About Rock River Preservation, Inc.
Rock River Preservation, Inc. formed as a nonprofit organization in 2005 for the purpose of ensuring public access to recreation areas along Rock River. Rock River Preservation is committed to protecting this natural environment through conservation and education initiatives alongside local landowners and state and federal agencies. Private land development, pollution, and erosion have all made increasingly deep incursions into the natural environment in Southern Vermont. By conserving land along the River, Rock River Preservation intends to provide an antidote to these losses. Rock River Preservation is an entirely volunteer-run organization.
Land Preservation and Management
Rock River Preservation is bound to preserve, maintain, and assure public access to the riverfront land parcel (approximately 4.5 acres) under the terms of a management plan, originally established as part its purchase and updated in 2021. This parcel is also subject to a Conservation Easement held by the Vermont Land Trust. A deed restriction on the recently-purchased (approximately 25 acres) hillside parcel restricts any development for 50 years. The Rock River Preservation board has extended the management plan to cover the entire property. An additional Conservation Management Plan was adopted in 2023.
History of the Organization
Summer 2000: Users of swimming holes at Rock River establish "The Rock River Preservation Society", which aimed to preserve and enhance the ecological well-being of the area, ensure the public's access to the area, and maintain the area through clean-up efforts, pollution alert efforts and land preservation purchases. The society is registered as a nonprofit the following year.
2003 - 2006: Amid concern that it could not perform adequate stewardship of the land, the Connecticut River Watershed Council approached the society about a potential land purchase. A gradually widening circle of Rock River users agree to reorganize the society. With a new name, Rock River Preservation, Inc. is subsequently granted 501(c)3 by the IRS. Rock River Preservation develops a management plan as an outline for addressing issues of erosion, access and use.
March 16, 2007: Rock River Preservation, Inc. purchases approximately 4.5 acres of riverfront land from the Connecticut River Watershed Council, with conservation and preservation guarantees held by the Vermont Land Trust (click here to review the baseline documentation report prepared at that time).
August 27 and 28, 2011: Tropical Storm Irene devastates river landscapes throughout the Northeast, including Rock River. Many volunteers help to reopen the trail and remove debris.
2014: Rock River Preservation enters into conversation with Robert Swartz and his daughter, Jennifer, owners of the most popular swimming areas, across the river from the far end of the property owned by Rock River Preservation.
Summer and fall 2018: Robert and Jennifer Swartz offer to sell 21 acres of their property to Rock River Preservation. Two hundred river users respond to a fundraising appeal, donating more than $90,000. The purchase is completed on November 20, 2018.
Land Preservation and Management
Rock River Preservation is bound to preserve, maintain, and assure public access to the riverfront land parcel (approximately 4.5 acres) under the terms of a management plan, originally established as part its purchase and updated in 2021. This parcel is also subject to a Conservation Easement held by the Vermont Land Trust. A deed restriction on the recently-purchased (approximately 25 acres) hillside parcel restricts any development for 50 years. The Rock River Preservation board has extended the management plan to cover the entire property. An additional Conservation Management Plan was adopted in 2023.
History of the Organization
Summer 2000: Users of swimming holes at Rock River establish "The Rock River Preservation Society", which aimed to preserve and enhance the ecological well-being of the area, ensure the public's access to the area, and maintain the area through clean-up efforts, pollution alert efforts and land preservation purchases. The society is registered as a nonprofit the following year.
2003 - 2006: Amid concern that it could not perform adequate stewardship of the land, the Connecticut River Watershed Council approached the society about a potential land purchase. A gradually widening circle of Rock River users agree to reorganize the society. With a new name, Rock River Preservation, Inc. is subsequently granted 501(c)3 by the IRS. Rock River Preservation develops a management plan as an outline for addressing issues of erosion, access and use.
March 16, 2007: Rock River Preservation, Inc. purchases approximately 4.5 acres of riverfront land from the Connecticut River Watershed Council, with conservation and preservation guarantees held by the Vermont Land Trust (click here to review the baseline documentation report prepared at that time).
August 27 and 28, 2011: Tropical Storm Irene devastates river landscapes throughout the Northeast, including Rock River. Many volunteers help to reopen the trail and remove debris.
2014: Rock River Preservation enters into conversation with Robert Swartz and his daughter, Jennifer, owners of the most popular swimming areas, across the river from the far end of the property owned by Rock River Preservation.
Summer and fall 2018: Robert and Jennifer Swartz offer to sell 21 acres of their property to Rock River Preservation. Two hundred river users respond to a fundraising appeal, donating more than $90,000. The purchase is completed on November 20, 2018.