Welcome to the interactive web schedule for the 2019 Spring NEARC Conference! For tips on how to navigate this site, visit the "Helpful Info" section. To return to the NEARC website, go to: www.northeastarc.org/spring-nearc.html.
The schedule is subject to change (as of May 13, 2019). Please check back for updates.
AUTHORS: Emmy Whistler*, Antioch University New England; Steven Lamonde, Antioch University New England; Joe Frigo, WCoTA
ABSTRACT: The non-profit Windham County Trail Alliance (WCoTA) is proposing to construct and maintain a recreational trail system on two publicly owned properties on Oak Hill in Rockingham and Bellows Falls, Vermont. Due to its geographical proximity to Minard's Pond, the drinking water reservoir for the town of Rockingham and the Village of Bellows Falls, runoff in this area has the potential to be a pollutant to this critical water source. By understanding the geography of runoff along Oak Hill it provides a tool of analysis for the local communities as they undertake projects in the area such as logging or trail building. As manufacturing and other historic industry continues to decline in the area, towns and villages in southern Vermont continue to look for alternative sources of economic security. WCoTA has proposed that outdoor recreation is the future of economic stability in this region and this hydrological analysis allows WCoTA to operate along Oak Hill with an understanding of the region's hydrology. Using the hydrology toolset in ArcMap, this analysis provides an accurate representation of runoff along the Oak Hill ridge line. This analysis benefits the local communities surrounding Oak Hill in a number of ways: trail expansion and construction can be undertaken in a manner that recognizes the importance of maintaining high quality drinking water for the town and looks to limit possible impacts to the regions hydrology and to limit any possibility of pollutants entering Minard's Pond.
