Collaborating to Enhance an Oxbow Ecosystem in Fairfax

Goose Pond is an oxbow pond rich with wildlife along the Lamoille River. When Flora Hurteau and her late husband conserved land there, they had trees planted along the pond’s edge and the high, eroding river bank. Four years later, though, only a fraction of the trees had survived.

This spring the Franklin Co. Conservation District and U.S. Fish & Wildlife (USFWS) arranged for a crew from the VT Youth Conservation Corps to spend three days clearing competing vegetation from around surviving trees, removing invasive shrub honeysuckle, and planting new trees. The new trees will now receive annual stewardship until they have become established above the height of the tall, dense grasses that surround them. The project is part of an ongoing effort by the District, NRCS, and USFWS to provide more follow-up on tree-planting projects.