped, at least partially, by price, as they would be encouraged to buy a cheaper beverage that did not have added sugar.”
Currently 58 percent of adults and almost 27 percent of children in Vermont are considered overweight or obese. The health care costs of obesity are estimated to be around $140 million a year, with over 50 percent of Vermont’s Medicare and Medicaid expenses attributed to obesity. Proponents of the bill see the excise tax as the next-best option for trying to combat obesity in Vermont.
Furthermore, a study done by Yale University found that imposing a penny an ounce tax could result in upwards of $26 million annually in revenues. The revenues generated by the tax would be used in various places of need, but primarily for creating obesity prevention and education programs and for lowering the costs of health care for lower income residents.
Obesity has been a legislative concern for quite some time; in 2010 a bill of a similar nature did not make it out of the House Ways and Means Committee. Proponents of the bill believe that this excise tax will prove Vermont’s commitment towards securing a healthier populace.
“Currently ranked as the healthiest state in the nation, passage of the sugar-sweetened beverage tax could show how Vermont has been the leader in public health it has been known for in the past,” said Tina Zuk, government relations director of the American Heart Association.
The bill targets sugar-sweetened beverages specifically, as opposed to other junk foods, because of the particular dangers associated with sweet drinks.
“Because they are liquids, the body processes sugary drinks differently and simply doesn’t get full on them the same way it does with solids,” said Zuk. “Combine this with the fact that they add calories to the diet with no or little nutritional value and they make up 50 percent of the added sugars in the U.S. population. They are a sensible target for taxation.”
Opponents to the SSB tax attack the bill from different angles. Andrew MacLean ’76, a lobbyist for the Beverage Association of Vermont, believes that the tax “is purely a money grab allegedly for health care,” but otherwise has little to do with health care.
MacLean’s primary concern is that, if the SSB tax is passed, purchasing and consumption of all beverages — not just sugar-sweetened — will decline.
“It will lead to a steep increase in the cost of all beverages, not just sugar-sweetened beverages,” said MacLean. “This is because this is an excise tax as opposed to a sales tax, which is a six percent tax [in Vermont] that is applied to the product you are buying. An excise tax, meanwhile, is levied on the distributor. The SSB tax will be calculated by the amount of sugar-sweetened beverages that it sells. Distributors, therefore, would likely apply it to all beverages that they distribute.”
Others opponents of the tax are wary because of the decline in revenue throughout the state. Governmental leaders, such as Governor Peter Shumlin and State Speaker of the House Shap Smith have both voiced strong concerns regarding the bill’s impact on statewide revenues.
“From a revenue perspective the tax causes me some concern,” said Smith. “A tax like this that is meant to alter behavior can also end up reducing consumption and therefore reducing revenue in the state, so I tend to dislike passing revenue sources that decline over time.”
Many have compared the SSB tax to an excise tax that was imposed on tobacco. Proponents say that these taxes were successful in diminishing the use of cigarettes and raising funds to pay for educational programs used to deter Americans from smoking or drinking. Opponents of the bill, on the other hand, believe that the evidence used in support of this former excise tax was more conclusive than the evidence for SSB. Additionally, they believe the cost of altering behavior may be too prohibitive at this moment in time.
As of now the bill sits in the House Ways and Means Committee, where, according to Smith, the committee does not seem inclined to pass it. Instead, the state may have greater success passing a sales tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.
Although the sales tax would be markedly different from the proposed bill, “it is a very small step in the right direction,” said Sharpe, the lead sponsor of the excise tax bill. “I think it is a recognition on the part of the legislature that we have a problem and that the damage that’s being done to our society and the costs that are being incurred in health care due to SSB are significant and we have to begin to address it.”
The House Ways and Means Committee has not given any indication when they will decide on the bill, but it is expected to be voted on in the upcoming month.
(03/07/13 1:45am)
On Wednesday Feb. 20 Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant released a statement saying that it will be conducting its 30th refueling since its opening in 1972. The refueling will happen this spring and require the plant to shut down for several weeks.
“[The refueling process] is basically a maintenance overhaul,” said Vermont Yankee spokesman Rob Williams. “Almost every system gets some form of maintenance and/or testing inspection.”
Nuclear reactors are refueled every 18 months, during which time about 1/3 of the fuel assemblies are replaced. It is a necessary measure taken to ensure that the plant has up-to-date technology and is inspected thoroughly. Additionally the refueling guarantees that the plant is able to operate for another 18 months.
Entergy’s news about refueling Vermont Yankee shows their commitment to keeping the plant in full operation.
“This is a major business decision for [Entergy],” said Vermont State Representative Margaret Cheney from Norwich. “It shows that they expect to prevail in their various court battles.”
