Restoration Roundup: Recent Episodes
Watershed Forestry Partnership
Alison Adams, the Watershed Forestry Coordinator with University of Vermont Extension, and Liz Woodhull, an undergraduate student at University of Vermont, explore questions and topics related to riparian forests in Vermont. Each episode features an interview with a guest discussing threats to riparian forests, restoration best practices, first-hand experiences of restoration projects, and more.
In episode 19 of Restoration Round Up, Lauren Jennes and Michele Braun speak about their respective parts in a new incentive program for landowners: Stream Wise. Stream Wise is going into its second year of operation and is a program meant to assess, advise, and reward the work landowners do to maintain their privately owned riparian areas. Lauren, working with the Lake Champlain Basin Program, discusses the organization's wider vision and goals while Michele, the Executive Director of Friends of the Winooski River, one of Stream Wise's first community partners, explains what working within this assessment framework and with landowners across the valley is like. Join us for an overview of a new and rapidly growing program that benefits larger riparian systems by starting with what is small and privately stewarded.
Today we welcome Jessica Rubin to the podcast to speak about her research around mycorrhizae and other means to improve plant's phosphorous uptake. Jess, who began this work seven years ago with the start of an ecological resilience service called mycoevolve, expanded her research in pursuit of a second masters degree, resulting in two studies in Vermont where she compared site inoculation, plant selection, and site management to determine the best efficacy for removing phosphorous from the landscape.
Listen in for updates on her research, her methods for keeping farmers and Abenaki people and practices involved, and her hopes for the future of mycorrhizae inclusion in restoration work!
In this episode we speak to Will Eldridge, an aquatic habitat researcher, and Jess Colby, the Riparian Lands Project Coordinator at the Northwood Stewardship Center. Together they explain the process of an ongoing study about direct seeding- a method of planting trees and other plants in reforestation projects that may prove to be a powerful tool. This project, begun by Pete Emerson six years ago, is a massive undertaking by multiple stakeholders across the state and will begin showing fruit this upcoming Spring. Stay tuned to see what takes root!
This episode was directed by Cate Kreider.
In many episodes, we have discussed new things, but pausing to look back at how far restoration efforts have come is valuable as well! Join my conversation with Ron Rhodes, Shawn White, Mike Kline, and Chris Smith, all professionals working with this material for at least ten years, as we discuss the evolution of habitat science and buffer planting, the onset of new challenges, and the hopes for headwaters and further cooperation in the future.
In this episode we speak with Jess Colby, Rob Fitch, and Rhona Thomson about collecting wild seeds for riparian restoration projects. Jess is the Riparian Projects & Forestry Outreach Coordinator with NorthWoods Stewardship Center in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, and Rob and Rhona were on her seed collecting crew this past spring, summer, and fall. We discuss how seed collecting works and why it's important, a very interesting tool called the "Dybvig," collecting seeds from a canoe, and more!
This episode was directed by Cate Kreider.
In this episode we speak with Kathryn Wrigley, Duncan Murdoch, and Leila Faulstich about managing riparian recreational spaces. Kathryn is a Forest Recreation Specialist with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) focusing on the northwest portion of the state; Duncan is the Natural Areas Stewardship Coordinator for the Intervale Center in Burlington, Vermont; and Leila is the Parks Supervisor for the Montpelier Parks and Trees Department. We discuss the role of volunteer projects in educating the public about riparian areas, challenges and mishaps in management of recreational riparian areas, and more!
In this episode we speak with three University of Vermont graduate students. Kate Longfield and Stever Bartlett are both Master’s students in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources working with Dr. Kris Stepenuck. Stephen Peters-Collaer is a PhD candidate in the Rubenstein School working with Dr. Bill Keeton. Stever is studying reed canary grass management in restored riparian ecosystems; Kate is studying the role of government trust in farmer willingness to participate in government-run riparian restoration programs; and Stephen is studying the role downed wood in streams plays in storing carbon in old growth forest ecosystems. We discuss what brought them to their respective research topics, what interesting things they're finding, and what's next for their work.
In this episode we speak with Karina Dailey (Restoration Ecologist, Vermont Natural Resources Council), Shawn Good (Fisheries Biologist, Vermont Fish & Wildlife), and Gabe Bolin (Water Resource Engineer, Stone Environmental) about the removal of the Pelletier Dam in Castleton, Vermont. We talk about this history of this dam, why and how dam removal benefits stream and riparian habitats, and what makes this project unique.
In this episode we speak with Gus Goodwin (Senior Conservation Planner, The Nature Conservancy VT), Shayne Jaquith (Watershed Restoration Scientist, The Nature Conservancy VT), and Kristen Balschunat (Conservation Water Quality Project Manager, Vermont Youth Conservation Corps) about a project TNC has been working on to restore the Hubbardton River Clayplain Natural Area in West Haven, VT using woody additions and revegetation of the riparian areas. We discuss why they're adding wood, how our rivers have gotten to the state they're in, and what the future for this site and other similar sites might look like.
