To assess natural resources on the working lands it conserves, VLT uses GIS-based screening tools and field-based assessments. Recently VLT developed and added a flood resilience screening tool to the mix, allowing assessment of river corridors for their erosion and deposition potential, and conservation assets related to flood resilience. This tool is in use by VLT to incorporate flood resiliency into decision-making that is often in perpetuity.

The damage to Vermont's transportation system caused by Tropical Storm Irene flooding in 2011 illustrated the magnitude and scale of the system's vulnerability to river erosion and flooding. Furthermore, Vermont experiences frequent local floods that damage smaller road segments, bridges, and culverts. Flood recovery along the transportation system is a major expense for the State of Vermont, and an activity that often leads to repeated impacts to river and riparian habitat. VTrans and its project partners are developing a new tool to assess and mitigate risks to Vermont's transportation system to save cost and avoid repeat river impacts.

Roy is a Water Resource Scientist and Engineer with Milone & MacBroom, Inc. He received his PhD (Aquatic Ecosystem Studies) from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2005 and his M.S.Eng. (Civil and Environmental Engineering) from University of Washington in 1996. Roy is a licensed Professional Engineer in Vermont and frequently works on applied projects including flood protection, channel and floodplain restoration, crossing structures, bank stabilization, and river corridor assessment.