A shoreland property owner used a best management practice for encapsulated soil lifts to reduce erosion and stabilize the shoreline along Lake Bomoseen; the lifts or terraces also help to protect water quality and recreate wildlife habitat. DEC photo.

Vermont Business Magazine – Nearly 50 acres along the Johns River in Derby—a tributary to Lake Memphremagog and nursery stream for wild trout—is now permanently protected and open to the public as part of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s Johns River Streambank Management Area (SMA).

“The Johns River is make-or-break spawning and nursery habitat for Lake Memphremagog’s wild trout,” said Pete Emerson, Fish Biologist with the department.  “The lake’s different tributaries attract different spawning runs, landlocked Atlantic salmon in the Clyde for example.  Although the Johns River doesn’t have the same name recognition as the Clyde or Willoughby, it’s just as important for wild trout.”

ED BARBER, Staff Writer, The Newport Daily Express
Sep 15, 2024

The third annual Clyde River clean up yielded 50 tires, the front end of a canoe, a children’s toy slide, and a whole lot more junk. On Saturday, 27 volunteers paddled 12 canoes and two kayaks down the river from West Charleston to Little Salem on a mission to clean one small part of the environment. 

A combination of organizations and unaffiliated volunteers worked downriver, searching for material that is not a part of the Clyde River’s natural environment. Two previous events successfully removed debris from the lower section of the river. Saturday’s event focused on a stretch of the river below a series of rapids that hadn’t been touched.

The Memphremagog Watershed Association (MWA) has organized river clean up projects in past years. Three years ago the members decided to restart the event with an original focus on the Clyde River. They teamed with the Orleans County Natural Resources Conservation District (OCNRCD) and Northwoods Stewardship Center to organize this year’s event.