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Kim Komer, District Manager This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Web site: www.lcnrcd.com LAKE ELMORE BENEFIT CONCERTSeptember 25th - 1pm to dusk
Elmore Mountain will provide a majestic background to a benefit concert for Lake Elmore on Sunday, September 25th from 1:00 pm until dusk at Elmore State Park. Local musicians and artists will be showcasing and donating their music and skills for a day of music, art, food, and drink. A portion of the concert proceeds will benefit Lamoille County Conservation District’s work to protect and restore the water quality of Lake Elmore and the surrounding Lamoille River Watershed. Hundreds of volunteers from schools, churches, and businesses provide their support each year for Lamoille County Conservation District (LCCD) to restore natural aquatic ecosystems, create native buffers along waterways and lakesides, and control and eradicate invasive plants. LCCD also educates future stewards of the land through Lamoille County Nature Center programs on farming, nature, and conservation programs. A portion of the proceeds will also go to local and state food shelves in areas devastated by Hurricane Irene through The Vermont Foodbank. Food shelves in hard-hit areas that were normally open one day a week or one day a month are now open every day or several times a week. The Vermont Foodbank is the state’s largest hunger-relief organization, serving communities in all 14 counties of Vermont through a network of more than 280 food shelves, soup kitchens, shelters, senior centers and after-school programs. The musical lineup spans a diversity of musical tastes featuring Vorcza, the Eames Brothers Band, 7lbs. of Pork, and Jon Gailmor. The headlining act, Vorcza originated as an informal jazz trio, and has advanced to "adventurous yet accessible original material that marries jazz and funk with world-influenced rhythms." (Tom Huntington, Times Argus) The Burlington based group is made up of Ray Paczkowski on organ and vocals, Gabriel Jarrett on drums and Robinson Morse on upright and electric bass. Vorcza has toured with musical greats including Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews, and Jamie Masefield, to name a few. The Eames Brothers Band, an eclectic blues-rock group is a mainstay of the Lamoille County music scene. Known for their late night sets that drift seamlessly through psychedelic funky blues to uplifting soul songs, The Eames’ music is rooted in tradition. The Eames Brothers Band is made up of Seth Eames on guitar and vocals, Ralph Eames on electric bass and Phil Carr on drums. 7 lbs of Pork is a grassroots music project from the mountains of Vermont. Locally from Stowe, the band members deal out eclectic, funky, spacey and soulful music. Influences come from far and wide, from the past and the future. Jon Gailmor, a true local favorite, sings songs that make people feel alive. His music spans the entire emotional spectrum. Humor and audience involvement are integral parts of any Jon Gailmor’s performance. Original, relevant, irreverent, children's, American, international, and totally absurd tunes are expected at his performance. Doors will open at Elmore State Park at noon, and music will begin at 1:00 pm and go until dusk. Tickets are $20 and include a free T-shirt for the first 200 attendees. Kids 12 and under are free. Children and family activities like sack races, balloon tosses, and pumpkin rollin’ will be available during the music intermissions. Food vendors include the Hot Tamale Company, Green Mountain Kettle Corn, and The Blue Donkey. Vermont beer will be available through The Blue Donkey beer tent. Please bring a picnic but leave your alcohol, bottles, and dogs at home. Find us at www.facebook.com/LEBC for concert info. To learn more about LCCD visitwww.lcnrcd.com. Limited camping for an additional fee is available for an additional fee at Elmore State Park. Make reservations by calling 802.888.2982 or visit their website at www.vtfpr.org.
