Lewis Creek Association History

2006 2004 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997   1997 What do Bristol, Charlotte, Ferrisburgh, Hinesburg, Monkton and Starksboro have in common? The Lewis Creek watershed! Hundreds of people in those towns attended programs, volunteered time or financially supported the Lewis Creek Association’s (LCA’s) efforts last year. The LCA has been offering a wide variety of programs each year since 1991 about Lewis Creek and its watershed. Read about our 1997 highlights below. Then pick a project or two and plan to JUMP IN with us in 1998. Contact an LCA board member in your town or LCA coordinator Linda Henzel at 434-4113.                   Many thanks to individual and business supporters and to each watershed town that contributed financially to the LCA. These monies helped leverage a $9,000 grant from the Kelsey Trust last year which, in turn, made possible many of the following programs:  Wildlife Habitat Citizens in the wildlife tracking program continued to study and document tracks and sign of bear, bobcat, fisher, mink, moose and river otter throughout their neighborhoods, with some training from Susan Morse of Keeping Track, Inc. We also benefited from another wildlife expert, Paul Rezendes, who presented slides and led two field trips in December. More detailed tracking maps were also generated and plans made for roadside track counts from 2/14-3/14 in 1998.  Restoration About 2500 feet of Lewis Creek stream bank were stabilized along various sections in each town. More than 50 volunteers assisted in these efforts, including UVM intern Laura Flight and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists Eric Derleth and Chris Smith, who demonstrated some innovative techniques that we hadn’t tried before.  Water Quality Our summertime water quality monitoring project again found unacceptably high levels of E. coli bacteria at some sites (indicating risks to swimmers). Phosphorus levels were measured for the first time and indicated unusually high levels of phosphorus in certain areas. We again took our samples to Middlebury High School’s lab, courtesy of the Otter Creek Audubon Society and their River Watch program. We are working out the terms of a combined Addison County River Watch effort for the summer of 1998. Programs Art and Suzy Clifford of Starksboro again hosted an LCA program.  Forester Paul Smith led a tour of their tree farm as part of the 7th Annual Gathering of the Lewis Creek Community in September. Our other forestry workshop offering (co-sponsored with Vermont Family Forests) last year was Middlebury researcher Jim Andrews’ presentation about reptiles and amphibians.  Education Champlain Valley Union (CVU) and Mt. Abraham Union high school students continued data gathering of biological and chemical indicators this fall. CVU students presented test results to the LCA board, and the entire 10th grade of “Mt. Abe” spent a day at the Watershed Center in Bristol learning about wildlife tracking, forestry management, amphibians, mapping and other topics from experts in their fields. Perhaps not the least of our activities included having fun at many of our events, sharing food, bonfires and stories and, at the annual gathering, enjoying some laughs at the “Waldo and Woodhead Show,” a vaudeville-like comedy act, produced by Charlotte’s own Woody Keppel. Thanks to all for another great year!