A crew of professional stewardship staff and community volunteers partnered in June to haul trash out of the Lamoille River.
The cleanup, organized by the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT), was part of ongoing recovery efforts following severe flooding from the last several years. The work was carried out in partnership with the Lamoille River Paddlers Trail and funded in part by a Flood Recovery Grant from the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC).
“The Lamoille River is one of Vermont’s greatest natural resources,” said Alex Delhagen, the NFCT’s assistant trail director. “It’s ecologically important as part of the Lake Champlain Basin and provides an economic impact to the communities it passes through, as it provides fantastic recreation opportunities for paddlers, anglers, swimmers and more. We’re committed to doing our part to restore it to a more pristine state.”
The focus of this year’s river cleanup was the Wolcott area. While previous cleanups targeted smaller debris along the corridor, most of which was removable by canoe, this year’s work saw crews remove larger items, including refrigerators, fuel tanks and barrels. The NFCT contracted with a trash removal service to dispose of the items properly.
In addition to the cleanup, the NFCT facilitated a community paddle-pedal event along the Lamoille in Johnson, Vt.
As the only dedicated water trail crew in the Northeast, the NFCT’s stewardship crew specializes in projects at the interface of land and water, including campsites, portage trails and access points. The NFCT’s roving crew works in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine throughout the paddling season; a second crew is based in the Allagash.
To learn more about the NFCT’s stewardship work, including volunteer opportunities, contact Trail Director Noah Pollock at noah@northernforestcanoetrail.
