Invasive knotweed spans the length of the Little River, which extends from its headwaters in the Mansfield and Worchester ranges to the Waterbury Reservoir. Knotweed outcompetes native riverbank vegetation, causing several problems:

•  It reduces insect populations, which in turn causes a decline in the fish, birds and mammals that rely on those insects for food. 

• It leaves the riverbanks more susceptible to erosion. This reduces a river's ability to cope with flood waters, and the resulting downstream sediment impacts infrastructure such as raods and culverts.

In the specific case of the area around Stowe, Vermont, that erosion and sediment loading promised to cause problems for a renewable energy project. A historic hydroelectric generating site in the nearby village of Moscow is being renovated to provide low-cost renewable energy to local residents. Stabilizing the banks of the Little River upstream from this site plays an important role in the smooth operation of that generator. 

Stowe Electric had engaged the help of UVM researchers and students for several semesters to study the knotweed problem, design a plan to restore the riverbanks, and begin to implement that plan by destroying the knotweed and replacing it with native species. 

Project partners used the grant from the Leahy Institute to continue that work, and, importantly, to create from their efforts a scalable, replicable plan that other municipalities and nonprofits can use to tackle similar invasive species challenges. 

Jackie Pratt, General Manager of the Stowe Electric Department, sat down with Tricia Coates, Director of the Leahy Institute, to offer a brief explanation of this work: