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Home , Champlain Valley, Friends (season 9), Jones Brook, Lake Vermont, Mad River (Connecticut), Mad River (Vermont)

A Paddling and Natural History Guide to One of ’s Great

www.winooskiriver.org riends of the Winooski has • Over 70% of the watershed is forested, compiled this paddling guide to help about 12% in agriculture, 9% is Fyou explore the . The developed, 5% is water. guide is organized so that you can select • About 11% of the watershed is publicly sections and paddling distance based on owned land. skill level, habitat and location. More than just a logistics tool, the guide also includes • The percentage of the watershed in numerous articles on the flora and fauna agriculture has dropped to its current found throughout the Winooski Watershed. level from 45% in 1950. This farmland Enjoy the river and be safe. has been replaced by developed land (residential and commercial) as well as About the River reverted to forest land. The Winooski River begins in the • The name Winooski is derived from the town of Cabot and flows 90 miles to Lake Abenaki work ‘Winooskik’ which means Champlain in Colchester. The watershed wild onion. For a period in the late drains approximately 1,080 square miles 1700s to early 1800s, the river was more in central Vermont, encompassing all commonly called the Onion River. of Washington County, about half of Chittenden County, and portions of • Approximately 90 dams dot the Lamoille and Orange Counties. The Winooski watershed although only a Winooski River is the largest tributary handful now function for flood control watershed to . It includes and/or power generation. Many are old almost 10% of the land area of Vermont. mill dams. The river and tributaries from the head to Montpelier are mostly narrow and steep with heavily timbered valleys. Below Montpelier, the river has a relatively consistent gradient with fertile open land well suited for cultivation except for a few steep gorges. The Middlesex, Bolton and Winooski gorges facilitate the harnessing of hydropower and have attracted mills and the development of towns dating to the late 1700s. The river has seven major tributaries: Little River, North Branch and Kingsbury Branch enter from the north and the Huntington River, , Dog River and enter from the south. of the Winooski River PO Box 777 River Winooski Trends Montpelier, VT 05602 • Approximately 1/3 of the population 802-882-8276 of Vermont lives in the Winooski [email protected] Watershed www.winooskiriver.org Table of Contents

Articles Time Travel on the Winooski...... 2 Turtles of Central Vermont...... 5 Boating Safety ...... 7 Conserving Headwaters and Upland Forests ...... 8 Geomorphology: The Shape of a River Corridor...... 29 Birds of the Winooski: A Responsibility to Conserve...... 30 Reptiles and Amphibians of the Winooski River...... 31 The Winooski Wetlands Complex ...... 32 Managing Non-native Plants Along the Winooski River...... 33 Aquatic Life in the Winooski River...... 34 Mammal Tracking Along the Winooski...... 35 Bobcat Betrothals...... 36 Sponsors...... 40 Friends in Action...... (Back Cover)

Paddling Maps Marshfield to Plainfield...... 10 Plainfield to East Montpelier ...... 12 Montpelier to Middlesex...... 14 Middlesex to Waterbury ...... 16 Waterbury to Bolton...... 18 Bolton to Richmond ...... 20 Richmond to Essex ...... 22 Essex to Winooski...... 24 Winooski to Lake Champlain ...... 26

1 Time Travel on the Winooski by George Springston, Norwich University Department of Geology and Environmental Science

ver wonder what the Winooski River from active volcanoes at Mount Ascutney valley looked like long ago? Today and in the White Mountains. Earthquakes Ethe river flows from its headwaters may have been rather common. in Cabot south and then southwest to An ancestral Winooski River appears to Montpelier and then, turning northwest, it have already been flowing northwestward cuts straight through the across central Vermont when renewed on a beeline for Lake Champlain. How long uplift of the crust took place sometime has the river followed this course? What during the later parts of the Cretaceous came before? The geologic story of the or during the subsequent Tertiary Period Winooski valley is one of plate tectonics (65 to 1.8 million years ago.) The uplift was and continental glaciation, but it’s also a a sort of gentle, regional uplift. Although story of streams, which over vast stretches the rocks of the Green Mountains were of time can tear down even the highest generally quite resistant to erosion, the mountain ranges. ancient Winooski was able to keep pace If you travelled through this part of by eroding downward as uplift continued, Vermont in the Cretaceous Period (144 to perhaps because it was already flowing in 65 million years ago), you might have been a zone of weaker (perhaps more fractured) on a long hike across a range of hills or low rock. Much of this is speculation, but we mountains where the Green Mountains do know that the Winooski and its sisters stand today. There may already have been the Lamoille and Missisquoi today cut a lowland in the with across the Greens and indeed appear to streams flowing westward out of the hills, have done so since before the but the details of these ancient stream glaciation. We don’t know anything systems are unknown. These small hills about the boating conditions on this early were the remnants of great mountain Winooski, but fossil plants found in a lignite ranges built up in the Devonian Period (brown coal) deposit at Brandon, Vermont (417 to 354 million years ago), but the indicate we had a warm-temperate climate unrelenting erosive action of streams about 20 million years ago. The fossils acting over millions of years had long ago include those of hickories, chestnuts, worn them down. Instead of mountain- mulberries, black gums, sycamores, and building, the Earth’s crust here during many others. the Cretaceous was being stretched and You would have been quite the broken by the same stresses that were adventurer to attempt to follow the route causing the opening of the Atlantic Ocean of the Winooski 25,000 years ago during to the east. Away to the southeast and the “ice ages” of the Pleistocene. An ice east, you might have seen plumes of ash axe, crampons, and plenty of warm clothing

