Project Description
To compensate for natural resource injuries associated with the Burgess Brothers Landfill and Tansitor Electronics Superfund Sites, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) used funding from the two natural resource damage settlements (over $115,000), in addition to other sources, to restore wetland and grassland habitat at a former gravel pit in Bennington, VT. The Bennington Landfill Gravel Pit Reclamation Project consisted of two distinct but related components. These included the restoration of the approximately two acres of disturbed wetland area situated east of the closed Bennington Landfill and the restoration of a portion of an old gravel pit located to the north of the wetland.
In October 2007, approximately 15,000 cubic yards of gravel spoils were removed to restore two acres of wet meadow and scrub/shrub wetland. The spoils were used to fill and grade portions of the adjacent gravel pit. The areas were then seeded to create seven acres of grassland and two acres of wetland. To further enhance the restoration, over 250 trees and shrubs were planted by local high school students from the Southwest Vermont Career Development Center. The wetland and grassland will benefit species that favor scrub/shrub habitat, such as yellow-rumped warblers and American woodcocks. The restored wetland will also provide breeding habitat for amphibians, including frogs and salamanders.
Parties Implementing Restoration
City of Bennington VT; Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
DOI Project Representatives
Fish and Wildlife Service