October events
October 04, 2007
You are invited to join the WRP in October…
River Night: Perspectives on the First Branch, October 12 – 6:30pm
The Tunbridge Planning Commission is sponsoring a community potluck gathering on Friday, October 12 from 6:30 – 8:30pm at the Tunbridge Town Hall. Community members are invited to hear four speakers – Euclid Farnham, Kari Dolan, Kevin Geiger, and Mary Russ – discuss history, natural history, geology, recreation, and floodplain issues on the First Branch watershed of the White River.
Northeast Conference on Flood Hazards, Liabilities & Opportunities, October 15 – all day
The Vermont DEC River Management Program, Vermont Law School and its Land Use Institute, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, and the Two Rivers–Ottauquechee Regional Commission, is co-sponsoring a conference at the Vermont Law School to provide municipal officials and attorneys with key information they need to understand both the flood hazards in Vermont and the liabilities associated with municipal and landowner actions. The conference is free of charge for municipal officers (planning commissioners, Selectboards, zoning administrators, etc.) thanks to a generous grant from the DEC River Management Program. For others, the fee is $35 for general registration and $125 for those seeking CLE Credit.
For more information please go to http://www.vermontlaw.edu/elc/landuse/ or contact Jane D’Antonio, Institute Administrator at Vermont Law School at (802) 831-1217.
The Status of Vermont’s Current Use Program, October 15 – 7pm
This summer, the Vermont Legislature hired a consultant to review the Current Use Program and created a Task Force to determine whether the Program needs to be modified. 3 hearings are planned this month to invite public comment on the consultant’s report, which is available online. The public hearings are scheduled at 5pm on October 10 in Room 11 of the Vermont Statehouse; at 5pm on October 17 in the Bridport Town Hall; and at 5pm on October 23 in the America Legion Hartford Post 26 in White River Junction.
To provide watershed residents with more information on the Program and the Task Force in advance of the October 23 meeting in White River Junction, the WRP’s Forestry Work Group is hosting a free event on Monday, October 15 from 7-9pm in the Royalton Academy Building in Royalton village. Bill Snow, Chief of Current Use for the VT Tax Dept., and Rep. Alison Clarkson, sponsor of the legislation and Task Force member, will present information about the Program and the Task Force, and will answer questions. Refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP by calling Mary Russ at (802) 767-4600.
For more information about any of these events, contact Mary Russ at (802) 767-4600.
News
Posted: October 4, 2007 by wrp_admin
October events
October events
October 04, 2007
You are invited to join the WRP in October…
River Night: Perspectives on the First Branch, October 12 – 6:30pm
The Tunbridge Planning Commission is sponsoring a community potluck gathering on Friday, October 12 from 6:30 – 8:30pm at the Tunbridge Town Hall. Community members are invited to hear four speakers – Euclid Farnham, Kari Dolan, Kevin Geiger, and Mary Russ – discuss history, natural history, geology, recreation, and floodplain issues on the First Branch watershed of the White River.
Northeast Conference on Flood Hazards, Liabilities & Opportunities, October 15 – all day
The Vermont DEC River Management Program, Vermont Law School and its Land Use Institute, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, and the Two Rivers–Ottauquechee Regional Commission, is co-sponsoring a conference at the Vermont Law School to provide municipal officials and attorneys with key information they need to understand both the flood hazards in Vermont and the liabilities associated with municipal and landowner actions. The conference is free of charge for municipal officers (planning commissioners, Selectboards, zoning administrators, etc.) thanks to a generous grant from the DEC River Management Program. For others, the fee is $35 for general registration and $125 for those seeking CLE Credit.
For more information please go to http://www.vermontlaw.edu/elc/landuse/ or contact Jane D’Antonio, Institute Administrator at Vermont Law School at (802) 831-1217.
The Status of Vermont’s Current Use Program, October 15 – 7pm
This summer, the Vermont Legislature hired a consultant to review the Current Use Program and created a Task Force to determine whether the Program needs to be modified. 3 hearings are planned this month to invite public comment on the consultant’s report, which is available online. The public hearings are scheduled at 5pm on October 10 in Room 11 of the Vermont Statehouse; at 5pm on October 17 in the Bridport Town Hall; and at 5pm on October 23 in the America Legion Hartford Post 26 in White River Junction.
To provide watershed residents with more information on the Program and the Task Force in advance of the October 23 meeting in White River Junction, the WRP’s Forestry Work Group is hosting a free event on Monday, October 15 from 7-9pm in the Royalton Academy Building in Royalton village. Bill Snow, Chief of Current Use for the VT Tax Dept., and Rep. Alison Clarkson, sponsor of the legislation and Task Force member, will present information about the Program and the Task Force, and will answer questions. Refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP by calling Mary Russ at (802) 767-4600.
For more information about any of these events, contact Mary Russ at (802) 767-4600.
Posted: October 1, 2007 by wrp_admin
Water Quality Season Wraps Up
Water Quality Season Wraps Up
October 01, 2007
The WRP’s seventh water quality monitoring season is complete and the results are in!
Since June, WRP volunteers have tested water clarity (turbidity), conductivity, and E. coli bacteria at 25 sites throughout the watershed. Every week, the WRP publicizes the results of the E. coli testing, to alert the public about sites that exceed the Vermont and/or EPA national standard for contact recreation. For more information about the water quality monitoring program, follow this link.
Of the 25 sites we monitored this summer, 8 were chronically above the EPA standard. With the exception of one site at the Foxstand access area in Royalton, all of these sites are on the First, Second and Third Branches. Included in these sites is Ayer’s Brook, a large tributary of the Third Branch. Additionally, 4 sites throughout the watershed consistently exceeded the State’s more strict standard for safe recreation. The WRP is working to address the high E. coli levels found in these areas of the watershed.
For a copy of the 2007 E. coli summary, please call Mary Russ at (802) 767-4600.
Posted: September 5, 2007 by wrp_admin
September Events
September Events
September 05, 2007
You are invited to join the WRP in September…
Working Woodlands Workshop, September 12
How is it that streams and forests compliment each other? What is happening to the streams in our watersheds? Should we be changing the way we treat our land to protect our streams and surrounding habitats? Join Vermont Agency of Natural Resources watershed basin planner Marie Caduto and forester Jon Bouton as they explore stream and streamside environments, natural processes, and human impacts on these habitats. We’ll see how streams change and evolve with time, discuss managing our activities near streams to protect stream dynamics, and learn how volunteers can help assess stream health. Meet at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park Carriage Barn Visitor Center in Woodstock at 3:00. Free and open to the public. To register, call 802-457-3368×22.
Tunbridge Fair, September 13 – 16
Visit the WRP booth at the Fair (across from the gazebo) to see didymo up close; to get 2007 water quality monitoring results; and to learn more about what the WRP is doing in the watershed.
Outstanding Tree Farm Tour, September 15
70 years of stewardship has earned Dick Rose and his property in Stockbridge a reputation for exemplary forestry. Join the VT Woodlands Association and the WRP’s Forestry Work Group for a visit to VT’s Outstanding Tree Farm. Come for all or part of the day. For more information or to register, call 802-747-7900 or visit www.vermontwoodlands.org.
River Cleanup, September 15
Students at Vermont Law School are organizing a river cleanup as part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. Meet in the Chase Center at 9am for goodies, trash bags, and directions. For more information, contact Jamie Ferro at 760-393-1279.
For more information, call 802-767-4600.