Mission of the Winooski NRCD
* To ensure the wise use, protection and enhancement of Vermont’s natural
resources through the use of local initiatives, education and partnerships.
* To foster public awareness and appreciation for the value and need
for natural resource conservation.
* To advance the understanding that we are all stewards of the living
earth.
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History of Conservation Districts
In 1935, following the dust bowl period of the Midwest, Congress ordered
the establishment of the Soil Conservation Service within the Department
of Agriculture (USDA). It required states receiving benefits from the
program to enact legislation that provided for the prevention of soil
erosion. Since successful natural resources conservation programs depend
on local involvement and ownership, the USDA developed a standard legislation
creating Soil Conservation Districts in each state. The purpose of the
legislation was to allow the Soil Conservation Service to provide conservation
programs through local districts as a way to bridge the gap between the
federal government priorities and local needs. The arrangement gave both
state and local government a stake in the program.
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Function of Conservation Districts
The function of Vermont’s Conservation Districts has widened over the
years. What began as an interest in agriculture and soil erosion prevention
now encompasses all natural resources issues, especially water quality.
Conservation districts coordinate available technical, financial and educational
resources and focus them on meeting the needs of the land user.
Districts encourage volunteer cooperation of landowners and the general
public through information and education. They also inform local, state
and federal elected officials about implications of the conservation issues
that they address.
The Winooski NRCD covers both Washington and Chittenden Counties, works
closely with the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and also works
in partnership with the White River Conservation District. The District
is organized as a non-profit organization and received as base allocation
of $8,925 from the State of Vermont this year.
Serving landowners in Washington and Chittenden Counties since 1940.
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District Programs
Potash Brook Stormwater Management
The District received an EPA grant (through the appropriation
efforts of Senator Patrick Leahy) of $223,500 to spend over three years
researching and implementing new urban stormwater management practices
in the Potash Brook watershed. It is a collaborative effort between UVM
School of Natural Resources (SNR), City of South Burlington and the Winooski
NRCD. The Potash Brook watershed is located primarily within the City
of South Burlington and encompasses over 5,300 acres or 7.5 square miles.
The downstream 5 miles of Potash Brook has been placed on the Vermont
Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) 303(d) impaired waters list due to sediment,
pathogens and metals, nutrients and toxicity. As stormwater issues and
urban/suburban areas develop in VT, and especially Chittenden County,
the need for Conservation Districts to become more actively involved grows.
The District hopes to perpetuate our liaison position between public
landowners and regulatory governmental agencies as well as to educate
landowners about contributing potential solutions to improving water quality.
To this end, we are developing a suburban river curriculum for implementation
in area high schools, exploring alternative stormwater management practices
at a highly traveled intersection culvert receiving Interstate 89 runoff,
and working within a housing development on stormwater management practices
and reduction of household non-point source pollution.
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Browns River Watershed Stream Geomorphic Assessment
The District continued its collaborative Phase 1 and
Phase 2 assessment of the major sedimentation contributing sites in the
Browns River watershed. Funded by grants from the Lake Champlain Basin
Program, which is supporting three years of this assessment, the District
has been working on this project with the Dept. of Environmental Conservation
(DEC), Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC), U.S. Fish
and Wildlife, VT Dept of Fish and Wildlife, and VT Agency of Agriculture
and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The goal is to prioritize
land areas that need best management practices applied in order to improve
the water quality in the Browns River. The Browns River is a sub watershed
of the lower Lamoille River watershed and flows through the towns of Westford,
Essex, Jericho and Underhill. A 7.5-mile section of the Browns main stem
remains on the State of Vermont’s Impaired Waters List due to sedimentation
and was identified by the DEC’s Watershed Planning Initiative as a priority
project in the Lamoille River watershed.
This year we completed the Phase I Stream Geomorphic Assessment (SGA)
and the in-field Bridge and Culvert Assessments. This assessment process
identified existing stream conditions at the watershed scale using Geographic
Information System (GIS) tools and ground truth methods and compared these
to historical changes in the watershed. Bridge and culvert assessments
were completed to inventory stream crossings and to identify structures
contributing to stream instability, sedimentation and impaired fish passage.
