What you missed at the Friends of Waterbury Reservoir annual meeting

Nov. 22, 2022 | By Sarah Blow | Correspondent 

Kayakers paddle on the Waterbury Reservoir. Photo by Gordon Miller

Editor’s note: The nonprofit Friends of Waterbury Reservoir held their annual meeting Nov. 16 on the SunCommon campus in Waterbury. The gathering was livestreamed by ORCA Media where a recording is available. Freelance writer Sarah Blow watched and filed this recap. 

Former president and current board member John Bauer served as emcee for the Friends of Waterbury Reservoir’s annual meeting on Nov. 16 and kicked off the event with a slew of acknowledgements to SunCommon for providing the location and Cold Hollow Cider Mill for their attendance-enticing cider and doughnuts.  

Bauer reminded attendees that the group was accepting donations and selling calendars. 

He also took a moment to plug the group’s social media accounts (Instagram and Facebook) before introducing the board. The members include President Eric Chittenden, Vice President Sheila Goss, Treasurer Francine Chittenden. 

Other board members in attendance were Michael Bard, Emma Brownlee and her father Steve Brownlee, Walt Carpenter and Tyler “Tito” Keefe.

Goss then took the podium with a surprise for the group’s dedicated president Chittenden.

“I’m talking 24/7 year round. It’s unbelievable the amount of work he does and the love he has for the reservoir and also for the organization,” said Goss.

The beloved officer was presented with the “beta version” of the Friends of Waterbury Reservoir t-shirt, setting off a rupture of applause from the crowd.

Chittenden offered another round of acknowledgements and praise for the residents of Waterbury, the town of Waterbury, and stellar clock-watcher Bauer. 

Next up was Benjamin Green, dam safety engineer, who discussed the Dam Spillway Project. The long-term effort originally began in the early 2000s when a 15-year design life repair was assigned, a date that came and went 7 years ago.

Through federal legislation and a partnership between the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the $60 million project to assess and repair the spillway is predicted to be completed in 2032.

“It’s not fast but it is thorough,” Green remarked.

After a few questions, Treasurer Francine Chittenden provided a financial report.

“I would say that we’re ending this year in what would be a good financial position and we do have some reserves entering next year which is exciting for us. A lot of years we haven’t had that,” she said.

The organization is ending with a bit under $5,000 of reserves heading into 2023 and has received $2,014.10 cents in donations in 2022. The group also is expected to receive an additional $3,400 in grant money from the Agency of Natural Resources, managed by the town of Waterbury.

“We’re in pretty good shape,” the treasurer said. 

Zachary Johnston, a reservoir greeter was next at the microphone to discuss the Reservoir Greeter Program, an extension of the Public Access Greeter program that was established by the state in 2002 and adopted in Waterbury in 2016.

A key role of the greeters is to educate the public on invasive species and how to prevent “hitchhikers” – invasive species that attach themselves to boats and trailers and threaten to damage the ecology of the reservoir. Greeters also offer complimentary inspections to make sure boats are free from any harmful species before entering the water. If found, the species are documented and reported to the state.

Examples of interceptions of invasive species include brittle naiad, Eurasian Watermilfoil and curly leaf pondweed, Johnston said, although Brittle naiad is the only aquatic invasive species currently established at the Waterbury Reservoir.

Goss then discussed the Friends of Waterbury Reservoir’s wildlife protection projects, in particular the group’s Loon Raft. It was built in 2019, after Goss while paddling on the reservoir noticed a loon nest that unfortunately became flooded due to the ever-shifting water levels. 

The raft fluctuates with water levels, providing a safe haven for loons to nest – if they ever choose to use it. 

“For some reason they don't like the invitation to our beautiful, well-foliated loon raft,” Goss said.

Nevertheless, come spring the Loon Raft will be reinstalled in hopes that it’ll one day be used by the illusive Waterbury Reservoir loons.

John Bauer and Sheila Goss demonstrate with a fishing line recycling container. Screenshot

The group also has established a Fishing Line Recycling Program after a cormorant was caught in a fishing line and ultimately saved by state park Ranger Chad Ummel. The Friends of Waterbury Reservoir placed recycling bins around the reservoir so anglers could discard used line properly. With help from Bauer, Goss gave a demonstration of the recycling process.

“We as volunteers collect the bins and Dick’s Sporting Goods and other places recycle it so it doesn't go back into the wild or landfills where it can endanger other birds,” Goss explained.

Despite officials in Connecticut warning of diapers, beer cans, and dog-waste bags being tossed in the fishing line bins, the group moved forward with the project and installed three bins. Unlike other bins found along waterways in the Adirondacks and Catskills that are made from traditional white PVC piping, Vermont required the bins to be colored green and brown to blend in with the scenery.

Eric Chittenden is president of the Friends of Waterbury Reservoir. Screenshot

“Eric Chittenden took the design and ran with it. This is our design. This is classic. We have the best-designed fishing line recycling bins in the country!” Goss said, prompting laughter from the audience. 

The bins have been a huge success, Goss reported, with no vandalization and minimal misuse. A fourth bin was added at the dam access area and a fifth is coming next summer.

Goss’ tone quickly shifted when she spoke about the reason for the program's expansion: the death of a beloved bald eagle, who she named Eli. Goss was visibly distraught when she revealed the bird had 13 times the lethal dose of lead in its blood and a lead sinker in his gut. 

The Friends of Waterbury Reservoir is teaming up with the nonprofit Vermont Center for Ecostudies to educate the public on the center’s lead buyback program to hopefully prevent more deaths like Eli’s.

State park Ranger Ben Fulton, who manages the Waterbury Reservoir parklands and the remote campsites, kept it short and sweet with his update.

“For the most part people have been returning to their post-pandemic lifestyle and as a result both camping and day use have returned to a much more manageable level than its been for the last few years," Fulton said, acknowledging the spike in visitors and use around the reservoir in 2020 and 2021.

The cluster of Waterbury parks recorded 94,515 visitors this year. This includes Waterbury Reservoir remote camping, Little River State Park camping and the Day Use Waterbury Center State Park.

Camper behavior has also improved recently with fewer incidents of damaged plant life, vandalism, illegal campers in undesignated areas and undesignated fires. The good behavior has allowed Fulton and his team to complete some “much needed projects” including installation of metal fire rings at every campsite, sans the few day use areas in flood regions. 

Kristen Sharpless finished off the meeting’s presentations with a short overview of the Shutesville Hill Wildlife Corridor. The executive director of the Stowe Land Trust discussed the importance of the wildlife corridor which consists of a connecting forest block that links the Green Mountains and Worcester Range along the Stowe-Waterbury town line. The corridor also  straddles a busy stretch of Vermont Route 100 where roadside signs denote wildlife crossings. 

“Spaces like this are really critical for seasonal migrations, getting between winter and summer habitats or movement in response to climate change, there’s a lot of reasons why animals are moving…There’s a real need for them to be able to navigate through landscapes relatively safely,” Sharpless said. 

The meeting concluded with a final reminder of the new calendar available for sale and the addition of a community-wide photo contest for next year that aims to include an exhibit of all entries available to the public to vote on for inclusion in the 2024 calendar.

And that’s what you missed at the annual meeting of the Friends of Waterbury Reservoir. 

More information is online at friendsofwaterburyres.org.