The Poultney Mettowee Natural Resources Conservation District Page

The Poultney Mettowee Conservation District (PMNRCD) was created in 1942 as the first District in Vermont, and continues to work with agricultural producers as well as landowners, communities, youth and the general public on issues related to water quality and natural resource conservation. The 309,000-acre Poultney-Mettowee Watershed is home to 17 Vermont and New York towns. The watershed contains a combination of farmlands, forested areas, villages and rural communities. These areas are home to a diversity of wild and domestic plants and animals including several rare and significant species.

PMNRCD is one of 14 Districts in Vermont as part of the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts. Conservation Districts are political subdivisions of the State of Vermont and function as non-profit municipalities. Districts were created by the federal government in 1939 in response to the Dust Bowl to teach farmers about better soil erosion control methods.

The PMNRCD covers the watershed area for the Poultney and Mettowee Rivers in Vermont. The PMWP works with our partners in New York to encompass the entire watershed through the Poultney Mettowee Watershed Partnership.

Our two aerators have been on farms since April 1 and the activity is increasing the interest among farmers. Watch for information about an on-farm field day in July and details about our seven research plots. Many thanks to the farmers who are letting us conduct field demonstrations and testing and to the funders, the Lake Champlain Basin Program, Environmental Protection Agency and the Northeast SARE Program.

Our annual Lake Education and Action Program is starting up again for the summer. Contact the District for information about lake buffer plantings as we will have a summer crew to help with individual sites in July and August. Buffer plantings are very effective ways to improve lake water quality while beautifying the landscape. See the Welcome Garden at the entrance to Cones Point Rd. in Poultney for examples of beautiful, effective plants.

The LEAP program is open to all homeowners in the Lakes Region of Rutland County.

Water Sampling Program - Volunteers Needed!

Our summer river sampling program will begin on June 3. Contact the district if you can volunteer to help collect samples. We will be sampling multiple sites on the Poultney, Mettowee and Castleton rivers, along with the Hubbardton and Flower Brook tributaries.

Welcome to our summer interns!

We welcome several new staff members from Green Mountain College who will be helping us this summer.

Michael Middleman will be a full-time research assistant helping with four major projects, focusing on GIS mapping and the aerator research.

Steve Carpenter will be conducting an internship with our water sampling program.

Brandon Gowdy will be conducting an internship with the LEAP program.

Special thanks to Satira Lord, a senior who has been volunteering her time to help with research plot setup this spring, and who will continue to help with the research this summer. Also thanks to Chuck Domenie, GMC Watershed Alliance Coordinator who will be helping with our LEAP program.