Lewis Creek Association

06/02/2026

European frogbit removal season has begun and we are looking for volunteers! Kate, Nina, Olivia, and Sara went out last week to get the gear and boats in place and go for a paddle. Unfortunately, we found a lot of frogbit in a few areas in both Town Farm Bay in Charlotte and the Lower LaPlatte River in Shelburne.

Nina and Olivia will be leading our frogbit trips - Sign Up at bit.ly/frogbit2026 to join them this Saturday, June 6th, 8:00-11:00am, as well as a few other dates in June and July. (Our Friday trip is full unless you have your own boat!)

It's sure to be a great morning on the water removing frogbit while also enjoying birds (like this great blue heron) and other wildlife viewing - hope you can join them soon!

All gear - boat, paddle, lifejacket, rake, and bucket/basket- is provided! So grab a friend and sign up today! bit.ly/frogbit2026

If these trips don't work for you, we'll be adding more soon, so please email Sara(at)lewiscreek.org if you want to join our frogbit volunteer list.

📷 by Sara Lovitz
1: Great blue heron seen at the Lower LaPlatte River
2: Olivia at Town Farm Bay
3, 6: Frogbit is hiding
4: Silver maples in Town Farm Bay
5: Boats ready for volunteers in Town Farm Bay
7: Olivia and Nina at McCabe's Brook/Lower LaPlatter River
8, 9: McCabe's Brook
10: Two of the many, many Canada geese on the Lower LaPlatte River!

Sign Up atbit.ly/frogbit2026

05/17/2026

Meet Eden and Maggie - our Knotweed Technicians/Boat Launch Stewards for the 2026 Field Season! You will find them out working on our manual knotweed removal project along Lewis Creek. https://www.lewiscreek.org/knotweed-removal-project

Eden and Maggie will also be on Bristol and Monkton Ponds on weekends beginning May 23rd/24th - be sure to say hello!

We had our first field visits to our three knotweed removal sites along Lewis Creek on May 15th. With help from LCA Staff, Kate, Sara, and Olivia, along with Consultant Mike Bald of Got Weeds!, Maggie and Eden made quick work of the largest patch in Starksboro. The site conditions allowed us to remove some large rhizomes which you can see in the photos!

Photos:
1 - Eden & Maggie during removal at new Starksboro site
2 - Eden, Olivia, & Maggie after removal at new Starkboro site
3 & 4 - Maggie and Kate showing off their work
5-10 - The team removing knotweed and discussing data collection and removal techniques at each of the sites.

05/12/2026

Do you like to canoe or kayak? Enjoy birding & wildlife viewing? Want to help manage invasives in our local waterways while meeting other like-minded members of the community? If so, sign up to become a Lewis Creek Association frogbit removal volunteer!

We provide the boats and equipment - no prior experience necessary!

Each year in late spring and early summer, volunteers join LCA to help remove European frogbit in Town Farm Bay in Charlotte and the Lowe LaPlatte River in Shelburne Bay! Since 2012, we have removed over 33 tons (66,200 lbs) of frogbit from Town Farm Bay and almost 9 tons (18,000 lbs) of frogbit from the Lower LaPlatte!

Contact Sara - sara (at)lewiscreek.org if you would like to join our volunteer list! Hope to see you on the water this year!

You can find out more about our Frogbit Removal Program at https://www.lewiscreek.org/frogbit

Photo Credits:
1-5, Portia Butrym
6-9, Sara Lovitz

05/08/2026

Since tomorrow Saturday, May 9th, is International Migratory Birds Day, we thought it would be a good time to re-share the video from our "Birds & Biodiversity in the Park" Event, jointly held with the Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge Oversight Committee and Audubon Vermont! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeoNP5Ifo3U

In this video from May 17, 2025, you can watch Mark LaBarr from Audubon Vermont band a Black-capped Chickadee and a Wood Thrush, while discussing the tracking of migratory birds and habitat management at the park for Golden-winged Warblers and other shrubland birds. You'll hear birds in the background as you learn about projects the Oversight Committee has undertaken to enhance the biodiversity of the park, from pollinator plantings to riparian habitat management to water quality improvements as part of LCA's Ahead of the Storm project (at ~16 min).

