Artificial habitat
Shelly Stiles, district manager for the Bennington County Conservation District, said trees removed from the east side of Bennington, where a ramp for the northern leg of the bypass will be constructed, are being hauled to several areas along the Batten Kill to create artificial habitats for trout and other wildlife.
"It goes all the way to the first early settlement in the Batten Kill Valley, when the woods were removed for sheep and then for other agricultural purposes," Stiles said Thursday. "The combination of agriculture and then modern day developments with lawns right up to the banks have all reduced the role of the forest as it relates to the water," Stiles said.
Anglers began noticing a decline in trout in the Batten Kill, one of the most famous brown trout streams in North America. Surveys conducted by the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed the anglers' observations, showing a decline in the number of brown trout by 54 percent. Further studies indicated that the fish did not have enough cover along the river.
As a result, BCCD has been on several habitat restoration projects on the Batten Kill since 1999. Much of the early work focused on stabilizing stream banks. Now the group is working to provide in-stream cover and shelter.
About 120 trees are being trucked from behind a Central Vermont Public Service substation on East Main Street, along with tree tops and other cover. The will be placed in the river after Labor Day, so as not to disrupt anglers and other people using the river recreationally, Stiles said.
The idea is to place the trees and "root wads" in the river, and place the tree tops on top to provide cover and shelter for the fish to lay their eggs.
"Trees along rivers keep the river cool and trout need cool water," Stiles said.
She said the end result will look as if the trees ended up in the river naturally.
"Our goal is to create a mess in the river so it looks like the hand of man never touched it," Stiles said.
Anglers fishing in areas where cover has already been added are seeing dramatic results, according to Stiles.
"To the uneducated eye the difference is just enormous, so to the fish it must be 'wow, where have I found myself?'" she said.
Dean Catellier, with Noel Dydo Inc., which has been contracted to remove the trees and place them in the river, said he expected the work of removing the trees to be completed Friday.
"We've still got a few whole trees that are standing. After that we should be good," he said.
Catellier will also be part of the team that places the trees in the Batten Kill later this year.
Bennington Bypass Project Manager James Harris said the state was happy to be able to help BCCD, the Batten Kill Watershed Alliance and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife with the habitat restoration project.
"We knew that we would have to remove ... the trees so rather than just having them made into wood chips or whatever we thought this would be a good way to use a natural resource," Harris said.
Stiles said she was a bit surprised, but greatly appreciative that the AOT agreed to help. "They were just hugely sympathetic to our needs. Most people who cut trees down want to keep the trees," she said. "One would not think that these huge bureaucracies would help a tiny little conservation group, but they did."