Over the past year Entergy has been caught up in many legal battles both at the state and federal levels regarding the relicensing of the plant. Vermont Yankee was scheduled to close in March 2012, but before its closure it was granted a renewal on its license from the Nuclear Regulatory Committee, enabling it to run for an additional 20 years. Despite being granted this license, the state of Vermont requires Entergy to have a state permit — a certificate of public good (CPG) — in order to run. The Vermont state legislature blocked the state Public Service Board from granting the CPG on account of concerns about the age of the building and its ability to operate safely.
When Vermont Yankee was opened in 1972 it received a 40-year operating license. In the past decade the plant has shown signs of deterioration as leaking problems have concerned health officials about contamination of groundwater and the nearby Connecticut River. Furthermore there has been concern surrounding Vermont Yankee’s spent fuel storage. With the spent fuel pool nearing capacity in 2012, Entergy applied for — and was granted — a permit for dry-cask storage of spent fuel on site. Presently, close to all of Vermont Yankee’s spent fuel is stored on site, either in the spent-fuel pool or dry-cask storage.
Concerns about the storage of nuclear waste and the age of the power plant moved residents of Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts to protest the renewal of Vermont Yankee’s license. In March 2012 over 1,000 protesters marched the 3.5 miles from Brattleboro, Vt. to the Entergy offices, brandishing signs and flags. Residents were not the only people unsettled by Vermont Yankee’s plan to remain open.
In addition to the various legal issues facing Entergy, the company has also struggled financially. On Feb. 14 UBS Securities downgraded Entergy stock from “neutral” to “sell,” alerting stockholders that Entergy was struggling financially.
“The change was primarily predicated on potential cuts to authorize returns on [Entergy’s] southeast utility businesses,” said Julien Dumoulin-Smith, director of UBS Securities Investment Research. “It was also in part due to our growing concerns around its nuclear portfolio, particularly given our expectation for negative cash flows from the Vermont Yankee plant.”
Many residents in the state speculate as to how Vermont would get its power if Vermont Yankee closed, but what most do not realize is that Vermont Yankee only sells out of state.
“Vermont would not fall on its face if it did not get power from Vermont Yankee,” said Cheney. “In fact, we have not been getting power from them since March 2012 when its contract expired. So for a year we have been getting power from other resources.”
Regardless of these speculations regarding the future of Vermont Yankee and the various legal and financial setbacks Entergy is facing, the company remains committed to keeping Vermont Yankee operating at full capacity.
“Short-term gas prices in the electric market are challenging for us and other merchant nuclear plants,” said Williams, Entergy’s spokesman. “We are continuing to operate our plants as efficiently as possible, and are diligent about looking at every aspect off their operation, while at the same time maintaining the safety and integrity of each facility.”
The future of Vermont Yankee remains undetermined, but at least in the short term it will remain running, much to the concern of the local populace.
(11/29/12 3:13am)
On Nov. 17 hundreds of Mexican migrant farmers congregated at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Middlebury; some waited for passport photos to be printed, some received flu shots from the Open Door Clinic, some read flyers distributed by WomenSafe, some chatted with friends but most sat patiently waiting for their new passports. While many individuals attended the annual event, which is hosted by the Vermont Migrant Farmworkers Coalition, to receive health screenings and gather winter clothes, the event had a second purpose as well — the Mexican Consulate was visiting to issue passports and matriculate identification cards to the workers.
The Mexican Consulate visits Vermont once or twice a year — usually in Middlebury, although recently in Plainfield as well — to offer Mexican farm workers the opportunity to receive documents from their home country. The consulate visits these areas due to their higher concentrations of migrant workers, though Mexican farmworkers are located throughout the state and in parts of upstate New York and New Hampshire. Therefore some workers travel great distances to attend this one-day event, relying on employers, but mainly volunteers for transportation since most migrant workers do not qualify for drivers’ licenses.
Immigrant labor in Vermont is not a new development. For over a decade, Jamaican workers have provided the bulk of labor for apple harvest in the fall months and Mexican workers have been a stable part of Vermont’s dairy industry, tending day and night to the milk production cycle. What separates Mexican laborers from other immigrant laborers, however, is their status; seasonal workers, such as those from Jamaica, can receive H-2A visas, which permit workers to legally fill temporary agricultural jobs, assuming that they will not adversely affect employment opportunities for domestic laborers. The nature of dairy farming denies laborers the opportunity for such visas, as dairy farming is a year-round operation and demands full-time employment.
