Forest Service honors Vermont groups for their river work

ARLINGTON — The Batten Kill Watershed Alliance and the White River Partnership, along with the Green Mountain National Forest, will be awarded the U.S. Forest Service's Eastern Region Honor this month for the work the groups have done together to protect Vermont rivers.

Cynthia Browning, executive director the alliance, said the key to the award was that it was about partnerships.

"We would not be able to do the work we do without the assistance and expertise of the Green Mountain National Forest. But they need us too. They need a grass-roots group that has ties to the local property owners and government," she said.

The award from the U.S. Forest Service recognizes those projects achieved in cooperation with the Forest Services local arms and citizens' groups formed to serve ecological preservation or restoration projects.

Steve Roy, fisheries program manager for the Green Mountain National Forest, nominated the groups for the award in a letter to the U.S. National Forest.

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The painting is by Nancy Merkle

A River Reborn

It is no more the Picasso imagery of a wounded horse by a poisoned river refusing to drink as in his Guernica. The mighty river Chaliyar, which regained its pristine glory, is quite flowing westward through the terrains of Mavoor and Vazhakkad, no more polluted by the pulp factory of Grasim Gwalior Rayons. Gone are the days when people lived on both sides of the river had fallen victims of cancer and respiratory ailments. As far as the locals are concerned, the swelling fish wealth of the river is a clear indication of its recovery from a 40-year-long spell of toxic effluent discharge. The river which once turned black and tar-like has already regained its crystal clear waters.

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Abroad Too Long - A poem by Sophia White

Abroad Too Long

Walking down the cobbled street,
Wondering distantly how old those stone were
And looking with disinterest at the cathedrals,
And the columns and arches that rise
Like a great garden of stone flowers
That I cannot pick.

Hearing the muted strains of a violin
From some unseen corner where some unseen
Frustrated musician is playing for forints,
And I feel the sorrow in each strike of the bow
Reverberate against my tired bones
In a sepulchral strain.

Thoughtlessly tossing pebbles into the river,
Then realizing I am tossing coins,
So I pour out my purse with melancholic abandon
And let the river have its fun,
Because I have had my fill of it,
And want only to go home.

Sophia White

Rivers and Trees

Rivers and Trees. They are synonymous. Rivers provide excellent surroundings for the growth of trees. And in return trees give rivers its attraction. Trees along river are naturally very green or evergreen. Most of them bears seeds or fruits thus supporting large bird and animal life. The roots helps to lessen the spped of the flowing water and is a haven for fish and other water-borne animals. Trees and river is a full ecosystem all by itself. This bridge is at Iritty built more than eighty years ago.