LCCD ANNUAL REPORT 2009-10LCCD understands the importance of a locally-led Farm Bill, a significant piece of "legislation for conservation funding and for focusing on environmental issues," as stated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). LCCD plays a role in the implementation of Farm Bill programs to help educate Lamoille County landowners about many of the programs available to them. Some examples of our Farm Bill support over the last fiscal year include the following: The Lamoille County Nature Center, a 40 acre area owned and maintained by L For the sixth year, LCCD coordinated on behalf of two landowners enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). These projects are designed to reduce pollution in streams by assisting agricultural landowners to voluntarily plant trees, shrubs and grasses on streambanks to trap sediment, pesticides and fertilizers in runoff. LCCD annually coordinates the Local Working Group, a locally led initiative to help prioritize USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Farm Bill projects that address local resource concerns. A meeting is held for the towns of Wolcott, Elmore, Morristown, Stowe, Hyde Park, Eden, Johnson, Cambridge, Waterville, and Belvidere. The Local Working Group will consist of representatives of agricultural producers, nonindustrial land owners, and other professionals who represent a variety of disciplines in soil, water, wetlands, plant, and wildlife sciences and are familiar with private land agricultural and natural resource issues in the local community. NON-POINT SOURCE POLLUTION REDUCTION PROGRAMLCCD strives and is committed to support Vermont’s Non-Point Pollution Reduction Program, on the farm, home and forestlands, through the promotion of Accepted Agricultural Practices (AAP’s), Best Management Practices (BMP’s), Acceptable Management Practices (AMP’s), and stormwater management. ONGOING LCCD PROJECTSTrees for Streams (TFS): Since 1999, LCCD has planted over nine miles of streambank in the Lamoille Watershed made possible by the willingness of landowners, school groups, and community volunteers. The success of the program is largely due to the educational focus where LCCD provides lessons, presentations, and educational activities on the TFS site. This year, the program was expanded to include an elementary school, Underhill Elementary. The TFS program complemented their studies on watershed education with a successful state-wide environmental education program, Four Winds. Other community supporters and volunteers for this year included the Lamoille River Anglers Association, Johnson State College, as well as nearly 300 students from ten schools in the watershed; 2009 volunteers contributed nearly 1,000 hours. For a complete list of participating schools, please refer to our Partners on the following pages. Trees for Streams Expansion (TFSX): Broadening the success of the TFS throughout the watershed since 2006 TFS has worked in partnership with the Caledonia County, Orleans County, Winooski and Franklin County NRCD’s to offer LCCD’s experience and education to watershed-wide buffer planting program. Both TFS Programs are made possible by a Watershed Grant and River Corridor Grant awarded by the Department of Environmental Conservation, EPA 319, the US Fish & Wildlife Service’s Partners for Wildlife Program and the Lamoille River Anglers Association. Portable Skidder Bridge Rental Program: Portable skidder bridges minimize the potential for soil erosion from logging equipment and logs crossing over water bodies. The Portable Skidder Bridge Rental Program was expanded in 09/10 to include two heavy duty bridges used for larger logging equipment. One bridge was sold to an interested logger which will provide the proceeds to hold a future PS Bridge Building Workshop. Bridges are currently available for rent from Manchester Lumber in Johnson and Buffalo Mountain Wood Storage facility in Hardwick. This Clean and Clear project supports the Acceptable Management Practices for Maintaining Water Quality on Logging Jobs in Vermont. This program was made possible by LCCD, the Vermont Departments of Forest, Parks & Recreation and Environmental Conservation, Buffalo Mountain Wood Storage, and Manchester Lumber. H Vactor Equipment Share: LCCD is exploring a similar equipment share for Vactor Equipment, a Catch Basin Cleaner. The equipment is used to clean out debris from carelessly discarded litter, dirt, snow and ice control materials, as well as hydrocarbons and heavy metals from storm water conveyance systems. This will reduce the chance for plugged pipes to cause catch basins to overflow causing associated floods which can damage public and private property. Regular cleaning of storm water conveyance systems will also result in improving the water quality of our lakes, rivers and streams. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s Stormwater Section and five area municipalities are interested in this collective purchase with a SAFETEA Grant. NEW LCCD PROJECTSGihon River Project Identification & Analysis: Using the completed Gihon River Corridor Plan, LCCD identified and mapped (109) priority and potential river corridor protection and restoration projects. The maps and information was combined to create a Gihon Priority & Potential Projects Database and a Project Ranking Table that will help summarize and prioritize the identified projects. Both documents will also be combined with other river corridor protection and restoration projects identified throughout the Lamoille Watershed to help secure future funding. LCCD participated in town meetings along the Gihon with Lamoille County Planning Commission to present, inform, and explain Gihon Priority & Potential Projects to Select Boards and other interested parties. Based on the work by LCCD in the Gihon Watershed, this project provided an impetus to another stormwater remediation project with the Vermont Studio Center, surely to be one of a kind, to include a number of Low Impact Development Projects within the town of Johnson and along the banks of the Gihon River. Green River-Lamoille River Flood Plain Restoration Project. After several years of negotiation, planning, collaboration, and fund raising, the Green River-Lamoille River flood plain restoration was underway. While the third-generation family members were apprehensive to work with the VTDEC, they were willing t After cars were removed, a 50 foot buffer was established and approximately one acre of flood plain and riparian area was restored. Several hundred native trees and shrubs were planted within the riparian buffer area. Funding for the project was provided by a grant from the VT Agency of Natural Resources’ Clean and Clear Grant. Trees and shrubs were planted as part of the LCCD’s Trees for Streams program. Planting volunteers came from Lamoille Union Middle and High School students and members of the Lamoille River Angler Association. The Anglers regularly provide labor and funding for buffer projects within the Lamoille watershed. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s Watershed Planning and River Management staff initiated the project and provided technical assistance and grant oversight. Lamoille Union Pond Remediation Project LCCD has worked with the Lamoille Union School for the past few years on monitoring the water quality of the pond, other water bodies, and the Lamoille River. Based on evidence on the pond’s decreasing quality, last summer LCCD with the support of Lamoille Union School (The Discovery Team and LUHS VYCC School Partnership Program) received an EPA 5 Star Restoration Grant to restore the pond and curb the runoff entering the pond. The project will take two years to complete. To date, the Lamoille Union Pond Remediation Project has initiated the restoration of a vegetative buffer to alleviate excessive sedimentation, non-point source pollution and accelerated erosion as a result of runoff coming from the campus parking lot. LCCD retrofit the stone lined ditch and incised head-cut by creating a series of check dams, restoring and refilling the bank edge of the channel. Native trees and shrubs were also installed along the buffer to remedy location-specific points of erosion and to enhance areas in need of a riparian vegetation area. Along the pond edge and within the associated uplands of the forested buffer, over a truckload of invasive barberry was removed. The restoration activity to date has decreased sedimentation, adhered chemicals and nutrients, and is helping to slow eutrophication of the pond by reducing non-point pollution entering the pond and the receiving river. A new development for the removal of the pond’s dam may lead to a much larger and interconnected stormwater remediation project that once fully constructed, will support, restore, and enhance aquatic and riparian habitat used by signature Vermont wildlife species. LANDOWNER / OUTREACH & EDUCATION PROGRAMSLCCD provides a service to landowners who are not supported by county, state, or federal programs for one reason or another, but who are willing and interested to commit to environmentally friendly and pollution reduction practices. ONGOING LCCD PROJECTSConservation Pond Assessments & Stocking Thanks to an NRCS program in the 1960’s, many landowners constructed Conservation Ponds on t Native Conservation Tree/Shrub Sale: With the continued spread of exotic and invasive species growing ever rampant in Vermont, providing landowners with native alternatives is welcome by many private landowners. This year, LCCD also provided Vermont established heirloom varieties of apple and other fruiting trees. In addition to enhancing wildlife habitat and general aesthetics, the provision of these low-cost native trees and shrubs to private landowners helps to alleviate surface run-off, and outcompete the invasive plant tide. Vermont Envirothon State Coordination The 14th annual Vermont Envirothon was held on May 18th at Farm and Wilderness in Plymouth, Vermont. Fifteen teams from nine different schools participated from across the state. This year’s special topic was "Protection of Groundwater through Urban, Agricultural, and Environmental Planning". Essex High School took top honors and represented the state at the international Canon Envirothon Competition in Fresno, CA during the summer. The Envirothon offers high school students an opportunity to learn about the environment and gain the knowledge, skills, and willingness to participate in natural resources problem solving. Lamoille County Nature Center LCCD is committed to conservation education and outreach as demonstrated by our mission. While under the auspices of LCCD, Lamoille County Nature Center provides the primary delivery mechanism for conservation and environmental education in Lamoille County. The forty-acre property includes two walking trails, a stream-co willow nursery, a conservation pond, a teepee, and educational amphitheater. Mature woods, Christmas tree stands, apple orchards, a vernal pool, and old fields allow LCCD to demonstrate many of the land-use practices that LCCD assists private landowners to follow, such as NRCS WHIP, Pond Management, and Willow Harvesting. The largest component of Lamoille County Nature Center is providing educational programming to all ages, which has granted LCCD to be the primary leader for informal education in the region. Our staff provides standard based education to a variety of audiences to as noted below. For more information please go the LCCD web site www.lcnrcd.com
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CCD, is a demonstration forest for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) where service-learning opportunities are provided for interested groups and individuals.
ydroseeder Equipment Share: Starting in 2000, LCCD has facilitated the success of a community-shared program for a beneficial, yet costly hydroseeder. The hydroseeder, like brand new, is used in the spring and summer to reduce road and ditch erosion from sedimentation. Currently there are six town shareholders who have annually renewed their share for a capital fund to ensure the program’s sustainability.
o work with LCCD to make the project a reality. The family-owned auto salvage yard was established on the banks of the Lamoille River at the confluence of the Green River for several decades. This spring excavators, loaders, and shovels unearthed over 90 cars that had been silted in the banks of the Lamoille River and acting as flood plain encroachments, reducing the Lamoille River’s ability to fully access its flood plain during high water events.
heir properties, and continue to do so even without the funding support. A majority of these ponds fall under the state’s radar in pond management. Landowners are unsure how to effectively manage their pond for purposes such as fish stocking, controlling nuisance plants and algae, chemical use, and flow. Through its annual Trout Sales, LCCD found the need to educate and inform landowners about the effectiveness of different pond management strategies. To better assist landowners in using appropriate procedures as established by the Vermont Department of Environmental Water Quality Pond Division, LCNCRD provides landowners with Pond Visits to assess and create a management plan. In doing so, has diverted a large percentage of landowners from using chemicals and stocking aquatic nuisance species like bass and carp, and non-state approved trout which all have the potential to reach small tributaries that lead to the Lamoille River. LCNCRD helped landowners stock over 6,350 state-approved rainbow and brook trout into private ponds in partnership with Hy-On-A-Hill Trout Farm during the spring and fall of 2009 and 2010.