We began the second phase of assessment which is designed to field verify
data collected at the remote sensing level of the first assessment using
in-stream quantitative criteria to determine fisheries habitat health
and stream stability. Eight highly sensitive reaches along the main stem
of the Browns River were targeted for further assessment. Identification
of locations in the watershed where instability is most prominent will
help prioritize candidate reaches for future water quality improvement
and protection projects.
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Mad River Watershed Cover Cropping Initiative
The District continued the implementation of the Mad
River Buffer and Filter Strip Initiative with the addition of a new cover
cropping practice in the watershed. The Buffer grant’s original purpose
was to support the implementation of nonpoint source pollution reduction
practices in the Mad River Valley. In hindsight, the cover cropping practice
on commodity fields along the river should have been included in the original
grant initiative, considering the similar benefits to control nonpoint
source pollution into surface waters.
The project, funded through an EPA 319 Water Quality grant provided astounding
results in 2002 & 2003 with 49 acres of installed grass filter strips,
over 7 acres of forested riparian buffers planted with native vegetation,
and 1740 linear feet of stabilized stream bank along the Mad River. The
intention of the cover cropping initiative is to change land management
practices historically used in the Valley by offering an incentive payment
to completely cover the practice costs, provide technical support, educational
materials, and assistance in the search for custom cropping options and
bulk seed company rates. Landowners should see benefits of: reduced soil
erosion from wind and water, management of excess nutrients in the soil
system, improved weed suppression, increased biodiversity and increased
soil organic matter. After two years, we hope the practice will have been
successful enough for farmers to naturally incorporate it into their cropping
program without a monetary incentive.
On March 1st, 2004, the area farmer discussion
group was held locally in Waitsfield to explain the program and promote
enrollment. Sid Bosworth (UVM Extension) and Paul Salon (NRCS’s Big Flats
Plant Material Center) both shared cover-cropping experiences and demonstrated
advantages of the cover cropping practice to interested producers. Winooski
NRCD, Washington County USDA-NRCS staff and Mike Blazewicz from Friends
of the Mad River also attended the meeting and were available for questions.
Following this meeting and an interview with Mike Blazewicz from Friends
of the Mad River, an article "Cover cropping good for farmers"
was printed on 3/4/04 in a local paper, the Valley Reporter.
After numerous site visits and phone calls, a local farmer,
Elwin Neill, agreed to custom apply the seed and harrow all cornfields
enrolled in the project. Bulk seed was purchased from Lawes Agricultural
Services, a reputable dealer from Bradford, and all cornfields along the
Mad River were planted with annual winter rye by the end of the first
week in October. Over 165 acres of normally bare soil is currently covered
with a green blanket of rye seedlings.
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Winooski Crop Management Service
The District offers a self-sustaining crop management service, employing
a certified crop consultant. Services include field scouting; soil, nitrate,
and manure testing; nutrient recommendations; and record- keeping. Four
farms were serviced during this fiscal year, ranging from traditional
dairy farms to fruit and vegetable growers. The program’s goal is to provide
a holistic approach to on-farm nutrient management while reflecting positive
improvements in water quality.
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District Activities
Healthy Horses Healthy Land Workshop Series
A three part workshop series was coordinated by NRCD, VT Horse Council,
VT Pasture Network and UVM Extension to discuss issues concerning horse
owners on managing your land and your horses for maximum health. We first
met at The Stock Farm in Randolph Center on July 26th to discuss
manure management, pasture quality, muddy paddocks, horse health, and
fencing options. On August 16th we shared our struggle to keep
paddocks void of muddy gate entrances and observed a hands-on demonstration
on the creation of all-weather surfaces and mud control issues at the
UVM Horse Farm. They had extremely muddy paddock entrances due to the
heavy traffic at the gate entrance, the downward sloping grade and watering
at the gate entrance. The Horse Farm agreed to create a heavy-use area
at the entrance of their four worst paddocks by removing the top soil
down to the clay subsoil layer, rolling out filter fabric, adding stone,
then another layer of geotextile filter fabric, topped with sure pack.
It was a great educational opportunity for UVM Equine students as well
as an opportunity for horse owners to observe management practices that
improve water quality.
