Second Annual Batten Kill BBQ!
Chicken BBQ by the American Legion
Join us Sat, Sept 6th at the Arlington Rec Park for a Chicken
BBQ from 11am - 2:30pm.
Raffle prizes include an Orvis ZG Helios and a Leonard Duracane bamboo fly rod.
Plus a casting demo by special guest Bill Cairns.
All proceeds go toward habitat restoration work on the Batten Kill.
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Shocking results
Doug Lyons attended the electro-shocking of the BK on 7/17/07. Read his summary of the shocking, the encouraging results, and view the photos he shot.
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Fly Tyer's Corner
Featuring local and regional fly patterns and fly tyers. Wanna contribute? Drop us a line at:
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Conservation Alert - Winooski Trib Closure Public Hearing
Help Protect Wild Trout in VT!! Attend the March 12th Public Hearing to close Ridley, Joiner, Preston and Pinneo brooks
(tributaries of the Winooski) during the spawning season...
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Special Program by Ron Zawoysky
Join us for a special program presented by Ron Zawoysky of the Clearwater TU chapter on fishing the
high mountain lakes of the Wind River Range of Wyoming in search of Golden Trout.
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New Chapter Officers Elected at Annual Chapter Meeting
We held our annual chapter meeting on Jan 22, 2008. In addition to Jim LePage's inspiring presentation on Fishing Labrador, we elected new chapter officers and directors.
Congratulations to all who were elected (see "Who's Who?", third column) and special thanks to those who stepped up and joined the ranks!
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First Annual SWVTTU Batten Kill BBQ
Thanks to all who helped make our BBQ successful! With your help, we raised over a thousand dollars which we'll
apply toward local river restoration projects. Check back for photos and a list of volunteers, donors, contributors and prize winners.
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VT DEC Watershed Planning Progress
Read the notes from the public watershed planning meetings for the the Batten Kill, Walloomsac and Hoosic Rivers....
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Help Protect Wild Rainbows in the Winooski River!
Our northern neighbors spoke up in favor of keeping the Batten Kill wild; now it's our turn to voice our support in favor of
protecting wild rainbow trout in the Winooski River....
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First Annual SWVTTU BK BBQ -- August 18th
Join us for our first annual BK BBQ to be held Saturday, August 18th, 2007, 11:30am-2:30pm, at the Arlington Recreation Park, in Arlington VT. Volunteers are needed, so please contact Jeff Swedberg if you can assist.
Eat a Dog! Plant a Tree! Save a Trout!
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TU Action Alert! Seeking a Fish Friendly Farm Bill!
To help secure fair funding for fish, read the TU "Action Alert"
regarding the 2007 Farm Bill, which is before Congress right now, or cut to the chase, pick up your pen, and
"Take Action!"
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Keeping it real ... real WILD that is!
The VT Fish & Wildlife Department has posted its FINAL "BATTEN KILL TROUT MANAGEMENT PLAN (2007-2012)".
To quote from the VT F&W website, "[t]he final management plan, approved by Commissioner Wayne Laroche, has been amended and focuses attention squarely on restoring habitat required by the river's wild trout populations with the goal of rebuilding the trout fishery to its former
notability. There are no plans to stock trout into the river within the term of the 6-year plan, 2007-2012." [emphasis added] Another key measure included in the final plan is the closure of two key spawning tributaries, the Green and Roaring Branch, to harvest during
October (1-31) over the term of the six year plan.
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VT DEC Watershed Planning Meetings
The VT DEC will be holding several informal public meetings to solicit public feedback and input in the development of a five-year
Basin Plan for the Batten Kill, Walloomsac and Hoosic Rivers. Read on for details....
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In the meantime...
