ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (AP) - The state of Vermont is preparing a new management plan for the lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands that make up the upper Connecticut River watershed in Essex and Caledonia counties.
The 2021 draft Upper Connecticut River Tactical Basin plan is available on website of the Department of Environmental Conservation. The 92-page plan covers the next five years of water quality efforts for the 482-square-mile basin.
Public comments are being collected until March 5.
Ben Copans, of the DEC, tells the Caledonian Record the idea behind the planning is to identify water quality issues and then identify strategies to address them.
A focus of the plan is restoration projects that could happen along the Connecticut River to mitigate historical and current agricultural land use.
The draft plan also shows nearly $1 million in funding for water quality projects in the basin over the past year.
The plan was developed in collaboration with state and federal resource agencies, watershed partner organizations, planning commissions, municipalities and citizens.
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