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Last year, Trout Unlimited (TU) and Bennington County Conservation District (BCCD) received a Vermont Watershed Grant from Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and Vermont Fish & Wildlife and support from the Batten Kill Watershed Alliance to conduct outreach to landowners about the importance of Forests to Fish (specifically trout).
The goal of this effort is to improve stream and streamside stewardship through education and implementation of projects focused on the forest â stream interactions that are so very important to our watersheds. Watershed projects may include stream buffer plantings, in-stream wood additions, culvert replacements and bank stabilization.
The Lamoille County Planning Commission continues to assist its member towns in watershed planning, and was given a boost after a recent tactical basin planning agreement with the state.
The agreement is funded through the Vermont Clean Water Act by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, to foster coordination of watershed planning efforts to enhance water quality and basin planning for the Lamoille and Winooski river basins.
âWe value the role regional planning commissions play in basin planning, given our positive working relationship with municipalities. This collaboration makes tactical basin plans more tailored to the communities it is designed to serve,â said Meghan Rodier, regional planner.
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MONTPELIER â The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently released the Vermont Clean Water Initiative 2020 Performance Report. The Report summarizes how the stateâs $194 million investment in water quality over the past five years is paying off by improving water quality in Vermontâs rivers, lakes, and wetlands.
While we can swim and fish in most of Vermontâs waters, some are impacted by water pollution. For example, excess phosphorus in Lake Champlain fuels potentially toxic cyanobacteria blooms in some parts of the lake. The State of Vermont funds clean water projects to prevent and reduce nutrient and sediment pollution and restore and protect water quality statewide.
Before (above) and after photos of the Cold Spring Brook Park dam removal in the Town of Weston, which restored over 350 feet of stream to a more natural condition. Project funded by a Department of Environmental Conservation Clean Water Initiative Program grant. (Source: Weston Community Association)
Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently released the
. The Report summarizes how the state’s $194 million investment in water quality over the past five years is paying off by improving water quality in Vermont’s rivers, lakes, and wetlands.
While we can swim and fish in most of Vermont’s waters, some are impacted by water pollution. For example, excess phosphorus in Lake Champlain fuels potentially toxic cyanobacteria blooms in some parts of the lake. The State of Vermont funds clean water projects to prevent and reduce nutrient and sediment pollution and restore and protect water quality statewide.
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WHITINGHAM â The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation issued a $5,250 penalty to a landowner and their hired contractor after the landowner directed their contractor to remove over 4,800 square feet of vegetation within 25 feet of the shoreline of Lake Sadawga, violating Vermontâs Shoreland Protection Act. As part of the penalty, DEC required the landowner and contractor to reestablish the vegetation that was removed.
This is the second penalty issued for vegetation removal along Lake Sadawga. On June 8, 2020, the DEC issued a $4,000 fine to another landowner and contractor for removing over 5,900 square feet of vegetation within 25 feet of the shoreline and an additional 10,000 square feet within 250 feet of the shoreline. In both cases, the landowner violated Vermontâs Shoreland Protection Act. Both properties along Lake Sadawga are in the process of restoration, which takes time. Returning the shore