"A Swimming Hole for Every Town"

In thinking about the Winooski, who better to interview than Steve Libby, executive director of the Vermont River Conservancy?  No one.  Evelina and I spoke with him about the health of the river, the various ways people use the river, and current conservation efforts being taken.  Here are some of his thoughts:

• Health
• Winooski River is in fairly good health; it's a lot better now then it was even 15 years ago, and especially since I was an undergrad here
• Back then, no one thought that river water wouldn't be cleaned, but with science and events like the fire on that river in Ohio, people are starting to pay more attention
• There are point some point source sites, but no river can escape human impact today
• Clean Water Act in the 70s pretty much stated that all water bodies should be swimmable and fishable.
• You wouldn't see people fishing everywhere along the Winooski if it were an impaired river. 
• Managing for fishable and swimmable rivers is realistic.
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• Recreation
• VRC focuses a lot on protecting the rights of recreationists so that they can always access the river or swimming hole!
• Helping landowners realize their rights and protecting them from potential lawsuits from recreationists-there are misplaced concerns about liability
• "The bad apple that spoils all"
• "The more access the better"
• There has been a cultural shift in how the land and the river are used- it's less about subsistence, and more about recreation 
• VRC is most interested in making sure people have access to the river, and this is an important issue because the more we can provide access, the better. 
• Conservation
• When VRC enters conservation easements with landowners, we require (usually) a 50 ft buffer zone and usually just let nature take its course. Many landowners are required to practice Best Management Practices on their land due to permits.
• There are no statewide buffer requirements
• New focus: Flood Resiliency
• White River watershed was more affected by Irene, but the Winooski still posed a serious problem in Waterbury and Richmond
• Irene also caused a massive influx of invasive species on many river bodies, including the Winooski. Friends of the Winooski group is working on getting rid of them. 
• Trying to focus more on land use planning and community zoning- community based efforts
• Collaboration with Friends of the Winooski- allows for multi-organizational perspectives on how best to manage (or not manage) the river!