In partnership with the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network (VECAN), the AVCC hosted a webinar chronicling community science efforts to map, monitor and maintain stormwater infrastructure at the local level. Designed to manage water flow from streams and storms, culverts, ditches, and drains can easily become clogged with leaves, branches and other debris that diminish their mitigating impact on flooding. Properly designed and maintained culverts can also aid in habitat connectivity, prevent road washouts, mitigate soil erosion and pollutant runoff, and protect water quality. The devastating flooding events of the past few years have demonstrated the importance of keeping these often overlooked but critically important infrastructure in good working order, and grassroots volunteers have stepped up to the challenge.
Created in collaboration between the Black River Action Team, Cavendish Connects, Black River Valley Resources, the Rural Rivers Project, and Dartmouth College students, Culvert Crawlers is a community-based stormwater infrastructure monitoring program that aims to keep culverts clear and effective. Kelly Stettner, Director of the Black River Action Team, and Dr. Charis Boke, a researcher in the Anthropology Department at Dartmouth College, explain how the Culvert Crawlers came to be, how they use their mapping platform to monitor culverts, and how people can launch similar initiatives in their own towns. Learn more about the Culvert Crawlers at https://sites.dartmouth.edu/mappingforresilience/culvert-crawlers/
JoAnn Hanowski of the Greensboro Conservation Commission (GCC) addressed the successes and challenges of her town’s Adopt-a-Culvert Program, which also began as a grassroots response to the floods of 2023 and 2024. A partnership between the GCC, the Watershed Stewards of the Greensboro Association, and the national Adopt-a-Drain program, this initiative aims to clear debris from ditches and culverts on at least a biannual basis – once in the spring and again in the fall. Volunteers are directed to use the vt.adopt-a-drain.org website to “adopt” one or more of the 800 culverts throughout the Town of Greensboro. Both approaches represent a potential path forward for communities that want to be proactive in adapting to changing weather patterns.
Vernal pools are small, seasonal wetlands that flood in spring and dry up by midsummer, creating vital, fish-free nurseries for amphibians like salamanders and wood frogs. These hidden gems also provide food and water for countless forest creatures—but their small size and temporary nature make them especially vulnerable to human impacts. Join Kevin Tolan from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) as we take a virtual step into the world of vernal pools and learn how to document and conserve these delicate ecosystems in your area.
Kevin is also touring the state with a series of field events co-hosted with local conservation commissions. If you would like to schedule an event in your town, please reach out to Kevin at ktolan@vtecostudies.org.
2026 Vernal Pools Field Tour
Norwich – Saturday, April 11th Co-hosted by the Norwich Conservation Commission and the Upper Valley Land Trust
Salisbury – Wednesday, April 22nd @ 10:00 am Co-hosted by the Salisbury and Ripton Conservation Commissions
Brattleboro – Saturday, April 25th @ 10:00 am Co-hosted by the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center
Hartford – Sunday, April 26th @ 10:00 am Co-hosted by the Hartford Conservation CommissionandHartford Salamander Team
Hinesburg – Sunday, April 26th @ 10:00 am Co-hosted by the Hinesburg Conservation Commission
Strafford – Saturday, May 2nd Co-hosted by the Strafford Conservation Commission
Rupert – Sunday, May 3rd @ 10:00 am Co-hosted by the Merck Forest and Farmland Center
Participants should dress for the weather and wear sturdy waterproof footwear or rubber boots. Some events will require hiking upwards of a mile into the woods.
The Vernal Pool Atlas is an online database of vernal pool location and monitoring data. Created by VCE in collaboration with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department (VTFWD), this state-wide repository of all things vernal pool is an interactive community science data-gathering tool for the public to use. The success of VPAtlas is dependent upon volunteer citizen scientists. You can help us field-verify potential pools that have been mapped remotely, report the location of vernal pools you already know about, or discover new-to-us pools to put on the map. Watch the VPAtlas tutorial to get started, visit VCE’s website for more direction, and download the resources below when you’re ready to get out in the field!
Spotted salamander eggs • Photo courtesy of Kevin Tolan/Vermont Center for EcostudiesVernal pool in Winhall, Vermont • Photo courtesy of Steve Faccio/Vermont Center for EcostudiesSpotted salamander • Photo courtesy of Steve Faccio/Vermont Center for Ecostudies
On February 12th, the AVCC hosted an evening listening session to discuss the draft Vermont Conservation Plan (VCP), an initial, working set of proposed objectives, pathways, and actions intended to help Vermont fulfill the vision and goals set forth in the Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act (Act 59), including conserving 30% of our landscape by 2030. This was an opportunity to weigh in on the plan specifically as it involves and affects the work of conservation commissions, and we were pleased to lead around thirty participants in a thoughtful and engaging conversation over Zoom.
Participants heard first from Krista Karlson, Co-Chair of the Thetford Conservation Commission, who has been representing CC perspectives on the plan’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) since the summer of 2025. Krista presented an overview of the draft plan, explained how it has evolved thanks to public and stakeholder input, and highlighted a few of the proposed pathways and actions that connect to the on-the-ground work of local conservation commissions.
In breakout discussions, attendees shared generally positive feedback about the framework’s comprehensiveness in addressing a broad range of conservation priorities. Some expressed a desire for a more succinct version with plain language better suited for a general audience. There was general consensus on the importance of centering Vermont Conservation Design (VCD) in the plan – with particular praise for the emphasis on habitat connectivity – but many commissions will require further technical assistance to translate VCD into action and take full advantage of tools like BioFinder. Participants identified areas where the document felt difficult to interpret, and questioned how certain pathways and actions would be implemented locally – and by whom. For many, the main takeaway was how challenging it will be to make choices and set priorities given the realities of limited funding and capacity; in other words, while conservation commissions may be positioned to lead on much of this work, they will need a lot of help to do it effectively. A full summary of the notes from this session will be posted by the end of March 2026.
This past October, the Draft Framework Report was posted for public review; this report was developed using input from the summer listening sessions and contributions from the plan’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). Additional feedback was gathered via survey and direct submission during a monthlong comment period following the report’s release. Summaries and documentation for all stakeholder feedback gathered to date can be found on the VCP website. The TAC has continued to meet monthly to review and refine the plan. You can find notes from the meetings or watch the recordings at https://vermontconservationplan.com/vcp/tac/.
Public listening sessions are listed below. Special stakeholder listening sessions are also being held around the state, so check in with your local RPC, NRCD, land trust and watershed group to see if there’s another event in your area.
Active CCs within 30 minutes: Middletown Springs, Mount Holly, Tinmouth, Shrewsbury and Wallingford
Background: Passed in June 2023, the Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act (also known as Act 59) establishes a statewide vision to maintain an ecologically functional landscape that sustains biodiversity, supports working farms and forests, strengthens community resilience, and upholds our state’s historic pattern of compact villages surrounded by rural lands and natural areas. To advance this vision, the Act sets ambitious goals to conserve 30% of Vermont’s landscape by 2030 and 50% by 2050, and directs the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB), in coordination with the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), to prepare a statewide conservation plan. Phase I of the implementation process – establishing a statewide inventory of conserved lands – was completed in 2024. We are now in Phase II, development and refinement of the Vermont Conservation Plan.
The Vermont Climate Council is in the process of updating the state’s Climate Action Plan, with a finalized plan due by July 1, 2025. This plan has a necessarily broad focus on cutting climate pollution and helping communities adapt and become more resilient in a warming world. On Wednesday, March 26, the AVCC and VECAN (the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network) co-hosted a webinar to explore some of the ideas in play and how you (and your networks) can help shape the plan.
We were joined by the following members of the Vermont Climate Council who are helping to lead the pollution cutting, rural resilience, and agriculture and ecosystems pieces of this important work.: ➡ Jared Duval, Energy Action Network, member of a Vermont-based organization with expertise in energy and data analysis ➡ David Mears, member with expertise in the design and implementation of programs to increase resilience to and respond to natural disasters resulting from climate change (also the chair of the Northfield Conservation Commission) ➡ Johanna Miller, Vermont Natural Resources Council, member to represent a statewide environmental organization ➡ Jaiel Pulskamp, Kettle Song Farm, member to represent the farm and forest sector
The Vermont Climate Council is expected to release a draft version at the end of March, and has scheduled public engagement opportunities throughout April in towns across Vermont (see below). Please follow this link to view the full list of priority recommendations from the Council’s subcommittees (please note that the Climate Council has not yet reached consensus on these actions).
Contact anr.cao@vermont.gov or call (802) 404-2729 with any questions, including for any accessibility needs (language, transportation, disability, etc.) to participate in the spring input sessions.
You can also view upcoming meetings of the Council and its various subcommittees on the calendar on their website. Vermonters are encouraged to join these meetings to share their thoughts with the Council, or submit a written comment here.
