Restoration Roundup

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.