| Fast Facts |
location
Vermont - 40 miles west of Montpelier; 90 miles north of Albany, New York
ecoregion
St. Lawrence/Champlain Valley
project size
1.1 million acres
preserves
East Creek, Otter Creek Swamps, H. Lawrence Achilles Natural Area at Shelburne Pond, Helen W. Buckner Memorial Preserve at Bald Mountain; Franklin Bog, LaPlatte River Marsh, Williams Woods and Shaw Mountain natural areas
public lands
Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, Kingsland Bay State Park, Little Otter Creek Wildlife Management Area, Dead Creek and Snake Mountain wildlife management areas
partners
Vermont Land Trust, Environmental Protection Agency, Natural Resource Conservation Service, farmers, Vermont colleges and universities, US Fish & Wildlife Service, local watershed partnerships
conservancy initiatives
Freshwater, Invasive Species
natural events
Fall foliage, October; animal tracking, winter; maple sugaring, late winter | |
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| Nestled between New York's Adirondack Mountains to the west and the Green Mountains of Vermont to the east, the Champlain Valley is home to about 190,000 people and 100,000 cattle. |
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Looking west across Lake Champlain, with the Adirondacks in the distance.
© James P. Blair/Corbis |
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Lake Champlain meanders river-like -- the largest lake in Northern New England but spanning only 12 miles at its widest point. Fed by several major rivers, the lake is surrounded by a mosaic of bogs, fens and swamps that harbor 21 species of amphibians and tens of thousands of migrating waterfowl each year. Forested floodplain and hillsides buffer the rich aquatic systems from pollutants and sustain forest-dependent birds and mammals. Both lake and valley bear the name of Samuel de Champlain, an early French explorer of North America.
Thousands of years ago, the Champlain basin was at different times inundated with both freshwater and saltwater, which shaped its soils and vegetation. When the Abenaki Indians arrived here 8,000 years ago, they encountered a land almost entirely forested. European settlers, however, brought about dramatic changes to the landscape in a short period of time. Between 1750 and 1850, some 75 percent of the state of Vermont was cleared of forest and sheep grazed almost every hillside. When the settlers departed for the promise of better soils in the Midwest, much of the state reverted to forest. |
Valley dairy farm.
© Royalty-Free/Corbis |
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The Champlain Valley's rolling countryside is today dominated by dairy farms, their ubiquitous black-and-white Holsteins coming to symbolize Vermont. Though a land use preferable to road and housing development, which fragments the landscape, livestock farming has far-reaching consequences for the valley's abundant waterways. Cattle allowed to drink from |
| rivers and streams erode fragile banks and their waste adds excess nutrients, degrading water quality and choking the life forms that depend on clean water. | |
To ensure the survival of amphibians, mussels and fish that rely on these waters, The Nature Conservancy is paying farmers to keep their cows out of streams and wetlands. Through the federally funded Partners for Wildlife program, we pay a percentage of the cost of building fences and drilling artesian wells on farms. To date we have installed 30 miles of fencing along major rivers to exclude cattle from waterways. We are also planting native trees and shrubs on riverbanks and floodplain lands owned by the Conservancy and farms enrolled in Partners for Wildlife.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in Vermont. |
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| Conservation Profile |
targets
Lake Champlain, wetlands, clayplain forest, northern hardwood forest, wintering raptors, striped chorus frog, Indiana bat, eastern spiny softshell turtle, bobolink
stresses
Habitat fragmentation from road and associated development, altered hydrological regime, invasive species, incompatible agricultural and forestry practices
strategies
Acquire land, secure conservation easements, protect water quality, restore ecosystems, influence land-use practices, build conservation alliances, undertake scientific research, engage community
results
100,000 acres in conservation management | | | | |
