Bennington County Conservation District

The Bennington County Conservation District is Dedicated to protecting the natural resources and promoting rural livelihoods of Bennington County

The Bennington County Conservation District is Dedicated to Promoting rural livelihoods and protecting natural resources in Southwestern Vermont.

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The Big Picture

Think of all we value in the landscapes that enfold us here in southwestern Vermont:

  • Our streams, rivers and lakes - the clean waters they transport, the opportunities for recreation they provide, the organisms (trout! loons!) that live in them.
  • The forests that cloak our Green Mountains and Taconics - the natural areas and wildlife habitats they represent, the clean air and dark skies they protect, the timber and other resources they offer.
  • Our working farms - the fresh and healthy products of all kinds they make available to us, the agricultural economy they sustain, the scenic vistas they preserve.

The Bennington County Conservation District works to conserve them all, for all of us.

IN THE NEWS

A discussion on Bennington County's working landscapes with Paul Costello of VT Council on Rural Development
The public is invited to join us on Tuesday, May 22, 7 p.m. at the Arlington Town Hall, for a discussion on recent legislative actions affecting agriculture, forestry, and related rural enterprises. The Working Lands Enterprise Investment Bill was sponsored by Paul's organization and many other partners.

The event is hosted by the Bennington County Regional Commission's Working Landscape Committee, the Bennington County Sustainable Forest Consortium, and BCCD.
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The Bennington County Sustainable Forest Consortium (BCSFC) and Northeast Organic Farming Association-VT (NOFA-VT) team up for forest-based service learning projects
The BCSFC and NOFA-VT are partnering with the Manchester Elementary/Middle School this spring in Seeds of Success, an after-school service learning program focusing on forests. For eight weeks, selected sixth-eighth graders from MEMS will join members of the Consortium on guided working visits to various locations around the Northshire. There, they'll be introduced to orchard renovation, forest archaeology, deer habitat, vernal pools, wood products manufacturing, and much more.

Our thanks to Consortium members Alan Calfee, Malcolm Cooper, Carla Fenner, Eric Hansen, Keith Squires, and Chris Stone; NOFA-VT's Scout Proft; and MEMS coordinator Barbara Smith for their work on this initiative.

The BCSFC is coordinated by the Bennington County Conservation District. A grant from the Vermont Community Foundation supports the BCSFC in 2012. See the Sustainable Forest Consortium page on this website for more information.

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Commercial Scale Composting, Public Informational Meeting
December 1, 2011, Bennington College
This meeting was hosted by the Bennington College Environmental Studies Program, the Bennington County Regional Commission, and BCCD. Click here for the flyer.

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Learn how to Be a Batten Kill River Steward.
Hot off the presses is help in caring for your river. (more)