News

Construction has started to remove the last barrier to fish passage on Wing Brook in Rochester: the stream-crossing culvert at Wing Farm Road.

The Wing Farm Road culvert is located near the mouth of Wing Brook, and is one of only three stream-crossing structures on the stream. Until recently all three structures were under-sized, making them barriers to fish passage and vulnerable to flood damages.

Why under-sized culverts matter

Stream-crossing culverts are under-sized when the width of the structure is narrower than the stream is wide – over 80% of the culverts in the White River watershed fit this description. Why does this matter?

Under-sized, stream-crossing culverts make roads vulnerable to flood damages.

During a rainstorm, water backs-up behind under-sized culverts because the stream flow is wider than the culvert inlet. Water that can’t pass through the culvert forms a whirlpool upstream, eating away at – or eroding – the river and road banks as the water rises higher and higher.

In smaller rainstorms this erosion can cause the river and road banks to slump, requiring regular maintenance to prevent a complete collapse. In larger rainstorms this erosion can wash away the road completely – this happened in hundreds of locations during Tropical Storm Irene.

Under-sized culverts also block the passage of fish. Vermont’s native fish need to migrate upstream in search of cool water during the summer months and to lay their eggs during the spring or fall.

During a rainstorm the water that passes through an under-sized culvert is moving at high speed – like water passing through a garden hose when you put your thumb over part of the opening. When it exits the culvert, the fast-moving water scours the stream downstream, eroding the bed and banks.

Over time this scouring action lowers the bed of the river below the culvert, creating a large drop – or perch – from the culvert outlet to the water below. Native fish can only jump about 1-foot, so culverts that are perched more than 1 foot become a barrier to fish trying to move upstream.

“The impact under-sized culverts have on native fish can be easy to observe,” states Executive Director Mary Russ. “During the low water conditions this summer, many people reported seeing groups of fish congregating in the pools below perched culverts or near the mouths of cold-water streams.” According to Russ, “Many of these fish were stuck – they were unable to move through under-sized, stream-crossing culverts to access cold-water habitat upstream. Some of these fish survived; some did not.”

Focusing on Wing Brook

Wing Brook is a tributary to the West Branch of the White River. From its headwaters in Hancock, Wing Brook travels over 5 miles through a primarily-forested landscape on its way to its confluence with the West Branch in Rochester. Along the way its pools and riffles are home to healthy populations of native fish – like brook trout – as well as the waterbugs they depend on. As a result Wing Brook is an important spawning stream in this portion of the Upper White River watershed.

After Tropical Storm Irene the WRP and its partners identified Wing Brook as an important fish passage restoration site for several reasons:

1. There were only three stream-crossing structures in the 2.8-square-mile Wing Brook watershed and all three were under-sized.
2. Two of these road/stream crossings suffered major damages during Tropical Storm Irene and required ongoing maintenance to prevent road failure.
3. The Wing Brook confluence is located within the West Branch Restoration Project area, a 1.5-mile long, in-stream and riverside habitat restoration project completed after Tropical Storm Irene.

Using Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department State Wildlife Grant funds, the WRP worked with Rochester-based engineer Kricket McCusker to design replacement projects for the three, town-owned, stream-crossing culverts on Wing Brook at Maple Hill Road, Marine Hill Road, and Wing Farm Road in Rochester.

Then, using a combination of US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and private foundation funding, the WRP worked with partners and local contractors to replace the Maple Hill Road and Marine Hill Road culverts in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

The Wing Farm Road culvert replacement will complete the project, reducing flood damages at road/stream crossings and restoring fish passage to the entire Wing Brook watershed.

The project also supports the local economy. Project funding benefits local businesses – from the design engineer to the construction contractors.

A culvert replacement project in action

If you’re driving through Rochester this month and have a few minutes to spare, head west on Rte 73 for 1.5 miles; turn right on Maple Hill Road; then drive 0.3 miles to Wing Farm Road and turn left. Slow down after 0.1 miles to drive over the temporary bridge across Wing Brook and you’ll see heavy machinery from Harvey’s Plumbing & Excavating (Rochester, VT) working at the site.

Over the past few weeks Harvey’s operators have installed the temporary bridge to allow traffic to bypass the construction site; removed the road material down to the new stream bed elevation; removed the old metal culvert; and knocked out the concrete cradles at the culvert inlet and outlet along with 2 old, concrete bridge abutments uncovered during the road excavation work.

This week the operators will install a series of rock weirs – large rocks buried in the stream bed and banks in the shape of a channel-spanning “U.” The weirs insure fish can pass upstream by holding the bed elevation at a constant slope and directing water through the center of the new channel.

In a few weeks subcontractors from Tremblay Construction (Washington, VT) will pour concrete footings and abutments for the new bridge. And sometime near the beginning of September, a crane operator will place a 60-foot-span bridge on the new abutments to complete the project.

