Spring is here, despite the roughly five inches of snow that has fallen in Montpelier this morning, and increasing my thoughts are turning to outdoor summer projects and gardening. As you dream of your summer projects around the house and camp, there are plenty of resources that can help you find lake-friendly ways to approach projects large and small.
My first stop is the new LakeWise webpage from the Lakes and Ponds Program. The shoreland BMP section has information on lake-friendly approaches yard, home and driveway maintenance – http://www.watershedmanagement.vt.gov/lakes/htm/lp_lakewise_standards_bmps.htm.
The Burlington Public Works Department has recently developed this guidance document about stormwater friendly driveways, which includes a list of local sources for some of the materials: http://www.burlingtonvt.gov/sites/default/files/DPW/Stormwater/Driveways/SW%20Friendly%20Driveways_web_v2.pdf
The Lake Champlain Basin program has additional information from the area about stormwater reduction practices: http://www.lcbp.org/water-environment/water-quality/stormwater/
If lawn maintenance is on your list, check out the regional guidelines on turf fertilizing released by the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission: http://www.neiwpcc.org/turffertilizer/turf-docs/finalreport.pdf
Last but not least is the FOVLAP ‘Buffers for Blue Lakes’ initiative, where you’ll find information about lake-friendly practices that will get you a sweet result – https://vermontlakes.org/lakescaping/resources/
We’ll be swimming before you know it,
Angela (VT Lakes and Ponds program)
