For my readers seeking the challenge, you will find it at the bottom of this post.
Yes, that's me
Denny once asked why it is that I walk with my hands clinched in a fist. If I recall correctly it went more like, "Norma, who are you going to fight?" Now I'm positive that Denny is the kind of guy who without question, would back me up in a fight; but being that we were in elementary school hallway, questions were asked. I was so struck by the inquiry that I still remember lifting my hands to see what the heck he was talking about. From that day on, I first concentrated on relaxing one hand when in the hallway and then the second after I mastered the first. Transferring that new skill out of the hallway and into retirement, clearly has been unsuccessful.
Perhaps being prepared for a fight is a learned behavior from growing up with three brothers. Maybe for survival we find a way to substitute one behavior for another; like how Dr. Heydinger suggested that I sleep with a mouthguard, "Could you try yelling instead of clinching your jaw?" Let's just say that Wayne wasn't really ready for that.
A gray fox has learned to scavenge for rodents beneath our birdfeeder.
I've lately been chatting with deer hunters here in Vernon and apart from my seeing the thickest whitetail antler beam I have ever seen in the back of a pickup on 142, most of what I am hearing is that it has been a tough year for hunting. Dry and loud ground cover, too many acorns, warm temps and no snow are the reasons given for their lack of success.
Sled dogs without snow, train along the Hinsdale rail trail
A muskrat hole in thin river ice
Understanding the nuances of muskrat behavior, Kirk pointed out a notch next to a castor pile on the bank across from the hole in the ice. "You better keep Esther on a tight leash. If I were trapping, I would set my trap in the water right here at this notch." Trappers alternate trap locations and Kirk soon found a second promising notch.
The reactor building is one of the last remaining structures left to be razed on the VY site. In a short time Vernon will be offered an opportunity to comment on what should be considered and how we would like the site to be redeveloped.
On the Hinsdale side, staging in preparation of another project
Some finds are harder to explain
Like how the lure and a fish ended up on opposite of each other on either side of the path
And why when it finally did snow, I couldn't start our snow thrower
I've been wondering lately why wildlife visits to my yard have dropped off. I haven't caught a bear or deer on my game cam since last spring. Truthfully, I have been grateful that the bears haven't been visiting as I am hopeful that the neighborhood has figured out how to stop feeding them. But I also miss the bobcats and skunks that eat the mice that chew on my machinery in the shed. I am down to one fox, an opossum, a racoon, two rabbits and a thousand grey squirrels caught on camera. Still, in spite of my own wants, I find myself asking what might have changed enough out there, natural or otherwise, to cause the numbers to decline so suddenly here.
A rather portly racoon dropped in on the same night as the fox
VT River Steward Kathy Urffer demonstrates the CT River Conservancy's Enviroscape model.
In between Kathy's demonstrations on what people put onto the land and how it can make its way into the CT river, I took the opportunity to speak with her about an ancient fish recently discovered here. I didn't know it; but I was about learn some of the complications of advocating for a system that doesn't have a human's voice. It is the stewards job to speak for the river.
For over a decade, Kathy and team have been preparing for the owners of five hydroelectric dams along this stretch of the river to submit their applications for 50 year operating licenses. Figuratively speaking, Kathy has been getting ready for a fight while making plans to avoid one. As VT steward, Kathy seeks to understand what the needs of the river are as well as the needs of the communities along the river. She seeks to understand what is currently within the river's system, what requires protection, what requires restoration and she helps coordinate a plan for getting the river to a place of greater functional biodiversity... all of this while acknowledging our need to put the river to work.
A wildlife path between land and open water
So what happens when reports of shortnose sturgeon living between the Turners Falls dam and the Bellows Falls dam begin to filter in just about when the applications and comments on those applications are due to be filed?
Kathy explained that a population of shortnose sturgeon lives south of the Holyoke dam. This population of fish is capable of surviving in brackish water. The Holyoke dam has a fish elevator up to the next segment of the river which is freshwater. The next obstacle upriver is the Turners Falls dam with its canal and ladder system. It is believed that fish ladders are not suitable for sturgeon to pass and because of this the thought is that there may be a separate population between Turners Falls and Vernon and yet another separate population between here and Bellows Falls. The CRC confirmed that sturgeon are in these isolated stretches by taking water samples at the river bottom and testing for sturgeon DNA
Our journey from Hinsdale to Vernon began and ended with planned infrastructure.
What is not known is: where the sturgeon originated, how big the populations are, if the long lived fish are reproducing, if the separate populations are capable of reproducing with each other, could they have always been here and gone undetected... I asked Kathy if it is possible that the sturgeon here are a separate genetic population than below Holyoke. They don't know yet.
Now that the CRC has confirmed that we have sturgeon here, the next step is to file for protection of the population with the state and then build a plan to conserve the population with an eye towards providing a path for resiliency. When planning for 50 year increments, it's important to have as many pieces in place as possible before all aspects of the licenses are approved. I will say this again, it's vital to provide for functional diversity when altering the environment. We must build a pathway into the plans.
VT Conservation Planning Biologist Jens Hilke explained to me during a wildlife corridor meeting, that it takes three to five years for wildlife to change their behavior in terms of when corridors are altered or relocated. A study in the northern part of the state along I-91 showed that populations of wildlife travel up and down the sides of the interstate in that area with very few successfully crossing. Without planning for corridors, the genetic dynamics of these separated populations will express limited variations making it increasingly difficult for them to adapt to environmental challenges.
It's a good thing that a new bridge has been built further north, or we might have had to adapt to chilly water.
The Twelve Gifts of Vernon Challenge
And so in the spirit of the season, I ask my readers to focus on the first step of Conservation, discovering what already exists in their neck of Vernon. I propose that we do so by filling in the verses of an old favorite, The Twelve Days of Christmas in a slightly different way. For Example, I am beginning my version here and now with: On the first day of Christmas, Vernon gave to me one red bellied wood pecker pecking on a tree.
I am not admitting to cheating or anything; but I suspect that my twelfth day discovery will have something to do with grey squirrels -Norma Manning
Lot of content here. Good to see you writing related to Vernons natural beauty.
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