2 would have been very handy on such an glacial Lake Vermont. The thick sand and expedition, as the gravel deposits at about 600 feet elevation was at its maximum extent, blanketing at Hinesburg are remnants of a delta built all of eastern and central North America out into Lake Vermont, which drained as far south as and Martha’s southward through the valley Vineyard under about a mile of ice. You (the ice sheet still blocked any drainage couldn’t have seen it, but the massive to the north). Finally, you could make it to weight of the ice had depressed the Earth’s the Champlain valley by , although crust by hundreds of feet. This was just the there might have been some serious white most recent of many ice sheets that came water stretches to navigate as the waters and went over the region in the last 1.8 rushed through the outlet stream. What million years or so. would the landscape have looked like About 14,000 years ago it would have at this time? The pollen and other plant been a water journey again, but with a lot remains preserved in bogs indicate that the of paddling, for the valley was filled with landscape south of the Winooski River was the turbid waters of glacial Lake Winooski, probably some combination of tundra and which extended from up in Lower Cabot all sparse boreal woodland. Spruce, birch, one the way to Richmond, filling the main valley of the pines (jack or red?), and poplar were and all the tributary valleys to elevations early arrivals. To the north, you would have of about 1,000 feet above present sea seen the great ice margin, with torrents of level. The clay deposits encountered at meltwater rushing out from under the ice many sites in the valley were deposited on every summer day. in this lake. At that time, the retreating Coming back a few hundred years ice blocked the northern Champlain later, you’d see that even more melting valley and the lower Winooski valley west of the ice sheet had opened up the lower of Richmond, and the waters of Lake Winooski spilled over the hills at the lowest point, which was Williamstown Gulf. From there, the outflow rushed down the valley of the Second Branch of the to an arm of the great inland lake known as glacial , which filled the River valley and drained south to . After the ice sheet melted back further northward, lower drainage routes for the lake opened up at Gillett Pond in Richmond and then Hollow Brook in Huntington, causing two new stages of the glacial lake in the Winooski valley (these lower stages are called glacial Lakes Mansfield I and II) and sending the waters pouring out at Hinesburg into the larger ancestor of Lake Champlain called the Coveville stage of 3 Winooski valley, with the waters of the Late time for the river to cut down through all Pleistocene Winooski River emptying into the lake-bottom sediments left behind by a lower level of glacial Lake Vermont called Lake Winooski, the course of the river (at the Fort Ann stage. The broad terraces you least in the upper reaches) may have been can see today at about 500 feet elevation some feet higher than today. Remnants of in the center of Williston and north of the the old floodplains from this time stand as Winooski River in Essex Junction record this terraces many feet above the present river level of Lake Vermont. floodplain. Studies on the lower Missisquoi Continued ice retreat led to more and elsewhere show that sedimentation lowering of the water levels in Lake and river channel migration in the lower Vermont. Eventually (about 13,000 years reaches of the rivers were quite rapid after ago) the ice retreated north of the St. the end of the episode as Lawrence River, and the waters of the sea tremendous amounts of sediment were poured in to form the brackish waters of eroded off the newly exposed hillsides the Champlain Sea. The Burlington Airport and excavated out of the valley bottoms is built on a vast delta (now about 350 feet in the upper reaches. However, the above sea level) formed from sediments sedimentation rates slowed down over of the Winooski River that built out into time, due at least partly to increasing the Sea. After about 3,000 to 4,000 years, vegetative cover and developing soils. One rebounding of the land due to the removal by one, ash, balsam fir, larch, elm, oak, of the great weight of the ice sheets cut the maple, white pine, and hemlock joined the Champlain Sea off from the St. Lawrence earlier arrivals. Plenty of changes were estuary and led to the formation of Lake still to come (for example: in terms of tree Champlain. The land was now largely species beech, hickory, and chestnut were forested. still not present) but the broad elements If you made the trip around 8,000 to of mountains, river system, and forests 9,000 years ago, you could certainly boat were finally taking on the appearance they from modern-day Cabot to the shore of would have up until the time of European Lake Champlain. However, because it took settlement.

4 Turtles of Central Vermont by Mark Powell

s you travel down the Winooski the speed with which they extend their river, there are three turtle species long, snake-like necks that earns them Athat you might encounter. The their name and aggressive reputation. It is most common of these is the painted a myth, however, that snapping turtles will turtle, the turtle with which Vermonters attack swimmers, biting off toes or fingers. are most familiar. Not only is it present They are usually only aggressive on land, in many ponds and slow moving streams when they are cut off from their preferred throughout the Green Mountain State, defense: slipping away to the safety of it has a habit of deep water and basking out in vegetative muck. the open, often Snapping turtles on floating logs, are uniform in where it is easily color, usually grey spotted by hikers to brown, with and kayakers. prominent points Painted turtles are on the back of the our smallest native shell near their turtle, reaching a exceptionally large maximum length tails. of seven inches. They have very dark The rarest turtle in most of Vermont is brown, almost black, smooth shells with the North American Wood Turtle, a semi- some red around the edges, and yellow terrestrial species that spends most of the stripes on the sides of their head and neck. months of July and August on dry land. Although painted turtles spend almost Wood turtles are sometimes confused with all of their time in or near the water, they snapping turtles because of the coarse do sometimes travel from one wet area to texture of their shells, but they are readily another, and they also wander in search of distinguished by the orange skin on their suitable nesting habitat. legs, head and tail. Wood turtles reach a Snapping turtles are also fairly common, maximum length of eight and a half inches but they are not seen as often because in Vermont. They are considered to be the they spend almost all of their time in the world’s most intelligent turtle, and have water. Even when they want to feel the an uncanny ability to blend in with the warmth of the sun, snapping turtles are vegetation where they are basking. For this more likely to find a shallow area where reason, people are occasionally surprised the water itself is able to absorb the sun’s to find that they have almost stepped upon heat, with perhaps just a little bit of their a wood turtle; they might have had no idea back showing above the surface. Snapping that a turtle was so close to them. Others turtles have large, powerful jaws, but it is might never even realize that wood turtles 5 are present near their homes. a frequent basis, so many wood turtles are Wood turtles used to be much more killed by automobiles. Unfortunately, wood common, but the march of progress has turtles are sometimes taken from the wild, not been kind to them. They were once occasionally by hikers who come across commonly gathered for use in making turtle them and take them home as pets—which soup, and their reproductive pattern is such is illegal in Vermont—and also by poachers that reduced local populations can take who then sell them on the internet. many decades to recover, if they recover Keep your eyes peeled for turtles as at all. Also, as a species that uses a variety you cruise down the Winooski, both in the of habitats throughout the year, wood water and along the banks and shrubbery turtles are more likely to cross roadways on at the water’s edge.

6 Boating Safety

efore you head out on the Winooski Water Level: In the spring and during or other rivers, please keep the especially rainy weeks, the river can get Bfollowing information in mind. quite high and fast. You can contact a local outfitter for information about water levels. Know Your Limits: As the second Unless you are a very experienced paddler, longest river in Vermont, the Winooski it is recommended that you do not go out offers a wide variety of paddling on the river during high water. opportunities. The lower stretches of the river especially between Richmond and Dams, Rocks and other Obstacles: Essex and Winooski and Lake Champlain The river is ever changing as trees fall, are great for beginning paddlers who heavy rains displace sediment and rocks are interested in trying river paddling etc. Always be on the look-out for obstacles for the first time. The upper sections of in the river, especially under water. In the Winooski between Marshfield and addition, there are a number of dams on Montpelier are narrow and winding and the Winooski River that you will need require more advanced paddling skills. to around. From spring through fall, the big ones are usually marked with Wear A Life Preserver: Always wear a ropes and buoys across the river. Get out life preserver when paddling. In high waters before these ropes. Smaller dams are not or white waters, a helmet is recommended. continued on page 9