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Conservation Field Day
On September 24th 100 sixth grade students from Montpelier’s
Main Street Middle School attended the District Conservation Field Day
hosted at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science’s North Branch Nature
Center. The students spent the day exploring outdoor field stations as
well as enjoying a raptor program provided by VINS. The stations included
watersheds, forestry, reptiles & amphibians, composting, animal behavior
and river dynamics. We had instructors from Association of Vermont Recyclers,
VT Fish and Wildlife Dept., Forest and Parks, Watershed Alliance, VINS,
and the Conservation District who made a beautiful day an incredible outdoor
learning experience for the students.
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Conservation Farmer of the Year
This year the Winooski NRCD honored two examples of outstanding farming
operations in Chittenden County as Conservation Farmers of the Year.
Bruce, Mary and Tim Taft of the Taft’s Milk and Maple Farm in Huntington
milk 196 jerseys with a total herd of 358 including dry cows and young
stock. They crop 106 acres of corn and 152 acres of grass and rent over
200 acres of farm and woodland. They constructed a new freestall barn
and milking parlor facility 2 years ago through an USDA-NRCS EQIP contract.
They recently finished the barn roof runoff collection system into a French
drain as well as new feed bunks and a new bunker leachate collection system.
They used an interesting new product from New York called Wollastinite,
or garnet dust, under the bunks for a hard-packed surface. The Taft family
also has a substantial sugaring operation where they ship orders of maple
syrup, maple cream and sugar nearly every day all over the world.
Bruce Hennessey and Beth Whiting own Maple Wind Farm in Huntington where
they have a diversified agricultural operation raising beef, chickens
(hens & broilers), turkeys, lambs, pigs, and horses. They own 150
acres, 80 of which are intensively managed pastures. They also rent additional
hay land in Richmond & Hinesburg. EQIP and PL-566 contracts provided
cost-share dollars to roof a winter heavy use area for the organic beef
cows and improve their roof runoff management practices. To further diversify
the operation, Beth runs a Summer Adventure Camp out of the farm, called
"On the Loose". They also have yurts along the Catamount Trail
that can be rented year round.
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Forest Stewards of the Year
This year the Winooski NRCD honored two examples of outstanding forestry
management in Washington County as Forest Stewards of the Year.
Mike & Vivien Fritz own 520 Acres in Cabot and Marshfield known as
Beaver Brook Farm. They purchased the land with the intension of developing
a long-term timber management plan with a forester and logger who understand
their goals. They manage for a varied age forest to encourage a variety
of wildlife species and show how logging can help provide recreation trails
for the local community for cross country skiing, horseback riding, VAST
use and orienteering, their true passion. Currently they have over 15
miles of cross-country ski trails that all originated as skidder trails.
They have taken great efforts to produce one of the most detailed orienteering
maps in the Northeast as well as to host professional orienteering challenges
for worldwide enthusiasts.
The Motyka family is committed to land preservation & working on
their 230 acres of open & wooded land in Northfield. They run a maple
sugaring operation in partnership with Paul Olander where they tap 1400
maples with a potential of over 2200. Connie and his family also thin
their plantation white pine and Norway spruce for family-use lumber sawn
on a portable sawmill. They also manage their hardwood stand as a sugarbush,
for firewood and some premium logs. They log only in the winter and improve
wildlife habitat through managing a varied-age forest. The family’s land
management goal is to cover their costs of production (taxes, fuel, equipment)
from word products taken off the land.
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Vermont Envirothon
Since 1995 the Winooski District has been a strong supporter of the Vermont
Envirothon state wide environmental education program. The strive to provide
high school students with the knowledge, skills and willingness to participate
in natural resources problem solving is a strong educational goal of the
District. 17 high school teams participated in the Envirothon on May 18th,
which was held in and around the Statehouse in Montpelier. More than 115
people were involved including coaches, students, judges, chaperones,
and many volunteers. This year’s overall project theme was "Natural
Resources Management in the Downtown Area".
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District Tree Sale
Our goal for the tree sale is to offer landowners high quality, native
tree seedlings at a reasonable price to encourage conservation planting.
This spring, the District offered landowners 27 varieties of bare-root
tree and shrub seedlings and sold 4725 trees to 224 different organizations
and individuals.
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