Watersheds

25 11, 2025

Messy Work: Restoring with Complexity

2025-11-25T12:15:57-05:00November 25th, 2025|Conservation science, Highlights, News, Watersheds|

This past fall, the Conservation Services Crew worked with partners at the Memphremagog Watershed Association (MWA) to complete a restoration project on a severely eroding tributary of the Clyde River. This involved building numerous woody structures to improve the health of the brook, including check dams to stabilize an eroding gully and over thirty beaver dam analogs to enhance and restore the wetland floodplain, reduce phosphorus, and improve habitat for existing native brook trout and landlocked salmon populations. Conservation Services Crew Leader Alice Weis reflected on the restoration strategies employed in [Read More...]

Read More
28 09, 2023

Repairing Erosion with Encapsulated Soil Lifts

2023-09-28T13:52:54-04:00September 28th, 2023|Conservation science, Highlights, News, Watersheds|

A river bank before and after the installation of an encapsulated soil lift. Whether paddling, casting a fishing line, or just enjoying a beautiful sunset, lakes and ponds are an integral part of the Vermont landscape. Over time, these beloved areas can become disturbed through the erosive pressures of foot traffic, wave and ice action, and the removal of native vegetation. Disturbed shorelines are directly tied to decreased water quality and require action to conserve our water resources.  An encapsulated soil lift is a best management practice that repairs [Read More...]

Read More
30 08, 2023

How to Build Beaver Dam Analogs w/ MWA

2023-08-30T12:19:10-04:00August 30th, 2023|Conservation science, Highlights, News, Riparian Lands, Watersheds|

Controlling the flow of water is a large part of ensuring the health of riparian areas. One way that we can achieve this is by mimicking and encouraging beaver activity through the use of  Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs). This form of Low-Tech Process Based Restoration (PBR) uses human-made “leaky beaver dams” to slow down the flow of water and spread it out to increase the saturation of the water table. Our goal is that these control structures work well enough to encourage nature’s environmental engineers (actual beavers!) to move in [Read More...]

Read More
1 06, 2023

Restoring Watersheds in the North Country

2024-01-02T10:56:54-05:00June 1st, 2023|Conservation science, Highlights, News, Watersheds|

As the ground thawed and spring ephemerals emerged, the Spring Watershed Crew traveled throughout Vermont and New Hampshire on their first projects of the year. From the humble yarrow (Achillea millefolium) to the mighty red maple (Acer rubrum), the crew worked to plant over 5,600 native trees and 300 native plants to help improve water quality throughout the Memphremagog and Upper Connecticut River Watersheds. By restoring riparian buffer zones and installing rain gardens, these projects help to improve surface water quality by filtering and slowing down runoff from uphill areas like [Read More...]

Read More
21 04, 2023

Watershed Program Coordinator Kaitlin Alford

2023-08-23T10:09:44-04:00April 21st, 2023|Con Sci Staff, Watersheds|

Kaitlin Alford earned a degree in Ecological and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Virginia, then went on to pursue positions in the conservation field ranging from teacher naturalist to biology lab manager to communications coordinator for Vermont State Parks. She is excited to expand her conservation skills through her work as Watershed Program Coordinator at NorthWoods. Outside of work, you can find Kaitlin frolicking in the forests near Hardwick with her partner and their dog, paddling the Lamoille River, or volunteering with The Civic Standard.

Read More
15 12, 2022

Invasive Plant Control in the Clyde River Watershed

2023-08-23T10:10:56-04:00December 15th, 2022|Conservation science, Forest Stewardship Institute, Highlights, News, Riparian Lands, Watersheds|

Project Overview The NorthWoods Stewardship Center, located in the Clyde River Watershed in East Charleston, Vermont is an organization with a strong sense of place. As a conservation and educational organization in the North East Kingdom of Vermont, many of our programs and projects emphasize the importance of local stewardship to promote healthy ecosystems. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department Habitat Stamp funded invasive plant control completed in the Clyde River Watershed was a collection of projects that addressed the spread of non-native plants in the area. These projects were completed [Read More...]

Read More
1 08, 2022

Honeysuckle Removal Along the Black River

2023-08-23T10:11:26-04:00August 1st, 2022|Conservation science, Forest Stewardship Institute, News, Riparian Lands, Watersheds|

Over the past month, the Riparian Lands crew has been out conducting cut-stump treatments of invasive honeysuckle along the Black River at the South Bay Wildlife Management Area in Coventry, VT. Vermont has four invasive species of honeysuckles, all of which are deciduous shrubs with opposite, egg-shaped leaves and have hollow piths - easily shown by cutting a twig off the shrub with a knife. By leafing out earlier and retaining leaves later, honeysuckle (like other invasive species) has a competitive advantage over native vegetation and easily forms dense thickets that [Read More...]

Read More

Hours

Office: Monday – Friday, 8am-4pm

Trails: Sunrise to Sunset, 7 days a week.

Mailing Address

PO Box 220, East Charleston, VT 05833

Get in Touch

Email: [email protected]

Main Phone: 802.723.6551

Office & Administration ext: 301
Conservation Science & Forestry ext: 302
Education & Outreach ext: 303
Conservation Corps ext: 304

Or visit our Contact page for more ways to get in touch with our staff.

Website Development

Funding for the development of this website was made possible in part by the Rural Business Enterprise Grant through the Vermont Community Loan Fund from USDA Rural Development.
© 2011 | NorthWoods Stewardship Center | All Rights Reserved
FacebookInstagramEmailPhone
Go to Top