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Twentymile Stream meets the Black River — help!

This photo, taken on 9/12/11, shows some of the devastation and rebuilding that occurred in Cavendish, Vermont last year after Tropical Storm Irene barreled through. In 2013, the Black River Action Team will be helping to re-plant a number of stream banks in this area, along the main stem of the Black River as well as on Twentymile Stream. This will be a multi-phase project; we'll plant one area at a time, over the course of spring and again in fall of 2013. Site visits are ongoing to get a good sense of the history of this area and the dynamics of the water's movement. Many of the affected landowners are involved in the process already, with more coming on board in the next few months. How can you help? We'll be using many of the trees that have been planted in recent years at our Native Nursery in Ludlow (courtesy of Luzena America) and will need to get them dug up, transported to this site in Cavendish, and installed on the banks along the water. We'll need shovels, wheelbarrows, elbow-grease, drinking water, and healthy snacks for our volunteers. We'll also need a few trucks to move the trees. Bring a friend, pass the word...let's help stabilize these banks to help slow water in future floods, , improve habitat for fish and other river creatures, and reduce potential damage to homes and community infrastructure.

RiverSweep a huge success

Over 90 volunteers between Springfield, Weathersfield, and Ludlow turned out for the 13th Annual RiverSweep. The haul included 19 shopping carts, 8 tires, a thousand pounds of scrap metal, and more than 70 trash bags full of assorted trash! In Springfield, many familiar faces grinned through the smudges of muck and mud as they worked side-by-side with folks who were enjoying their first Sweep. First-timer Bill Manner helped veteran BRAT Marita Johnson run the Springfield HQ table, tracking trash and signing in volunteers. In addition to the many adults who show their support year after year, there were many young people getting into the thick of things: the Cosmo football team showed up ready to tackle some trash; a squad of determined Girl Scouts from Troop VT30822 kept coming back for more assignments; Cub Scout Pack 258 boys dragged bags of garbage back to HQ, and members of Boy Scout Troops 252 and 216 helped haul all manner of junk out of the river. A few notable items from Springfield included an empty jar of anti-wrinkle cream (thanks, Edwin!), a pair of aluminum crutches (which Marita turned in to the police station), a set of heavy-duty loppers, a baby carriage, a length of decking, a lawn chair, and a litter box. Barbara and Steve worked from canoe to gather junk inaccessible from shore; Jenna and Jamie and Jenna's sons got busy with trash and later helping with the grill; a variety of folks took turns tossing the grappling hook in to fish out shopping carts, tires, and other garbage items. The guys from Clear Away Rubbish & Removal, long-time supporters of the Sweep, helped load their truck full of scrap metal, which they delivered to a scrapyard in Claremont NH and brought back a donation for the BRAT. The Springfield Shopping Plaza volunteered to put the rest of the non-recyclable trash in their dumpsters for disposal at their expense. Jim Young, of Young's Furniture & Appliance and the Springfield Shopping Plaza, brought out his grill and whipped up hot dogs for everyone (courtesy of Shaw's). ***************************************************************************** A similar picture emerged in Ludlow: long-time volunteer Heather brought me up with all the HQ gear, helped me unload, and then she headed back to Weathersfield to organize a cleanup crew on the river in that town. Robin, another veteran BRAT, arrived to assist with the HQ table for the day. Before long, brand-new BRATs Arline and Arlette walked across the road to sign in; their river-side neighborhood had been heavily damaged by last year's Tropical Storm Irene, and they vowed that, after all the help and support they received from their community after the flood, it was time "to give back," as Arline put it. Donning their bright orange BRAT shirts, they headed out into the river behind their neighborhood and got busy removing trash and flood debris. Allan from Claremont NH arrived soon after, signed in and grabbed a shovel, then drove off to bring his kayak out to help the ladies. In the meantime, a young ukelele-toting man walked over to the HQ and asked where we could send him to help. He signed in and Cirrus headed over to see if he could help Allan, Arlette, and Arline. Sue and Margo ventured into the underbrush behind the Okemo Marketplace, returning a couple of hours later laden with the remains of what Sue jokingly referred to as "an ancient Indian drinking ground" -- a bag FULL of bottles and cans from years of dumping. The ladies had also found metal and tires, which they'd hauled up and left in a pile behind the building, which Allan and Cirrus later retrieved. By the time Heather arrived with her pickup truck full of junk, Bruce drove up with his truck and trailer, ready to haul trash to the transfer station. We stopped to eat a bite of lunch, generously donated by Ludlow Village Pizza, before loading up the trailers and heading off to the transfer station. Unfortunately, high winds knocked out power all around town, so big thanks to Allan and Bruce for hauling their respective trailers of junk to Claremont and Springfield -- and to those transfer stations for accepting it! To every person who showed up to help, everyone who sent in a donation of any amount (or variety -- food was very welcome!), and everyone who sent their well wishes for a successful Sweep, I humbly and sincerely thank you.

