Franklin County Conservation District
Tree Sale 2019 Programs and Services Meet the Team Events Meetings
Read our Winter 2019 Newsletter below:
Conservation Needs *You*
The holidays are over, but one song is still playing through my head: All I want for Christmas is you. Because your participation – above and beyond what you’re already doing – is what we most want here at the Conservation District. Probably you are already doing something to steward our natural resources – maybe you …
Franklin County Regional Events
Feb 1 – “In Good Taste” local food and drink sampling, 4:30-7:00, 100 N. Main St., St. Albans
Feb 8 – Industrial Hemp Conference, all day, Burlington.
Feb 12 – Winter Farmers’ Meeting, 10am-3pm, Champlain Valley Equipment, St. Albans
Feb 12 – Transferring the Farm Workshop, 9:00am, – 3:30pm, Berlin office of UVM Ext., $10
Feb 15 – Precision Ag Forum, 10am-2pm, The Abbey, Enosburg Falls.
Feb 16-19 – NOFA-VT Winter Conference (workshops on many subjects), Burlington, 434-4122
Time to place your orders for our spring sale!
It’s still winter, but spring is just around the corner! It’s time to place your orders for our spring sales. The Franklin County Natural Resources Conservation District has been holding a spring tree sale at least as long as our Board can remember – and that goes back to 1968! Our primary goal is to make native trees and backyard fruit trees affordable and
Buttonbush for Butterflies and Awesome Aronia
Buttonbush has one of the most unique flowers of any shrub, and butterflies think so too. Aronia’s blueberry-sized black fruits have the highest known levels of antioxidants (anthocyanins and flavonoids) of any temperate fruit, five times higher than cranberry and blueberry, and contain strong anticancer compounds. Both are Vermont natives with wildlife benefits that have earned them spots as our featured discounted shrubs this spring.
Tile Drainage: Good or Bad?
Tile drainage can have many benefits. By more quickly draining extra water from a field, the field can be accessed sooner for planting, crop roots can grow farther down, compaction is reduced, and soil moisture is more often optimal for crop growth. These soil health improvements are key for maintaining productivity in the face of more frequent, intense precipitation and droughts we’ve …
Collaborating to Enhance an Oxbow Ecosystem in Fairfax
Goose Pond is an oxbow pond rich with wildlife along the Lamoille River. When Flora Hurteau and her late husband conserved land there, they had trees planted along the pond’s edge and the high, eroding river bank. Four years later, though, only a fraction...
District Assists Farmers in UVM’s Nutrient Management Class
The Conservation District again provided one-on-one assistance to eight small, family farms participating in UVM Extension’s Nutrient Management Planning class. The 2018 graduates, pictured below with UVM and District staff, completed Plans that conform to...
Daton Fleury Celebrates 50 Years on the Conservation District Board
Daton Fleury joined the Franklin County Conservation District as a Supervisor in 1968. He oversaw the completion of the Vermont Soil Survey in 1975 (pictured above, center) and has been a grass-based dairy farmer, maple sugarmaker, and reliable leader of...
College Scholarship
Are you a college student, or will you be this fall? The goal of the Franklin County Conservation District’s $500 college scholarship program is to encourage young people from Franklin County to pursue careers in sustainable agricultural and natural...
Young Farmers Converge in D.C.
Our District Manager and Fairfield farmer Damien Boomhower were among three Vermonters who traveled to Washington D.C. in November to join young farmers from across the country for the annual Young Farmers Coalition convergence.
Faces of Vermont Agriculture Videos
Choiniere Family Farm (Highgate) is one of six farms profiled in Faces of Vermont Agriculture, a collection of short video profiles and a 22-minute mini documentary that highlight outstanding stewards of the land who live and farm in the Green Mountain State. These dedicated farmers tell us in their own words, “Why Conservation Matters,”—to their bottom line, to the health and sustainability of the resources on and around their farm, and to the future of farming…
Give Feedback on Conservation Programming and Funding for NW Vermont
The Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Franklin, Grand Isle, and Lamoille Conservation Districts are seeking your ideas to focus our outreach activities and cost share programs over the next year in the Northwest Zone.
We hope to incorporate the goals and needs of residents into developing priorities for program direction and funding. To do this, we need your help…
Volunteers Needed – Get Discounted Trees
Our tree sale, water quality monitoring and restoration projects rely on volunteers. Many of our partners in conservation and resilient local food systems also rely on volunteers to keep our environment and our communities healthy. We are launching a brand...
Conservation Community Remembers Eric Noel
-adapted with permission from Jenn Colby, Vermont Grass Farmers Association-
Vermont Grass Farmers Association and the world lost a great friend, advocate, educator, and leader on December 18 in the passing of Eric Noel, after a long illness. Eric was a dairy farm kid turned race car mechanic turned soil-building, regenerative-grazing beef farmer, success coach, and technical innovator. Eric served on the Vermont Grass Farmers Association…
Roadside signs highlight farmers’ leadership on water quality
More than 7,000 acres of corn fields were planted with a cover crop in Franklin County last fall, and thousands more acres received other conservation practices such as no-till planting and conversion to grass crops. In fact, according to a new scorecard by the Union of Concerned Scientists, Vermont ranks first in the nation for use of conservation practices. New roadside signs will help highlight this work that can otherwise be very hard to see.
ECO*AmeriCorps members aid water quality across Franklin County
Last August marked the third year that ECO*AmeriCorps members have bolstered water quality efforts in Franklin County and throughout Vermont. Members, driven by passion for the environment and curiosity about career paths, bring increasingly impressive expertise from their recent college educations. Brodie Haenke, a graduate of U-Wisconsin, is concluding his second year of service. His first was with the Missisquoi River Basin Association (MRBA) in East Berkshire, and this year he served with the Franklin County Natural Resources…
Download Publications
Download PDF: Winter 2019 Newsletter (4.6 MB)
Download PDF: Winter 2018 Newsletter (4.2 MB)
Download PDF: Winter 2017 Newsletter (1.0 MB)
Download PDF: Franklin County Natural Resources Assessment 2017 (0.4 MB)
Featured Photos
Learn more about the Franklin County NRCD programs.
Campers Exploring
Campers at the St. Albans Day Camp explore through the cattails and shrub willows at the Collins-Perley Sports Complex.
Inspecting Crayfish
A Richford NOTCH camper inspects the crayfish he caught in the Missisquoi River.
Muskrat Lodge?
(From left to right) Chloe Decker, Tylee Shover, and Taygon Shover check out a possible muskrat lodge they found on the edge of the Missisquoi River in Richford.
Comparing Crayfish
Richford NOTCH campers gather close to compare the different crayfish they have caught in the Missisquoi River.
Drawing
St. Albans Day Campers make drawings of some of the nature they have found on their nature walk.
Exploring the Woods
St. Albans Day Campers explore the woods of Hard’ack Recreation Area.
Searching for Crayfish
Kaden Deuso searches for crayfish in the Missisquoi River at the Richford NOTCH day camp.
Showcasing Guides
Nikita Raymond and Natasha St. Francis showcase the “Locals’ Nature Guide to the Richford Playground” that they helped create.
The mission of the Franklin County Conservation District is to promote land use that supports human livelihoods and sustains ecosystems in Franklin County, VT. We empower and convene landowners and land-users to prioritize and address natural resource concerns through USDA and locally-developed programs. We recognize water quality and the continuance of our land-based economy as key concerns for Franklin County today.
Contact
Jeannie Bartlett, District Manager
50 S. Main St. #20
St Albans, VT 05478
802-528-4176
franklincountynrcd@gmail.com