Herein lies the problem for many Mexican migrant farm workers. Since they are unable to secure work visas, some illegally travel thousands of miles, from Mexico to Vermont, to find work on dairy farms. Faced by the constant threat of deportation, the demanding nature of dairy farming and the reality of no legal rights, Mexican workers are forced to remain hidden, trapped on the farms where they work.
Many activist groups, such as the Vermont Migrant Farmworkers Coalition, have been formed to help these undocumented workers find resources and feel a part of a community. This coalition has existed over a decade and is made up of committed volunteers — students, doctors, social workers and others — who work together to serve the needs of migrant farmers and promote awareness of issues they face in Vermont.
According to Cheryl Mitchell, co-head of the Vermont Migrant Farmworkers Coalition, today’s migrant laborers suffer from a variety of problems, highlighted by immigration and legal issues.
“Obviously the major challenge is immigration status,” Mitchell said. “They cannot get a green card status. We have been talking about [immigrant status] ever since I have been involved, so at least 10 years, and it has never passed. For people not to have legal status while they’re here is very difficult.”
Additional problems have become less urgent in recent years. Mitchell commends the efforts of health and social service providers, who have addressed health needs, distributed clothing and provided transportation for doctors’ visits or trips to the grocery store. A looming concern, however, is the state of the current dairy industry in Vermont.
“The other big issue is the fragility of farming,” Mitchell reflected. “The whole agricultural sector right now is fragile, so if the farms go under then the workers are here with nothing to do. It used to be that if somebody [wanted] to come up and [wanted] a job we could call around and see who [was] hiring. Not so many people are hiring anymore because the farms are going out of business.”
While this issue raises significant concern for migrant and domestic laborers alike, lack of transportation remains a more immediate problem for the well being of undocumented workers in Vermont. Some farmers provide transportation for the laborers, but most receive help from volunteer groups, such as Amistad or Juntos — a Middlebury College student volunteer group. Due to this reliance, farm workers rarely feel self-sufficient and many feel trapped. Migrant Justice, with backing from the Vermont Migrant Farmworkers Coalition and other allies, has assumed an advocacy role for migrant laborers and is lobbying for workers to have the opportunity to obtain driver’s licenses.
Danilo Lopez, a former migrant worker and a leader of Migrant Justice is working hard to get this legislation passed.
“We want the members of our communities to have access to everything — to basic needs, such as being able to get driver’s licenses,” Lopez explained through translator Danny Loehr ’13.5, a student board member of Juntos. “But it is not just about having a license and being able to drive. It is about being independent — being able to do what we need to do when we need to do it and not always being dependent on others.”
Migrant Justice was formed three years ago as a response to the unmet needs of migrant farmers in Vermont, but only gained traction following the tragic death of a young worker on a dairy farm in Fairfield, Vt. on Dec. 22, 2009. Since its creation, Migrant Justice has achieved many of its goals by creating a family-like atmosphere for the migrant community that lends support to workers and informs them of their rights while raising money for the release of detained workers. Over the past year Migrant Justice has worked with the migrant community to develop a list of five initiatives they hope to achieve, and presented the list to Governor Peter Shumlin.
This list includes better access to health resources, a bias-free policing policy, improved labor and living conditions, access to driver’s licenses and immigration reform that removes the federal government’s “Secure Communities” program. In spring 2012 Vermont implemented the federal program “Secure Communities,” which allows state police to contact the Department of Homeland Security with questions regarding immigrant status. According to Lopez, migrant communities call this law “Insecure Communities,” as the program has made immigrants more wary of going to state officials with problems or complaints for fear of being detained or deported. While “Secure Communities” remains in effect, Migrant Justice has been successful in implementing a bias-free policing policy, restricting racial profiling.
Despite the group’s successes, members of Migrant Justice are not satisfied with their progress.
“In the past year I have been really impressed; a lot more people have gotten involved and we have really gotten a lot done,” said David Santiago, a current farm laborer and member of Migrant Justice. “But of course there is always more to do … Our final goal is to be completely independent.”
While members of Migrant Justice and the Vermont Migrant Farmworker Coalition feel optimistic that during the upcoming year Senate Bill 238, which would allow undocumented workers to obtain driver’s licenses, will be passed, many in the state are not so supportive. Critics of the proposed legislation believe that affording Mexican laborers the freedom to drive gives them unfair privileges. Additionally, many do not want to grant illegal workers rights that legal guest workers would not have. These considerations have been taken into account and the bill has been highly revised. As of now, advocates must wait until the beginning of the term, in January 2013, to introduce the bill to lawmakers.
