Restoration work aims to enhance fish habitat, protect and improve water quality, and increase flood resiliency. While the Johns is the smallest of the four major rivers that flow into Lake Memphremagog, sections of it sustain over 2,000 fish per mile. The restoration project aims to restore natural stream habitat and important flood storage areas on a former farm situated along the river bottom near Beebe Plain.

In July 2025, the Memphremagog Watershed Association (MWA) broke ground on the Upper Salem Hill Brook Restoration Project in Derby. The project is located off Hinman Settler Road on an unnamed Clyde River tributary referred to as Upper Salem Hill Brook. Much of the brook’s headwaters were altered during historic land conversion, including deforestation, dredging, and channelization. To address historic impacts and protect water quality, MWA designed and implemented restoration actions that reduce erosion, restore the stream’s connectivity to its floodplain, enhance wetlands, improve aquatic organism passage, and boost flood resiliency.

In November 2025, the Memphremagog Watershed Association (MWA) wrapped up two more stages of a large-scale stream and floodplain restoration project in Morgan, VT. This project is a continuation of work initiated in 2023 on the newly acquired Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (VFWD) Streambank Management Area (SMA). Phase 1 work included farm reclamation and multiple floodplain and stream restoration activities along Valley Brook and its tributaries. Phase 2 shifts project focus toward restoration opportunities upstream and downstream of the SMA. Ultimately, this includes the replacement of four crossing structures on Valley Brook and planting a woody riparian buffer along several stretches of the stream.

In August 2025, the Memphremagog Watershed Association (MWA) completed a rain garden and stormwater management project at the Glover Town Clerk’s Office. The project aims to treat stormwater runoff while also creating an educational and functional community space. Several stormwater best management practices (BMPs) were installed to filter stormwater runoff from the property before it flows in to the Barton River.

In October 2025, the Memphremagog Watershed Association (MWA) completed the Crawford Brook Restoration Project in Newport. This project takes on a holistic approach to addressing water quality and habitat degradation issues by not only tackling the symptoms but also the sources. Project goals aimed to stabilize two sediment sources, restore floodplain connection and stream habitat complexity, and improve floodwater storage capacity across Crawford Brook.