A brief summary of some of the many projects and programs
undertaken by your local Conservation District in 2015.
The District’s mission is to protect and improve the lakes, rivers, streams, soils and other natural resources of
Warren County through locally-led conservation projects and programs.
2015 was yet another busy year for the SWCD and we are constantly amazed at the requests for assistance
from landowners and the municipalities in our county. When we provide recommendations, assistance or
conduct projects, we do so in an effort to conserve and properly manage our natural resources. Looking at
issues critically and developing practical solutions is our goal. If you ever have questions, we invite you to
visit our website, call or stop by the office, we are happy to speak with you.
I’d like to share a quote from Professor Emeritus of Agriculture, Jerry Apps of the University Wisconsin–
Madison. “And perhaps most importantly, the land taught me to never forget that we are but visitors,
temporary stewards, and what we do with the land will dramatically affect those who follow us. Caring for
the land is one way to care for the future.” (Every Farm Tells a Story). I plan on living in Warren County for the
rest of my life, and I want to see the county and our towns successful. We are very dependent on our
natural resources and in order to stay successful (tourism, sugaring, recreation, logging, etc. )we need to
wisely manage our resources, and that quote sums up my feelings. Thanks for your support — Jim Lieberum
Warren County Habitat Improvement Grant
In 2015, the Lake Champlain Basin Program and the New
England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission
awarded the District a habitat improvement grant. The goals
of the program were to install habitat structures in and along
many of County’s ponds and tributaries of the Lake
Champlain Watershed.
The purpose of the structures are to improve and enhance
habitat in the watershed’s aquatic and riparian segments altered
by urban and agricultural development, channel straightening
and stormwater runoff introduction. Aquatic habitat
improvements to Halfway Brook and its tributaries, West Brook,
English Brook and ponds in Bolton, Lake George, and
Queensbury were accomplished with native bank plantings,
amphibian habitat structures, fish habitat and passage
augmentation and migratory bird structures. This grant was used
to repair and mitigate the damages caused by stormwater and
road maintenance practices to ponds and streams within the
watershed.
Following the award of the grant, work began with both private
and municipal landowners to gain access for work within and
along the selected waterways. The proposed work was
enthusiastically received by both private landowners and
municipal representatives. A total of 57 improvements and
structures were installed in the riparian and aquatic habitat of
Warren County.
Wood duck
boxes in Rush
Pond
Osprey nest at West Brook