Lakes and Ponds Meeting

I just received the ANR's Water Quality Division's newsletter, "Out of the Blue" (which is excellent by the way), and I noticed an announcement for the Vermont Federation of Lakes and Ponds Annual Meeting.

When: Mon., July 27 9:00-3:300

Where: The Steale House, Rt. 302, Berlin, VT

visit www.vermontlakes.org for more info.

cs

Upper Connecticut River Watershed Atlas

The Connecticut River Joint Commissions (CRJC) recently produced Where the Great River Rises: An Atlas of the Upper Connecticut River Watershed in Vermont and New Hampshire. It can be ordered online at www.upne.com or by calling 1-800-421-1561. The list price is $35, but supporters of the CRJC get 30% off.

cs

Black River Action Team - 10th Annual River Sweep

When: Saturday, August 22, 2009 8:00 AM to
12:00 PM
Where: Fletcher Memorial Library - 88 Main St Ludlow,VT Get Directions
Description: Get your feet wet in the 10th Annual RiverSweep with the Black River Action Team! On Saturday, August 22nd, the BRAT invites everyone to lend a hand collecting trash from the bed and banks of the Black River in Springfield, Ludlow and all points in-between. Stop in at one of the BRAT's HeadQuarter stations anytime between 8am and noon on the 22nd to sign in. Springfield's HQ is the Citizen's Bank drive-up near the footbridge in the Springfield Shopping Plaza; Ludlow's HQ is the gazebo on the green at Veterans Park, near the library. All supplies will be provided, free refreshments will be on hand, and each participant receives a free tee shirt as a "thank you" gift. For more details and to pre-register for the RiverSweep, contact BRAT Director Kelly Stettner at blackrivercleanup@yahoo.com or at 885-1533. That's Saturday, August 22nd for the 10th Annual RiverSweep. Come be a BRAT!

VT Invasives Patrollers (VIPs) workshop

I would like to host a VT Invasives Patrollers (VIPs) workshop on Saturday July
25th, but before i decide to do so would like to determine what the interest
level might be. Leslie Matthews of VT DEC would be glad to come to this part of
the state to present the workshop.

The workshop usually includes Leslie doing a PowerPoint presentation about
aquatic invasive species concerns & issues in VT and New England, an invasive
aquatic species identification exercise (with live and preserved specimens) and
then an "on-the-water" session to inspect a local waterbody for invasive aquatic
plants. In the Brattleboro area a location with Eurasian milfoil will be
visited.

For more information on VT DEC's VIP program, here is a link to the VIPs page at
the VT DEC, Water Quality Division website -

http://www.vtwaterquality.org/lakes/htm/ans/lp_VIP.htm

and also a link to the VIP program brochure -

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/waterq/lakes/docs/ans/lp_vippromotionalbrochure.pdf

In August and September I will also lead outings on a few waterbodies in Windham
County to check for the presence of invasive aquatic plants. Those waterbodies will
include South Pond and Sunset Lake, and probably also Lowell Lake, Gale Meadows
Pond, Sweets Pond and Weatherhead Hollow Pond. If Lake Raponda folks would like to
join me I probably will inspect at least parts of that waterbody too.

Please let me know as soon as you can whether you think members of your
organizations would be interested in attending a VIPs workshop in the
Brattleboro area on Saturday, July 25. We would like to get this scheduled and
announced by next Monday (7/13) if there is enough interest.

Thanks!
Laurie Callahan

A New Name for Us?

We've decided to change our name to reflect our new mission. Here's the list we've generated. Vote for your top three.

1. Southeastern Vermont Watershed Action
2. Southeastern Watershed Watch
3. Southeastern River Action
4. Watershed Action Monitors of Southeastern Regional Vermont
5. Southeastern Vermont for Rivers
6. Southeeastern Vermont for Watersheds
7. Group Action for Watershed of Southeastern Vermont
8. Watershed Awareness Group Action of Southeastern Vermont
9. The Watershed Group of Southeastern Vermont
10. Watershed Conservation of Southeastern Vermont
11. For Watershed Action of Southeastern Vermont
12. Southeastern Vermont Citizens for Community Watershed Action
13. Watershed Action Coalition Organization
14. Southeastern Regional Vermont Watershed Action Monitors Alliance
15. Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance.

cs

VT River Conservancy's new website

If you're not familiar with the Vermont River Conservancy (or even if you are), check out there website. This is a new site for them.

http://www.vermontriverconservancy.org/

They would be another great organization for the WRWA to partner with.

cs