East Montpelier Resilient Roads Committee

The East Montpelier Selectboard created the Rural Road Vegetation Assessments Project Advisory Committee in 2017 to work with project leader Joanne Garton, Urban & Community Forestry Program of the VT Dept. of Forests, Parks, and Recreation on a project to inventory rural roadside vegetation and develop recommendations for long-term resilience of its roadside vegetation to manage stormwater runoff, maintain or improve wildlife habitat, and plan for the future of scenic and culturally important roadside hedgerows and forests. The draft plan and other documents of interest are available at the bottom of this page.

On December 16, 2019 the EM Selectboard changed the name of the committee to the East Montpelier Resilient Roads Committee to better reflect the evolving, broadened mission of the committee.

 

Shade Tree Preservation Plan

In October 2020 new legislation enacted a host of revisions to the state’s tree warden statutes, significantly altering the scope of the tree warden’s control of roadside vegetation. The town has entered into an agreement with the VT Urban & Community Forestry Program to serve as a pilot town for the development of a shade tree preservation plan, a necessary new component of town management of roadside trees. The Resilient Roads Committee is working with Joanne Garton of the VT Urban & Community Forestry Program to craft the plan.

Proposed EM Shade Tree Preservation Plan

There was a public hearing on the proposed plan on March 7, 2022, at 7:00 p.m.

Public Hearing on EM Shade Tree Preservation Plan

EM Shade Tree Preservation Plan Letter of Agreement
Tree Warden Statute Information
VLCT Tree Law Webpage

 

Emerald Ash Borer Management in East Montpelier

The committee has taken the lead on the development of an action plan (East Montpelier Ash Tree Management Plan) for dealing with the Emerald Ash Borer, a non-native, invasive insect that is expected to kill most ash trees across Vermont. The insect was first detected in Vermont in February 2018. Although it has been detected in nearby towns and the City of Montpelier, it has not been detected in East Montpelier as yet. In early summer 2019, citizen volunteers inventoried all the ash trees, 6-inch diameter and larger, within the town road rights of way as the first step in developing the action plan. The committee is currently directing ash tree management projects in targeted arounds around the town.

EM Ash Tree Management Plan [June 1, 2021]

The town received a grant from the state’s Emerald Ash Borer Management Grant Program that helped fund the first stage of the town’s effort to manage the anticipated effects of the emerald ash borer invasion — a pilot project in the U-32/Gallison Hill Road area. The grant application with details on the pilot project is included as an appendix in the East Montpelier Ash Tree Management Plan, posted above. In December 2020 the town received a second grant to continue the ash tree management work. This project, completed in early June 2021, targeted the County Road area. Next up in 2022 is a planned project, also with partial grant funding from the state, along the North Street – Sparrow Farm Road corridor.

The town’s ash tree inventory can be seen on the CVRPC web map:

East Montpelier CVRPC Web Map

[For those that don’t fully understand these web maps: the ash tree layer is not “on” by default — you have to turn it on by clicking the box labeled “Ash Tree Inventory”, which just happens to be the top option in the Layers List (the symbol for which looks like three sheets of paper; upper left side of the map). The data doesn’t show up until you zoom in a bit on the map. Once you can successfully see the green/orange/red dots with numbers on them, pick a dot of interest, left click on it, and the specific ash tree inventory data shows up on the first page of the pop-up info block (the other pages will have detailed property info).]

Expect to see the sign below showing up on prominent ash trees:

EM EAB Ash Tree Tag

Documents on the Emerald Ash Borer and Ash Tree Management:

EM Ash Tree Management Pilot Project Case Study
EM Resilient Roads Committee Narrative on EAB & Ash Tree Management (August 2020 Update)
Ash Tree Protection Services Contact List

For more information, check out these Vermont webpages on the Emerald Ash Borer Issue:

VT Urban & Community Forestry Webpage on Emerald Ash Borer Management
VT Urban & Community Forestry Case Studies on Emerald Ash Borer Management
VT Invasives Webpage on Emerald Ash Borer

Committee Notices:

May 11, 2019 Ash Tree Inventory Workshop
January 13, 2020 Ash Tree Management Hearing Notice Packet
September 15, 2020 Ash Tree Management Meeting & Hearing Notice Packet

Committee Agendas:

August 8, 2017 Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Agenda
January 16, 2018 Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Agenda
January 25, 2019 Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Agenda
April 3, 2019 Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Agenda
April 17, 2019 Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Agenda
May 8, 2019 Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Agenda
November 19, 2019 Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Agenda [No quorum]
December 3, 2019 Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Agenda
January 6, 2020 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda
February 11, 2020 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda
May 1, 2020 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda
July 23, 2020 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda
January 20, 2021 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda [No quorum]
June 23, 2021 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda
October 21, 2021 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda
December 2, 2021 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda
January 19, 2022 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda
April 7, 2022 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda
May 5, 2022 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda [No quorum]
October 17, 2022 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda
November 17, 2022 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda
August 17, 2023 Resilient Roads Committee Agenda

Committee Minutes:

August 8, 2017 Approved Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Minutes
April 3, 2019 Approved Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Minutes
April 17, 2019 Approved Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Minutes
May 8, 2019 Approved Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Minutes
December 3, 2019 Approved Rural Road Vegetation Assessments PAC Minutes
January 6, 2020 Approved Resilient Roads Committee Meeting Minutes
February 11, 2020 Approved Resilient Roads Committee Meeting Minutes
May 1, 2020 Approved Resilient Roads Committee Meeting Minutes
July 23, 2020 Approved Resilient Roads Committee Meeting Minutes
January 20, 2021 Approved Resilient Roads Committee Meeting Minutes
June 23, 2021 Approved Resilient Roads Committee Meeting Minutes
October 21, 2021 Approved Resilient Roads Committee Meeting Minutes
December 2, 2021 Approved Resilient Roads Committee Meeting Minutes
January 19, 2022 Approved Resilient Roads Committee Meeting Minutes
April 7, 2022 Draft Resilient Roads Committee Meeting Minutes

Documents of Interest:

Tree Warden Decision for September 15, 2020 Public Hearing
Tree Warden Decision for January 13, 2020 Public Hearing
January 13, 2020 Tree Warden Public Hearing Minutes
EM Resilient ROW Action Plan
EM Resilient ROW Action Plan Appendices

Resilient Right-of-Ways – A Guide to Community Stewardship of Vermont Backroads
2000 Roadside Vegetation Management Manual for Rural Road Crews
The Vermont Backroad

Committee Members:

Jeff Cueto, Chair
Paul Cate
Steve Justis
Mark Lane
Guthrie Perry