LCA Projects 2025

Browse the Lewis Creek Association projects we will be taking on in 2025. Click on any of the projects (on the text or map) for more detail.

Kate Kelly

Frogbit removal (Charlotte)

We coordinate volunteers who will remove European frogbit and other non-native invasive plants from Town Farm Bay in Charlotte, where percent coverage of frogbit has successfully been reduced from 50% to less than 5%.

Frogbit removal (Shelburne)

We coordinate volunteers who remove European frogbit, a non-native aquatic invasive species, from the LaPlatte River Natural Area.

Brook Lane Raingarden Maintenance

LCA will continue to maintain the rain garden at Brook Lane in Shelburne, removing invasives and cutting back plants in the fall to remove phosphorus.

Green Schools - Hinesburg & Charlotte

Funding from Champlain Valley School District through the Green Schools program will allow LCA to visit and educate 5th through 8th graders at Hinesburg Community School and Charlotte Central School about water quality, and hopefully to create some signs to complement the stormwater treatment practices that will be/have been installed on their campuses.

Partnerships

We will partner with regional and state groups, including serving on two Basin Water Quality Councils (for the Northern Lake Champlain Direct Drainages, and Lewis/Otter Creek basins), Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District, our local towns, and state staff to collaborate on projects and bring presentations about water quality to our local communities.

Cota Field (Starksboro) Stormwater Treatment

We received funding from the Lake Champlain Basin Program to complete final design work at Cota Field in Starksboro, which will treat stormwater runoff from the parking lot and improve drainage in the fields.

United Church of Hinesburg Wetland Restoration

The construction of a restored wetland behind the United Church of Hinesburg has been nearly completed. This wetland had historically been converted to agriculture, then playing fields. The last steps in 2025-26 are to remove the berm to allow the water to flow into the restored wetland, after plants are fully established. This site will become an Ahead of the Storm demonstration site when completed.

Lyman Meadows stormwater treatment

In 2025, we will begin the final design for stormwater treatment at Lyman Meadows in Hinesburg. This grant from Lake Champlain Basin Program/NEIWPCC will also include an educational session with students at Hinesburg Community School.

LCA Organizational Support

Thanks to funding from Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation through Watersheds United Vermont, and the Vermont Community Foundation, we have hired new staff, and will be working with consultants to strengthen our financial and bookkeeping systems, and create a workplan for the next 5 years that will help us meet the goals of our strategic plan.

Workshop

LCA will provide an educational workshop that ties water quality concerns with local wildlife or other topics of interest, such as private road maintenance.

Common Ground Center Road Erosion

A grant from the Clean Water Service Provider in Basin 3 will allow LCA to hire engineers to complete a final design for road erosion occurring at Common Ground Center and draining directly into Lewis Creek.

Bristol Pond Boat Launch Steward

LCA received funding from Lake Champlain Basin Program to have a boat launch steward stationed at Bristol Pond, checking boats as they enter and leave the pond to remove aquatic invasive species, and educating boaters on how to limit the spread of invasive species.

Monkton Pond Boat Launch Steward

LCA received funding from Lake Champlain Basin Program to have a boat launch steward stationed at Monkton Pond, checking boats as they enter and leave the pond to remove aquatic invasive species, and educating boaters on how to limit the spread of invasive species.

Water Quality Sampling

We will be continuing to collect water quality samples with the help of volunteers through our South Chittenden River Watch program (in collaboration with Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation's LaRosa Partnership Program). We will sample streams in the LaPlatte River, McCabe's Brook, Thorp Brook, Kimball Brook, Lake Iroquois/Patrick Brook, Lewis Creek and Pond Brook watersheds. The results of our water quality sampling will be shared in the winter of 2025-26 via a story map.

Japanese Knotweed Control

We will tackle manual Japanese knotweed removal at two demonstration sites (in North Ferrisburgh and Starksboro), and continue an iNaturalist project to map the distribution of knotweed in the watershed, through funding from a Lake Champlain Basin Program grant.

Improving Riparian Buffers for Birds, Habitat, and Carbon

We will partner with UVM Extension, Audubon Vermont, Poultney-Mettowee NRCD, Friends of the Winooski River, and Friends of the Mad River, to identify priority sites with the maximum potential impact for water quality, habitat improvement for birds, and carbon benefits. The project will involve tree plantings to restore riparian forest buffers, improve upland habitat, and target priority bird species. We will also conduct education and outreach to community residents.

