State preservation office seeks steady funding for underwater preserves, roadside markers

Laura Treishman, Vermont’s state historic preservation officer, told the Senate Committee on Institutions on April 8 that the preservation office’s capital requests include support for the state’s underwater preserves and continued funding for roadside historic markers.

Trishman said the capital bill recommends $46,000 for underwater preserves, which protect and interpret shipwrecks in Lake Champlain, and described about 11 preserves that are open seasonally from May through October. “We now have 11 preserves that are open to the public … we had 300 registered divers and we clocked in over 600 dives,” she said. Trishman said the preserves include 19th‑century canal boats, schooners, tug boats and horse ferries and that the office has been producing 3‑D modeling and video so people can see wrecks without diving.

The Senate chair said she wanted an update on the agency’s overall budget. Trishman also described the roadside historic marker program, a long‑running public interest effort traditionally funded at $25,000 a year. She told the committee the governor did not recommend funding for the roadside markers in the proposed budget but the House reinstated $25,000. “We have about 330 roadside markers in Vermont and 1 in Virginia,” she said, and added the markers cost about $3,000 apiece, including pole and typical installation. Trishman said 28 applications were on her desk at the time of testimony, with about 12 related to Vermont’s 250th anniversary observances.

Committee members asked practical questions about marker weight and installation. Trishman said a single marker weighs about 75 pounds (not including the pole) and that foundry packaging can raise shipping weights to roughly 300 pounds. She also told the committee the state uses a single foundry that has supplied markers since 1947 and that VTrans often installs markers along state rights‑of‑way.

Trishman said the preservation program has other small recurring expenses beyond new markers, including annual refurbishing and repainting. “If it’s repainting and just a refurbish, it’s about $800. If we have to replace some words … it can be about $1,000, but most of the time we have to start over,” she said.

Why it matters: The preserve and marker programs are public‑facing tools for interpreting Vermont history and tourism; steady capital support and maintenance funding determine whether markers and preserves remain accessible and accurate.

Trishman urged continued funding and said the House action to restore the $25,000 marker line reflected orders already in production at the foundry and continued demand. Committee members said they would follow up with the administration to clarify the governor’s decision on the marker funding.

The session moved next to a longer discussion of major maintenance for state historic sites and separate testimony from the Vermont Historical Society.