What's New?
The 2020 Tactical Basin Plan for the Deerfield River watershed and the Connecticut River tributaries in southeastern Vermont has been published. This tactical basin plan provides an overall assessment of the current conditions of the watershed, identifies high priorities waters for restoration and enhanced protection, and directs the funding needed to implement projects that protect, enhance, and restore aquatic habitat that supports the uses and values associated with these waters, such as swimming, fishing, and boating. Implementation of the Deerfield River Basin Plan will achieve these goals and objectives in close coordination with local and regional partners that have been integral to its development
Basin 12, as it is referred to, includes 12 towns in the watershed, including Brattleboro, Dover, Stratton, and Wilmington. It encompasses the Deerfield and Green Rivers and the East Branch of the North River which all flow into central Massachusetts to the Connecticut River. The tributary streams that flow directly into the Connecticut River include Whetstone Brook, Broad Brook and Newton Brook.
The Plan identifies 28 opportunities to increase protections for several rivers in excellent condition, including the South and East branches of the Deerfield and the Green River and lays out a framework to restore polluted waterways. To address high levels of bacteria in Whetstone Brook and the North Branch Deerfield near Brattleboro and Dover, the Plan points to needed improvements to infrastructure, such as bridge and culvert replacement and floodplain restoration in Jacksonville along the East Branch of the North River. To fix stormwater problems plaguing the upper watershed near ski resorts, the Plan identifies the need to continue working with the private resorts to incorporate stormwater runoff controls into development plans. To reduce nitrogen pollution in the Connecticut River coming from farm fields, the Plan supports to proper management of manure applications and use of agronomic practices that increase soil health.
The Plan contains a Summary of Implementations Actions and all projects can be found in the Clean Water Project Explorer.
For alternative formats of the Plan contact Marie Caduto by email at Marie.Caduto@vermont.gov or at 802-289-0633.
March 11, 2014 - Deerfield River and Adjacent Connecticut River Tactical Plan Issued
The Agency is pleased to present the Deerfield River Tactical Basin Plan for public use. Accompanying the Plan are a set of Appendices. The Agency encourages all prospective users of this plan to contact: Marie Levesque Caduto, Watershed Coordinator, for more information on how to get work with ANR for the protection or restoration of the Deerfield River Basin. Hardcopies of the Plan and appendices are available by request.
The mapping specialists at the Agency have geographically identified all of the protection and restoration strategies in the Implementation Table of the Deerfield River Tactical Basin Plan on the ANR Atlas. This content can be enabled in the Atlas by looking to the upper-right of the screen, and selecting "Tactical Basin Planning" from the various Atlas Themes.
The Deerfield River rises in the Green Mountains in the towns of Glastenbury and Stratton in the southern part of Vermont. It flows through south central Vermont then cross the Vermont-Massachusetts border before it joins the Connecticut River. The Deerfield River has four branches in Vermont: North Branch, South Branch, East Branch and West Branch. Two of the Deerfield’s main tributaries, the East Branch of the North River and the Green River, originate in Vermont and enter the Deerfield River near Greenfield, Massachusetts. The Deerfield River system, including the East Branch of the North River and the Green River, drains 14 Vermont towns in two counties and is about 318 square miles in area. The Deerfield River watershed is designated as Planning Basin 12.
Draining directly into the Connecticut River from the towns of Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford and Vernon, on south to the Massachusetts line are the Broad, Crosby, and Whetstone Brooks and the Fall River. Broad Brook drains 23.8 square miles; Crosby Brook 5.71 square miles; Whetstone Brook 25.5 square miles; and the Vermont portion of the Fall River, 10.4 square miles. These waters make up a portion of Planning Basin 13.
Marie Levesque Caduto, Watershed Coordinator
Vermont ANR / Department of Environmental Conservation
100 Mineral Street, Suite 303
Springfield, VT 05156-3168
Phone: 802-289-0633
Cell: 802-490-6142
Fax: 802-885-8890
Email: Marie.Caduto@vermont.gov
Additional Resources
- Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination in Brattleboro, FINAL REPORT (January, 2012)
- Basin 12 Water Quality and Aquatic Habitat Updated Assessment Report
- Basin 13 - Lower Connecticut River Direct Drainage Assessment Report (April 2002)
- Crosby Brook Stream Corridor Restoration Plan
- The Biotic Condition of Crosby Brook and Exploration of the Environmental Stressors on the Aquatic Communities
- Whetstone Brook Watershed Corridor Plan
- Deerfield River Enhancement Fund
- Map of Vermont's 15 Major Drainage Basins
- Vermont Surface Water Management Strategy
- Watershed Planning
Partners
- Windham Regional Commission
- Bennington County Regional Commission
- Windham Natural Resources Conservation District
- Bennington County Conservation District
- Deerfield River Watershed Association & Friends of the Green River
- Lake Raponda Association
- Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance
- Connecticut River Watershed Council
- Connecticut River Joint Commissions
- ConnecticutRiver.us