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The Batten Kill Watershed Alliance is pleased to announce that The Orvis Company has provided $5,000 to finance the River Steward program for summer 2005. The River Stewards will divide their time between river patrols, riparian restoration projects, and community outreach. They will kayak the river during periods of heavy river use in both NY and VT, collecting data about the use of the river, assisting river users, and educating them about river-friendly behavior. Other activities will include planting riparian buffer zones, assisting landowners, river cleanups, and meeting with public officials and community groups. They will also assist with Alliance projects in NY and VT.
The three new River Stewards are Ruth Bolster of Sunderland, Ava Pickering of Arlington, and Jennifer Durham of East Clarendon. Ms. Bolster graduated from Arlington Memorial High School and has a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of New England. Ms. Pickering also graduated from Arlington Memorial High School and is a junior at St. Lawrence University with a major in Sociology. These two young women have lived in the Batten Kill watershed all of their lives. Their local knowledge combined with their skills and education will make them excellent River Stewards. Ms. Durham has a degree in Natural Science from Castleton State College and currently works with the Natural Resources Conservation District in Southern Vermont on watershed issues. She is an experienced kayaker and will be applying her expertise and knowledge earned elsewhere to the Batten Kill and its problems and opportunities.
The River Steward Program is designed to address one of the important problems identified in public meetings about the Batten Kill: conflicts among river users and conflicts between river users and landowners. The Stewards can help to resolve such conflicts, help to keep the river safe for users, and help to ensure that users respect private property rights. We all have the right to use the river but we must take responsibility for taking care of it as well. In addition, since so much of the riverbank is privately owned, how well or badly the public behaves will have a lot to do with whether public access is preserved.
Last year’s River Steward program was successful as public outreach and productive in the collection of river use data. It was financed by Orvis and the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife. Orvis is extraordinarily generous to fund the program again. “We are getting a late start this year, but we hope to improve and extend the program,” said BKWA Executive Director Cynthia Browning. “We are very grateful to Orvis for again helping us to provide good stewardship for the river that is an important community resource for every town through which it flows. ”
The Batten Kill WatershedAlliance was created in 2001 to promote good stewardship of the river and its tributaries in both Vermont and New York. The Alliance has received grants from the River Network and the US Forest Service. It is governed by a nine-member board of directors, and has a membership of 146. Alliance accomplishments have included erosion control and bank stabilization projects in both NY and VT, identification of problem erosion sites in the watershed, and sponsoring public presentations on topics concerning the river.
The Orvis Company has been the premier outfitter of the distinctive country lifestyle and sporting traditions since 1856. It is the oldest continuously operated catalog company in the country. The company’s international headquarters for its mail order, e-commerce, retail, and wholesale businesses is in Manchester, Vermont, on the Batten Kill. Each year, Orvis donates 5% of pre-tax profits to conservation projects. In 2006 Orvis will partner with the Batten Kill Watershed Alliance on the “Bring Back the Browns” national matching grant campaign.
BKWA Contact: Cynthia Browning: 802.375.9019
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