ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016

Ottauquechee Natural Resources Conservation District

Ottauquechee Natural Resources

Conservation District 28 Farmvu Drive

White River Junction, VT 05001 802-295-7942 Ex 111

MISSION STATEMENT The Mission of the Conservation District is to advocate for environmentally sound use and protection of soil, air, water, forests, and wildlife resources for all residents of the 19-town District by:

• fostering public awareness and appreciation of the value and necessity to conserve natural resources for current and future generations, and

• providing local leadership that advances environmental stewardship through education and non-regulatory assistance.

ONRCD VOLUNTEER BOARD Ottauquechee Natural Resources Conservation District, organized in 1944, is charged with overseeing the soil and water conservation programs within its 19-town area. The current District Board of Supervisors consists of, Larry Kasden (retired businessman) Chair; Judy Howland (former supervisor for Essex NRCD), Treasurer; and Bill Manner (retired Watershed Program Manager Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection) and Cynthia Rankin, (retired psychologist and horse owner). Associate supervisors are Lynn Bohi (former VT legislator and CRJPC sub-committee member), Todd Menees (River Management Engineer State of Vermont), Roy Burton (retired forester), Kelly Stettner, (Black River Action Team volunteer coordinator) and Karen Douville (Linking Lands Alliance coordinator). NRCC representative is Bill Manner and the VACD representative is Larry Kasden. The major responsibility is to listen to the needs of their respective communities within the District and report at Board meetings. Topics and projects undertaken in a calendar year reflect the needs of our District.

ONRCD STAFF Suzanne Greenall is the District Manager. As DM, she manages the District office finances and provides the board with needed information, networks with partners, manages fund raising and attends District Employee meetings. Mary Childs is employed to facilitate grants and projects as needed.

ONRCD’S 36 MONTH STRATEGIC PLAN January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017

• Water quality - search for grants to develop NMP's for farmers. Aligning with Black River

Action Team for water quality projects in the Black River basin. Aligning with Connecticut River Watershed Farmer’s Alliance for developing programs to comply with RAP’s.

• Riparian buffers - use grants such as Trees for Streams for plantings, encourage private landowner planting. Working with Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Planning Commission and Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission on regional projects.

• Horse - develop a user friendly educational outreach program for horse owners through a Face Book page

• Education – continued development of stream table opportunities for schools in our district. Expanding educational programs through Linking Land Alliance programs and seeking grant opportunities for educational outreach.

Strategic Planning - to help coordinate efforts of various interest groups within the district and to work closely with federal, state and municipal agencies. Strategy I: Provide EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS to assist citizens in understanding and implementing conservation practices for the enhancement and conservation of natural resources in Windsor County.

Strategy II: Provide TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE to farmers and other landowners to improve the natura l resource management on their lands Strategy III: Enhance the CONSERVATION OF WATERSHEDS in Windsor County Strategy IV: DEVELOP PARTNERSHIPS with other conservation and agricultural organizations/agencies to enhance conservation of Windsor County natural resources and agriculture. Strategy V: Maintain FISCAL INTEGRITY of the District and actively develop new revenue sources

FROM THE CHAIR

This past year was a good one for ONRCD. We began a new relationship with the Linking Lands Alliance, received a grant to support our partners BRAT and the Ottauquechee River Group to do water testing, worked with the newly forming Connecticut River Farmers Alliance, planted over three hundred trees a Woodstock Union High School, enrolled a number of farms in the advanced Nutrient Management Class, and held a successful forest lecture, led by forester Pat Bartlett, on managing forests for wildlife (see https://vimeo.com/160106270). And through the efforts of our AmeriCorps employee, Chris Yarrow, we received a $45,000 grant to do storm water mitigation work in Springfield.

A few years ago the High Meadows Fund donated a second stream table to our River Road Roadshow program. We used and are using the stream table this year to educate the citizens of Windsor, W. Windsor, and Reading about river dynamics as part of the High Meadows grant to study the Mill Brook that flows through those three towns. As part of this effort, students at Albert Bridge in W. Windsor used the stream table to make a video (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jmbqclt4Kc) about the Mill Brook and ONRCD brought the stream table to the W. Windsor July 4th celebration. Everything came together when some Albert Bridge students asked to operate the stream table and teach the adult community. And a fine teaching job they did (see picture).

