‘There was no right vote’: Why a controversial wildlife bill died in the Vermont House

Rep. Katherine Sims, D-Craftsbury, speaks during a meeting at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
Over the last several years, a debate over how to manage wildlife has become a symbol of a broader cultural divide in Vermont. During the recently concluded legislative session, that debate culminated in S.258, a bill that would have changed the state’s wildlife management structure. Many supporters of the measure saw it as a pathway