Despite what the Free Press has characterized as “silence” on environmental issues (limited free access/paywall) during the presidential campaign, there’s plenty of noise being made here in Vermont. To whit, the Vermont League of Conservation Voters has just released its environmental scorecard for the legislature.

The group looked at votes on eight legislative bills in the 2011-12 session, including, in the House: Act 51 (wildlife bill, no more pet moose); Act 47 (net metering, support for clean energy minus Entergy VY); Act 73 (citizen input to environmental violation fines); Act 152 (fracking ban); Act 142 (working lands); Act 138 (regulation of flood hazard areas, river corridors), along with two others. Five of those bills were also scored in the Senate.

From the press release:

In the House, eighty-nine legislators consisting of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and Progressives received the VT LCV endorsement. All of these representatives had a positive environmental voting record for the 2011/12 biennium of 75% or better.

In the Senate, twenty members consisting of Democrats, Republicans and Progressives received the VT LCV endorsement. All of these senators had a positive environmental voting record for the 2011/12 biennium of 80% or better.

In addition, VT LCV announced the endorsements of three former House members that are currently candidates for the Senate. These individuals have demonstrated strong environmental leadership in the House and have an excellent lifetime voting record.

No surprise that the Democratic House members’ average score was 90%, compared to a Republican House members’ average score of just 33%. The Progressives just beat the Democrats at 93% for an average, both lagged by the Independents at 82%.

It was a lot closer in the Senate on average: Progressives 90%, Democrats 86%, Republicans 83%.

Some mild surprises after the jump.

You can check out the list for yourself here.

First, I confess I follow most environmental issues only through their large outlines, not the details. So perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Sen. Richie Westman (R-Lamoille), Sen. Bill Doyle (R/WF-Washington), and Sen. Dick Mazza (D-Grand Isle) on the list of those receiving endorsements. (OT: One also wonders how both Doyle and Anthony Pollina, P/D/WF, got the Working Families party endorsement.) Doyle voted 100 percent for the scored bills; even Sen. Philip Baruth (D-Chittenden) opposed one of them.

And, I notice, Sen. Dick Sears (D-Bennington) didn’t make the cut, while Sen. Joe Benning (R-Caledonia) did.

Rep. Anne Donahue (R-Washington-1) is the only Republican on the House list of endorsees. And the Republicans wonder why they can’t get good candidates and more voters to put them in office. No surprise that Dustin Degree, the one-term Republican rep from St. Albans, friend of developers everywhere, didn’t make it onto the endorsement list, but a little surprise that Carolyn Branagan (R-Georgia) also didn’t.

Rep. Kathie Keenan is the only Franklin County Democrat to receive the VT LCV’s endorsement. Presumably Sen. Sara Kittell’s name is absent because she chose not to run again. But what happened to Rep. Michel Consejo (D-Sheldon/Swanton), who voted well below (50%) his lifetime average of 77%? Gary Gilbert (D-Fairfax), retiring, had three absences, which count as no votes.

The only House members to score a goose egg were Phil Winters (R-Williamstown), with five absences and three votes against scored bills; Ron Hubert (R-Milton) with six votes against; and Patrick Brennan (R-Colchester), with two absences and six votes against.

All of the Progressives and most of the Independents made the endorsement list, suggesting that they get it about the environment as an overall issue and in the particular ways that environmental consciousness affects their constituents’ votes.

The whole list, with bill descriptions, scores and votes, is well worth your time if you haven’t already voted.