Ali Wagner of Green Mountain Audubon Society also led an early morning bird walk to the banding station and around the park and created a bird list of what was seen/heard in eBird at https://ebird.org/checklist/S239279753. Click on the species to see photos of it and below the images, click on the green oval to hear the bird! You can find more about LCA's work (including our Ahead of the Storm site at Charlotte Park & Wildlife Refuge) at www.lewiscreek.org. You can learn more about Audubon Vermont's tracking of the Wood Thrush's journey at https://www.audubon.org/vermont/news/echoes-of-forest-tracking-journey-of-wood-thrush

Thank to the Vermont Community Foundation's Climate and Environment Healthy Watersheds Initiative for the support of this program.

05/06/2026

🐦Birding a Riparian Buffer
📅Monday, May 18, 2026, 9:00am-12:00pm
📍Lewis Creek Watershed, location shared upon registration
Space is limited - please register at https://www.mobilize.us/audubon-vt/event/948818/

Join Audubon Vermont and Lewis Creek Association for a bird walk and plant maintenance event to learn about management work that has taken place to improve water quality and shrubland and riparian habitats for rare bird species and other wildlife that need these spaces. Enjoy time spent in nature with bird and watershed experts while also assisting with hands-on maintenance of previously planted trees and shrubs near Lewis Creek. A follow-up tree planting event will be held in the fall.

Space is limited - please register at https://www.mobilize.us/audubon-vt/event/948818/

This event and work are funded by a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant to UVM, Audubon Vermont and several Vermont watershed organizations

05/02/2026

As part of my Green Up Day efforts tomorrow, I will be taking a few minutes to tackle a small garlic mustard patch that threatens to spread further into the forested area near our house (where this beautiful Dutchman's Breeches thrives). Each spring I pull up any plants (hopefully before they get tall and flower), and have made good progress in keeping it at bay. Just a few minutes of weeding on a regular basis can keep non-native invasive plants from taking over our native wildflowers. If you can detect and tackle small areas of non-native invasive plants, you can keep them at bay before they become bigger problems!

📷 Dutchman's Breeches, by Kate Kelly

05/01/2026

LCA's Newsletter: Invasive species management and preventing spread, Upcoming Events - sign up now! - https://mailchi.mp/9f203af9b2c9/lca-invasive-species-upcoming-events-9594838

04/30/2026

LCA's water quality monitoring program in the LaPlatte River, Patrick Brook, McCabe’s Brook, Thorp Brook, Kimball Brook, and Lewis Creek and its tributaries, with volunteers through South Chittenden River Watch (SCRW) is about to begin! We've spent the past month getting ready with site visits, volunteer training, and bottle and supply preparations. Starting next Monday, May 4th, SCRW volunteers will be out every other week through August 10th, sampling for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen) and chloride. The water samples are then analyzed by the Vermont Agricultural and Environmental Laboratory as part of the state LaRosa Partnership Program, and interpreted by LCA technical consultants and staff.

Keep an eye out for our volunteers and be sure to thank them for their efforts! If you're interested in helping out in the future, please contact Sara at sara(at)lewiscreek.org

You can check out our results from 2021-2025 on our Water Quality Story Map at https://bit.ly/LCA-WaterQuality

04/27/2026

https://www.lewiscreek.org/press-releases-and-news/2026/4/27/seventh-boat-launch-season-knotweed-removal

Aquatic invasive plant species (AIS) have long threatened the health and populations of native plants in the Lewis Creek watershed. By forming dense mats of vegetation, AIS impede the activities of recreational boaters, swimmers, and anglers, while degrading ecosystems and wildlife habitats

04/23/2026

There are lots more great local events happening this weekend for Earth Month through the Charlotte Library, including a bird walk co-sponsored by LCA.

🐦Saturday, April 25, 8:00-10:00am - Mt. Philo Bird Walk with Liz Lee
Late April is the beginning of peak spring bird migration. This is when breeding birds return from their wintering ground in Central and South America and the Caribbean to breed in northern latitudes. Mount Philo offers a unique place to bird at this time of year. Co-sponsored by LCA and the Charlotte Library. Registration is required as space is limited to 10 people - lewiscreek.org/upcoming-events/2026/4/6/earthmonthbirdwalk

🌸Sunday, April 26, 10:00am-12:30pm - Spring Ephemerals Walk with Alicia Daniels
Alicia Daniel, Director of the Vermont Master Naturalist Program, will lead a walk on Pease Mountain Trail to see the beautiful spring ephemeral wildflowers. Meet at the Pease Mountain trailhead on the west side of the Charlotte Central School.
A Charlotte Earth Month Event, co-sponsored by the Charlotte Trails Committee and the Charlotte Library. See event listing at https://www.facebook.com/events/1648047873283101