On February 28, 2019 the Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) announced that eight private landowners in Windham County, Vermont (where REVITALIZATION publisher Storm Cunningham lived while going to college) have agreed to host river restoration projects on their properties.
This work is proceeding thanks to a 2018 grant from Vermont’s Ecosystem Restoration Program.
Just north of Windham County is Great Falls on the Connecticut River at Bellows Falls, Vermont. Photo by Pbergstrom via WikiPedia.
Vermont’s Clean Water Initiative program awarded $5,737 to CRC to implement the Deerfield Watershed Project Identification project. CRC will now work with these identified landowners to implement clean water priority restoration projects in 2019 and beyond.
Projects will be located along the North Branch of the Deerfield River, the Green River, and the East Branch of the North River. Work will include planting native trees and shrubs to reduce erosion, restoring floodplains, and other clean water improvement projects.
CRC worked collaboratively with the Windham Regional Commission and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation on this project. These organizations and other community groups will continue to work together to implement the identified projects.
“Vermont’s Clean Water funding is a key component in making our local communities in the Connecticut River watershed a better place to live, work and play,” said CRC Executive Director Andrew Fisk. “Without these state funds, clean water projects in eastern Vermont would be severely curtailed.”
Since 1952, the Connecticut River Conservancy has been the voice for the Connecticut River watershed, from source to sea. They collaborate with partners across four states to protect and advocate for river restoration, while educating and engaging communities. They bring people together to prevent pollution, improve habitat, and promote enjoyment of rivers and their tributary streams, since healthy rivers support healthy economies.
Looking north along the Connecticut River towards Vermont from French King Bridge in western Massachusetts. Photo by Denimadept via Wikipedia.