Association of Vermont Conservation Commissions

Since the 1990's, the private lands comprising what is now Cady Hill Forest had long been identified as one of the highest priority areas for conservation in the town of Stowe. The combination of wildlife habitat, scenic viewshed and recreation trails within walking distance of Stowe Village has made this area immensely popular with the community for its ease of accessibility and wilderness-like experience.

In early 2011, Stowe Land Trust (SLT) was approached by the landowners of the .. Read More

For many years the Guilford Conservation Commission has envisioned a network of public trails in our town with the goal of building appreciation for our natural resources. Much of our work in recent years laid the groundwork for this vision. We have organized monthly walks to explore our natural resource and historic landmarks. We created a guide and map of Guilford's recreational resources for our town's 250th anniversary. We researched and documented several Guilford "ancient" and Class IV .. Read More

A community effort is underway led by the Vermont River Conservancy, to create new opportunities for paddling and fishing along the Lamoille River. Called the Lamoille River Paddlers' Trail, the project's goal is to establish a network of well-maintained river access points, primitive campsites, and portage trails from the river's headwaters west to Lake Champlain, as well as to develop recreational guides for visitors. A steering committee of local community members has been assembled to coo.. Read More

Using a low impact, cost and time effective method to remove invasive brush and trees to restore the view from a hilltop owned by the town of Dummerston. You can watch a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryCdBHq7uwI

Annual water quality monitoring of the Huntington River, focused on e.coli and public notification during the swimming/recreation season. Volunteers coordinate and sample 13+ sites in the watershed weekly, with monthly samples at mouths of major tributaries. Samples are processed by Vt. DEC Larosa Lab under a Larosa Partnership Grant. Results are reported back to residents and those interested via an email distribution list and a website.

The Town of Tinmouth owns a parcel of land on the west slope of Tinmouth Mountain in an area known locally as The Purchase. There was a falling-down hunting camp on the property that long-time Tinmouth resident Marshall Squier thought should be saved or rebuilt. The camp was located near the top of the mountain on the Tinmouth Purchase Loop Trail and had long been used by hunters, snowmobilers, cross-country skiers and hikers as a lunch spot and refuge from the weather. The problem was, the .. Read More

Vermont Coverts: Woodlands for Wildlife is a nonprofit organization designed to engage and educate landowners and others about sound forest management and wildlife stewardship. Started in 1985 by the VT Extension Forester with seed money from the Ruffed Grouse Society the program became an independent entity in 1993. The mission of the organization is to enlist Vermont landowners in a long-term commitment to maintain and enhance diverse wildlife habitat and healthy ecosystems. The primary.. Read More

The Connecticut River Watershed Council and partners removed two (2) old mill dams on the Wells River in Groton, VT opening 34 miles of stream for aquatic organism passage. The upper Wells River is a great Brook trout stream and now those fish and other critters can swim freely throughout the upper watershed. Dam removals such as these allow fish to seek cooler waters during the heat of the summer, and provide miles of suitable spawning habitat. In addition our rivers become more flood res.. Read More

Since 2004, in every year but one, the Greensboro Conservation Commission (GCC) has obtained a $2,000 appropriation from Town Meeting for the Greensboro Conservation Fund. Beginning in 2008, the GCC has recommended to the Selectboard allocations from this fund to support projects of the Vermont Land Trust comprising conservation easements (CEs) on agricultural or forest lands in Greensboro. For these projects the Selectboard has approved allocations ranging from $2,000 to $12,000. The latter .. Read More

In 2009 the city of St. Albans started developing a master plan for the redesign and revitalization of Main Street which included Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI). This redesign included new sidewalks, street lamps, roadways, and tree planting alongside Main Street. The city broke ground in October 2012 after many years of developing a vision and creating a master plan. The master plan was a collaboration of public and private sector individuals with various experiences addressing the.. Read More