Wing Farm Road project partners

The WRP is working with a number of partners to implement the Wing Farm Road culvert replacement project, including the town of Rochester, US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, High Meadows Fund, National Forest Foundation, State Wildlife Grant, and Vermont Clean Water Block Grant as well as local contractors Kricket McCusker, Harvey’s Plumbing & Excavating, and Tremblay Construction.

Working with partners to restore fish passage is one important way the WRP accomplishes its mission: bringing people together to improve the long-term health of the White River and its watershed. Since 2008 the WRP has worked with partners, funders, and 5 towns to complete 13 culvert replacement and dam removal projects, opening 125 miles of river in Hancock, Pomfret, Randolph, Rochester, and Sharon.

The White River Partnership (WRP) has conserved 9 acres of active floodplain along 1,780 feet of the White River in Gaysville in partnership with the Vermont River Conservancy, Vermont River Management Program, High Meadows Fund, and a private landowner.

Gaysville is a small village located in the town of Stockbridge. Consisting of a cluster of homes along Route 107 and River Road, the Belcher Public Library, the Gaysville Post Office, and a steel truss bridge across the White River, you might not notice this hamlet if you drive between Bethel and Stockbridge on your way to Killington or the Green Mountain National Forest.

But Gaysville hasn’t always been easy to miss.

According to the Town of Stockbridge website, “In 1786 Elias Keyes established a grist mill and later a saw mill at “The Narrows”, later known as Gaysville, so named for its founders Daniel and Jeremiah Gay. Gaysville flourished as a manufacturing center, powered by the waters of the White River. A button shop, sawmills, grist mills, schools, churches, several general stores, a woolen mill, snowshoe shop, and many homes were at one time located at Gaysville.”

However Vermont’s most devastating flood event – the 1927 flood – changed Gaysville profoundly.

“The waters ripped through the valleys of Stockbridge, taking with them bridges, dams, sawmills, homes, factories, businesses, and the railroad. The book Floodtide of 1927 reports some thirty buildings gone, with many more rendered useless in Gaysville alone…. Due to the devastation of the 1927 flood, and a changing economy, …the hamlet of Gaysville [was] never rebuilt to [its] former glory.”

Flood waters from Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011 also had major impacts in the town of Stockbridge. The town’s Hazard Mitigation Plan states that Tropical Storm Irene “destroy[ed] numerous properties and wip[ed] out large swathes of roadway and other infrastructure, most notable Route 107 leading to Bethel.”

In Gaysville a privately-owned campground, which occupied 20 acres of low-lying land along the south bank of the White River, sustained heavy damages. As a result the town worked with FEMA, the state, and other partners to “buyout” the property, by purchasing it from the private landowners; removing the damaged buildings and infrastructure; and restoring the land as open space.

Located immediately downstream from the campground, the privately-owned WRP project site was also flooded during Tropical Storm Irene. But unlike the campground, the 9-acre parcel was undeveloped.

According to WRP Executive Director Mary Russ, “Irene flood waters came and went without damaging any structures, highlighting the need to keep the property undeveloped to accommodate future flooding.”

So the WRP reached out to the landowner. “When the landowner expressed an interest in protecting the undeveloped property and making the land available for public access, we raised funds to work with the Vermont River Conservancy (VRC) to implement a river corridor easement project,” says Russ.

The river corridor easement prohibits future development; allows the river to flood and move around; and protects the mature riparian forest along 1,780 feet of the river in perpetuity while allowing certain land uses – like recreational access – to continue within the 9-acre project area.

The landowner received a one-time payment as compensation for conserving the land. The Vermont Ecosystem Restoration Program and High Meadows Fund provided funding for the project.

The easement project complements the buyout project upstream; both projects prohibit development in this active floodplain, which will minimize future flood damages in Gaysville.

But the conservation projects also enhance another community benefit.

According to Russ, “Gaysville has been a recreation destination for many years: during certain water levels, paddlers come to canoe or kayak a technical section of river just upstream of the bridge; and swimmers and fishermen know that the waters are cold and clean and filled with fish.”

Now 29 acres downstream of the bridge are publicly-accessible and the former Gaysville Campground site is part of the White River Water Trail, an emerging network of 40+ designated public access sites along the river. And a group of Stockbridge community members has formed a committee to design and implement site improvements at the campground property to ensure safe, 4-season access to residents and visitors alike.

Working with partners to conserve active floodplains along the White River is one important way the WRP accomplishes its mission: bringing people together to improve the long-term health of the White River and its watershed. Since 2008 the WRP has worked with the state, VRC, Vermont Land Trust, funders, and 15 landowners to complete 10 floodplain conservation projects, conserving 157.5 acres on river-front properties in Braintree, Granville, Hancock, Randolph, Rochester, Royalton, and Stockbridge.