Lake and Watershed Action Plan
Lake Fairlee has been selected as one of two Vermont lakes to develop a Lake and Watershed Action Plan. The $30,000 grant is funded by the Vermont Clean Water Initiative Program (CWIP) through the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Work is just beginning on the plan with a final report anticipated in the spring of 2023.
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The Purpose of a Lake and Watershed Action Plan (LWAP)
A Lake and Watershed Action Plan (LWAP) is designed to identify and communicate the problems and fixes within a lake watershed to best protect water quality, wildlife habitat, and the lake’s ecosystem health. These plans answer the questions “what issues threaten the health of our lake the most?” and “what can we do about them?” LWAP Description A Lake Watershed Action Plan (LWAP) is an assessment to identify the greatest threats to the lake ecosystem, including impacts on water quality and wildlife habitat from stormwater runoff and from altered, cleared, or converted shorelands. LWAPs are designed to answer specific concerns about each lake, for example, what land uses within the watershed cause the greatest stress to a lake ecosystem. Each lake has different land use patterns and understanding exactly which ones are causing degradation to the lake will help guide restoration and protection efforts. The LWAP assesses and compares the varying land uses and provides a ranking of the greatest threats to the lake along with recommendations for fixing the problems. A LWAP combines an assessment of a lake’s shoreland, tributaries, and hydrologically connected roads and leads to an individual planning guide that prioritizes restoration and protection actions for that lake. A LWAP can also help identify cumulative impacts on a lake ecosystem, thereby helping lake stakeholders “see the bigger picture” and identify situations where the combination of individual stressors may be leading to declines in lake health. A LWAP is an investigation into potential threats to the lake’s ecosystem health, and the process should be participatory with the lake association or similar local organizations, lake users, shoreland owners, the Towns, and other stakeholders or interested groups and people. A LWAP Final Report will also include a list of prioritized problems and solutions and provide a table of projects. |
A Watershed is…all the land area that drains to a common body of water. This includes the streams and runoff from all land uses in the area draining into Lake Fairlee. Lake Fairlee's watershed is predominantly in W. Fairlee, but includes parts of Thetford, Fairlee, and even a small corner of Vershire and Corinth.
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- For a comprehensive look at what constitutes a LWAP, download the Vermont DEC's Technical Guide for Conducting a LWAP
- To view a recording of the 11/18/21 LWAP kickoff meeting led by Lisa Niccolai, Conservation Specialist, White River Conservation District and Amy Picotte, Lakeshore Manager, VT DEC, go to this link: LWAP Kickoff Meeting. You may need to download the recording to your computer to watch.