Melting Away

Sand and dirt on Shady Rill Road

With the unseasonably warm weather last week, I couldn't help but notice the large buildup of dirt and sand along the roadside.  I see this every year and usually just complain about it as being unsightly.  But this time I  decided to take some photos and do a little thinking on the matter.  What I realized was that most of this is the result of sanding.  With each snow storm, a fresh layer of sand and dirt is sprayed on our roadways in an effort to keep us safe and provide traction in icy conditions.  In any given pass, it's really a small amount that's put down.  Most times it's barely even noticeable but it does the trick.  Over the course of the winter that sand builds up, layering itself in the ice and snow.  When the temperature rises to above freezing, the ice and snow melts, carrying with it the trapped sand (which has unfortunately picked up traces of gas and oil from our cars).  Slowly but surely that sand makes its way into roadside ditches and in many cases nearby streams, negatively impacting fish and water quality.

A build up of sand near Martin's Brook

It's a serious issue for sure, one that we can do little to stop.  The reality is that sand is a necessary part of our transportation system in the winter.  As with many environmental issues, the best we can do is use good science to inform our practices and hope that we've at least lessened our impact.  It's a hard reality to face but one that we must.  We can't win every battle, but we can certainly win the war.

Discussions About Berlin Pond

On Monday, I got the chance to run with a few dedicated individuals who make a habit of meeting up every Monday night to take a jaunt around Berlin Pond.  I must say, I found it very refreshing to run in a group again, especially in such great company.  They were welcoming, jovial, and asked lots of questions.  My kind of people. 

Along the way, we talked a little bit about Berlin Pond.  If you didn't know this, Berlin Pond has been a main source of drinking water for the City of Montpelier since 1884.  To ensure that the water stayed pristine, the City purchased and worked to conserve a large percentage of the surrounding landscape.  Today, there is roughly 3,000 acres of undeveloped land surrounding the pond.  In addition, the City imposed restrictions on the use of the pond, effectively banning swimming, fishing, and various forms of recreation.  Recently, these restrictions came under fire when individuals wanted to use the pond for ice fishing and kayaking.  The result was a court hearing which ultimately lead to a judge upholding the City's ban on public use.

I've been reading a number of articles about the issue and it seems that people are all across the board on the issue.  Some want it to be open for public use and don't see the harm, others think that allowing recreation will degrade the pond, and some think that Montpelier should get their water from somewhere else.  I certainly have my own opinion on the matter but would love to hear yours.  What do you think?  Should Berlin Pond be opened up for recreation?  Leave some thoughts.

For more info, check out the Berlin Pond Watershed Conservation Plan.

One Month Down

As my first order of business, I want to thank everyone who came out on Saturday to run with me in Burlington.  It was an awesome run along the waterfront.  I hope you learned a lot about the lake, phosphorous, and what's being done about it.  Perhaps we'll see you again at the next one.

Secondly, I want to thank the folks at the ECHO center for providing free passes and the Skirack for providing us with some space at the Banff Film Festival.  Much appreciated.  

Lastly, we've got one month down ladies and gentleman with 11 more to go.  I ran a total of 166.1 miles in January and it was hard going for most of it.  I developed a case of runner's knee, strained my achilles, and came down with a cold.  That left me 4.4 miles behind my goal for the month.  Guess I'll just have to make it up over the course of the next few weeks.  Running 5.5 a day is a lot harder than I thought it would be.