7 A Watershed Perspective: Conserving Headwaters and Upland Forests By Bradley Materick

hile paddling the Winooski watershed along the is 72% upland forests, 12% Winooski, the agriculture, 9% developed,

W Colin McCaffrey river holds your attention. and 5% water. Because Sunlight glitters on surface a river and its watershed ripples, eddies and currents are intimately connected swirl and gurgle, and a by water flowing downhill, shallow, cobbled riverbed everything that happens gliding swiftly past your boat inside the watershed has an can be mesmerizing. Rapids impact on the river to a larger especially force you to focus or smaller degree. intently on the river itself in Vermont’s history order to avoid collisions and Coits Pond, Headwaters of can teach us about the capsizing. On flat water, your the Winooski importance of adopting “duck’s eye” view from the a watershed perspective water’s surface often prevents seeing much when thinking about the conservation of beyond the forests and fields right along the Winooski. During the settlement of the banks. It is compelling to think of the our state, from the late 1700s through the Winooski River as consisting solely of the early 1900s, we did not fully appreciate water held between its banks, and perhaps the connection between a river and its a narrow strip of land on either side. This watershed. In a period of about 150 years, view may lead us to believe that river the Winooski watershed lost nearly 80% conservation only needs to focus on the of its upland forests as we aggressively water in the channel and whatever harmful cleared land for pasture and agriculture. substances might be in it. A river, however, Without forest cover to filter and slow the is much more than just flowing water. runoff of rainwater and snowmelt, water The Winooski is part of a complex quality in the Winooski and its tributaries system made up of the river itself plus all plummeted and massive erosion and of the tributaries and land that drain into flooding ensued, most memorably during it. This system is called a watershed. The the flood of 1927 which caused more Winooski River watershed contains the than $500 million of damage (in current headwaters at Coits Pond and 173 miles dollars). Since that time, our forests have of major tributaries—almost twice the regenerated to nearly their pre-settlement length of the Winooski itself—as well as extent. The Friends of the Winooski many more miles of smaller streams. In works to promote and implement the total, the Winooski and its tributaries drain conservation and continued regeneration 1,080 square miles of land, nearly 10% of of upland forests throughout the Winooski Vermont’s area. Today, this land within River watershed.

8 Boating Safety/continued from page 7 are not marked in the guide. You should contact the landowners if you wish to marked by ropes or buoys. You will need access the river through their property. to be vigilant as to changes in current (slack water often indicates a dam) and the appearance of a ‘horizon line’ that is often swap out created by a dam. McCall Ryan

Leave No Trace: Even if you are only out for the afternoon, please make sure you take everything you brought with you off the water. This includes food wrappers, clothing, water bottles etc.

Access: Public access points are included in this guide. These points vary greatly with respect to amentities and ease of access to the water. While many private land owners allow access to the river, these Bolton Falls Dam on the Winooski

Celebrating the Winooski River generating 9.5 billion kilowatthours of clean, renewable electricity in 114 years!

That’s quite an accomplishment for a beautiful Vermont river, especially considering that one home uses 8,000 kilowatthours a year.

Green Mountain Power has operated hydroelectric plants along the Winooski and its tributaries since 1896. Green Mountain Power is supporting the Sojourn in recognition of the importance of the Winooski River in providing clean, renewable electricity to our customers.

9 Marshfield to Twinfield Union School or Martin Bridge (Plainfield)

Difficulty: Intermediate Take out(s): Length: ~ 5 miles Twinfield Union School at the mouth of Description: The headwaters of the Nasmith Brook: You will need to carry Winooski River is a narrow, winding your about 100 yards to the parking channel that traverses the rolling hills of area along Nasmith Brook Road. Exiting at eastern Washington county. The highlight the bridge at Nasmith Brook Road can be of this section is Martin Bridge, the only fairly difficult. Below Nasmith Brook, the “Farm Bridge” remaining in Vermont. river current gets faster and there are more Primarily used for agriculture, the bridge rocks including the rapid at Onion River was built around 1880. Today it serves as Campground. an access point for nature trails on the south side of the river. This section of river Martin Bridge: The banks are relatively is highly influenced by the Green Mountain steep at the Martin Bridge park so pick the Power generating station upstream of take out point carefully. There is a parking Marshfield . During dry periods, the area near the bridge. river may be very low if the station is not releasing water. Plainfield:If you plan to into Plainfield, you should contact land owners Rapids/Obstacles: Paddlers may before your trip to obtain permission to exit encounter downed trees blocking the river. on their property. There is unmarked dam There is a Class 2 ‘rock garden’ rapid at the in the center of Plainfield Village. Onion River Campground. You can exit the river on the left and walk your boat rather easily around this rapid.

Put in(s): Beaver Creek Access Point at Twinfield Old School House Common in 2 Marshfield:From Rte 2 turn onto School St (next to Rainbow Sweets). Go over the Nasmith Brook bridge. School House Common is on right. Paddlers can put in at any suitable point on the property. The easiest point is a short walk past the building to the mouth of Twinfield Martin Bridge Marshfield Brook. Rapids Union High Access Point School

Onion River Campground

John Fowler Road

10 Marshfield to Plainfield: ~ 5 miles

Marshfield

School Street Access Point

Marshfield Brook 2 School Street

Beaver Meadow Brook

*

Patty’s Crossing Bridge

Key

Access Point

Rapids * * There are also several Bridge driveway bridges in this Railroad section that are not marked Trestle Cold Brook on the map. Nasmith Brook Campground

Nasmith Brook Road

11 Plainfield to East Montpelier: ~ 12-13 miles

East Montpelier Sodom Pond Brook

E. Montpelier Villiage Access Point Mallary Brook

2

Codling Road

Codling Rd. Access Point Key

Green Valley Access Point Campground 2 Rapids Hidden Dam Bridge Railroad Trestle Campground Hidden Dam Access Point

12 2

Kingsbury Kingsbury Branch

Main Street Bridge Rec Field and Dam Covered Access Point Main Street bridge

Mill Street Recreation Field Rd. Great Brook

Coburn Road Coburn Route 2 Bridge Access Point Plainfield

Plainfield to E. Montpelier here. Parking is along the wide shoulder of Rt. 2. It is an easy walk on a well trod trail Difficulty: Intermediate to the river. Length: ~12 to 13 miles Description: This stretch of the river Take Out (s): passes by several picturesque Vermont East Montpelier Village: There is a farms and under a covered bridge. The takeout on the upstream edge of the Winooski widens a bit after Plainfield, Village. Look for a small muddy beach area particularly after the Kingsbury Branch just as the river bends to the left, away enters from the right. from Rt 2. It is a short but steep climb.