13th Annual RiverSweep ~ Saturday, Sept. 8!

[caption id="attachment_470" align="aligncenter" width="612" caption="BRAT volunteer Mike prepares to wrestle a cart from the river bed in 2010][/caption]Join the crew on Saturday morning, September 8, 2012 as we gather for the thirteenth time to haul trash from the bed and banks of the Black River and her tributaries. Come any time between 8am and noon to register at one of our HQ tables, pick up gloves and trash bags, and pick a site to clean. Don't forget to fill up with some cold water and refreshments first. Then bring your "treasure" back to HQ so we can tally it up and record anything you had to leave behind, dig into some free lunch, and grab your 'thank you' tee shirt to commemorate the event! Lower watershed -- meet at the HQ table at Citizens Bank drive-up in the Springfield Shopping Plaza Upper watershed -- meet at the HQ table at the gazebo on the town green in Veterans Park by the library on Main St in Ludlow ** PHOTOGRAPHERS NEEDED! ** Our volunteer efforts are widespread and need to be chronicled! Bring your camera and capture BRATs at work hauling shopping carts from the depths or gathering trash from the banks. A scrapbook is in the works, so please help capture the important work of RiverSweep on camera! Can't come but want to support? Drop a donation in the mail to us at 101 Perley Gordon Rd in Springfield VT 05156; larger deductions can be made tax-deductible by making out (and mailing) your check for $250 or more to our fiscal agent, the CT River Watershed Council (CRWC), 15 Bank Row, Greenfield MA 01301 (just note "BRAT" on the check).

State of Vermont’s Basin 10 Plan is Ready!

The goals for clean water outlined in the Basin 10 Plan are being integrated into the wonderful volunteer efforts of the Black River Action Team! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 24, 2012 Contact: Marie Levesque Caduto Tel: 802-885-8958 Email: Marie.Caduto@state.vt.us Springfield, VT – Today, the Agency of Natural Resources announced the approval of the Ottauquechee River and Black River Basin (Basin 10) Water Quality Management Plan. This plan reflects years of work in the region to evaluate the health of the basin. Secretary Markowitz said, “I am proud of the work done over the past four years by our basin planner Marie Levesque Caduto. Her excellent work with the communities in the southeastern Vermont who are part of these river basins has resulted in a plan that will allow Vermont to protect and improve the water quality in the area for years to come.” The Basin 10 Water Quality Management Plan provides an overview of the health of the basin and a description of the priority future and ongoing steps to restore and protect the quality of its surface waters. Marie Levesque Caduto said, “This Plan is the culmination of a lot of community effort. Residents for throughout the two watersheds gave their time and knowledge to make this an action-oriented plan that the State and our community partners can implement by putting projects on the ground that improve our water quality and aquatic habitat.” The central component of the water quality management plan is the implementation table, which includes 96 specific actions to address threats to surface waters in the basin. Examples of some of the priority actions in the plan include mapping river corridors with high erosion hazards, testing stormwater systems in village centers to detect and fix illicit pollution discharges, working with towns to apply for better back road grants and to include protections for fluvial erosion hazard zones and buffer zones in local zoning, and expanding agricultural water quality programs to equine farms in the region to address water resource concerns. Neil Kamman, program manager for the Monitoring Assessment and Planning Program said “This is the second of four plans the Agency will issue this spring, all of which reflect a transition to the new Tactical Basin Planning Process. In the coming weeks, citizens in most regions of Vermont will have opportunities to engage in the tactical planning process by providing input to draft plans and assisting with new plans. The Agency will be increasingly reliant on tactical basin plans to direct funding to the highest priority work that addresses stressors to our surface waters.” The draft plan was released for public comment in February and meetings were held on February 27 and March 7 to receive public comment. Public comments have been addressed in a responsiveness summary – Appendix A.11 of the plan. The final plan and appendix are available online at: http://www.vtwaterquality.org/ or by contacting Marie Levesque Caduto, (802) 885-8958, Marie.Caduto@state.vt.us.