Leahy: New Grant At Granville Will Help Restore White River Habitat For Trout And Atlantic Salmon (And Canoes)

August 13, 1999

(Aug. 13, 1999) -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and the U.S. Forest Service will team up with the White River Partnership to help restore river corridors in Granville, Vermont, to improve fish habitats and control flooding, according to Sen. Patrick Leahy.

The Granville project will receive $25,000 to restore riparian habitat and stabilize channelized sections of the river – steps that will improve conditions for trout and Atlantic salmon while limiting future flooding. The grant, an installment in an overall $131,500 project to improve the White River watershed, is one of 10 new local restoration grants nationwide, totaling $150,000, that NOAA and ASA will formally announce next week.

"These improvements are smart stewardship, and this partnership gives us a tremendous bang for each buck," said Leahy. "This project will add several layers of the river's value to Granville and other communities, ranging from recreation to flood protection."

The project site in Granville has been channelized, bermed and dredged several times over the last three decades, leaving the river vertically and horizontally unstable and lacking pools, in- stream fish habitat and shade. The 1998 flood brought added damage to the river in Granville and nearby communities. The White River watershed spans 450,000 acres covering 21 central Vermont towns. The White River Partnership was formed in 1996 as an alliance of citizens, conservation groups and natural resource agencies to help local communities with the long-term cultural, economic and environmental health of the watershed. One of the partnership's goals is to restore river corridors by drafting and implementing a restoration action plan drawn from citizen participation. The White River watershed recently was selected as one of the 12 National Watershed Showcase projects as part of the President's Clean Water Action Plan. The White River is also a special focus area of the Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, for its free- flowing nature and its importance to the Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program.

NOAA and the American Sportfishing Association's FishAmerica Foundation [NO SPACE BETWEEN THE TWO WORDS] and the U.S. Forest Service are partnering with landowners, community members and state and federal agencies to stabilize the river channel. Some of the steps to be taken in the overall project include restoring fish habitat for Atlantic salmon, several species of trout, and planting native vegetation to stabilize the streambanks. Recreational canoeing will be enhanced through improved stream bed design. The project, budgeted at $131,500, includes three distinct reaches of the White River, each requiring different restoration methods.