What’s in a Watershed?
The Northern Rivers Land Trust centers its activities around three beautiful watersheds that flow through our seven-town service area.
The Black River begins its 30-mile journey in Greensboro and Craftsbury, the 85-mile-long Lamoille reaches as far north as Glover and Stannard, and the 90-mile-long Winooski drains 10% of Vermont’s landmass from its beginnings in Woodbury and Cabot. Not to be forgotten is the reach of Joe’s Brook in Walden that flows into Joe’s Pond and eastward toward the Connecticut River.
These watersheds are rare jewels
The three watersheds within our conservation region are no longer dammed in their upper reaches, retaining relatively pristine water quality near the sources, and bringing oxygen-rich water to the many ponds and lakes in the NRLT’s seven-town region. Their village centers contain our industrial history with mill buildings now re-purposed into other uses. They flow north, south, east, and west, tumbling in their headwaters from higher elevation ridges and creating significant flood plain and wetland communities in the lower reaches.
Clean water matters!
Watersheds sustain life, supporting our health in a variety of ways. If we protect our watersheds, then we protect clean drinking water for our families, water supplies for agriculture, habitat for animals and plants, and access for recreation. In the face of a changing climate, wetlands provide increased protection against natural forces such as flooding.
Take a fall foliage drive to explore our river corridors, explore the wealth of rivers and ponds with public access, bike along the Lamoille River Rail Trail. Walk into conserved Long Pond in Greensboro with its forested shoreline or fish for small-mouth bass in the tranquil waters of Wolcott Pond. We benefit from access to lovely places that enhance our well-being.
Still sparsely populated, our watersheds continue to preserve the region’s rural character and reliance on traditional and innovative agriculture—from dairy farms to cheese caves to organic seed production. However, the need for thoughtful protection is great in an area now facing increasing challenges from loss of farmland, shoreline development, second home construction, disruption of wildlife corridors, and recreational access.
Pollution from factors like erosion, agricultural and industrial runoff, sedimentation, overuse of fertilizers, and poorly sited development can undermine the health of a watershed. Protection of healthy waters takes a collective public effort to make effective decisions, and land conservation plays an important role. As water flows over and through our landscape, we need to act in thoughtful ways that promote its health. For that reason, watershed protection is a cornerstone of the NRLT’s mission.
The NRLT seven town region (shown shaded in white) overlaps with the headwaters of three major Vermont rivers: the Black River (top), the Lamoille River (middle), and the Winooski River (bottom)
