The land known as the Pine Street Barge Canal in Burlington has seen many changes over the last two hundred years. The wetlands that fed indigenous Abenaki hunters and fishers were cut off from Lake Champlain by the railroad, then filled in and dredged to provide industrial land and lumber storage. In the 20th century, the gas plant at the Barge Canal provided coal gas to Burlington households and businesses while polluting the land and water. Since 1966, many projects have been proposed for “using” this land, considered vacant and available. None of these projects have been built. In the meantime, nature has begun to reconstruct an ecosystem on this damaged site. The 56 identified toxins dumped on the land, waste byproducts of the industrial development that fueled Burlington’s prosperity, are largely contained simply by letting the land be. The land and water, trees, shrubs, flowers, animals and fungi have flourished. As a result, the surrounding city and the Lake have received many benefits.

Now, with partial completion of the Champlain Parkway and new proposals ahead for massive development of Burlington’s South End, it is time for a reconsideration of the future of the Barge Canal. Friends of the Barge Canal (FBC), a local volunteer-run non-profit, considers that Burlington has already benefited from the exploitation of this land. We propose a comprehensive reassessment of the Barge Canal to determine its highest use for the well-being of all Burlington residents, both human and non-human. We call on the city’s Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) to convene all the landowners and other stakeholders for a conference to establish 50-year goals for the Barge Canal in the light of development plans, the need for green space and clean water and the increasing pressure of climate change. We, the supporters of FBC, commit to supporting CEDO and the Mayor in this effort and to participating in the proposed conference.

Let’s begin now to think together about the Barge Canal in 2075.