Editor’s note: This commentary is by Deb Markowitz, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and Vicky Drew, state conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
[O]n Aug. 28, we will observe the fifth anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene. As we take time to remember the many Vermont communities, families and businesses that were impacted by the storm, we can also see how far we have come to ensure that we are better prepared for the next big storm. We should also celebrate the many people who are contributing to our future resilience, including the Des Marais family in Brandon, and recognize that many of the investments we make to protect our communities from flooding will also help us clean up our polluted lakes and ponds.
Irene taught Vermont some hard lessons. In Rutland, 19,000 cubic feet per second of floodwaters tore through the city, severely damaging homes, roads and other infrastructure. Middlebury experienced less than half that volume of water during Irene, and significantly less damage. Why? Because of wetlands. Both the natural and restored wetlands in the Otter Creek Watershed between Brandon and Middlebury soaked up the heavy rain and released it more slowly downstream, resulting in less flooding in Middlebury. It also meant less pollution washed into Lake Champlain.
Jim and Lyn Des Marais own a farm in Brandon. Lyn also works for the Vermont Farm Bureau, where she engages farmers on issues of flood resilience and clean water. The family’s recent enrollment of nearly 500 acres into a wetlands easement program in the Otter Creek Watershed is the largest in Vermont’s history. The conserved wetlands will purify waters by filtering out sediment, support a diversity of waterfowl and migratory birds, and make nearby communities more resilient to extreme weather events.
The conserved wetlands will purify waters by filtering out sediment, support a diversity of waterfowl and migratory birds, and make nearby communities more resilient to extreme weather events.
Wetlands are an essential part of Vermont’s plan to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s pollution reduction targets for Lake Champlain. The plan takes an all-in approach, extending to agricultural lands, paved roads, gravel roads, wastewater treatment facilities, parking lots, developed parcels, forests and wetlands. New clean water laws, like the Vermont Clean Water Act of 2015, and rules, like the Agency of Agriculture’s Required Agricultural Practices, have increased pressure on farms to reduce runoff into Vermont’s waters. The Des Maraises are an example of a farming family going above and beyond to protect water quality, while supporting proven flood resilience strategies.
Historically, Vermont has lost 35 percent of its wetlands to development and agriculture. Today, wetlands make up only 5 percent of the state’s total land area. Wetlands are nature’s way of purifying polluted waters. Restoring lost wetlands and protecting existing wetlands is therefore a critical part of the Vermont strategy to clean up our lakes and streams.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has protected and restored 4,300 acres of wetlands throughout the state in the last 20 years. When landowners want to restore wetlands that had been drained for agricultural use, NRCS will pay the costs of restoration and will protect the land in perpetuity with a conservation easement.
At the Agency of Natural Resources we have also expanded our assistance to landowners who choose to restore wetlands, and we have targeted critical wetlands for additional protections, as part of our implementation of Vermont’s wetlands rules and the new Clean Water Initiative.
We applaud the Des Maraises for their leadership. Our water quality and communities will greatly benefit from their decision.
