Hello and welcome to the Battenkill Watershed Alliance. It's been too long since we have last updated this site. While we have been quite online, we have been active in the field.
Over the last couple of years our activities have shifted away from major restoration projects and moved towards long term sustainability within the watershed. Over the last couple of years, we have been actively planting trees up and down the watershed, including some disease resistant Elm trees along the Hill Farm, at the Vermont access across from the Green River, and also at the Red Mill state access site. Despite a dry 2022 the trees are doing well, particularly at the Hill Farm and it's rich soil.
We have also helped finance restoration efforts on Battenkill tributaries such as a small stream that feeds into White Creek in Rupert. The Trout Unlimited Home Rivers Initiative has been installing Beaver Dam Analog devices within this critical brook trout habitat to create holding water and raise the water table and keep cold water flowing into this stream.
Going forward we will be seeking out partners on the mainstem of the Battenkill as well as it's many tributaries to plant trees. These tree plantings will provide protection from riverbank erosion as root systems develop, provide shade to keep the river cool, and as leaves drop, provide food for critters at the base of the food chain.
If you have a stream bank that needs planting, please do reach out to us and let's see if we can help build a better Battenkill for today and tomorrow.
Camden Creek, a critical cold-water tributary of the Battenkill, has benefitted from BKWA support of the Home Waters Initiative being managed by Trout Unlimited. Partnerships such as this, as well as enthusiastic land-owner cooperation, are critical to the long-term health of the watershed. Photo by Doug Lyons