Water Resources Bill Slated to Bring at Least $80 M to Lake Champlain and Upper Connecticut River Watersheds

Montpelier, Vermont — November 8, 2007 — The Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA) authorizes more than $80 million dollars for aquatic ecosystem restoration work in the Lake Champlain and Upper Connecticut River Watersheds. WRDA is the principal legislative act that authorizes Army Corps of Engineers projects and programs and, although reauthorization typically occurs every two years, the bill has not been passed by Congress since 2000. The Nature Conservancy applauds Senator Leahy, Senator Sanders and Congressman Welch for their tireless work in supporting the passage of this bill.

“We are extremely pleased that the long-awaited WRDA bill was upheld by both the House and the Senate,” said Bob Klein, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Vermont chapter. “We applaud Senator Leahy, Senator Sanders and Congressman Welch for their longtime support of the WRDA bill and commend Congress for its efforts to pass this important legislation.”

This legislation renews the commitment originally secured by Senator Leahy in 2000 for ecosystem restoration programs in the Lake Champlain watershed, and increases the authorized spending from $20 million to $32 million. The bill also establishes a parallel program for the Upper Connecticut River watershed with an additional authorization of $20 million.

Ecosystem restoration projects are a crucial component in the fight to protect stream banks, wetlands, fish populations and migratory bird habitat. Projects encouraged by these programs include the assessment and improvement of bridges, culverts and other obstructions that impede migratory fish passage, the restoration of natural flows to rivers and streams, pollution reduction, and the control of invasive species. The ultimate goal is to restore the balance to lakes and rivers so that once again they will be self-sustaining without the need for constant human intervention.

Tom Berry, Director of the Nature Conservancy’s Lake Champlain Program said “This is an unprecedented piece of environmental legislation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now solidly in the business of restoring and protecting aquatic ecosystems through the entire Lake Champlain and Connecticut watersheds. We are delighted to be partnering with the Corps and want to recognize the essential work of Vermont’s delegation in moving this critical piece of legislation forward.”

Two years ago the Conservancy established a partnership with the New England District of the Army Corps of Engineers and now with this long-awaited legislation the partnership is official. Over the last two years researchers with the Conservancy have determined how water currently moves through the Connecticut river system, how that differs from historical river flows, and how this change has affected plant and animal species living in and close to the river. This authorization moves the project into the next phase, creating a computer model for the entire river system.

WRDA also authorized $30 million for a joint project between the Corps and Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources to evaluate and implement structural modification of dams on four key rivers in the Upper Connecticut watershed, the Black, West, Ompompanoosuc and Ottaqueechee. The timing of the bill presents a unique opportunity for collaboration between the Corps, the Conservancy and Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources.

Kim Lutz, Director of the Conservancy’s Connecticut River program said, “We’ve recently begun talking with the Corps and the Agency about the opportunity to dovetail our respective projects. They are investigating how to fine tune river flows while we are looking at how modified flows could benefit the health of the entire system. It is really key that we are doing this at the same time and we are excited by the opportunity for collaboration.”

Combining the work and expertise of all three organizations could provide an in-depth understanding of how water flows in the system, the knowledge to determine how flows could be improved, and with this authorization the means to accomplish these goals.

Corps funds authorized in this bill will be administered in cooperation with the Lake Champlain Basin Program and the Connecticut River Joint Commission. Local governments or state agencies with programs like Vermont’s Clean and Clear initiative must propose and sponsor the projects. Organizations like the Conservancy hope to contribute scientific and organizational expertise and could potentially be brought on board as cost-share partners.

Vermont’s delegation was particularly well positioned to affect the WRDA bill. Senator Leahy’s senior status and long involvement with water quality and Lake Champlain issues carries weight in Washington. Before his retirement Senator Jeffords, as the ranking member on the Environment Committee, was heavily involved in drafting the bill and has passed the torch onto Senator Sanders who assumed a seat on that Committee in January 2007. Congressman Welch also played a key roll ensuring the inclusion of Vermont priorities in the House version of the bill.

Vermont projects included in the passage of WRDA 2007 are:

Emergency stream bank work on the Wells River
Aquatic ecosystem restoration on the White River
Removal of silt and aquatic growth from Lakes Fairly and Morley
Partnership with non profit organizations on Ct. River restoration
Authority to assist in restoring or removing 20 small dams
Control of Eurasian milfoil and water chestnut in Lake Champlain
Up to $5 million for Upper Ct. River wetlands restoration
$20 million for Upper Ct. River ecosystem restoration
$32 million for Champlain Basin ecosystem restoration
$500,000 to look at small hydropower issues in Vermont
$30 million for environmental flow modifications to Corps owned dams

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.