Trout Unlimited receives grant for project

DEERFIELD VALLEY - Last year the Connecticut River Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited did a project placing strategic wood into 1.8 miles of Vose Brook, a coldwater tributary to the Deerfield River in Searsburg. Half the project area was located on private land, with public access managed by Great River Hydro, LLC; the other half of the project area was located on public land managed by the US Forest Service Green Mountain National Forest.
Based on part on the success of last year, CRVTU received a grant to do wood additions to Box Cover Brook, a second-order stream in Somerset. Its headwaters flow out of the Green Mountain National Forest into the Somerset Reservoir at its southeastern shore. Box Cover Brook is a coldwater trout stream that currently lacks sufficient in-stream woody habitat.
This stream is listed in the 2020 Deerfield Tactical Basin Plan as a priority stream for improving habitat. Based on CRVTU’s initial 2021 assessment of Box Cover Brook in the lower portion of the stream reach, they estimate there are only approximately 60 pieces of large wood per mile.
CRVTU’s proposed project for Box Cover Brook is contained within one mile reach adjacent to Somerset Reservoir on land exclusively owned by Great River Hydro, LLC. The goal of the project is to increase in-stream large wood habitat to benefit native brook trout and other aquatic and semi-aquatic organisms, with additional benefits to sediment transport, floodplain connectivity, and nutrient cycling. Large wood installation will follow guidelines established by Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and US Forest Service.
CRVTU will need volunteers to complete the work this summer. Contact them at strictlytrout@vermontel.net and they will give notice when the fieldwork starts.

The Deerfield Valley News

797 VT Route 100 North
Wilmington, VT 05363

Phone: 802-464-3388
Fax: 802-464-7255

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