Our TeamOur team includes local stakeholders from five towns, partnering organizations, consultants and researchers, and funders.
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The Ridge to River Taskforce
Our current Taskforce members include the following representatives of local municipalities, businesses and civic organizations. The Taskforce has met monthly since 2015.
Official Town Representatives
Businesses and Citizens
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Leadership
Friends of the Mad River (FMR) provides Ridge to River project leadership and coordination for the Taskforce. FMR is a community-supported, non-profit organization committed to thoughtful and active stewardship of the 144 square mile Mad River watershed.
Organizational Partners
The Mad River Valley Planning District (MRVPD) was created in 1985 by the Towns of Fayston, Waitsfield and Warren to "carry out a program of planning for the future of the Mad River Valley." MRVPD has supported efforts to evaluate and design planning and policy solutions for Ridge to River.
Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission (CVRPC) assists member municipalities in providing effective local government and working cooperatively to address regional issues. CVRPC has provided technical expertise and assistance in integrating Ridge to River's plans with regional and statewide policy considerations, and in bringing best practices to our municipal policy discussions.
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Consultants & Researchers
Stone Environmental Inc. completed a comprehensive analysis of the Mad River Valley's planning/policy landscape, environmental conditions, stormwater threats, and recommended actions.
Community Workshop worked with the Taskforce to identify and survey stakeholders, articulate barriers and incentives, design programs, and craft an engagement plan.
Watershed Consulting Associates served on the 2015 & 2017 Summit teams, completed mapping and analysis of critical private road segments, assisted with stormwater master planning, and has advised throughout.
Milly Archer from Vermont League of Cities and Towns' Municipal Assistance Center supported the work of the Planning Technical Team as they developed tools and resources for town planning commissions.
Vermont Natural Resources Council served on the original 2015 Summit team, helped support the Taskforce's formation, and has advised throughout.
Emerging Collaborations
Yestermorrow Design/Build School and Ridge to River are exploring a market-driven training and certification program to teach stormwater-resilient techniques to contractors, engineers, property managers, and landscape architects.
Valley Arts and Ridge to River are exploring ways to celebrate the connections between art, clean water and resilience.
Mad River Path Association and Ridge to River are exploring ways to celebrate the value of trails in connecting people to the outdoors while minimizing the impacts of trails on the watershed's resilience and minimizing the damage from rain and storm events on these critical community assets.
Funders
High Meadows Fund (HMF) promotes vibrant communities and a healthy natural environment while encouraging long term economic vitality in Vermont. HMF awarded grant funding to Ridge to River and other groups in 2015 as part of its first Watershed Collaboration grants, to encourage watershed projects involving cooperation across municipal lines.
The Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) is a Congressionally-designated initiative to restore and protect Lake Champlain and its surrounding watershed. Since the initial High Meadows Fund Watershed Resilience grant, LCBP has supported two other programmatic components of Ridge to River's work.
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Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) manages water and air quality, regulates solid and hazardous wastes, and administers a number of voluntary pollution and waste reduction programs. Since the initial High Meadows Fund Watershed Resilience grant, Vermont's DEC has supported several programmatic components of Ridge to River's work, including stormwater master plans and bioretention installation.
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