BRATTLEBORO — The Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District (NRCD) has received another round of funding for a program called Trees for Streams (TFS) to assist landowners with planting vegetated buffers along rivers, streams, and brooks in Windham County - particularly those affected by Tropical Storm Irene.
The TFS program aims to improve water quality and restore aquatic habitat by preventing erosion and providing shade along damaged water bodies.
Through the program, 80 percent of the costs of establishing a vegetated buffer will be covered, including site selection and design, species selection, planting, and guidance on proper maintenance.
Participating landowners must agree to contribute 20 percent of the project costs and maintain the buffer for 10 years. Applications are evaluated on an ongoing basis as funding allows; plantings are scheduled for this fall and the spring of 2015.
According to Dana Ruppert, project director at the Windham County NRCD, her organization, through TFS, has planted more than 1,800 trees along more than 4,000 linear feet of stream bank on damaged sites in towns such as Brattleboro, Newfane, Wilmington, Wardsboro, and Rockingham.