Rapids/Obstacles: This section features Codling Road Access Point (just two relatively long rocky sections. The upstream of Green Valley Campground): first is immediately below the Plainfield You can take out either upstream (on left) Recreation Field put in. The other is on the or downstream (on right) of the bridge. stretch through East Montpelier village. You can park along Codling Road or in small pull off upstream side of the bridge. Put in(s): Plainfield Recreation Fields: From Main Hidden Dam: About a mile beyond the Street, take Mill Street to the first right, Rt 2 take out is a ‘hidden dam’. Parking for Recreation Field Road. The put in is located this take out is on a wide shoulder of Rt at the mouth of Great Brook. 2. Recognizing this take out from the road and the river (it is not marked with ropes) Route 2 Bridge (downstream of is difficult unless you are familiar with the Plainfield): Less experienced paddlers (or area. The banks are steep with poison ivy. if there is low water) may want to put in 13 Montpelier to Middlesex: ~ 5 miles

Middlesex Great Brook

2

Put In after dam Mad River Middlesex Dam Take Out

Rte. 100B

Ledge

Middlesex Dam Portage Detail

2

Rapids Middlesex Dam Middlesex Dam Access Rd.

100B Church Street

100B

Pull off for Middlesex Dam Take Out

River Road Henning Road

14 Key

Access Point North Branch Rapids Bridge

Railroad Trestle Montpelier

Campground Bailey Ave. North Branch Confluence Access

Montpelier 2 High School Sunny Brook Sunny Access Point

Bridge St.

Dam Rapids just

Jones Brook below Iron Truss Dog River Route 12 Bridge bridge

Montpelier to Middlesex left. The ledge is most passable on the far right, but can have a steep drop. It is easily Difficulty: Intermediate portaged on the left side. Length: ~ 5 miles Description: The Winooski is wide in this Put In: section with a number of fairly straight Montpelier High School: The put in is stretches. In August and September, the about 100 yards below the Bailey Avenue river can be quite shallow requiring skill in bridge. There is short easy path off the seeking good travel channels. bike/pedestrian path. Rapids/Obstacles: Occasional boulders Take Out: and underwater rocks require paddlers to Just above Middlesex Dam: The take out is stay alert. In addition, two short ledges on the left just beyond the Rte 100B bridge. require basic skill to navigate. The first is The bank is steep and can be muddy. The at Cemetery Corner, shortly after the High dam is marked by barrels across the water School put in. In the summer, start left and during summer months. You must exit here. move right to avoid the ledge. The other You can portage the dam to continue. is just below Jones Brook entrance on the

15 Middlesex to Waterbury: ~ 5 miles

Thatcher Brook

Waterbury Rec Field Access Points

State Winooski Street Office 2 Complex Waterbury

Route 2 Bridge Access Point

Crosset Brook

Key

Access Point

Rapids Bridge

Railroad Trestle Campground

16 Middlesex to Waterbury

Difficulty: Intermediate Put In: At the Middlesex Dam Powerhouse Length: ~ 5 miles on Rte 100B on the south side of the river. Description: This section of the Winooski Follow the portage signs to parking and then features a variety of landscapes including the trail down to the river. the Middlesex Gorge, woodlands and rock escapements. The Mad River meets up with Community Park Access: This small park is the Winooski shortly after the put in at the located close to Majestic Auto. The trail to Middlesex Dam. the river is very steep.

Rapids/Obstacles: Shortly after the put Moretown Access: The access is shortly in is the Hugo Rapid, which is caused by a past the confluence with the Mad River. rock constricting the channel. In high water, it is a very large wave. About ½ mile after Take Out(s): the Mad River enters from the left, pad- Rt 2 Bridge as you enter Waterbury: On dlers will encounter Junkyard Rapids. When the left just after you pass under the bridge. approaching Junkyard Rapids hug the left shore and scout the rapid to determine your Waterbury Recreation Fields: Take out is course. There is a relatively short portage on the right, near the mouth of Thatcher over the rocks on the left. Brook.

Junkyard Rapids

Rapid on both Community sides of Island Park Access Moretown Access Point MIDDLESEX

Mad River Middlesex Dam 2 Access Point Middlesex Dam Access Point

Rte. 100B 17 Waterbury to Bolton: ~ 5 miles

2 Bolton Dam Exit Rapids

Bolton Dam Ridley Brook Access Point Gate Prior to Bolton Dam River Road Road. Park and walk. Do not block the gate 100

Waterbury to Bolton

Difficulty: Easy Put In(s): Length: ~5 miles Waterbury Recreation Fields: access point Description: A steady current flows is on the right, near the mouth of Thatcher through this section of the river, which is Brook. mostly flat. Shortly after Waterbury you will pass the Little River as it enters the Take Out: Winooski. This stretch of the river passes Bolton Dam Take Out is located on the through the Green Mountains, offering left side of the river. It is marked by a small breathtaking views of both the Green sign. It is a steep and sometimes muddy Mountain Range and the Worcester Range. bank. The river is fairly wide and flat before Camel’s Hump will be visible on the left. it takes a turn to the left into the narrow Bolton Gorge. Be on the alert for the take Rapids/Obstacles: None although out. Ropes and buoys, if present at all, will 2 paddlers should always watch for barely only be in the river during warmer months. submerged rocks and woody debris. You will need to carry your boat about 2000 feet. You can carry around the dam on a wide, well maintained, but relatively steep trail to the picnic area below the dam. Or you can park at a gate on River Road (do not block the gate) and carry your boat out along the access road.

18 Little River Little

Key

Access Point

Rapids 100 Bridge

Railroad Trestle Campground

River Road Thatcher Brook

Waterbury Rec Field Access Point Waterbury

2 Winooski Street 2

19 Bolton to Richmond : ~ 10.5 miles

Volunteer Green East Main Access Point Snipe Island Brook Street Duck Brook 2

Richmond Cochran Road Jonesville

Floodplain Preserve

Bridge Street Access Point

Huntington River

Bolton to Richmond Put In(s): Bolton Dam: There is parking at the picnic Difficulty: Intermediate (if putting in at area below the dam. The access road is Bolton Dam); Easy (if you put in further marked by a sign on River Road. downstream) Bolton Access Area: This area with Length: ~10.5 miles ample parking is about four miles west on This stretch of river continues to pass River Road from the Bolton Dam access. through the Green Mountains. There are a number of spots to take a break for a Take out(s): swim or to fish. About 1 mile upstream of Jonesville: Just after you pass under the Richmond, you will pass the a rare intact Cochran Road Bridge, the take out is on the floodplain forest owned by the Richmond left. Unload on road shoulder but parking is Land Trust. on the opposite side of the bridge.