We are beginning to formulate plans for 2007: a river clean-up, regular work-days, a tree-planting, continued support of the restoration work on the Twin Rivers Farm Restoration Project on the Battenkill,
fund-raisers, educational programs, social gatherings, monthly meetings, fishing nights out, guest speakers at regular chapter meetings, possibly a 'fish-in' type over-night trip to a regional river, and an
annual banquet for next fall or winter. These are just a few of the things we've been tossing around, and we'd love to hear your ideas too! If you've got something you'd like to propose, send us
an email or give us a call, or better yet, join us for the upcoming November chapter meeting and share your ideas in person.
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Walloomsac River Clean-Up --- Organized by the BCCD ---
July 21, 2007
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Pop Quiz!
Remember that feeling of dread when one of your teachers uttered those terrible words? Pop Quiz!
Well, no worries this time, this one's just for fun ...
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Book Signing with Erik Schwiebert
Monday, July 2, 2007 at The American Museum of Fly Fishing
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Volunteers needed!
River Cleanup / Green Up VT - 5/4/07
We'll be doing our part to "Green Up Vermont" on Friday, May 4th, as we hold a river
cleanup on the Walloomsac. We're sending a crew of volunteers and need your help. If you'd like pitch in and pick up, drop us a line at:
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Second Annual Opening Day Pancake Breakfast April 14th, 2007
Mark your calendars for our Second Annual Opening Day Pancake Breakfast. It will be held April 14, 2007 - 7AM-10AM - at the Batten Kill Inn in Sunderland, VT.
Kevin Andrezejewski is coordinating this event and is looking for volunteers to help out and lend a hand. If you can assist, drop Kevin a line.
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Chapter Bylaws
The revised chapter bylaws, approved at the January 30th, 2007 general chapter meeting, are available here.
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Fancy yourself a writer, artist or photographer?
We're always looking for ideas and input regarding what we can do or add to our website or newsletter to make them better resources for the chapter. If you'd like to contribute an article or story, let us know.
If you're in the habit of snapping digital shots while you're out on the water, why not share them with us and we'll post 'em for all to see. How about artists? Anyone willing to share a sketch or a watercolor?
Come on ... someone out there must be willing to share some of your creative talent, so drop us a line: .
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February 13th, 2007 Chapter Meeting -- Special Guests
We'll have three special guests at our February chapter meeting: Ken Cox, Richard Langdon & Mark Ferguson. The co-authors of "The Fishes of Vermont: a field guide to the
fish species of Vermont", they'll share some fish stories and do a book-signing (with copies of their book available for sale). Note the new meeting location: The West Mountain Inn, Arlington, VT.
If you don't mind, drop us aline and let us know how many copies of the book they should bring along: .
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January 30, 2007 Chapter Meeting -- Guest Speaker
Our January chapter meeting will feature special guest speaker Josh Gorman. Josh is the new VT DEC Watershed Coordinator for Southwestern VT. Josh will be giving us a general overview of Watershed Basin Planning,
his role as a Watershed Coordinator and community involvement. To read more about what he brings to the table, see his Bio. We'll also conduct elections of chapter officers and
directors, review/approve proposed chapter bylaw revisions and hear Ed Vallerie give a recap of the 12/12/2006 Twin Rivers Farm Project meeting.
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Brookies on the small screen
Chapter VP Doug Lyons shot this video of some Batten Kill brookies hanging out in some likely looking water in October 2006. How many can you spot?
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Receive the Chapter Newsletter Electronically
Sign up to receive the chapter newsletter electronically and help us put our funds to use protecting our cold water fisheries...
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Batten Kill Update
Thanks to all who signed a petition, sent an email, post-card or letter, spoke up at the public hearing, or even picked up the phone and voiced your opinion regarding the Batten Kill Fishery Management Plan.
The public input period ended 10/21/2006 and now we await the state's decision on the Batten Kill Fishery Management Plan. We don't know the outcome and we're not guessing, yet we remain hopeful that our
hard work will pay off (see "Public weighs in on trout stocking" article from 10/25/06 Banner under "Hot Off the Press!" on this page), and the
state will opt to base this important decision on sound scientific data and research. Stay tuned, as we hope to hear news of the state's decision on this matter by the end of '06.