Frogbit removal (Charlotte)

We coordinate volunteers who will remove European frogbit and other non-native invasive plants from Town Farm Bay in Charlotte, where percent coverage of frogbit has successfully been reduced from 50% to less than 5%.

Frogbit removal (Shelburne)

We coordinate volunteers who remove European frogbit, a non-native aquatic invasive species, from the LaPlatte River Natural Area.

Brook Lane Raingarden Maintenance

LCA will continue to maintain the rain garden at Brook Lane in Shelburne, removing invasives and cutting back plants in the fall to remove phosphorus.

Green Schools - Hinesburg & Charlotte

Funding from Champlain Valley School District through the Green Schools program will allow LCA to visit and educate 5th through 8th graders at Hinesburg Community School and Charlotte Central School about water quality, and hopefully to create some signs to complement the stormwater treatment practices that will be/have been installed on their campuses.

Partnerships

We will partner with regional and state groups, including serving on two Basin Water Quality Councils (for the Northern Lake Champlain Direct Drainages, and Lewis/Otter Creek basins), Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District, our local towns, and state staff to collaborate on projects and bring presentations about water quality to our local communities.

Cota Field (Starksboro) Stormwater Treatment

We received funding from the Lake Champlain Basin Program to complete final design work at Cota Field in Starksboro, which will treat stormwater runoff from the parking lot and improve drainage in the fields.

United Church of Hinesburg Wetland Restoration

The construction of a restored wetland behind the United Church of Hinesburg has been nearly completed. This wetland had historically been converted to agriculture, then playing fields. The last steps in 2025-26 are to remove the berm to allow the water to flow into the restored wetland, after plants are fully established. This site will become an Ahead of the Storm demonstration site when completed.

Lyman Meadows stormwater treatment

In 2025, we will begin the final design for stormwater treatment at Lyman Meadows in Hinesburg. This grant from Lake Champlain Basin Program/NEIWPCC will also include an educational session with students at Hinesburg Community School.

LCA Organizational Support

Thanks to funding from Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation through Watersheds United Vermont, and the Vermont Community Foundation, we have hired new staff, and will be working with consultants to strengthen our financial and bookkeeping systems, and create a workplan for the next 5 years that will help us meet the goals of our strategic plan.

Workshop

LCA will provide an educational workshop that ties water quality concerns with local wildlife or other topics of interest, such as private road maintenance.

Common Ground Center Road Erosion

A grant from the Clean Water Service Provider in Basin 3 will allow LCA to hire engineers to complete a final design for road erosion occurring at Common Ground Center and draining directly into Lewis Creek.

Bristol Pond Boat Launch Steward

LCA received funding from Lake Champlain Basin Program to have a boat launch steward stationed at Bristol Pond, checking boats as they enter and leave the pond to remove aquatic invasive species, and educating boaters on how to limit the spread of invasive species.

Monkton Pond Boat Launch Steward

LCA received funding from Lake Champlain Basin Program to have a boat launch steward stationed at Monkton Pond, checking boats as they enter and leave the pond to remove aquatic invasive species, and educating boaters on how to limit the spread of invasive species.

Water Quality Sampling

We will be continuing to collect water quality samples with the help of volunteers through our South Chittenden River Watch program (in collaboration with Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation's LaRosa Partnership Program). We will sample streams in the LaPlatte River, McCabe's Brook, Thorp Brook, Kimball Brook, Lake Iroquois/Patrick Brook, Lewis Creek and Pond Brook watersheds. The results of our water quality sampling will be shared in the winter of 2025-26 via a story map.

Japanese Knotweed Control

We will tackle manual Japanese knotweed removal at two demonstration sites (in North Ferrisburgh and Starksboro), and continue an iNaturalist project to map the distribution of knotweed in the watershed, through funding from a Lake Champlain Basin Program grant.

Improving Riparian Buffers for Birds, Habitat, and Carbon

We will partner with UVM Extension, Audubon Vermont, Poultney-Mettowee NRCD, Friends of the Winooski River, and Friends of the Mad River, to identify priority sites with the maximum potential impact for water quality, habitat improvement for birds, and carbon benefits. The project will involve tree plantings to restore riparian forest buffers, improve upland habitat, and target priority bird species. We will also conduct education and outreach to community residents.

Many thanks to the funders who allow us to complete these many projects: the Lake Champlain Basin Program/NEIWPCC, Watersheds United Vermont, Clean Water Service Providers (funds from Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation), Vermont Community Foundation, the municipalities of Charlotte, Ferrisburgh, Hinesburg, Monkton, Shelburne and Starksboro, and foundation and private donors like you!