Rapids/Obstacles: About ¾ of a mile Floodplain Preserve: Take out on the downstream from Bolton Dam is a rapid sandy bar on the left side of the river about that ends just past the railroad trestle. 1.5 miles below the Jonesville bridge. There This rapid can be difficult especially in high is no sign marking the Preserve. It is short water. You can pull over on the left bank carry to the parking area. above the rapid to scout it. If you choose not to paddle it, you can carry your boat Volunteer Green Richmond: Heading into about 1500 feet to below the trestle. There Richmond you will pass under the Bridge is a foot path. St. bridge and head to the right bank. 20 Joiner Brook

Pinneo Brook Pinneo

Rapids Take Gleason Brook River Road Put In Out Preston Railroad Brook Bolton Tressle Bolton Dam Canoe Key Portage Access Point Ridley Brook Access Point

Rapids Bridge

Railroad Trestle Campground Charles Fish

21 Richmond to Essex: ~ 11.5 miles Mill Essex Junction Essex Street Dam Essex Dam Put In

Fish & Wildlife Access Point

2A

Richmond to Essex

Difficulty: Easy Take outs: Length: ~ 11.5 miles Fontaine Canoe Access: The take out is on your left, just before the North Williston Description: Winding through wetlands, Road Bridge. From Rt 117, turn on to North farmland and woodlands, this is a tranquil Williston Road and turn left into the small section of the river perfect for family and parking area just after you cross over the beginning paddlers. This stretch of the Winooski. river also begins to pass through suburban development. Note how the river changes Fish and Wildlife Access off the IBM as the landscape changes in this section. access road: The take out is on the right at a small landing spot among the trees. It is Put In(s): not marked from the water. From the Five Richmond Volunteer Green: From Rt 2 in Corners (intersection of Rt 15, 117 and 2A) Richmond, turn south on to Bridge Street. head south on 2A, turn left onto the Mill The park is on your right just before you St. just before crossing the Winooski. The cross the Winooski. The canoe launch is in canoe access with small parking area will the upstream corner of the park. be on your right.

Dam Portage: If you plan to portage the dam and continue on, you will exit the river at a set of stairs on the right below the Fish and Wildlife access. There is a foot path that will take you under Rt 2A to the power station. Go around the power station to the put in below.

22 Essex Junction

Alder Brook

Railroad Tressle North Williston Road

Fontaine Access Point

Mill Brook

Railroad Key Tressle Access Point

Rapids Bridge

Railroad Trestle Campground 2

2

Donahue Brook Ri chmond

Johnnie Brook Volunteer Green Access Point Bridge Street

23 Essex to Winooski: ~ 7 miles

2 WINOOSKI 7 15

Millyard Access Point Winooski Gorge W. Canal St. Dam Lime Kiln Winooski Falls Railroad Gorge

Tressle Berard Rd. Berard Salmon Hole Lime Kiln Rd. Fishing Area

Winooski I Airport Pkwy Dam Green Mountain Power Take Out

Essex to Winooski Rapids/Obstacles: There is a short rapid visible from the put in below the Essex Difficulty: Intermediate Dam. A bit further downstream, the Length: ~ 7 miles river will split around an island. The best channel is along the right side of the island. Description: The Winooski begins passing Just beyond the confluence with Muddy through urban and suburban areas in this Brook, there is a long rocky stretch. section of the river. However, there are great picnicking and natural areas to stop at Put in(s): along the way including the Muddy Brook Below Essex Dam: Pull into the Green Natural area and canoe access located Mountain Power Station off 2A. The put in about a mile downstream from the Essex is below the power generating station. If Dam on the left. There is also Woodside the gate is unlocked, you can drop you boat Park, operated by the Winooski Valley Park off in the station parking lot but you cannot District, about four miles below the Essex park there. Park at Overlook Park, across Dam. This stretch passes through the only the 2A bridge, and walk back. un-dammed gorge, the Lime Kiln Gorge, on the Winooski. 24 Key

Access Point

Rapids 15 Bridge

Railroad Trestle Campground

15 Essex Junction

2A Robinson Pkwy Mill St. Essex Dam Put In Fish & Muddy Brook Wildlife Park Access Essex Access Point Rapids Point Dam

River Cove Rd.

Muddy Brook

Muddy Brook Park: If you want to avoid Take Out (s) the rapid below the power station, put in Winooski Gorge Dam: Shortly after about a mile downstream at Muddy Brook passing through the Lime Kiln Gorge, the Park. You continue south on Rt 2A to River river makes a right hand turn. The take out Cove Road and turn right. The Park will be is on the left before the river narrows into on your right. the gorge. Barrels may be in place across the river in warmer months. From Rt 15, take Lime Kiln Road south crossing over the river, turn right on to Berard Drive (another ½ mile or so) and follow it to the end.

25 Winooski to Lake Champlain : ~ 10 miles

Colchester Point Winooski to Fishing Access Lake Champlain

Difficulty:Easy Length: ~ 10 miles Charlie’s Description: The river is wide and slow Boathouse moving from Winooski to the lake. Although Access Point this part of the Winooski flows through North Avenue the most urbanized area of the state, it hardly feels that way. The river meanders Heineberg through farmlands, wetlands and forests on Rd. Access it last leg to Lake Champlain. One of the most popular fishing and picnic spots on the lower Winooski is located across from the Millyard Access Point at Salmon Hole, known for its walleyed pike, steelhead trout and landlocked salmon. Near the railroad bridge just downstream from the Millyard Access Point is the site of the first European Leddy Park settlement on the Winooski in 1773. Recent archaelogical finds have revealed that Appletree Bay Native Americans had settled the area almost 300 years before the arrival of . Three miles downstream on the left is the Ethan Allen Homestead. The Winooski travels through some unique ecological habitats including the McCrea Farm, Derway Island and Half Moon Cove. At the mouth of Lake Champlain 55-acre Delta Lake Champlain Park is home to rare plants and animals.

Put In(s): Ethan Allen Homestead: The Homestead Millyard Canoe Access in Winooski: Take is on Rt 127, which runs from Burlington to Rt 2/Rt 7 or Rt 15 into the center of Winooski. Colchester. From the water, the access is on Exit the traffic circle on to Canal Street on the left marked by a sign and stairs. the south west corner. Travel about 1/5 mile and make a left hand turn on the access Take out(s): road to the canoe access. Rt 127/Heineburg Road Boat Access: There is a boat access on the north west corner of the Rt 127.

26 Key

Access Point

Rapids Bridge

Railroad Trestle Campground

Winooski Valley 2 Park District

Ethan Allen Homestead Access Point Winooski Intervale 2

Winooski Millyard Canoe 1 Dam Access Point

W. Canal St. Winooski Falls Riverside Ave.

Salmon Hole Fishing Area Colchester Point Fishing Access: The Charlies Boat House on Lake Champlain: boat access is off of Windemere Way in a Paddlers can reach Charlie’s by heading left residential section of Colchester. Visit the at the mouth of the river. To arrive at this VT Fish and Wildlife Department website for access point by car, take North Avenue from a map and detailed directions. Burlington until it dead ends.

