Still, one of the hardest things to come by has always been a willing landowner, someone who will agree when asked to participate in a fish habitat project or host a forestry workshop or plant a buffer. It hurts when someone says “no.” It feels great when someone says “yes.” Thank you to those folks.

They make it possible to protect our watercourses by selling or donating a river corridor easement. They understand that rivers with unvegetated banks are prone to erosion, and agree to maintain an undisturbed buffer of at least 50 feet from the river’s edge. They know that rivers dispel their otherwise destructive energy by meandering, and agree to let the river find the pattern best suited to its watershed size and its place in the landscape. Two landowners on the Batten Kill have said “yes” to this option. We’re looking for more.

Those folks make it possible to improve trout habitat on the Batten Kill, by allowing our team to cable clusters of large woody debris into their banks, or place stacked boulders in their pools. Both elements improve cover and shelter in a river that lacks it. (Fish population studies of “before and after” treatments are finding

that, indeed, fish numbers go up where habitat diversity is greater.) Our team, spearheaded by the Batten Kill Watershed Alliance, the Green Mountain National Forest, and the state Fish and Wildlife Department, have worked with dozens of landowners on the Kill, restoring habitat on long reaches of the river. Thanks!Those folks have allowed us to treat the invasive plant Japanese knotweed on Tidd Brook in Sandgate for three years, mostly with help from crews from the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. (Tidd Brook is the source of knotweed downstream in the Green River.) Seven landowners have allowed us on their properties. One let the crew camp on his log landing. We are very grateful to them all.

Those folks have helped us celebrate local agriculture by letting us profile and photograph them for this paper and other outlets. They invited students to their operations where they were interviewed and filmed for a Mount Anthony Union High School website. This year, they’re hosting Farm Quest, a treasure hunt for families. All you yes-ing farmers: Thanks a lot!

These are the folks who will help us keep old fields open by enrolling in USDA programs designed to protect grassland bird habitat (and in the process also preserve scenic views of side-hill fields, and keep land open for future agricultural needs). Good job!

There are situations when “no” is the right answer. Maybe the older generation worries about restricting their heirs? options. Or time on the river is too precious to share with a bulldozer for a three days. Financial issues come into play. And maybe change is just too, you know, different.

If you want to share your love for your land, however; or if you’d like to protect a natural resource it represents; or if you’d be glad to help the greater good with a private action — be in touch. We’d love to, as the saying goes, get you to “yes.”

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Shelly Stiles is the district manager for the Bennington County Conservation District, whose mission is promoting rural livelihoods and protecting natural resources in Southwestern Vermont. Website atwww.bccdvt.org   Shelly Stiles