MWA’s Restoration, Conservation, Enhancement, and Watershed Improvement Projects
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Stream and Floodplain Restoration on the Johns River
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.
Brook trout populations spike after state program adds wood to streams
Strategic wood addition efforts have increased the number of brook trout in the northeast corner of the state by 83,000 over the past 13 years, according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s conservative estimates. Rodgers admits that, when strategic wood additions are first installed, “it is pretty ugly.” There are limbs and leaves everywhere, and you can barely see the stream under trees, she said. But the structure naturalizes quickly and makes the river ecologically healthier.
According to Kratzer, the department likes to say that “fish grow on trees,” — the living forest provides benefits that continue when trees die and fall into the water, whether the process be natural or human-assisted.Stormwater Management at Home
Pollution entering our nearby water bodies via storm drains and impervious surfaces comes from many sources, and residential runoff is a significant contributor. Don’t let stormwater be the bad guy – use the tips below to help minimize pollution at home and positively impact the ecosystems that surround you!
Recruiting and Training for Cyanobacteria Monitors
From the Vermont DEC Website:
Help us monitor for cyanobacteria blooms this summer by becoming a trained monitor! The official cyanobacteria monitoring season will begin on June 26. Monitors will receive a training from DEC staff on how to recognize and report blooms, and commit to monitoring a location on a lake every week for 12 weeks or more on the same day of the week.
Valley Brook Restoration Project
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.
