Vermont does not have state-wide regulations guiding development on shorelands; buffer promotion and enhancement must be accomplished locally. There are several means available to Vermonters wishing to address buffers on a lake or in their town.

• Educate people with already developed lakeshore on how the property can be retrofitted for the benefit of the lake.
• Educate people before they develop an undeveloped piece of shoreland about living on the lake in a lake-friendly manner.
• Work with your town Conservation Commission or Planning Commission to promote good town policies and regulations that protect shorelands and lakes.

Enhance the vegetation on your own lakeshore!

Whether you have lawn to the shore or canopy trees, your camp is 20 feet from the lake or 100, there are probably ways in which vegetation and lake protection can be enhanced.

Then talk to your neighbors about it. Social science research shows that people learn and are influenced most by their friends and neighbors.

Distribute copies of handouts available on the Lake Protection Series webpage.

• Offer information on good shoreland development methods to new shoreland owners by working with your town clerk.
• Offer local meetings and workshops to discuss the importance of natural shoreland vegetation.
• Order native plants as a group for shoreland revegetation through your local Natural Resources Conservation District. Most districts offer a spring plant sale of native species.

Participate in your town's local government processes.

• Many lake associations in Vermont have helped their towns obtain Better Backroads grants to fix town or private road erosion problems in the lake's watershed.
• Encourage the adoption of town shoreland regulations that set buffer widths and erosion control standards. Contact the VT League of Cities and Towns for technical assistance and a model ordinance.