Cross VT Trail Assoc's Hurricane Irene recovery efforts featured on VT Community Foundation website
Cross Vermont Trail Association (Eric)
Community Foundation @VermontCF website! http://bit.ly/wq5Q3k
The concept of the Cross Vermont Trail is simple: a public, multi-use,
four-season route 90 miles across the state from Lake Champlain to the
Connecticut River via the Winooski River and Wells River valleys.
For the dedicated group of professionals and volunteers that make up the
Cross Vermont Trail Association, making the concept a reality is more
complicated. Their efforts to maintain and expand the trail involve
working together with many local groups to stitch together pieces of
existing public trails and paths, raising funds to build new sections, and
developing signs and routes on public roads to connect the trail.
So when flooding from heavy rains hit last spring, the fabric was torn in
several places along the 30 miles of already completed trail. The
organization went to work to repair the damage and made good progress.
Then, last August, Tropical Storm Irene smashed culverts and washed out
other drainage areas, taking out 4.5 miles of trail in five towns.
The good news was that repairs made from the May flooding held up. The bad
news: to avoid problems in the spring, the new washouts had to be repaired
before winter.
Over the fall, with a $5,000 Special and Urgent Needs grant from the
Vermont Community Foundation, the organization worked with partners like
the Town of Groton, the East Montpelier Gully Jumpers and Barre Sno-Bees
snowmobile clubs, and groups in Richmond to complete the rebuilding. By
mid-November almost all the gaps were repaired. In the spring, the
association will organize groups to finish the work by planting vegetation
at the sites.
�The Community Foundation grant opened up all those closed miles of
trail,� said Cross Vermont Trail Association's Trails Program Coordinator
Greg Western. Up-to-date information on the trail�s status is at
www.crossvermont.org.
--
Eric Scharnberg, Executive Director, Cross Vermont Trail Association, Inc.
29 Main Street, Suite 4, Montpelier, VT 05602
Tel: 802-498-0079x1, Cell: 802-917-3898, Fax: 802-223-1977, Website:
www.crossvermont.org
Office Hours: Mon (9-5), Tues (9-5), Wed (9-1)
"The purpose of the Cross Vermont Trail Association, Inc. is to assist
municipalities, recreation groups, and landowners in the creation and
management of a four-season, multi-use trail across the state of Vermont
for public recreation, alternative transportation, and awareness of our
natural and cultural heritage."