In the winter of 2025, the Orleans County Natural Resources Conservation District conducted surveys and hosted three Local Work Group (LWG) in-person meetings. LWG participants concluded that addressing effects of high flows is one of the priorities for a local fund pool. 

Problem Statement/Need Based on LWG Feedback:

• Water Quality Degradation: Streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds in Orleans County are experiencing degraded water quality due to increased rain fall, agricultural runoff, inadequate buffers, petrochemical and sediment runoff from roads and forests.
• Increased Flooding and Erosion: Increased rainfall from climate change is intensifying erosion in the headwaters and flooding in the valleys, exacerbated by traditional channel, riparian and forest management, outdated infrastructure and inadequate floodplain management.
• Sedimentation and High Water Flow: These issues are damaging aquatic habitats, infrastructure, and disrupting natural hydrology.

Key Concerns: Include impactful infrastructure (culverts), concentrated flow paths with head cuts, tributary and ditch bank erosion and head cuts headwaters area.

Work with partners like MWA, TNC, NEKO and VHCB to stabilize headwater areas in teh Upper Barton River Watershed to achieve cleaner water, reduce pollution, improve runoff management, enhance habitats, increase flood resilience, and foster collaboration.

• Install conservation practices on at least six landowners' properties with 200 acres or more.
• Restore streams and riparian areas by at least 2,500 linear feet.
• Through landowner collaboration and available funding obligate 1-2 projects per year.

Project Area Focus: Orleans County, Vermont, specifically within the Barton River Watershed.

Scale: Approximately 50,000 acres approx. 11% of the county acreage.

5 Core conservation practices available:

• Stream Habitat Improvement and Management (395) Improve and manage stream habitat by addressing factors impairing function and structure.
• Forest Stand Improvements (666) Improve and sustain forest health and productivity, initiate forest stand regeneration, restore or maintain natural plant communities.
• Riparian Forest Buffer (391): To reduce sediment and pollutants, improve habitat, and lower stream temperatures
• Streambank and Shoreline Protection (580): To prevent land loss, reduce sediment, and improve habitat.
• Stream Crossing (578): To improve water quality, reduce erosion, and enable aquatic organism passage.

28 additional practices are available to support these main practices

Brief timeline of implementation:

• Summer and Fall 2025:Outreach eand engagement with landowners. MWA & OCNRCD, VTFWD funded, stream assessments and shared outreach. Focus on two HUC 12 watersheds in Glover and Barton.
• By December 2025: Assist at least 4 landowenrs with assessments and conservation practice planning.
• By May 2026: Develop and provide project amangement services for to implement 1-2 local fund pool conservation plans.
• Ongoing (3-5 years and potentially beyond): Project implementation continues and OCNRCD continues to work with NRCS to maintain funding for this priority. 

Available Funding in federal FY 2026: $200,000

Project Ranking Priorties

• Is the application addressing erosion caused by concentrated high flows?
• Is the application in the Upper Barton River priority HUC 12?
• Does this application include more than three practices?
• Does the applicant own 200 acres or more ?
• Is the applicant new to NRCS?
• Is the applicant addressing more that one erosive location?
• Does the application produce improved stream stability?
• Is the application addressing sedimentation to headwater streams?
• Does the application address the impacts of private land infasture? 
• Does the application include more than one of the five core practices?

Applicants DON'T need to answer yes all the ranking priorities all apply but addreassing more priories, the more likely the application will be selected for funding.