Would you be willing to hike to a remote lake once a week during the summer months? What about following up that hike with a paddle in an inflatable boat to collect lake water samples? Sound challenging? Well this is exactly how a Vermont Lay Monitor spent last summer. Let us begin with High Pond. … Continue reading
Ah, the birds are singing, the sun is still shining at 4:30 pm, and open water is starting to peek out from the edges of our icy lakes and ponds. Despite the false start to spring in February, Old Man Winter made a u-turn and brought us a March full of snow. But now it truly … Continue reading
The Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission (CVRPC) completed the stormwater master planning process for four of its member municipalities! Through funding provided by the Ecosystem Restoration Grant Program at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the CVRPC retained Watershed Consulting Associates (WCA) to complete Stormwater Master Plans (SWMPs) for Berlin, Plainfield, Barre City and … Continue reading
Vermont rivers are being physically restored at a remarkable pace. Restoring the physical nature of a river is about making the connections that allow natural restorative and maintenance processes of the river to take over. Vermonters are securing hundreds of river connections every year. Every time we install a larger culvert to fit the stream, … Continue reading
Once considered out-of-sight, the state’s environmental permitting system just got a massive makeover that’s turning heads. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently launched the Environmental Notice Bulletin (ENB). Now, for the first time ever, there is an online hub that gives anyone the ability to easily track permit applications and add public comments. Permits … Continue reading
Wetlands: Nature’s Filter Today is World Wetlands Day, a day to appreciate the value of wetlands. Wetlands make up a small proportion of the Earth’s surface – in Vermont, only about 4 percent of the land surface is comprised of wetlands. Despite this they are disproportionately important. Most Vermont animals use wetlands as habitat and … Continue reading
This past year, there were multiple stories in the media covering massive algal blooms in Lake Carmi, tons of phosphorus pouring into state surface waters, and the seemingly never-ending efforts to clean up Lake Champlain. These stories would leave many Vermonters to believe that Vermont’s lakes are in deep trouble. While these issues are very … Continue reading
