The total ANR budget for fiscal year 1995 is $43,717,000, of which $8,620,000 is from general state taxes (Fig 1.). ANR’s general fund allotment represents 1.3% of the total state general fund, or just under $15 per Vermonter.
ANR administers many grant and loan programs which go directly to Vermont municipalities, citizen groups, and landowners. In fiscal year 1994, ANR provided almost $20 million in federal and state grant funds for economic development and environmental stewardship. The bulk of these funds (approximately $12.5 million) was spent to build and upgrade water and wastewater treatment plants, separate storm drainage lines from sewer lines, and extend water and sewer distribution lines. An additional $3 million in low-cost loans were provided for these purposes.
Other grant funds were spent in a variety of
ways: Vermonters in 18 towns planted over 150
street trees; acquired and developed public
parkland in 8 towns; and harvested nuisance
weeds from six lakes. ANR provided 19 towns
almost $2 million to help close landfills.
The Agency provided an additional $4 million
to plan, design and permit new lined landfills,
and to build and improve recycling facilities.
Small petroleum retailers as well as towns with populations less than 2,500 received 14 loans totaling over $400,000 in FY '94 to remove and replace underground petroleum storage tanks. Businesses and individuals received almost $4 million from a special fund to help them clean up spills from underground storage tanks.
In 1994, the Lakes and Ponds Section trained
over 200 volunteers to participate in on-going
educational water quality monitoring programs,
and reached out to other lake users by offering
more than 75 workshops and slideshow presentations.
In addition, thousands of literature packages,
including the Section’s newsletter, Out of the
Blue, were distributed to the public.
The Fish and Wildlife Department taught 884 young people about wildlife ecology in the Green Mountain Conservation Camps in Castleton and Woodbury. The Department also trained 195 educators in the use of the activity guides Project Wild and Aquatic Wild.
The Forests, Parks and Recreation Department provided training in Project Learning Tree, an activity guide, to 94 educators. The Department's park naturalists provided free naturalist programs for approximately 700 Vermont students and 120 adults during the fall school session in three state parks. Over 1,200 visitors enjoyed interpretive programs in nine state parks in 1994.
The following publications are available by contacting the Planning Division , Center Building, 103 South Main Street, Waterbury, VT 05671-0301, or by calling 800-241-3620.
A Field Guide to the Agency of Natural Resources. A complete description of ANR programs, and a listing of Agency personnel and phone numbers.
Bibliography of the Agency of Natural Resources. A list of available publications, and videotapes and slide shows for loan.
Vermont Educators Guide, 1993-94. A list of state, federal and nationally recognized education programs and natural resources and the environment.
The following toll-free phone numbers are also available:
The Lake Champlain Hotline 800-468-5227 Radioactive Waste Information Hotline 800-649-3844 Recycling Hotline 800-932-7100 Pine Street Barge Canal Hotline 800-585-7292 Pollution Prevention Hotline 800-974-9559 Hazardous Waste Emergency Hotline 800-641-5005
Fifty-seven percent of the closed complaints resulted in no violations found; in 39% the violations were corrected voluntarily. In only 4% of the cases was an enforcement action necessary.
In the fall of 1994, ANR hired two additional
enforcement attorneys and two more will be added
in the spring of 1995. These additions will
produce an increase in enforcement actions and
an improvement in the annual rate of complaint
closures. They may also create a greater deterrence
to future violations.
Summer day attendance and overnight stays at the developed areas have fluctuated from 750,000 to one million people annually since the 1960s. It has been estimated that nearly as many visitors use the parks and forest recreation areas during the off-season.
Annual surveys of park visitors continue to show a very high degree of satisfaction despite declining General Fund support for the state park system. General Fund support for state parks has declined from over 50% in the 1970s to its current level of zero. Operations and maintenance of the park system is funded entirely by park fees and receipts from ski area leases on state land.
Over the past 20 years, the number of licenses
sold has declined slightly (Fig. 2). In response
to this drop in revenues, the 1994 Legislature approved
a 2-year appropriation of state gas tax funds to the
Department of Fish and Wildlife. In this way, a larger
proportion of Vermonters will be helping support these
resources from which we all benefit.
In 1985 the Legislature approved a "check-off" on state income taxes for voluntary contributions to the Nongame and Natural Heritage Program (NNHP). The NNHP is responsible for protecting and preserving the state's rare, threatened and endangered species and significant natural communities. Vermonters have contributed an average of $120,000 annually to this fund over the past 8 years.