Programs and Services

Education

Conservation Field Days

The District sponsors Conservation Field Days for 5th and 6th grade students and their teachers where they learn about such things as: soils, forests/trees, wildlife, wetlands and water pollution, etc.

Vermont Envirothon

The District participates in promoting the Vermont Envirothon program through visits to high school science departments and presenting information to teachers on the virtues of student participation in the Vermont Envirothon.

Agriculture

The State of Vermont’s Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs) are standards to which all types of farms must be managed to reduce the impact of agricultural activities to water quality.

Outreach

RNRCD Annual Meeting

The District holds an Annual Meeting and invites a guest speaker to talk about an important natural resource conservation issue.

Land Treatment Planning

The Land Treatment Planner works with the agricultural community to develop plans that control soil erosion and protect water quality by implementing land based conservation practices.

Agricultural Assistance

The District in cooperation with the Poultney Mettowee and Bennington Conservation Districts have an Agricultural Resources Specialist to assist small farm owners by assessing on-farm water quality concerns, providing technical assistance, and supporting implementation of Best Management Practices. Assistance in writing and managing nutrient management plans and for meeting the required agricultural practices is also part of the assistance provided by our Agricultural Resources Specialist.

Local Work Group

Rutland District Supervisors participate in Local Work Group meetings. The focus of these meetings is to assist in setting local priorities for USDA Cost Share Programs administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).Services

Online RAP Quiz

The goal of the RAP Online Quiz is to provide an accessible, informative tool for livestock farmers and agricultural service providers to raise awareness of the RAPs and water quality improvement practices available for Vermont farmers.

Stormwater

What is stormwater?

Stormwater is rainwater or snowmelt that does not soak into developed surfaces, such as paved or compacted gravel roads, parking lots, or rooftops. Instead, it flows over these surfaces, directly into local waters, carrying pollutants with it.

Moon Brook Rutland City Stormwater Master Plan

Town of Brandon Stormwater Master Plan

Town of Wallingford Stormwater Master Plan

• Blog post: Town of Wallingford Stormwater Master Plan

Town of Rutland Moon Brook Flow Restoration Plan

East Creek and Tenney Brook Stormwater Master Plan

• Blog post: Tenny Brook Stormwater Master Plan

Green Stormwater Infrastructure

The District works with Towns in the Upper Otter Creek watershed to implement Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI).

GSI is used to manage runoff from developed lands in an effort to reduce the volume of stormwater and improve water quality. GSI utilizes infiltration, evapotranspiration, storage and reuse. To learn more about GSI visit the DEC website here and here.

Services

Seedling Sale

Each year in the Spring the District makes available to the public evergreen and hardwood trees, wildlife/songbird trees and shrubs, apple trees, berries and wildflower seeds in order to encourage landowners to increase plantings for wildlife habitat, conservation and aesthetics.

Trout Sales

The District sponsors a Spring Trout program that provides pond owners with trout for stocking their ponds.

Portable Skidder Bridges

The District has portable skidder bridges available for rent to loggers and consulting foresters. Portable skidder bridges when properly installed and used as a temporary stream crossing structure, will reduce stream bank and stream bed disturbance as compared to other alternatives, thus minimizing the potential for sedimentation.