This commentary is by Emily Anderson, policy manager at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE), a wildlife research nonprofit based in White River Junction.  For a few weeks in the spring of 2020, visiting vernal pools — ephemeral springtime wetlands — became my after-work ritual. Ever y day brought discoveries: freshly laid salamander eggs, tadpoles darting among submerged leaves, raccoon tracks in the soft earth. Each pool offered its own private drama, watched only by a few neighbors and me.  Many Vermonters probably have a vernal pool story. Vermont poet Robert Frost devoted 12 lines to the role they play in our forests: “And yet not out by any brook or river, / but up by roots to bring dark foliage on.” READ MORE Vernal pools are the coral reefs of New England’s forests. Aside from providing freshwater for plants and animals, they are critical breeding grounds for some of our most charismatic amphibians, like spotted salamanders and wood frogs. They also provide fish-free waters for invertebrates of all kinds, and watering holes for larger forest animals, like moose. Vernal pools are increasingly important to Vermont’s human residents, too, because of how they regulate water. These shallow depressions help retain water during periods of heavy rain, reducing the risk of flooding and erosion. During dry spells, they can also help recharge groundwater by slowly releasing rain and snowmelt. Now, a new rule proposed by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) could expedite development in these fragile ecosystems. And there’s no evidence that it would meaningfully address the state’s housing crisis. Given their impermanence and relatively small size, vernal pools are easily missed during wetland identification, leaving many absent from the state’s wetlands maps, which determine which projects require special permitting.  Up until recently, this gap between existing and mapped vernal pools had little effect on the protections they receive under Vermont law, which applies the same safeguards to both mapped and unmapped wetlands. As Class II wetlands under Vermont’s Wetlands Rules, a permit must be obtained from the state before proceeding with housing development. Under the new rule, housing development would be allowed without a permit within unmapped Class II wetlands in specified community growth areas and Act 250 zones.  Although the rule does not mention vernal pools, 174 unmapped pools are estimated to be in these areas, according to an unpublished December 2025 analysis by the vernal pool biologist at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, Kevin Tolan, who used publicly available data on the Vermont Geodata Open Portal.  Exempting unmapped wetlands from permitting could disincentivize future vernal pool mapping. As it stands now, pools that are discovered and documented require landowner permission to be listed in the state’s wetland inventory. This may even harm future homeowners, as developers unaware of an unmapped vernal pool may build homes in areas that flood during springtime. Currently, there is no publicly available evidence showing how this rule change will make any discernible difference in Vermont’s housing crisis by simply opening unmapped wetlands and vernal pools to development.  Conversely, the rule’s main mechanism for minimizing harm to surrounding natural systems is requiring developers to create their own mitigation and restoration plans, while providing limited details about how these plans will be accomplished.  This proposal needlessly pits the environment and housing against each other, while threatening to sow conflict between developers, landowners and advocates for biodiversity. Environmental organizations like the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) are often blamed for creating barriers rather than offering solutions. But the lack of affordable housing is an issue that our staff members have experienced firsthand. We know there are better ways to spur housing construction, without degrading ecosystems and their essential services and intrinsic beauty.  VCE believes conservation is as much about people as ecology. It proposes several alternative solutions. First, the state should locate and confirm unmapped vernal pools in prioritized development areas. Vermont could follow the example of states such as Maine, which have categorized a subset of vernal pools based on their value as wildlife habitat.  Second, officials should fully evaluate and publicly share the benefits and drawbacks of the proposed rule. So far, they have been unable to say how much potential new housing the change might produce. Combining the best available science with municipal planning practices would help ensure the greatest housing benefit for the most people while minimizing environmental impact.  Finally, the state should allow more time for Act 181 — Vermont’s 2024 update to Act 250 aimed at easing housing development and reshaping land-use review — to take effect.  Lawmakers have already crafted a compromise intended to balance protection of natural communities with the need for more housing, but implementation — and the construction that follows — takes time. For the species that rely on vernal pools, there is no substitute. When these pools vanish, so do the frogs, salamanders and invertebrates that rely on them.  So too do the opportunities for future Vermonters to experience the magic of finding a vernal pool on their walk through the woods, to help a salamander cross the street in the night rain, and to hear the quack of wood frogs as the first sign of spring — all things that draw people to Vermont to make it their home.   Read the story on VTDigger here: Emily Anderson: Fragile wetlands could lose protection. ...read more read less