The River Roadshow was a feature at the Vermont Historical Society History Expo, was used at numerous schools as far away as Orwell, and again was used to educate hundreds of adults. Larry Kasden - Chairperson, Supervisory Board

ONRCD PARTNERS Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Connecticut River Joint Commission (CRJC) Black River Action Team (BRAT), Ottauquechee River Group (ORG), White River partnership (WRP) Trout Unlimited (TU) Conservation Resource Enhancement Program (CREP) White River Partnership (WRP) The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Vermont Department of Transportation (VTrans) Vermont Department of Forest parks and Recreation (FPR) Vermont Fish and Wildlife (F&W) Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Vermont Rivers Council (VRC) G.D. Aiken RC&D Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) FEMA Billings Farm Woodstock Foundation Marsh, Billings Rockefeller National Park Sun Up foundation Canaday Foundation

Change the World Kids University of Vermont and UVM Extension The Nature Conservatory Fish &Wildlife Master Gardeners Upper Valley Farm to School Rotary Clubs Chambers of Commerce County Foresters Town Planners Regional Planning Commissions Vital Communities Audubon Sierra Club Linked Land Alliance Vermont Land Trust Upper Valley Land Trust Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge BRAT Hartford Conservation Commission W. Windsor Conservation Commission Chester Conservation Committee CT River Watershed Council VT DEC US Fish & Wildlife.

GOALS REACHED

Evaluate and repair riparian buffers post-Irene-

Trees for Streams May 2016

• 1 parcels • .8 acres • 624 stems planted • 18 volunteers.

Promote forestry education for foresters, loggers and landowners

Landowners with forests in Windsor County Presentation by Patrick Bartlett, forester 28 people attended the 2 hour presentation. Handouts from Linked Land Alliance on their wildlife corridor mapping project as well as sign up for ONRCD e-newsletter.

Assistance provided to West

Windsor Conservation Commission to write a U. S. Forest Service grant to acquire land to add to the town forest. Collaboration with Trust for Public Land, purchase complete on Dec 15, 2015.

Education of landowners and school students regarding streams and rivers – All landowners and all 4-6 grade students in the district

Through visual demonstrations using the EM2 stream table, adults can quickly grasp the pros and cons of using culverts, bridges and rip rap in a stream or river. Students are able to use Next Generation Science Standards to observe, question, form theories, test their theories, and formulate and apply their findings. Public events - Springfield Apple Festival, Flavors of the Valley, and Trek to Taste. Over 5500 people were given the opportunity to see how rivers work. The stream table has been utilized for 230 days classrooms for over 1100 students in the 2015-16 school year.

Precision Museum, Windsor, VT Apple Festival, Springfield, VT

Partnering with the Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission and the towns of Windsor, West Windsor and Reading on a High Meadows grant, the River Roadshow reached out to towns, businesses and private landowners to demonstrate how replacing culverts with larger ones and planting riparian buffers could help mitigate future flooding damage. ONRCD worked with all three towns by doing demonstrations and researching sites for potential Trees for Streams plantings.

Farmer's meeting at Silo Distillery Legislator's Breakfast

GRANTS & DONATIONS High Meadows Grant - $9,000 towards stream table demonstrations. Trees for Steams Grant.- awarded $3,800 to arrange for planting of trees - completed June 2016 ERP Agricultural Outreach Initiative Grant - $7,274 to help farmers develop NMP's. completed April 2016 Vermont Community Foundation - $500 annual donation towards River Roadshow expenses. NRCC Capacity Building Grant - $1800 to upgrade web site. VACD Skidder Bridge Grant - $1600 to build a skidder bridge. ERP Grant for Flood Resiliency Kedron Brook - $3800 partner with TRORPC

VOLUNTEER TIME 1528 volunteer hours from ONRCD supervisors, staff and associates resulted in $35,250.96 worth of labor towards improving the quality of the environment in this district.

ONRCD FINANCE REPORT – 2015-16

Jul '15 - Jun 16

Ordinary Income/Expense

Income

Grant match funds 1,553.43

Grant Admin Inc to Gen Fund 6,824.22

Grants 18,006.75

Reimbursement 973.48

Donation 2,000.00

State funding 9,600.00

Total Income 38,957.88

Gross Profit

38,957.88

Expense

Outlay 140.31

Legislative Breakfast 236.40

Accounting 472.00

Advertising 110.00

Bank Charges 38.23

Dues & Subscriptions 1,055.00

Education & Training 135.84

Grant Admin. Overhead 6,556.16

Grant Expense 3,743.69

grant project expense 479.56

Grant contractural exp 340.05

Insurance 1,735.00

Meetings 1,571.02

Mileage 3,726.71

Office Equipment 927.95

Office Supplies

Postage (reg.) 87.63

Office Supplies - Other 371.74

Total Office Supplies 459.37

Payroll Expenses 11,971.17

Supervisors Exp. 35.00

Workshops

pollinator 112.00

forestry 279.94

Total Workshops 391.94

Vt Dept Of Employ & Train 31.23

Total Expense 34,156.63

Net Ordinary Income 4,801.25

Net Income

4,801.25