The average migrant farmer stays in Vermont for two to three years, working to save up money to send home to help his family. Since many workers have dreams of starting their own businesses upon their return to Mexico, much of the money they make goes into savings. When they feel they have saved enough money, passports are the key to their successful return home. The annual Mexican Consulate visit, therefore, is vital for many workers who are not in possession of passports or official documents.
Lopez attends each of the Consulate visits, hoping to reach out to more migrant workers and get them involved.
“We want to have a community that can organize and understand [migrant workers’] rights and be able to work more justly in Vermont, “ said Lopez. “We do not want to be [invisible] members of the Vermont agricultural system, but rather recognized hands of the farm-working system.”
Beyond greater access for workers, the goal of Migrant Justice and migrant farm laborers at large is to be recognized.
“The most important thing we want,” Lopez said, “is to show we are humans, not dairy machines.”
This recognition comes with cultural change — one that is vital for the hundreds who help run Vermont’s dairy industry.
(11/07/12 11:58pm)
The splendor of autumn in Vermont is always something to look forward to, especially in a small corner of Addison County where an annual fall visitor comes to roost.
Each fall around mid-October, thousands of strikingly white snow geese flock to Dead Creek, a wildlife management area in Addison County, to rest on their long journey south.
The Dead Creek habitat is characterized by its open stretches of water, cattail marshes and wooded areas. The uplands include farmland, open fields and forests. The state put in a series of dams and actively manages the water levels of flooded impoundments to preserve snow geese habitat.
Although their stay in Vermont is short, it does not go unobserved; hundreds of locals and visitors alike also flock to this area to photograph and observe these birds.
In the warmer months, snow geese rest and breed in northern climates on the Arctic tundra — in Greenland, Alaska, Canada and even the northeastern tip of Siberia. As the season changes, however, the birds take flight, following their familiar migratory path, which takes them southeast to the United States and Mexico.
The birds cover around 5,000 miles round trip. This distance is possible because of the efficient flying “V” formation — while in flight, each bird flies slightly above the bird behind it, creating uplift for its follower and reducing wind resistance. As the head goose, the bird flying at the point of the “V” gets tired, it drops back and rotates out of position, allowing for another bird to take its place.
According to scientists, this process affords geese the chance to travel greater distances than they would be able to alone.
With such a great distance to travel, snow geese can easily become fatigued or hungry and risk being left behind. Sanctuaries, such as the one provided at Dead Creek, give the birds a place to rest and rejuvenate on their journey.
Managed by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife department, Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is a 2,858-acre tract of land that spans Panton, Addison and Bridport. The Dead Creek WMA began as small parcels of land purchased from farmers, and, over time, has grown in size due to purchases financed by a Vermont state tax on firearms and ammunition.
A large portion of the Dead Creek WMA is regulated as a refuge, prohibiting public access. Snow geese rest among the trees and in the water in this area, out of hunters’ range.
Snow geese are not the only wildlife to be seen at the Dead Creek WMA — Canadian geese, other duck species and other waterfowl also inhabit the preserve. Regulated hunting and trapping is allowed, but only in controlled hunting areas. The season for hunting snow geese runs from Oct. 1 to Dec. 29.
The geese reach their peak number in mid to late October. The geese have numbered in excess of 5,000 in previous years and the annual population fluctuates because the population growth trend for snow geese is on rise.
Some observers are worried by the population increase. According to Cameron MacKugler ’09, New Haven resident and avid hunter, this trend could eventually lead to an abrupt decimation of the species, particularly in colder regions to the north of Vermont.
“There are more geese than there are grasses and the geese are grazing beneath the soil and consuming the plants’ roots as well, “ MacKugler said. “This is essentially destroying the tundra’s ability to regenerate ... and is leaving the land barren. State agencies monitoring hunting have expanded the daily limit of snow geese that a hunter may kill. While hunters may take 5 Canada geese, they may shoot 25 snow geese per day.”
Although the national population of snow geese is stable, fewer snow geese are flocking to Dead Creek now than in years past.
Professor of Environmental and Biosphere Studies Stephen Trombulak explained the recent change.
“Over the last few years snow geese have preferentially shifted their migratory route through the Champlain Valley over to the New York side of the lake,” he said.
Trombulak is not worried by the shifting migratory patterns.
“Plenty of geese still come through the area,” he said.
Observers continue to visit Dead Creek despite the declining number of geese. Often, observers hear the birds before they see them. Rising up from the cornstalks, massive flocks of the white birds will take to the air, drowning out all other sounds. Their bright white plumage accentuated by black-tipped wings contrasts with the fall foliage. Some grey snow geese, called “blue geese,” can be seen flying among their white counterparts at the close of their fleeting stay here in Vermont.
While many observers may miss this spectacle, vestiges of the snow geese are left behind — white feathers, floating atop the water or caught in the grass, offer a promise for next year’s return.
