Resilience Like a River: Reflections on the Anniversary of Vermont’s Floods

Back in April, we had planned a day together as a team to visit sites down south and prep for some upcoming tree plantings. As a mostly remote team scattered throughout the state, we look forward to the times we can all get together as a team. This day would be a chance to get our hands in the dirt, reconnect in person, and set things in motion for a busy field season ahead.

Staff photo from September 2024.

But that morning, a couple of things happened all at once: the primary vehicle we were relying on had mechanical issues, and the federal government shut down the AmeriCorps program.

So we regrouped: we weren’t all able to gather in person, but each member of the team put their skills to work to make sure that over 1,500  trees got from their staging area to the seven sites across the state where we would be planting in the coming weeks. It was a relatively insignificant pivot, but one that reminds us: resilience isn’t always dramatic. Sometimes it looks like quick problem-solving, shifting gears, and showing up in a slightly different way to keep the mission moving forward.

We’ve seen this same proactive flexibility on a broader scale in our communities over the past two years. The floods that rolled through in 2023 and 2024 devastated communities throughout Vermont. Roads washed out. Homes were lost. Businesses were forced to shut down. And yet, just as we’ve seen time and again, Vermonters showed up for one another. People dug each other out and, as often happens in the aftermath of disaster, something beautiful emerged: towns, residents, and local leaders began asking not just how to rebuild, but how to adapt. How do we live in relationship with our rivers, even as weather patterns become more extreme and less predictable? How do we rebuild in ways that are both smart and sustainable?

Lamoille River Flooding in early Spring. Allowing rivers to spread out into floodplains slows rivers and protects lands downstream.

Left to their natural patterns, rivers rarely follow a straight path. They shift, bend, and spill into available floodplains. When faced with an obstacle, a river always finds another way. This is resilience: the capacity to respond, adjust, and move forward in innovative ways.

In many ways, community resilience and river health reflect the same truth: strength isn’t about rigidity. It’s about having enough space (whether in a floodplain, a community conversation, or simply over the course of time) to re-imagine and set a new course.

Vermont River Conservancy’s work restoring floodplains and protecting river corridors creates space for rivers to move. Restoring space for a river’s natural flexibility is one of the most effective ways to prepare for the realities of a changing climate. It is rooted in the belief that resilience is possible when systems (natural and human) are given the space to breathe and respond. Like the rivers we steward, we’re committed to responding with creativity, flexibility, and tenacity. 

Right now, we’re building a new prioritization plan to help guide our conservation work, one that weaves together the best available river science with social and economic realities. This means identifying river lands with a unique capacity to store water and slow the river’s force, protecting both ecosystems and downstream communities. But it also means considering the human side of the equation: equity, access, and the voices of those most affected.

As we reflect on our own local experiences with flooding, our hearts are also with the communities in Texas and New Mexico, where recent catastrophic floods have caused immense loss and upheaval. The devastation there is a stark reminder of how vulnerable we all are to the growing impacts of climate change, and how urgently we need to create space, both literally and figuratively, for resilience. Just as rivers need room to rise and recede without overwhelming the places we call home, communities need room to respond, recover, and reimagine how we live alongside water.