Major activities of the Council
Connecticut River Conservancy Receives MassDEP Grant for Water Quality Monitoring
CRC is leading a coalition of four watershed organizations to conduct a regional monitoring program among coalition partners.
Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity: Final Comment Period Open for Hydropower Facilities on the Connecticut River
As part of our mission, CRC has been a consistent participant in the relicensing of the Wilder, Bellows Falls, Vernon, and Turners Falls hydroelectric dams, and the Northfield Mountain Pump Storage facility for almost twelve years, working for a better deal for our river and its communities.
VT Needs to Plan for Climate Resiliency Now!
As River Steward for Connecticut River Conservancy, I can’t stop thinking about rivers. Since the 2011 Tropical Storm Irene, as an organization we have been racing to get projects done to protect communities before the next big flood. Projects like berm removals that allow our rivers to access floodplains so they can slow down and dissipate the energy of flood waters, projects like the removal of deadbeat dams – all of which are no longer in use and have been blocking our rivers for years - that will lower the flood stage when they are out of the way, projects like planting trees along rivers to help slow the energy of floodwaters and provide a healthy forested buffer for flood waters to infiltrate.
Dam Removal Report Illuminates the Effects of Stream Barriers
The Long Island Sound River Restoration Network (RRN), a network of Connecticut and New York-based organizations including Connecticut River Conservancy dedicated to the restoration and health of the region’s rivers, has released their Dam Removal Report. The report summarizes the benefits of removing dams to restore free-flowing rivers in the Long Island Sound watershed and showcases a dam removal site that has rebounded with native flora and fauna.
Deerfield River Watershed Community Invited to Give Input
State planners and regional water quality partners are hosting a virtual meeting on January 24 to introduce the state’s kick-off of the update to the Tactical Basin Plan for the Deerfield and lower Connecticut Rivers and adjacent Connecticut River Tributaries (Basin 12). This plan is being developed to protect and restore rivers, lakes, and wetlands in southeastern Vermont from Stratton to Vernon.
Flood Mud: Improving Flood Sediment Management
Vermont experienced catastrophic flooding in July 2023. Given that these floods are expected to become more frequent and severe with climate change, effective response and recovery measures are becoming increasingly important. Sediment deposition was an overlooked impact of the floods, despite the fact that many areas in Vermont were left covered in feet of mud after flood waters receded.
29 Restoration Projects Completed in 2023 by Connecticut River Conservancy & Partners
River restoration projects play a vital role in the stewardship of the Connecticut River and tributaries. These include floodplain restoration, dam removal, strategic wood additions, and tree planting.
Connecticut River Conservancy Receives NFWF Grant for Stone Pond Dam Removal Project
Grant announcement from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to remove an old dam and restore the surrounding floodplain in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Celebrated as Restoration Partner of the Year
Partnerships are essential to Connecticut River Conservancy's work, and we are thrilled to highlight the USFWS staff who helped remove a dam/update a culver to a new bridge in Vermont.
State of Vermont Clean Water Funds Used to Remove Old Dam in Wilmington
Recently completed restoration project on Beaver Brook in Vermont will improve water quality, restore native Brook trout habitat, and bolster flood resiliency.