(10/03/12 10:33pm)
On Sept. 4 concerned Vermonters gathered together in the Brandon Town Hall for a public informational meeting held by state officials regarding the recent outbreak of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in the Brandon area. The deputy secretary of agriculture, the chief of the pesticide division, three representatives from the Vermont Department of Health and other government officials called the meeting to make a presentation about EEE and the state’s decision to spray a pesticide in hopes of reducing the adult mosquito population as well as to answer questions from the public.
Concern surrounding EEE emerged in late August when two men, one in his late 80’s the other mid-40’s, fell ill with confirmed cases of the virus. At the time of the meeting, one of the men had passed away and the other remained in a coma; he died a few days later. Wanting to take immediate action to mitigate further infection from the virus, state officials agreed the best solution was to spray swampy areas, which posed the greatest risk in Brandon, Whiting, Leicester and parts of Shoreham.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis is a rare, but potentially fatal, mosquito-borne viral infection. Those infected with the disease can develop two main types of symptoms: flulike symptoms that evolve gradually and a more severe set of illnesses which affect the central nervous system and cause convulsions, headaches, irritability, drowsiness and comas. One of the men who died had been in a coma for days before his death. EEE does not have a treatment and is difficult to detect due to the similarity its symptoms have with other, more common diseases. Oftentimes, therefore, by the time an infected person is hospitalized, it is too late to treat. According to Vermont Health Commissioner Harry Chen, the EEE virus is fatal in one third of all cases.
According to Vermont State Representative Will Stevens of Shoreham, the number of cases contracted annually is typically low.
“What’s odd about this [virus], is that nationwide annually, there are about six reported cases,” Stevens said. “And we’ve had two in Vermont [so far this year] and both were fatal.”
Not surprisingly, this rare occurrence has sparked fear in Vermonters. This year’s outbreak was the first time EEE has been contracted by a human in the state; in 2011, emus were tested and confirmed to be infected with the disease. Chen declared this human infection an imminent health emergency.
“We want to take every reasonable action to prevent people from becoming infected,” said Chen in a public health announcement.
One of these actions was to spray a mosquito pesticide, Anvil 10+10 (Sumithrin), from a fixed-wing plane over areas where state officials had trapped mosquitoes that tested positive for EEE and in the vicinity of where the two victims had lived. The spraying, which was intended to target the adult population of mosquitoes before they were due to lay eggs, would occur at dusk when mosquitoes were most active.
As a result, the spraying was time sensitive. Vermont currently has 45 species of mosquitoes present, most of which are nuisance mosquitoes that lay their eggs in ephemeral pools of still water.
“The problem here is that [mosquitoes carrying EEE] are not like the nuisance species,” Stevens said. “Mosquitoes that carry EEE are different. Peak emergence is in middle to late August and then they lay their eggs, which then hatch into larva and mature over winter. Their habitat is acidic, hardwood swamps. So you can’t treat them the same way as the nuisance species and that is one of the reasons that justified that they needed to aerially treat.”
To spray from the air, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture used the mosquito control fund to pay for a Dynamic Aviation plane to fly up from Texas. These planes possess sophisticated computer systems, which account for wind direction and speed and can spray within exact coordinates. This was important, as many organic farms are located on the periphery of where EEE was located. The conditions for the spray, therefore, needed to be very specific; it couldn’t be too windy or overcast.
“Given the conditions, they needed to act right away to get one application [of pesticide] done,” said Stevens.
The spraying took place on Sept. 6, two nights after the informational meeting in Brandon, but not without some hesitation from the public.
“The general reaction of the public was resignation,” Stevens said. “I think there was general support for [the officials’] decision. There were expressions of concern about the product, but in general I think people were resigned to the fact that something had to be done, and spraying was that thing at that time.”
As fall and the promise of cold weather approaches, the threat of contracting EEE becomes less imminent. A hard frost will kill off any remaining mosquitoes. Nevertheless, a statement released by the Vermont Department of Health reminds individuals to reduce the likelihood of infection by limiting time spent outdoors at dawn and dusk, wearing long sleeved pants and shirts and using effective insect repellents.
“So long as mosquitoes are out there, [EEE] is always a risk,” reflected Stevens. “We’re entering a new time — we have pests and diseases now that we didn’t have 31 years ago. I think that this is all part of a new normal that we’re going to have to figure out our relationship with.”
Although EEE was never a direct threat to the town of Middlebury or the College, officials maintain that individuals all around the state should remain cautious. The symptoms of EEE are largely undistinguishable from those of other diseases, but still can have serious, potentially fatal side affects.