North Troy Wetland Restoration

In far northern Vermont, the Missisquoi River winds and bends through forests and fields just before flowing north into Canada briefly, then back into Vermont and Lake Champlain. The Missisquoi is designated by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources as a “stressed” river and by the Environmental Protection Agency as an “impaired” river due to nutrient runoff and sediment build-up from agricultural practices, riparian vegetation removal and streambank erosion.

This same northern area of Vermont is one of the greatest hopes for restoring a fuller suite of wildlife that existed here centuries ago – to again include species like Canada lynx beginning to repopulate the Northeast Kingdom and, someday, Vermont’s iconic Catamount. This project will enhance critical wildlife access to the Missisquoi River corridor.

Vermont River Conservancy is working to protect the river by buying 50-acres. Formerly in agricultural use, the land has significant frontage on the Missisquoi River and is naturally reverting back to wetlands, creating the chance to convert low-value farmland to high-value wetland — good for water quality and wildlife habitat. We’ll add a conservation easement that would prohibit future development, allow for public access, and ensure that the river will be allowed to shift and move over the course of decades and centuries, regaining its braided channels and wetlands.

And an extra benefit? The two parcels bookend North Troy recreation fields, the wastewater treatment plant, and a hydro dam, offering the possibility for future public access between these multiple riverfront parcels.