This October through a Trees For Streams grant awarded by the Natural Resources Conservation Council and the VT Department of Environmental Conservation, Lamoille County Natural Resources Conservation District (LCCD) partnered with the Town of Morrisville and 15 volunteers to plant a .7 acre 70 foot wide buffer along the Lamoille River at Oxbow Park in Morristown. This planting was approved by the Morristown Selectboard in Spring of 2024.
Buffer zones are good for the mitigation of nutrient and pollutant loading. In the Lake Champlain Basin this is particularly important for preventing algal blooms in Lake Champlain due to the excess Phosphorus loading. Buffer zones are also important for building wildlife habitats, erosion control, soil health, improved pollinator habitats, and carbon sequestration.
LCCD will continue to have conversations with the community of Morristown in the winter of 2025 to help build consensus on the future of the Oxbow Park lower deck with expectation that flooding will be a perennial event for the foreseeable future. Hopefully this discussion will build understanding of the current development patterns and move the community towards a sustainable and safe future.
Photo: Volunteers at Oxbow Park. Photo by Lamoille County NRCD.