Stream Steward Spotlight!

As our 2025 Stream Wise season comes to a close, we are excited to highlight Stream Wise participants Wendy Scott and Al Stirt in this Stream Steward Spotlight!

In 2023, we met Wendy for a Stream Wise Consultation on her property and discussed stream buffers, water quality, and invasive species. The consultation resulted in a tree planting that would expand Wendy and Al's stream buffer to the recommended 50 feet. This tree planting was completely funded through the Trees for Streams program and came at no cost to Wendy and Al. Coordinated and led by Franklin County NRCD, around 900 trees and shrubs have been planted over the past two summers with the help of Wendy, Al, and community volunteers. These new trees will help shade the stream and reduce stream temperatures, reduce erosion along the stream bank, and compete with streamside invasive species. During our tree stewardship visits this summer, we saw hundreds of trees wrapped in protective tree tubes thriving within this new buffer zone.

Dorothy Kinney-Landis doing tree maintenance on the trees and shrubs inside of protective tree tubes

This summer, Franklin County NRCD conducted a follow-up Stream Wise Consultation with Wendy and Al. With the 50 foot buffer in place, natural vegetation filling in the space between trees, and the trees and shrubs being well taken care of, we were exstatic to give Wendy and Al the Stream Wise Award. The Stream Wise Award recgonizes private landowners that maintain wide buffers of native plants along the sections of the rivers and streams that they own to foster stream health and resiliency throughout the Lake Champlain basin. The award is also a great conversation starter between neighbors and helps spread the word about healthy stream practices.

We are delighted that Wendy shares our excitement about the new stream buffer:

"I wanted to let you know that my husband Al and I really appreciate the opportunity to participate in the Streamwise Program offered through Franklin County Conservation District. We now have close to 1,000 trees planted in a 50 foot buffer next to the stream on our land. Over the 2 year process we were always kept informed about what was going to happen and when it would happen. The staff and volunteers who helped to plant the trees were courteous and professional. We were also impressed with the knowledge of the staff regarding the best way to proceed with plantings and Japanese Knotweed removal. We can't say enough good things about how this process worked and we never could have completed such a thorough job of planting trees to protect our stream and the land around it. Thank you so much!"

Wendy Scott and Al Stirt helping plant trees in their new 50 foot buffer!