27 View from above Bolton

Charles Fish Dam. Charles Fish Charles Fish

The historic Plainfield Mill dam. Middlesex bedrock folds Barbara Borowske Barbara

“Hugo” Rapid below Middlesex Dam

28 Geomorphology: The Shape of a River Corridor By Bradley Materick

iver geomorphology is the study of the shape of rivers and the Rsurrounding land with which they interact (their corridors). When planning human development and activities within a river corridor, from flood control to the construction of roads and buildings, it is essential to understand a river’s shape and how it changes over time. On a seasonal timescale, we know that the Winooski River is very dynamic. With spring rains and snowmelt, water levels Champlain were to drop, the Winooski rise and currents accelerate. Eventually, would also begin to erode downwards, water overtops the banks and floods the abandoning its current floodplain and flat land bordering the river (its floodplain). creating a new, lower floodplain. Terraces Through the summer, water levels drop along the Winooski are actually old steadily, changing the character of rapids abandoned floodplains, evidence that Lake and exposing new obstacles with each Middlesex bedrock folds Champlain was once much deeper than it passing day. In winter, the river could be is now. a flat sheet of ice or a shifting jumble of These processes can pose a threat to icebergs. human structures and activities. In the On a timescale of decades, the short term, annual flooding can damage Winooski is perhaps even more dynamic, crops and structures. In the longer term, completely changing its shape and radically migrating meanders can erode away a altering the land through which it flows. significant amount of land, threatening The two most important processes that buildings and roads and reducing cause these changes are lateral meandering agricultural acreage. In response, we and downward erosion. A meander is have tried to control or even halt these simply a bend in the river. Water flows processes with flood control dams, fastest and deepest towards the outside bank hardening with riprap, and other of a bend, steadily eroding the bank methods. However, these methods create and causing the bend to migrate in this serious ecological problems of their own. direction (see diagram). At the same time, Future planning for human activities in slower water flowing around the inside of a the Winooski’s corridor should respect bend deposits sediment, steadily building the dynamic nature of the river and plan up a point bar. If the water level in Lake development accordingly.

29 Birds of the Winooski: A Responsibility to Conserve By Bradley Materick

ou do not need to be an expert Eastern Wood-Pewee birder to notice and appreciate the This is a slender bird, averaging 6.5 Ydiversity and abundance of birdsong inches from beak to tail. Its back is olive- along the Winooski River. To help novice gray and its chest and wing bars are dusky birders gain a better understanding of our white. When state’s birdlife, the Vermont chapter of the aroused, its head National Audubon Society created the feathers come to Birder’s Dozen, a suite of twelve species a distinct point. It that are relatively easy to identify by sight song sounds much and/or song. These birds are considered like its name, a Responsibility Species because the bulk plaintive, high- of their breeding habitat is located in New pitched PEEawee. England and it is therefore our responsibility to conserve this habitat. Audubon believes White-throated Sparrow that conserving habitat for these particular This is a sparrow-sized bird, averaging birds will simultaneously benefit many other 6.75 inches from beak to tail, with a bright species of plants and animals that depend white throat patch, black and white stripes on the same habitat. Below are four species on its head, and from the Birder’s Dozen that are commonly yellow patches seen and heard along the length of the in front of its Winooski. eyes. Its song, birders say, Chestnut-sided Warbler sounds like Old This is a distinctive bird, averaging Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody. 5 inches from beak to tail, with a bright yellow crown, black “moustache” stripes, Veery and streaks of chestnut-red along its sides. This is a plain-looking, robin-sized bird Birders say its song sounds like Pleased, with a magical pleased, pleased to MEET YOU! song. Averaging 7 inches from beak to tail, it is reddish-brown above and bright white below with a weakly spotted chest. Its song is an ethereal, descending spiral of flute-like notes.

30 Furtive Fauna: Reptiles and Amphibians of the Winooski River By Bradley Materick

ou are not likely to see many Eastern Painted Turtle reptiles or amphibians in the main This species is common to rivers, lakes, Ychannel of the Winooski. Out in the and ponds and can reach 6 inches in open water they are dangerously exposed length. The to predatory fish, birds, and mammals such carapace (top as mink and river otters. An exception shell) is smooth would be the well-armored turtles, which black or dark you may see nonchalantly basking on olive with bright logs and rocks in the river. You will need red markings to explore the river’s edges, as well as along the edges where it meets the habitats bordering the river, in order to find plastron (bottom shell). Red and yellow most cold-blooded critters. Where water stripes on the head, neck and front legs aid is shallow and stagnant, allowing marsh in identification. plants to become established, you may find frogs and salamanders hiding. In the Northern Leopard Frog dense underbrush along the river, snakes This attractive frog can grow up to 5 hunt those same frogs and salamanders, inches long and has irregular, dark spots on as well as small mammals, insects, and a background of green or brown. Each spot even bird eggs. Wetlands associated with is outlined with a light ring. Two prominent the Winooski River, such as oxbow lakes ridges (dorsolateral ridges) run down its and floodplain forest, are also havens for back. It can be reptiles and amphibians, and are especially confused with the important during the spring breeding pickerel frog which season. Below are four species you may has rectangular find with some careful searching. spots and bright yellow inner thighs. Garter Snake A beautiful snake, growing up to Northern Spring Salamander 30 inches long, the garter is common This large species grows up to 8 inches throughout Vermont. It has three stripes long and is pink to reddish with black down its length that vary in color from mottling. It prefers clear, cold, well- yellow to tan to greenish. Its body is black, oxygenated streams that flow into the brown, or Winooski. dark green, often with a checkered pattern.

