Watersheds United Vermont (WUV) is pleased to have had Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Project Development Block Grant to subgrant funds directly to watershed organizations to develop these clean water projects in the state. These subgrants were for watershed groups to explore priority projects to get landowners, municipalities and other partners “on board” with projects to improve water quality and to move projects closer to implementation. Through this grant, WUV awarded $39,500 in eight subgrants to seven watershed organizations.

World Fish Migration Day, October 24, is a one-day global celebration about the importance of free-flowing rivers and migratory fish.

Fish migration is essential for healthy rivers. Migratory fish all over the world depend on free flowing rivers. Today, river barriers like dams, sluices and many other obstacles threaten many fish species’ survival.

Free flowing rivers that allow fish to travel upriver increase fish populations in the river and assure healthy river life.

Learn how Vermont is celebrating at https://vnrc.org/world-fish-migration-day/.

The High Meadows Fund announces their Watershed Resilience Program Initiative Report and Executive Summary. The report highlights lessons learned from High Meadows Fund Partners 2015 to 2019. Read to learn more about how Watershed Groups are taking action to Protect and Build Vermont Communities!

Thanks to a Department of Environmental Conservation train-the trainer grant, Watersheds United Vermont held a series of trainings over the last two years on site prioritization, landowner outreach and riparian buffer planting. WUV partnered with the White River Partnership (WRP), the Poultney Mettowee Natural Resources Conservation District (PMNRCD) and The Nature Conservancy to conduct these trainings.

We are pleased to announce the release of the WUV Design and Implementation Grant. WUV was awarded a Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Design and Implementation Block Grant to distribute $500,000 to watershed groups and partner organizations for design and implementation of clean water projects over the next two years. All project work and reporting must be complete by October 31, 2021.

Watershed groups and Partners are invited to the WUV Fall meeting on December 7, 2019 at the Waterbury Town Offices in Waterbury!

Thanks to a DEC partnership train-the-trainer grant, WUV teamed up with Watershed Consulting and AES Consulting to present two trainings on stormwater project management for watershed groups and conservation districts. The trainings were in June of 2018 in St. Albans, Vermont and July of 2018 in Rutland, Vermont.

Please Register for the WUV Spring Meeting!
April 9, 2019. 8:30am - 3:30pm. Waterbury Town Offices. 28 North Main Street, Waterbury. Steele Room. We hope you can join us for a gathering of watershed groups and partner organizations. We will have concurrent workshop options: a collaborative session on stormwater education and outreach and restoring riparian buffers in sites with invasives. Other sessions include financial management for nonprofits watershed group identity and an opportunity for groups to share on successful education programs. The conference is free. WUV will provide coffee and pastries and snacks. Please bring your own bag lunch (or there are some nearby restaurants and cafes).

Please join us for the Watersheds United Vermont and Lake Champlain Basin Program Fall Watershed Groups Conference.

The conference will be held November 13, 2018 from 9:00 to 3:30 at Main Street Landing in Burlington. The conference is open to watershed groups, conservation districts and partner organizations.

I had the pleasure of joining Michele Braun, Friends of the Winooski River, and Mary Russ, White River Partnership, on the Dave Gram show on WDEV this on Friday, August 24th.