Lewis Creek Association

08/31/2026

Please join LCA & Champlain Valley Trout Unlimited for a kid-friendly fishing event on Lewis Creek this Thursday, September 3rd at 6:00pm!

If you'd like to fish, please make sure you have a current fishing license! A couple of fly rods and a spin cast rod will be available to try, or you can bring your own.

And if you don’t want to fish, you can join us to look for macroinvertebrates in the creek!

Location: Quinlan Covered Bridge, Charlotte
Date: Thursday, September 3rd, 6:00pm
Rain date: Thursday, September 10th, 6:00pm

Please register at https://bit.ly/quinlanfishing for detailed parking instructions & in case we need to postpone due to bad weather.

08/27/2026

If you missed the talk last night, "Alternatives for improving flood resilience of the Quinlan Covered Bridge" by Kristen Underwood, UVM Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, you can now view the recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDj7YQcJ1U0

And don't forget to sign up for our companion walk on Monday, October 19th, led by Jessica Louisos, Principal Water Resources Engineer at SLR. On the walk we will view some of the alternatives for improving flood resilience that Kristen talked about. Please register for the walk at https://bit.ly/QuinlanWalk, in case weather requires a cancellation.

08/24/2026

A reminder that the first part of our Quinlan Covered Bridge "Talk & Walk" Series is this Wednesday, August 26th, at 5:00pm at the Charlotte Library. We hope to see you there!

08/20/2026

My kids and I saw some ghost pipes while hiking in the Northeast Kingdom this week! I did not realize that they are related to blueberries. Have you seen any lately?

You may have noticed ghost pipes popping up in the woods of Vermont recently 👻 . These eye-catching native plants are not mushrooms, they are actually a relative of blueberries! They have no chlorophyll. Rather than using sunlight to make food, ghost pipes tap into an underground fungal network. This allows ghost pipes to thrive in deeply shaded woods where other flowers can't grow.

08/15/2026

We've wrapped up the European frogbit removal season for another year, and are working on analyzing data from all our trips. A huge thank you goes out to the ~75 (including some repeats!) volunteers from individuals to teams who joined us from the Town of Shelburne, Lake Champlain Basin Program Boat Launch Stewards, and Goldman Sachs. They helped us remove over 2000 lbs of frogbit from Town Farm Bay in Charlotte and over 1000 lbs of frogbit from the Lower LaPlatte River in Shelburne.

Thanks also go to the Shelburne Bay Boat Club who allow us to store our boats and gear for easy access to the frogbit. A final thank you goes to Olivia Welford and Nina DeSilva, our two trip leaders, who joined us again this year!

If you want to get on the list to join us next year, sign up at bit.ly/LCA-subscribe (check the Frogbit removal box) or email Sara Lovitz - sara(at)lewiscreek.org

Photo credits:
Margie Brenner, Nina DeSilva, Roberta Nubile, & Sara Lovitz

08/13/2026

Another reminder about our upcoming event co-hosted with the Charlotte Library!

Quinlan Bridge: Improving Flood Resilience
Wednesday, August 26 | 5 p.m.
Charlotte Library

Join us for a presentation by computational hydrologist Kristen Underwood about the floodplain of one of Charlotte's cherished covered bridges.

She will review the history of flooding at this site, summarize past restoration efforts carried out by the community, and learn how the floodplains functioned during the July 2024 flood to protect the bridge and downstream infrastructure. Future alternatives for improving flood resilience will also be discussed and viewed during a companion walk scheduled on October 19.

Kristen Underwood is a computational hydrologist and Research Associate Professor in the UVM Civil & Environmental Engineering department. She has also consulted for watershed groups, towns, regional planning commissions and state agencies on river restoration and conservation projects.

08/12/2026

LCA's August newsletter is here - save the date for our Annual Celebration, and sign up for upcoming events! - https://mailchi.mp/33cac212c455/save-the-dates-party-and-events

08/11/2026

Join LCA for a Talk and Walk Series about the Quinlan Covered Bridge in Charlotte - Alternatives for Improving Flood Resilience

🗨 Wednesday, August 26, 5:00 PM - Talk by Kristen Underwood, Computational Hydrologist and Research Associate Professor, UVM Civil & Environmental Engineering Department
🚶‍♀️Monday, October 19, 5:30 PM - Walk led by Jessica Louisos, Principal Water Resources Engineer at SLR

The Quinlan Covered Bridge in Charlotte carries hundreds of vehicles over the Lewis Creek each day and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The geographic setting of this bridge presents some challenges for public safety and flood resilience.

The talk will review the history of flooding at this site, summarize past restoration efforts carried out by the community, and learn how the floodplains functioned during the July 2024 flood to protect the bridge and downstream infrastructure. Future alternatives for improving flood resilience will also be discussed and viewed during the walk.

For more details and sign-ups for each event visit our Upcoming Events page at www.lewiscreek.org/upcoming-events

Photos:
📷1: Gretchen Morse, ? 2002
📷2: Gretchen Morse, Winter 2014
📷3: Unknown LCA, High Flow 2018
📷4-7: Sara Lovitz, April 2026

08/07/2026

For Photo Friday, I couldn't resist sharing these photos of sleeping bumble bees on some zinnias in my mother's garden in Maine! I was out in the garden to cut a few stems for the table when I saw a couple bees in the flowers. At first I thought they had died, but then looked closely and saw they were very slowly moving, and were in fact, sleeping! According to seek, they are likely male Two-spotted Bumble Bees (Bombus bimaculatus), which is a species of social bumble bee found in the eastern half of the US.

While one of the bees was tucked in the zinnia, the other bee fell asleep clinging underneath one. The past few nights we have noticed more bumble bees happily snoozing in the blooms!

08/06/2026

Before and after photos from our Phragmites spading event last night at the United Church of Hinesburg! This small but mighty crew of Board Members and volunteers removed this patch of phragmites in about an hour! Their hard work will help keep phragmites from spreading into the newly restored wetland just behind the church.

This was the first of multiple efforts to keep the phragmites from spreading. We'll be monitoring the site and anticipate coming back again in September to tackle any regrowth.

If you'd like to help out with future efforts, sign up for our e-newsletter at https://bit.ly/LCA-subscribe and select an interest in knotweed removal (this includes an interest in phragmites removal) or contact Sara(at)lewiscreek.org

📷credit: Kate Kelly