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We're not in the clear yet...
The public hearing on the state's draft interim management plan for the Batten Kill fishery went as well as could be expected. We had a good turn out of like-minded anglers
from all over VT as well as neighobring states, and by the time all had their 2 minutes at the mic, it was clear that those in favor of maintaining the Battenkill as a wild trout
fishery, absent any stocking component, were in the majority. According to the press coverage (you can find the articles under
"Hot Off the Press!" on this page), we had a 4-to-1 advantage over those favoring stocking...
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The "Luckiest Guy in America" visits the Batten Kill
We had the pleasure of hosting TU's travelling blogger, Luca Adelfio, for a few days and showing him around the area. He joined us for the public hearing on the Batten Kill, and we then showed him some of our favorite places on the Batten Kill
and the Mettawee....
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"Foraging Behavior of Free-Ranging Wild and Hatchery Brown Trout in a Stream"
Dr. Bob Bachman's paper, "Foraging Behavior of Free-Ranging Wild and Hatchery Brown Trout in a Stream" is now available online here as a PDF file with his permission.
At 32 pages, it's a fairly large file (5.4MB), and will take a considerable amount of time to load or download if you are using a dial-up connection.
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Keep the Battenkill Wild!
Sign our online petition to keep the Battenkill wild and stop the
stocking of rainbow trout!
The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has drafted a proposal to stock the Battenkill with rainbow trout. To read why we believe this is the wrong approach to dealing with the
Battenkill fishery, as well as to read the State's plan, read on...
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Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
A collection of professional research papers published by the American Fisheries Society focusing on the interactions between various wild and
hatchery-reared trout/salmonids, including Dr. Robert A. Bachman's research...
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You can't ignore the science
Read the letter from TU Senior Scientist, Jack Williams, to VT Fish & Wildlife Commissioner, Wayne Laroche, regarding the Draft Battenkill Trout Fishery Interim Plan put forth by VT F & W.
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Wild Trout Management
"The Commisioner's View - Wild Trout Management - What Can We Do?" an article by VT Fish & Wildlife Commisioner, Wayne Laroche appearing in the March 2006 issue of Vermont Outdoors. From this article, it appears that the Commissioner is all in favor of supporting and protecting wild trout. However, his words and actions (the state's proposed plan for managing the Battenkill fishery) don't mesh. What gives? And besides, when you read the following item, you'll really be scratching your head in wonder. Follow this link (Keep the Battenkill Wild!) to find out what you can do to help support wild trout in the BK.
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Deja vu
"We Can and Must Manage our Trout Streams Better" by VT Fish & Wildlife Board Member, 1989-1995, Haviland Smith, originally appeared in the March 1998 issue of Vermont Outdoors and is reprinted here with the author's permission. Why? Because what he wrote then is deadly accurate today. Why does stocking drive down the wild trout population? Read this for the answer. Then join us in asking why the VT Fish & Wildlife Department is suggesting that what was known to be true then is no longer appropriate. Follow this link (Keep the Battenkill Wild!) to find out what you can do to help support wild trout in the BK.
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Haven't we learned anything?
We couldn't have said it better ourselves. So here's an open email from Haviland Smith, former VT Fish & Wildlife Board Member, regarding what VT has apparently learned and forgotten about managing wild trout streams. Follow this link (Keep the Battenkill Wild!) to find out what you can do to help support wild trout in the BK.
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Battenkill Updates
There has been a great deal going on with regards to the Battenkill over the past several years which culminated in an Open House presented by state and federal officials dedicated to get to the bottom of what ails our beloved Battenkill...
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Back On Our Feet
A small group of us gathered recently to try and breathe some life back into what has been a mostly dormant chapter for the recent past...
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American Museum of Fly Fishing
If you haven't visited the renovated American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, you don't know what you're missing. Stop be and see for yourself.
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