Lake Ripples - Feburary 2010

Lake Champlain has been designated a national ‘Great Water’ through the America’s Great Waters Coalition. The Coalition was launched in December 2009 by the National Wildlife Federation and an Alliance of more than 30 national, regional, state and local organizations to protect, preserve and restore America’s Great Waters. Lake Champlain now joins Chesapeake Bay, the Everglades, the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Maine, Long Island Sound, the Mississippi River, and San Francisco Bay as a ‘Great Water’. To earn the designation, waterways had to be of a certain size and scale, have a comprehensive restoration plan in place or in development, and have organized stakeholder involvement.   

“It’s clear that Lake Champlain meets the requirements and deserves to be included,” said Lori Fisher, LCC Executive Director who wrote the application to get Lake Champlain considered. “It is a nationally significant waterbody, with extensive community involvement in the restoration and protection efforts underway. We look forward to working with Coalition members across the country to increase funding and support for Lake Champlain and other precious waterways that sustain people, wildlife and the economy.”  

Senator Leahy said, "It isn't news to Vermonters that Lake Champlain is 'great.' And this is more great news if it helps us to secure more resources and attention for the conservation and restoration of Lake Champlain.”  

The Lake Champlain Committee will be working to do just that as a member of the Great Waters Coalition. “The goal of this effort is to make the restoration and conservation of our waterways a national priority,” said Fisher.

Transmission Developers Inc. (TDI) recently announced plans to develop a High Voltage direct current (HVdc) cable designed to run principally along waterways, including the Hudson River and Lake Champlain, from Canadian generating facilities to consumers in the New York City area. The design calls for the power line to be buried in the bottom sediment of Lake Champlain, the Hudson Canal, and the Hudson River. The final route will need to be reviewed by the New York State Public Service Commission.  The total cost of the project is estimated to be more than $3.8 billion. Public meetings on the project are slated to begin in the spring of 2010. The Lake Champlain Committee has not yet taken a position on this project, but will continue to monitor it as it develops.

From 1896 to 1944 gas was manufactured at a plant on Saranac St. The legacy of this industry was a stew of toxic chemicals that have contaminated soils and leached into the Saranac River. Various clean up efforts have been on-going since 1976 and the next stage is set to begin. A public meeting will be held on March 9th to provide information about proposed activities to address contamination of the Saranac River. Clean up actions include removal and off-site disposal of coal tar contaminated sediment from the Saranac River bed, and restoration of the river bed and river banks.  

The river phase of the clean up effort is expected to take three years. Before the work begins, the river bottom will be digitally mapped so that it can be restored to its original state including replacing boulders and deep pools that provide fish resting and hiding spots. Work within the river will be restricted to May through September to reduce impacts on fish populations during spring and fall spawning runs. Dams constructed above and below the work site and a temporary canal will redirect the river flow while contaminated sediment between the dams is removed. A portage will be installed for paddlers moving up and down the river. The project requires that the river be returned to its original condition before work ends for the season. Areas below the work site will be assessed to determine how much coal tar has made its way downstream and what remedies are necessary. Clean up activities will be performed by a contractor hired by New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG) and overseen by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). An information session about the clean up will be held on March 9th as part of Trout Unlimited’s monthly meeting. Drop in to ask questions and discuss the upcoming project.  

When and Where
Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 7:00 PM
Trout Unlimited Monthly Meeting
Gander Mountain Room, Gander Mt. Store
Champlain Centre Mall
60 Smithfield Boulevard Plattsburgh, NY  

For More Information
Comments and questions on the Saranac River Cleanup Project can be directed to NYSDEC Project Manager:
Lech Dolata
625 Broadway, 11th Floor
Albany, NY 12233-7014
518-402-9662
lxdolata@[remove this text]gw.dec.state.ny.us  

For site-related health questions contact NYSDOH Project Manager:
Wendy Kuehner
800-458-1158, ext. 27870
Wsk01@[remove this text]health.state.ny.us

Lake Champlain Committee staff scientist Mike Winslow will be the featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Missisquoi River Basin Association on Thursday March 25th at 7:00 PM at the Richford Town Hall. Learn about the forces that shape Lake Champlain, the creatures that call it home, and the special role of rivers like Missisquoi in defining Lake Champlain’s ecology. Copies of Lake Champlain: A Natural History will be available for purchase and author Mike Winslow on hand to pen special inscriptions. Free event. 

Richard Levesque, caught a whopper of a walleye through the Lake Champlain ice on February 10th using a tip-up baited with a golden shiner. The walleye, weighing in at 14.55 pounds, shattered the previous Vermont record of 13.44 pounds. The hefty fish, measured 32 ½ inches long with a 20 inch girth. Levesque was sitting in his shanty at about 9 PM when the fish hit. Fisheries biologist Chet MacKenzie speculated that the fish was at least twenty years old. The previous Vermont state record walleye weighed 13.44 pounds and came from the Clyde River in 1997. The catch reinforces the lake’s reputation as a great place to fish for walleye.

A rare ivory gull was sighted on Lake Champlain near Rouses Point on February 19th and repeatedly thereafter. The ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) is a small white gull of the Arctic. It rarely comes south of the Bering Sea or the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Sightings of ivory gulls in the United States bring birders from far and wide to add a species to their life lists. The Rouses Point gull has been hanging around ice-fishing shanties feeding on scraps. The bird has been observed from the pull-off on the Rt. 2 bridge and from the end of Stony Point Road south of the village of Rouses Point.