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Wetlands play a vital role in protecting the water quality of our rivers and lakes. Since colonial times Vermont has lost an estimated 35 percent of its wetlands. The goal of the Wetlands Protection and Restoration Program (WPRP) is to help protect the water quality of Lake Champlain through the restoration and protection of wetlands. The WPRP was created in 2006 as part of Governor Douglas' Clean and Clear Action Plan. The program is administered by the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation. The WPRP is a voluntary program designed to provide financial and technical assistance to landowners for restoring and protecting wetlands. 
In addition to water quality protection, wetlands provide many other important functions such as:
wildlife and fisheries habitat, sediment and nutrient retention and export, flood control, groundwater replenishment, shoreline stabilization and storm protection, climate change mitigation, water purification, reservoirs of biodiversity, wetland products, recreation and tourism, scientific and educational study, and cultural values
Landowner benefits of the WPRP include financial incentives, such as:
- payment for the purchase of the wetland portion of a property
- payment for wetland easements
- payment for incorporating the wetland into an existing easement
- fully funded wetland design and implementation
- leverage of other funding sources.
Some additional landowner benfits are the creation of wildlife habitat and enhanced recreational opportunities.
The Department often works jointly with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Wetlands Reserve Program to make supplementary resources avaiable to the landowner. Additional project partners include the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, the Vermont Land Trust, the Nature Conservancy, the Trust for Public Land, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, and others.
The Department is actively seeking wetland restoration and protection opportunities. Ideal wetland restoration sites are those that historically functioned as wetlands but were converted to other uses through ditching and draining. Some past and present projects include: The Benjamin-Wing Wetland Restoration Site, The Bissonette Farm Wetland Restoration Site, and The Lake Champlain Basin Wetlands Restoration Plan. The Department is also looking to protect intact wetlands that have a significant water quality protection function.
For more information contact:
April Moulaert - Wetland Restoration and Protection Specialist
Department of Fish & Wildlife
103 South Main Street, 10 South
Waterbury, VT 05671-0601
email: April.Moulaert@state.vt.us
phone: 802-241-1054
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