Giving the shore line a leg up

[caption id="attachment_448" align="aligncenter" width="1024" caption="Ron Rhodes shows the best way to plant a seedling."][/caption]The Black River swelled over its banks and raged across the landscape last August. Among many others, the property of Michael and Mercury Ripley was inundated by flood waters. The days following Tropical Storm Irene brought water levels back down, leaving behind a ruined river bank. Since the railroad trestle was washed out in the flood, the Ripley's bank was the recipient of loads of fist-sized rocks ("rip rap") intended to stabilize their bank, just upstream from the trestle bridge. On April 22, Earth Day, BRAT volunteers Sue Poirier, Bruce Hertforth, and Priscilla and Larry Landgon assembled at the Ripley home to meet Ron Rhodes of the CT River Watershed Council. Everyone had work-gloves and a sense of humor as the project began -- Ron, through the CRWC's "Roots for your River" program, had purchased and arranged for the delivery of over 200 trees to be planted in the area for stream bank stabilization. The volunteers worked alongside Ron and the Ripleys to install some 36 willows and evergreens before moving downstream to plant the neighbors' river bank. Finally, the remainder of the trees were planted in the nearby native nursery at one of Luzenac/Imerys' lower fields, for holding over until the next tree-planting project. We'll check in with the Ripleys from time to time, as their new buffer takes root.

What’s Up With the River?

[gallery]We were planning to update our Visual Assessment in 2015, ten years from the date of the first one. Tropical Storm Irene made the issue a bit more urgent. This summer, the Black River will be the focus for teams of BRAT volunteers out looking to map and record their observations. Can you spare a little time to help out? You'll be using the worksheets to note as much as possible as you walk the banks or paddle the water. Sights, smells, human development, storm damage, and lots more. Maps will be available for all who sign up for this project; make notes on the maps themselves, marking the locations of trash, culverts, invasive plants, and more. Your help is needed as we explore and map the Main Stem and the North Branch!

What’s your plan for Green Up Day? Be a Junk Scout!

[caption id="attachment_445" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Thanks, Irene!"][/caption]GREEN-UP JUNK NOTES Wherever you plan to clean this year (Saturday, May 5th), take note of items you find that are too big, dangerous, or inaccessible to retrieve. Let the BRAT know what and where it is, and we'll get the right people on the job. Feel free to use this form.

Free River Conference on May 16

A whole day all about rivers! It's free, it's informative, and it's fun. The brochure is here; don't hesitate to make the drive. Living with Vermont's Rivers Conference – May 16, 2012 A conference on the science of rivers and river management Join us to understand why rivers do what they do and how to minimize development and river conflicts Wednesday May 16, 2012 8:15 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Capitol Plaza Hotel 100 State Street, Montpelier Join us for a beginner-intermediate conference on river science issues specifically designed for municipal officials, consultants, contractors, legislators, curious citizens, watershed group members and farmers. Using case studies, speakers will discuss the various aspects of what makes rivers stable - or unstable - such as: gravel extraction, roads and bridges, agricultural practices, downtown development, stormwater, dams and flood plains. Hear Vermont examples of what has and has not worked over time to minimize conflicts between our rivers and our development. No previous river science background is required and the conference is free and open to all. Schedule for the Day: 7:30 Coffee, Tea and Registration 8:20 Kim Greenwood, VNRC Welcome 8:30 Mike Kline, Barry Cahoon, Agency of Natural Resources The evolution of the River Program’s approach of managing rivers toward equilibrium 10:00 Kristin Underwood, South Mountain Research & Consulting; Nick Wark, VTrans Public safety and flood resiliency: how what we do in our rivers affects our roads and bridges and beyond 10:45 Break 11:00 Ben Gabos, Agency of Agriculture; Staci Pomeroy, Agency of Natural Resources Beyond the edge of the field: riparian buffers and river changes - planning and implementing projects that can accommodate both 11:45 Lunch (provided) 12:30 David Gamble, Gamble Associates Urban Renewable: contemporary case studies of working in the seams between waterfronts and downtowns 1:15 Evan Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald Environmental Associates Holistic restoration in urbanizing watersheds: why stormwater BMPs and stream corridor protection are both critical to success 2:00 Break 2:15 Brian Graber, American Rivers Removing dams and replacing culverts: win-win projects for flood damage protection and river ecology 3:00 Roy Schiff, Milone & Mac Broom Inc; Barry Cahoon, Agency of Natural Resources Floodplain function, form, and protection: the key to living in harmony with rivers 3:45 Speaker Panel Bring your questions 4:30 Adjourn Conference Partners: Addison County River Watch Collaborative, American Rivers, Audubon Vermont, Black River Action Team, Connecticut River Watershed Council, Fitzgerald Environmental Associates, Friends of the Mad River, Friends of the Winooski River, Gamble Associates, Lake Champlain Committee, Lake Champlain International, Landslide Natural Resources Planning, Lewis Creek Association, Milone & MacBroom, Inc., New Haven River Anglers, New Haven River Watch, Poultney Mettowee Conservation District, South Mountain Research & Consulting, Trout Unlimited, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Vermont League of Cities and Towns, White River Partnership, Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District

Learn How Streams Work

Looking back on the changed riverscape left behind by Tropical Storm Irene's floodwaters, I'm inspired to look ahead at ways we can improve our interactions with our streams and rivers. The Friends of the Winooski River have put out this wonderful publication, which every person who lives in a watershed (which is ALL of us) should read and save. It's practically a blue-print for living near a stream -- how they work, how to work with them, how to avoid being worked over by them!