The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources’ River Management Program (RMP) promotes the planning, designing, and protecting of river corridors that will accommodate stream meander and floodplain processes as the most economically and environmentally sustainable river management alternative.

 The River Management Program provides technical assistance to restoration projects that establish or encourage natural river stability.

Stability is defined as the ability of a stream, over time and in the present climate, to transport the flow and sediment of its watershed in such a manner that it maintains its dimension, pattern, and profile without aggrading or degrading.

A commitment to riparian corridor protection is an essential component of any river restoration project. The River Management Program envisions a time when the protection and wise management of river corridors will diminish the need for river restoration projects.

Corridor Planning

A goal of the River Management Program is to manage toward, protect, and restore the fluvial geomorphic equilibrium condition of Vermont rivers by resolving conflicts between human investments and river dynamics in the most economically and ecologically sustainable manner.  River corridor planning is conducted in Vermont to remediate the river instability that is largely responsible for erosion conflicts, increased sediment and nutrient loading, and a reduction in river habitat. 

 The River Management Program has developed a technical corridor planning guide that provides the:

• river science and societal benefits of managing streams toward equilibrium conditions;
• methods for assessing and mapping stream geomorphic conditions;
• methods for identifying and prioritizing river corridor protection and restoration projects;
• methods for examining project feasibility and negotiating management alternatives; and
• information on current programs available to Vermont landowners, towns, and other interested parties to implement river corridor protection and restoration projects.     

Through funding and technically supporting the project identification and development process described in the Corridor Planning Guide, the RMP hopes to engage, support, and cost share project implementation with its partners with a more common understanding of current stream and watershed conditions and a more unified commitment to the benefits derived from a fluvial process-based program.   

Corridor Planningl Resources

• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources River Corridor Planning Guide ( pdf, 976 KB)
• Example Corridor Plan for the Town of Castleton (pdf, 276 KB)
• Example Corridor Plan for the LaPlatte River (pdf,  5213 KB)
• River Management Projects - Report Listings (pdf, 92 KB)

Additional Resources (Fact Sheets)

• River Management Program White Papers (pdf, 14KB)
• Alternatives for River Corridor Management (pdf, 818 KB)
• Managing Toward Stream Equilibrium (pdf, 216 KB)
• Conservation of River Corridor Lands : Municipal incentives proposal (pdf, 132 KB)
• Fluvial Erosion Hazard Municipal Guide (pdf, 746 KB)

Protection

The River Corridor Protection Program, under development by the ANR River Management, is intended to provide funding for the purchase of river channel management rights within the meander belt width corridors of sensitive and erosive streams.  The purpose of the Program is to reduce conflict with unstable streams and maximize the public benefits associated with geomorphically stable streams and floodplains.  Priority will be given to those projects, identified in river corridor plans which protect or restore the flow, sediment, and nutrient attenuation areas within Vermont river basins.  Channel management rights are purchased as part of a stand alone easement or as an amendment to other land conservation easements.  The width and configuration of river corridors are defined by the Vermont River Management Program to accommodate the natural processes, meander pattern and slope of the stream in its equilibrium condition.  Upon selling the channel management rights, the landowner would be restricted from intervening with erosion and channel adjustments within the corridor.  River corridor easements may be transacted as part of larger river restoration projects and in conjunction with the other conservation practices and programs.  Agriculture and silviculture will be permitted within the river corridor easement area. 

Additional Protection Resources:

• Corridor Protection as a Restoration Tool (pdf, 115 KB)

The Vermont DEC River Management Program (RMP) has produced the Trout River Project Report to explain the process that was used to complete a multi-partner, multi-objective river restoration project in Vermont. The report contains the necessary details for watershed groups and resource agencies to understand the project components and some of the principles and applied methods that are used to complete natural channel restoration projects.

The report uses monitoring data to evaluate the status of project goals and objectives. While the DEC and its partners largely believe, at this time, that the project is a success, there have been numerous lessons learned. The report attempts to explain these lessons and provide a status report on structures and design.

Trout River Report (pdf, 6.8 MB) (appendixes are seperate files)
    Table of Contents:
• History and Description of the Trout River Restoration Project In Montgomery, Vermont
• New Solution
• Developing a Work Plan, a Team, and Project Funding
• River Assessment Results and Project Goals
• Design Criteria & Natural Channel Design
• Bank and Buffer Vegetation
• Permits and Construction
• Goals and Objectives: Status Report
• Appendixes:
Appendix A: Plan View Design Drawings (pdf, 432 KB)
Appendix B: Channel Structures, Typical Design Drawings & Photographs (pdf, 1.9 MB)
Appendix C: Pre, Post, and One-Year Post Construction Monitoring Data (pdf, 200 KB)
Appendix D: Pre and Post Construction Monitoring Photographs (pdf, 3.7 MB)

Updated: July 2007