In this episode we sit down with Bret Ladago and Will Eldridge, who both work with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Bret is a fisheries biologist, who’s been working for the VFWD in different capacities for about 20 years and Will has been an aquatic habitat biologist with the VFWD, where he works to protect and restore habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms, for five years. We discuss the importance of riparian forests for supporting freshwater fish populations, how VFWD selects sites to restore, and how riparian forests can help counteract the impact of climate change on aquatic habitats.
This episode was directed by Liz Woodhull.
Following up on our second episode covering the native tree stock shortage, we speak with Jessica Raspitha and McKay Burley, both of whom work at the new Akwesasne Native Plant Nursery in St. Regis, New York. Jessica is the Land Resources Program Manager of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Environment Division and a member of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, and McKay is the newest addition to St. Regis Mohawk Tribe's Land Resources Program as the Plant Nursery Technician. We discuss what it took to start a new nursery during the pandemic, what the goals of the Akwesasne Native Plant Nursery (ANPN) are, as well as the nursery’s role in preserving culturally-important species, like sweetgrass and black ash.
Invasive plants pose a serious threat to the integrity of Vermont’s riparian forests and the success of forest restoration projects, and their impact is only expected to increase as our planet continues to warm. In our new episode of Restoration Roundup, featuring Katie Kain (Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and Ethan Tapper (Chittenden County Forester, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation), we discuss the prevalence of invasive plants and how our contributions to their establishment in our ecosystems means we have a responsibility to face the difficult realities of how to control them. This episode was designed and directed by Liz Woodhull.
When we talk about riparian forest restoration, a big piece of the puzzle is the land it happens on, and usually that land is privately owned. In this episode we speak with three landowners, including one recently-retired vegetable farmer, a dairy farmer, and a retired high school teacher who leases some of his land to a farmer, about their decisions to restore riparian forests on their land. We discuss what led them to make this decision, what was challenging about the project, how their new forests are doing now, and more!
In this episode we speak with Allan Strong and Margaret Fowle about the role riparian forests play in supporting local bird populations. Allan is a professor in the wildlife biology program in The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at UVM. His research focuses on bird conservation and he currently serves as Chair of Vermont’s Endangered Species Committee. Margaret Fowle is a senior conservation biologist with Audubon Vermont; her work includes a variety of bird conservation projects that range from single species recovery and monitoring projects to habitat restoration on public and private lands. Listen to learn more about what practitioners and others can do to keep the birds that rely on these ecosystems thriving. And if you listen to the end, you might even get to hear Dr. Strong’s famous turkey call!
In this episode we interview two scientists from the US Forest Service about efforts to develop disease-resistant elm trees for riparian forest restoration. Both are principal investigators for the American elm disease resistance breeding and restoration program. Dr. Leila Pinchot is a restoration ecologist whose research focuses on the restoration of tree species impacted by non-native pests and pathogens. Dr. Kathleen Knight is an ecologist whose research focuses on the impacts and management of non-native pests and pathogens in forest ecosystems, specifically emerald ash borer and Dutch elm disease.
In this episode we discuss the emerging practice of combining multifunctional agroforestry with riparian buffer restoration. Our guests are Audrey Epp Schmidt from Propagate Ventures and Brenda Lee Sieglitz with the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership. We discuss what agroforestry multifunctional buffers and "extreme" buffers are, the difference between the two, the benefits and challenges of these practices, what work has been done to implement them in the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Champlain regions, and more!
In this episode we speak with Jason Mazurowski about Vermont's pollinator populations and how riparian forests can support them. Jason is an ecologist and naturalist specializing in native pollinator conservation. He teaches courses in field ecology and native pollinators as an adjunct instructor at UVM, and has recently been working on the concept of bee-friendly solar power. He has also been involved in a 10-year bee monitoring study in the Intervale with UVM’s Gund Institute for Environment and Audubon Vermont. We discuss the state of pollinators in Vermont, how and why riparian forests are important to pollinators, the use of herbicides for riparian forest restoration, and more.
In this episode we speak with Annalise Carington and Lynda Prim about the shortage of native trees and shrubs for restoration plantings in Vermont. Annalise is a Conservation Specialist with US Fish & Wildlife and The Intervale Center through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. Lynda is the Manager of the Intervale Conservation Nursery, the largest nursery for native trees and shrubs in Vermont. We discuss recent work quantifying the shortage of native trees for restoration plantings in the state, place it in the context of the national shortage, and explore challenges and opportunities for nursery growers.
In this episode we interview US Forest Service entomologist Patrick Engelken. Patrick studies the effects of emerald ash borer on riparian forests. Emerald ash borer was first discovered in Michigan, where Patrick did his graduate work, in 2002; it was discovered in Vermont in 2018. We discuss how emerald ash borer feeds on ash trees, the impact it has on forest composition and structure, and what restoration practitioners and others can do to help fight the spread of this invasive insect.