31 More Than a River: The Winooski Wetlands Complex By Bradley Materick

he Winooski River is embedded The Function of Wetlands within a diverse complex of Wetlands in the Winooski River corridor Tinterconnected aquatic and wetland perform several important ecological natural communities that work together functions. They absorb rain and snowmelt to maintain the health and stability of the and release it slowly into streams and rivers, entire river corridor and its inhabitants. reducing flood flows in the Winooski and preventing damage from erosion. Some The Diversity of Wetlands absorbed water also percolates deep into Within the confines of the riverbanks, the earth, recharging groundwater supplies. several distinct wetland communities Wetlands capture sediment, nutrients, can be found. Exposed sand, gravel, and and pollutants before they reach the river, mud bars represent ephemeral wetlands protecting water quality in the Winooski. hosting unique plant species that are able Marsh habitats along the river serve as to cope with their substrate being washed breeding areas for several species of fish and away every year during spring runoff. In amphibians, as well as sheltered nurseries shallow, stagnant backwaters and bays for their young. Flooded forests and even along the river, marsh vegetation including agricultural fields attract other breeding reeds, sedges, cattails, pickerelweed, amphibians such as wood frogs and spring and arrowhead are able to take root. The peepers. Numerous reptiles, birds, and native floodplain forest growing along the mammals also depend on wetlands for all or river is inundated every spring and during part of their life cycles. Although wetlands major rain events, and a new layer of fine comprise less than 10% of Vermont’s land sediment is deposited, building the soil’s area, they host 35% of our threatened and fertility. Only certain plants can tolerate endangered plant species, and 21% of our this annual flooding, including silver threatened and endangered animals. maple and ostrich fern. As the Winooski The Winooski’s wetlands face a variety meanders over the years, it creates new of threats. They are often cleared for channels and abandons old channels. agriculture due to their desirably flat These old channels, being lower than the topography and fertile soils. They are being surrounding floodplain, are typically wetter invaded by several species of non-native and will host marshes, sedge meadows, or plants that outcompete and replace native shrub swamps. Where a meander forms vegetation. Dams along the Winooski have a complete loop, the river will eventually flooded upstream wetland communities, break through the narrow strip of land and they trap sediments and change where the channel almost meets itself, annual flooding patterns downstream, flowing straight again and leaving behind radically altering the very processes that a crescent-shaped pond, an oxbow, that create and maintain the wetlands that provides yet more wetland habitat. make the Winooski River corridor what it is. 32 Quiet Invasion: Managing Non-native Plants Along the Winooski River By Bradley Materick

s you paddle peacefully along of ostrich fern. The town of Richmond, the Winooski, it might be hard the Richmond Land Trust, and the Nature Ato believe that an invasion is Conservancy manage significant parcels of happening all around you. It is a silent floodplain forest along this section of the invasion of non-native plants that are slowly Winooski. but steadily outcompeting and replacing native vegetation in the unique natural Invasives in the Floodplain communities that cloak the riverbanks. Invasive exotic The Town of Richmond is an example of a plants are those community that has come together with a non-native plants deliberate plan to manage invasive species with an ability along its segment of the river. to significantly disrupt native The Floodplain Forest habitats. These Richmond contains large plants often have remnants of what is now no native predators a very rare natural and their growth community, the habits allow them to Silver Maple- outcompete native Ostrich Fern plants for space, sunlight and/or nutrients. Floodplain Forest. In Richmond’s floodplain forest, invasives This type of forest include Japanese knotweed, garlic once lined most of the mustard, goutweed, dame’s rocket, major rivers in Vermont, but it common reed, honeysuckle, barberry, has been largely cleared for agriculture, its multiflora rose, Oriental bittersweet, and rich soils and flat topography being highly moneywort. Working together with the desirable. As its name implies, Silver maple Nature Conservancy’s Wise On Weeds! is the dominant tree in this community, but Program, the town of Richmond and the it is also home to American and slippery Richmond Land Trust have developed a elm, cottonwood, hackberry, and box elder. Weed Management Plan with the goal of Ostrich fern, with fronds resembling the preserving the integrity of the floodplain large feathers of an ostrich, often forms an forest through management of the invasive unbroken groundcover and wood nettles plants listed above. In some cases, there are abundant in patches. Fiddleheads, a is hope that a particular invasive species northeastern spring delicacy, are actually can be eradicated in time. In other cases, the newly emerging and still coiled fronds continued on page 38 33 Hidden World: Aquatic Life in the Winooski River By Bradley Materick

his section of the Winooski is a fitting fingernail clams, and mussels. Several place to consider the creatures that species of endangered mussels make their Tthrive below the river’s surface and home in the Lower Winooski below Salmon the complex relationships they have formed Hole, including fragile papershell, pink with humans. Each fall, for example, heelsplitter, pocketbook, and fluted shell. landlocked salmon and steelhead rainbow In the colder upper reaches of the river, trout enter the mouth of the Winooski endangered eastern pearlshell mussels from Lake Champlain and swim upstream make their home, with some individuals towards their ancestral spawning grounds. living up to 75 years! However, they are thwarted early in their journey by the Winooski Dam One, located Fish in downtown Winooski. Since 1993, in an Anglers call this section of the effort to mitigate this situation, a fish lift Winooski the “Waterbury Zoo,” due to the service has captured salmon and trout abundance and trophy sizes of fish living below Winooski Dam One and trucked here. Non-native rainbow and brown trout, them upriver as far as Bolton Falls Dam, introduced in the 1800s, have established which is the endpoint of this section. wild populations in the main channel and larger tributaries. Our only native Aquatic Macroinvertebrates stream trout, the , prefers cool, Macroinvertebrates are animals with shaded mountain streams throughout the no backbone Winooski watershed. Other well-loved that are large game fish include perch, walleye, large- and enough to see smallmouth bass, and landlocked Atlantic with the naked salmon. eye. Although Among the threats to aquatic life in the these creatures Winooski, dams were mentioned above. In may escape our addition to blocking fish migration, dams notice, there are well over 1000 species of flood upstream spawning grounds and macroinvertebrates living below the surface may bury downstream spawning grounds of the Winooski and forming the essential continued on page 38 base of a food web that sustains all animal life along the river. The majority of these species are the larvae of insects such as dragonflies, damselflies, stoneflies, caddis flies, mayflies, beetles, water bugs, and true flies. Other invertebrate groups include worms, leeches, sowbugs, isopods, snails, 34 Muddy Footprints: Mammal Tracking Along the Winooski By Bradley Materick

s water levels in the Winooski River Northern Raccoon fall through the paddling season, Raccoons and their distinctive tracks— Aextensive mud flats are revealed, like tiny human hands—are abundant along especially along lower sections of the river. the Winooski. Mud flats may seem like a terrible incon- Front tracks Front venience when you step out of your canoe are 2-3 inches and sink to your knees in sticky silt and clay long and 1.5-3 sediments that threaten to confiscate your inches wide footwear. To a tracker, however, mud flats with five claw- Rear are a gold mine! While we rarely see the shy tipped toes. and elusive mammals that inhabit the Win- Rear tracks, ooski River corridor, mud flats can present us also five-toed, show a longer heel pad and with a record of their passage in the form of range from 2-4 inches long and 1.5-2.5 tracks and other signs. Soft silt and clay with inches wide. the right amount of moisture can preserve a set of tracks perfectly, often showing fine Northern River Otter details such as claw marks, fur impressions, Otters are webbing between toes, and even finger- the largest prints! It can be a rewarding experience to members of the Front stop and explore the Winooski’s mud flats weasel family during your paddling journey. Just be sure in Vermont. your shoelaces are tightly tied! Tracks have Rear five toes, the American Beaver front being Beavers are the world’s second largest 2-3 inches in width and length. A small rodents and heel pad may show in the front track. Rear their tracks are tracks show an arched palm pad and are correspondingly 2-4 inches in length and width. Webbing large: the rear track Front may show between the toes in deeper mud. ranges from 5-7 inches long and You may also see the tracks of white- 3-5 inches wide. Rear tailed deer, coyote, red fox, striped skunk, Webbing is often mink, and short- and long-tailed weasels. visible between the five toes of the rear track. The tracks shown above were taken from Also look for worn troughs in the riverbank Mammal Tracks and Sign: A Guide to where beavers enter and exit the water. North American Species, by Mark Elbroch, Although beavers do not build dams across an excellent resource for novice and the Winooski, they do live and forage here. experienced trackers alike. 35 Bobcat Betrothals by Susan C. Morse

