Natural Resources Assessment
As a part of our locally-led conservation planning efforts, conservation districts are advised to complete a Natural Resources Assessment. Conducted every few years, this assessment seeks to record the unique natural resources in our area and the types of resource concerns present.
Assessing the local natural resources assets and condition is one of the core statutory responsibilities of Vermont Natural Resources Conservation Districts. NRCDs use these assessments to build work plans and program development to facilitate conservation projects from data collection, to project development, to implementation to address natural resource concerns in the county.
In preparation for our Locally Led Workgroup meeting in 2025, we updated some of our Natural Resource Assessment. Here are some of the highlights.
-- Population: 5% increase - Development as a resource concern for us to think about.
** Need more TA programs and services for new landowners.
** Need more connections and work with the real estate community.
-- We drive a lot - we are strapped for time, less likely to engage, we have more carbon pollution. NOTE:
--Land base numbers :the data sets where these numbers came from are not apples to apples... but this is to give you a sense of the counties land use.
-- Half of the ag acreage is in current use.
-- Most of the county is forested.
Soils
-- Top 3 soils in the County are:
1. Cabot Silt loam
2. Tunbridge - Fun fact VT state- mostly on the spine of the greens
3. Vershire lumbardCabot and Vershire, along with many other soils in the county, are C and D hydrogroup soils. Hydrodrogroups - this relates to the soils infiltration ability which indicates the amount of runoff.
-- We are a wet county with high runoff potential. Water :
--6 main stems, including 2 Canadian river watersheds in Derby & Holland.
--We have the most amount of lakes than any other county in VT.
--7 impaired rivers
--2 impaired ponds
--2 TMDLsLanduses:
--10 farms with over 1000
It is a Strategic objective of the OCNRCD to work with Large Farms and Annual Crop Growers that manage 2% of the ag land in the county.
-- We have a short and challenging growing season... can make conservation adaptations challenging in an already challenging ag industry.Populations:
-- We need to do a better job connecting to the 5% non white.
-- Homeownership at 80% -- that's a lot of folks who likely also own land and who make land management decisions.
-- Education Level - conservation professionals and planners need to consider this in community engagement work.
Less dairies
More veg
More taps-
We think there are more new and small farms than these numbers capture.