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Protecting Ind

Call    

I E Indian Love Call,” located
along the Rock River in
southern Vermont, is becom-
ing legendary. A popular recreation
area, it is actually a group of three
swimming holes about a mile
upstream from that tributary’s conflu-
ence with the West River. Like the
more publicized “Ledges” in
Wilmington, Indian‘Love Call’s
uppermost swim area is a beach for
nude bathing that is definitely a
much-loved gathering spot for mem-
bersof the gay community.
Visitors must carefully pick

their way along a somewhat iffy trail *

beside the swiftly flowing river, over
treeroots, slippery rocks, and muddy
riverlets — a hard trek when laden
with supplies. That trip was one rea-
son the swimming hole remained a
secluded spot, used only by the initi-
ated few.

Although there are no high-
way signs or trail markers, with
national web exposure and outings in
tourist books, its hide-a-way nature is
luring many who hunger for the ulti-
mate “true Vermont” experience. A
recent survey showed that during
summer holiday weekends over 90
percent of visitors there are from out-
of—state. Unfortunately, such popular-
ity brings problems.

The issues revolve around
the environment and public health,
and safety, not the fact that it’s a
commonly known gay fun spot —
annual spring surveys of the gay-
favored area show no trash, suggest-
ing that we are being very good stew-
ards. Even though the site has sus-
tained its beauty, it is becoming a
threatened species. Theswimming
hole’s natural capacity is being
pushed to its limits by simply too
many human bodies — gay or straight,
local or non-local — congregating in a
delicate, pristine area. Nature does
have its limits.

Indian Love Call is not the
only swimming hole in the West
River Valley that is being threatened
by overuse. There are many places '
along Route 30 from Brattleboro to
Jamaica that are designated as “high
use” public access areas by local
government agencies. During the
summer season these swimming
holes face problems caused by too
much traffic, too many parked cars,
too many pedestrians sauntering
down and across main highways, too
much wear on access trails, too many
feet trampling the aquatic habitat, too
many white tissue “flowers” bloom-
ing in the forest, and too much trash
left behind. Can we do something to
address these problems? Yes, we can.

 

The Rock River and Indian
Love Call trail access is located on
private property. Vermont‘ law allows
people to walk, hunt and fish on pri-
vate land unless it is legally posted.
The landowner ultimately controls
what occurs on his or her property.

- All the landowners surrounding

Indian Love Call agree with the idea
of public access to their private prop-
erty. However, signs proclaiming
“Posted: No Trespassing” are becom-
ing more common. As the limits of
landowner hospitality are reached,
there go our swimming holes. Is
there a way to work with the
landowners to keep these “sacred”
swim holes open to the public over
the long term? Yes, there is.

A few years ago, the Town
of Newfane prohibited parking along
the road that runs parallel to the Rock
River. The safety restriction pushed
Indian Love Call visitors to park
along‘Route 30. Parking beside this
heavily traveled road seems to be
legal, but also blocks access to the
breakdown lane forpeople with real
emergencies. The primitive parking
area adjacent to the hot dog stand,
although off the road, is not a good
option. Crossing Route 30 by foot is
not safe. According to locals on the
scene, there’s a heart-stopping near-
miss just about every summer week-
end. So can we find a way to park
and walk in relative safety? Yes, we
can. , .

Rock River is still one of
the prettiest of the West River tribu-
taries, but it does have its share of
environmental issues. Stream banks
at many points along the river are
severely eroded. Loose sediments
accumulate in the streambed, smoth-
ering natural habitat for fish and
aquatic insects. The access trail that
runs along the Rock is eroding in
numerous places. Sediments coupled
with storm water runoff of nutrients
from the surrounding land cause
excessive algae growth. Generally,
human and animal wastes contribute
to the nutrient-loading problem.

Algae on submerged rocks
— those yucky brown layers of slime

ian Love

 

— make it hard for larval stages of ’
aquatic insects to attach to the rock;
Water-quality monitoring this sum-
mer in Rock River has revealed bac-
terial levels of possible concern,
especially after heavy rain. The presfi
ence of E.coli bacteria is definite e '4
dence of fecal matter being deposited;
into the stream. Finally, oxygen |ev- _
els in the water are often reduced,
putting most aquatic creatures in
peril. Can we do something about
minimizing these water quality prob.
lems and sustaining the natural beau-.
ty of our river? Yes, we certainly can _

There are solutions.
Finding and implementing the solu-
tions that will work require a C01'lCCtl‘
ed effort by everyone — including
those who love Indian Love Call and‘
the many wonderful places like it in .
nearby watersheds!

We canisave swimming

Is stheréi I
“wav“*‘t6“w6'
with thf
landowners}, i;.
keep “sacred

   
 

Yes, there

holes, create safer and more envirorr
mentallysound access, and keep tilt
water clear by taking advantage of”.
opportunity to participate in a solu- 3
tion-oriented process. The West Rilf
Watershed Alliance’s (WRWA) B959»
Planning Committee in conjunctism ;,
with the Windham Regional
Commission (WRC) and the
Windham County Natural Resourcfig
Conservation District (NRCD) is L
beginning a public dialogue conC§“*‘_
ing water quality and related water‘ ,
shed issues for the West, Williams; .
and Saxtons Rivers. These rivers:
their watersheds are designated 35 5
‘Basin ll’ under the Vermont’s‘

watershed managementiprogram 1
flrst Basin ll Management Plan,3;
living, working document not )7:
inclined to gather dust, will be ,9
l

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