esterday a warm mid-March sun Instead, I circled around to the other side shone upon a few inches of fresh of the bony ridge to pick up his trail. I’ve Ysnow. By nightfall, it was cold encountered this pattern hundreds of times again and starry clear – perfect for bobcat all over Vermont. Bedsites, called “lays,” courtship. are safely sequestered atop ledges or Evidence of last night’s wildcatting precarious talus jumbles facing the south/ activities were all about. Over the years, southwest, where the winter sun provides I’ve gotten to know a certain tom-bobcat’s much-appreciated warmth. tracks, and whenever I encounter them, Times are good for bobcats, especially in I’ll poke along for a spell to see what he’s valley and foothill habitats — much better been up to. I always backtrack him – out than earlier in the twentieth century, when of respect for his privacy and his absolute over-hunting, destruction of habitat, and need not to be harassed, frightened, a paucity of prey severely limited their or forced to expend precious energy, numbers. In addition to stricter game especially during late winter’s season of laws, bobcats now benefit from access to potential food shortage and deep snow. lower-elevation habitats, thanks to the The tom’s tracks led me back towards re-growth and re-connection of countless his refugia among high cliffs and talus. thousands of acres of forest cover. Such I purposefully did not intrude there. habitats are often more supportive than Photo © Susan C.Photo © Susan Morse

Bobcat resting on a remote Winooski Valley cliff. 36 higher elevation sites are, offering bobcats were the most revealing. She was more easier living in the winter and a greater focused on hunting than reproduction, abundance and diversity of prey. People slinking from patch of cover to patch of mistakenly believe that bobcats feast cover, tree to stump to rock. primarily on snowshoe hare; they actually She’d flatten herself behind a log and are predator generalists, and the overall position herself to peer around looking for diversity and abundance of their prey prey from a concealed place. In contrast to species have increased in recent decades. the tom’s destination-driven, swaggering Typical bobcat prey includes small rodents, trail, with sex messages liberally sprayed all gray squirrels, turkeys, ruffed grouse, over the place, the female was cryptic and porcupines, cottontail rabbits, beavers, and careful. occasionally deer. The recovery of beavers Her “modus operandi” in deep snow is and their associated wetland habitats to get above it all and carefully conserve throughout the Winooski River watershed her energy by walking along fallen logs have been a boon to bobcats. and even skinny branches, which she This is not to say that the bobcats are negotiated with feline grace and balance. completely in the clear. While our forest The bobcat is special – quintessentially cover in Massachusetts and throughout wild yet wonderfully near us. No different has expanded greatly during than the leopard or the lion, the wide- the past century, that increase has come to ranging bobcat walks, naps, hunts, and an end. New housing and busier roads are finds a mate in a vast matrix of habitats encroaching on our forestlands, whittling that must be conserved if this and so many away at prime lowland bobcat habitat and other species are to survive. Walk along a threatening the corridors that link these bobcat’s backtrail for the day, and you’ll get habitats together. the picture – it’s the big picture. The tom’s tracks showed that, at sundown, the napping cat had abandoned Portions of this article first appeared in his bed and headed out for a date and Vermont’s Rutland Herald and The Times possibly a nice meal in the forest and Argus, made possible by the Wellborn wetlands below. Along the way, the Ecology Fund. sometimes-hurrying tom’s tracks frequently stopped, backed up, or paused beside Founder and Director of KEEPING TRACK®, rotten stumps or the undersurfaces of logs Susan C. Morse, is a nationally recognized or conifer boughs. If you kneel down at wildlife ecologist and tracker. KEEPING such places and sniff the surface facing the TRACK® (www.keepingtrack.org) offers hindfoot tracks, you’ll detect the distinctive field workshops for citizen science pungent odor of cat urine. “Elixir de kitty!” volunteers, biologists, land managers, Three hours and nearly four miles later, I transportation agency personnel, and land decided to backtrack an older set of female trust leaders. Our workshops provide bobcat tracks, hoping they would lead me hands-on experience with science- back to where I started. Her smaller feet, based tracking and wildlife monitoring shorter strides, and relatively infrequent techniques which yield information critical scent-marking activities provided clues to successful conservation planning and regarding her gender, but her behaviors preservation of wildlife habitat.

37 Non-native Plants with local businesses and non-profits to continued from page 33 engage scores of volunteers in the difficult work of cutting and pulling weeds. During the best approach is to focus on keeping one event, the local bakery and cafe On a particular invasive from spreading more the Rise used garlic mustard pulled by than it already has. The Land Trust and volunteers to make a tasty pesto sauce! the Conservancy have worked creatively

Aquatic Life Poor water quality and invasive species such continued from page 34 as Didymo (also called “rock snot”) and the parasitic sea lamprey are additional ongoing with pulses of released sediment. Water concerns. Finally, there is continuing debate temperature regimes upstream and about the effects of fish stocking on the downstream can also be radically altered. genetics of wild fish populations. Nemethy Andrew

38 Friends of the Winooski River would like to thank Orvis for their generous support of the Winooski River Sojourn.

39 The Friends of the Winooski River wishes to thank our sponsors and donors:

Printing of this guide was donated by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. Brad Howe Brad

40 The Friends of the Winooski River are committed to the restoration and protection of the Winooski River and its watershed. To that end, the Friends implement many types of projects including riparian and stream bank restoration, water quality monitoring, rain water harvesting projects, and landowner stewardship including the facilitation of conservation easements and planning. We work in partnership with a wide range of organizations from local volunteer groups, businesses and town leaders to state and federal agencies in order to leverage resources and expertise. Since most people relate to the river on a scale smaller than the Winooski as a whole, we work on a tributary basis to maximize local input and involvement. The vision and energy of the local community are critical factors to any watershed protection effort.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Winooski River or getting involved with the Friends, please visit us as www.winooskiriver.org, email info@ winooskiriver.org or call 802-882-8276.

41 PO Box 777 Montpelier, VT 05602 802-882-8276 [email protected] www.winooskiriver.org Tim Seaver Tim