Williston
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Permit #15 Williston,VT 05495 POSTAL CUSTOMER
MAY 25, 2023
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
Town bans ‘non-essential’ trapping
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
Theater evacuated after smoke device set Juvenile charged; three other suspects remain unidentified
A trapper sets a trap for beaver during Vermont’s winter beaver trapping season. PHOTO COURTESY OF VERMONT FISH AND WILDLIFE
Regulations take effect on town-owned land BY JASON STARR Observer staff The Williston Selectboard came up short of a call from a group of about 230 petitioners to ban the use of body-gripping animal traps on town land but did approve limits to the practice in a new policy unanimously approved last Tuesday. Williston residents submitted a petition two years ago urging the town to prohibit the practice, calling animal traps “inhumane and indiscriminate” and posing a risk to pets and children. The effort to ban the practice mirrors a broader initiative by wildlife activists to enact a statewide ban. “I am worried about this for my dog,
and all dogs and children who use the town lands,” resident Nancy Kahn wrote on the petition to the selectboard. “This is not a safe or humane way to treat any animal domestic or otherwise.” Town staff worked with the volunteer conservation commission and a consulting attorney to draft a policy to present to the board. An outright ban on trapping, or a ban of certain types of traps, would not be legal under state law, the town’s attorney advised. But the town is authorized to create rules and conditions for trapping on land it owns — like its many country parks and conservation areas. State law requires trappers to receive landowner permission to trap furbearing animals — such as beavers, otters, raccoons, skunks, coyotes and bobcats. Under the new policy, town administrators will allow only “essential” trapping, defined as necessary to managing a threat
to public safety, property or infrastructure. It also creates a case-by-case allowance for wildlife research and/or monitoring. The town will deny all other trapping requests, the policy states. Williston Public Works Director Bruce Hoar worked with the conservation commission in drafting the policy, lobbying to retain the town’s ability to trap nuisance animals. The policy directs the department to contract only with licensed and insured trappers and to be advised of the location of traps set by contractors. Contracted trappers are required to use “the most safe, effective, selective, practical and humane methods and techniques for capturing furbearer species,” the policy states. It also requires contractors to notify the town when a non-target animal is captured. Signs will be posted alerting the public see TRAPPING page 5
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One minor has been cited and three other suspects remain unidentified after smoke-producing devices were released at the Majestic 10 cinemas in Maple Tree Place last Wednesday, causing the evacuation of the theaters and nearby restaurants. The incident happened about 6:30 p.m. The Williston Fire Department responded to the emergency call from a theater employee with two fire trucks, an ambulance “I don’t know and a utility vehicle if it was with eight firefighters. Williston police offisupposed to cers soon followed. be a prank, “Pyrotechnic smoke-producing debut it was a vices … were maliway bigger ciously set off in the foyer of the building,” deal than Capt. Prescott Nadeau maybe they of the Williston Fire Department said in a initially news release. thought.” Firefighters used Lt. Josh Moore fans to clear smoke from the building, and Williston Police Department allowed theater and restaurant staff and patrons back inside about an hour after the initial evacuation. According to Lt. Josh Moore of the Williston Police Department, surveillance video from outside the theaters shows two suspects getting out of a white Honda Pilot and going into the lobby with the devices, with two others remaining in the car. Police put out a call to the public using video screenshots in a news release and social media post seeking help identifying the suspects. By Saturday, police said they had received numerous tips leading to the identification of one suspect, a juvenile who was charged with disorderly conduct and cited to appear in Chittenden County Family Court. The sussee THEATER page 5
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