Current News

VermontBiz It's finally spring and Vermonters are not only getting outside to appreciate the warmer weather, they are also making plans for next winter's firewood supply. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has a few tips on how to properly dry or season firewood to reduce costs, smoke, and fuel use.

“Unlike wet wood, seasoned wood burns hotter and cleaner and does not create as much smoke,” said DEC Commissioner Misty Sinsigalli. “With this in mind, it is important to properly split, stack, cover, and season firewood before burning. Taking these steps not only saves you money and energy, but it also protects your home, health, and the air we breathe.”

VermontBiz This summer, the Vermont Lakes and Ponds Program is seeking volunteers to help monitor and collect information about lakes and ponds in the state. Volunteers can be found statewide greeting lake visitors, inspecting boats, collecting water samples, tracking algal or cyanobacteria blooms, reporting aquatic introduced invasive species, and more.

“With over 800 lakes and ponds to monitor across Vermont, volunteers are critical to the success of our department’s efforts,” said Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Misty Sinsigalli. “Thanks to their commitment and hard work, volunteers help our scientists better understand and protect the health of these remarkable natural resources. 

Vermont Business Magazine Why Do Trees Fall in the Forest? The Answer is Changing. New research suggests that in just 15 years, the causes of most tree loss have flipped from human hands to a handful of natural causes. That’s what University of Vermont researchers found when they studied forests in 18 states: in 2009, human harvesting accounted for most tree loss, but by 2024, pests, diseases, and other “natural” causes activities were causing far more tree loss. The researchers dug in, comparing nearly 324,000 records of tree mortality across 18 states and almost 62,000,000 hectares, from the federal Forest Inventory and Analysis dataset from 2009 to 2024. In 2009, human harvesting caused a bit more tree loss than natural causes. Fifteen years later, tree loss from natural causes was outpacing harvest-caused loss by nearly 40%, and overall tree loss also increased by nearly 16% during this period.

Vermont Business Magazine Through this request, the Vermont Department of Public Service seeks proposals from qualified entities to develop and implement workforce development programs that expand and strengthen Vermont’s energy efficiency, weatherization, electrification, and clean energy workforce.

Vermont Business Magazine Spring brings a chance of flooding and an opportunity for cleaning. During the floods of 2023 and 2024, dangerous items like batteries, mercury-containing fluorescent light bulbs, paint, and old oil and gasoline containers were found buried in muddy basements and scattered in flooded fields. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) encourages Vermonters to regularly and responsibly dispose of unwanted items. This helps protect people and property in the event of a disaster.

Vermont Business Magazine At his weekly press conference Wednesday, Governor Phil Scott and Education Secretary Zoie Saunders discussed the need to make fundamental changes to the education system this session to better serve and support students and teachers, reduce administrative overhead, and rein in the cost of education spending. "But in an effort to move the process forward, we reluctantly agreed to it, with the understanding we’d come back this session to follow through on Act 73, the bill the Legislature eventually passed. Unfortunately, it appears our fears were validated. So far, the House has punted the difficult decisions, as well as the work we need to do, and committed to doing just 10 months ago."

Vermont Business Magazine April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Vermont highway safety advocates are launching a national high-visibility enforcement effort from April 9-13, 2026, to remind drivers of the deadly dangers of being distracted behind the wheel. Vermont law enforcement will join a nationwide effort to enforce laws prohibiting distracted driving.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont has named Aarav Upadhyay and Ayden Pinto, high school entrepreneurs from Asbury Park and Englishtown, New Jersey, as the winners of the 2026 Vermont Pitch Challenge, a Shark Tank-like competition for teens. Upadhyay and Pinto were awarded the competition’s top prize – a full-tuition scholarship to the University of Vermont – for their business venture, Yevla, after presenting their life-saving device and impressive business plan to a panel of judges at UVM.

Vermont Business Magazine State Auditor Doug Hoffer released an audit today of how well the Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) handles consumer complaints. The audit, the last in a series of four the Auditor’s Office has produced relating to how State government responds to Vermonters’ complaints, assessed the extent to which the CAP ensures consumer and business complaints are addressed in a timely manner. In addition, the audit evaluated whether the performance information reported by CAP is accurate and complete.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Department of Labor released the January 2026 unemployment rate. According to household data, the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for January was 2.7 percent. This reflects no change from the prior month’s revised estimate. The civilian labor force participation rate was 63.5 percent in January, a decrease of two-tenths of one percentage point from the prior month’s revised estimate. “The Department’s Labor Market Information team recently completed its annual data revision process, which incorporates more complete information and provides a clearer picture of Vermont’s economy,” said Kendal Smith, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Labor. “As a result, we found that employment levels in 2025 were modestly overestimated—by about 1 percent, or roughly 2,700 jobs."

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets The Vermont Cheese Council invites you to the 2026 Artisan Cheesemakers Conference on May 1 in Rutland. Storytelling is the theme of this year’s conference, with a day full of in-person programming. While content is specifically geared toward cheesemakers, the conference is open to all: makers, mongers, chefs, retailers, industry folk, and food producers of all flavors. Also, the Vermont Maple Festival, is the largest maple contest in Vermont. The winners of this contest are recognized as having made the “Best of Vermont,” a laudable achievement in a state already known for the outstanding quality of its maple products. Vermont maple producers are invited to submit their products to the contest. Entries are due by April 20.

Vermont Business Magazine Southern Vermont community and business leaders: plan to join hosts Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) and Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) at Mount Snow in Dover, VT, on May 12 for the 9th annual Southern VT Economy Summit. The agenda for the event is now live and can be found at www.sovermontzone.com/summit, along with a link to register. The theme of this year’s Summit is “Envision. Act. Grow!” Attendees are urged to lean into these imperatives as they work together to tackle the region’s biggest challenges. Breakout sessions at the event are centered around the findings of the 2024 SoVermont Zone Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS).