Association of Vermont Conservation Commissions

In the mid-1990s, there was a growing sense of concern in Vermont that biodiversity was critically important for ecosystem integrity, but was at risk of serious decline. Stemming from this sentiment, the Nature Conservancy of Vermont organized numerous leaders of various conservation commissions and agencies across Vermont to work towards the common goal of preserving the viability of native community types and species across the state. This organization became the Vermont Biodiversity Projec.. Read More

The Vermont Vernal Pool Mapping Project is a collaborative project that aims to identify and protect vernal pools across the state. Vernal pools offer critical habitat for amphibians and insects as they offer water habitat without the threat of fish predation. As small seasonal bodies of water, vernal pools are difficult to identify and monitor. With the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, partners of this project were able to identify areas that potentially hold vernal pool.. Read More

Within the Science to Action project area, Richmond is under a significant amount of development pressure, so the town aims to improve zoning restrictions and bylaws that may protect natural areas. Richmond provided additional financial support for its inventory in light of this developmental pressure and therefore has a more comprehensive inventory than some of the other towns.

The town of Huntington is under the least amount of development pressure of the four participating towns, including the protected Camels Hump State Park, and Robbins Mountain Wildlife Management Area. Despite the reduced future threat, Huntington's goals have included identifying natural resource areas and improving regulations that concern their protection. The prevention of forest fragmentation and the delineation of wetlands are two of the top priorities. While the Science to Action plan .. Read More

In 1999 the town of Brandon, Vermont began the process of designating the Brandon Source Protection area. The project stemmed from the fear of degrading the town's aquifer, which was the sole supplier of over 3,500 people in the town. With no means of finding another source to supply Brandon with water, the Brandon Fire District #1 Superintendent, Raymond Counter, began working towards the reclassification of Brandon's water supply.

The first step to the designation of the Brandon Sou.. Read More

The habitat blocks project began as a platform to support conservation on an ecological level. The project involved a steering committee that provided guidance on how to use ArcGIS to create a layer of habitat blocks that could be applied at a state, biophysical region, county, and town scale. Habitat blocks were designated based on existing GIS data and visible elements seen in satellite imagery. After its designation or mapping, each habitat block was ranked for 11 factors relating to biolo.. Read More

The Orange County Headwaters project began to emerge in 2002 in the towns of Corinth and Washington, VT. The project stemmed from a community interest in maintaining the character of the area in the face of increasing development of these largely forested and agricultural towns due to the short commuting distance to Barre/Montpelier and the Upper Valley area of VT and NH. As towns surrounding the area became increasingly more fragmented by development, the landowners of Corinth and Washington.. Read More

In 2012 Cold Hollow to Canada launched a program to get citizens involved in identifying wildlife crossings in their area. The program was based on an identical program originally put in place by the Salisbury Conservation Commission in Salisbury, Vermont. Cold Hollow to Canada heard about this program through a presentation given by Jim Andrews and decided to initiate a similar wildlife crossing program in the seven Vermont towns within their Northern Forest project area.

The Wild Pat.. Read More

The Franklin Watershed Committee (FWC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in Franklin, Vermont. The organization began when members of the community surrounding Lake Carmi noticed an increase in algal blooms within the lake and feared for the lake's degrading water quality. The FWC is dedicated to reducing the amount of nutrients and sediments that enter Lake Carmi through runoff, with a focus on the Lake's phosphorous intake.

Lake Carmi itself is surrounded by a number of camps an.. Read More

In 1994, a group of concerned citizens that lived in areas surrounding the Missisquoi River Basin decided that they wanted to donate their time to restore the Missisquoi River. This organized group of citizens soon became a nonprofit group by the name of the Missisquoi River Basin Association (MRBA). The MRBA is now dedicated to their mission of restoring the Missisquoi River, all of its tributaries, and the Missisquoi Bay through community outreach, fieldwork, and the planting of trees withi.. Read More