On average, synthetic fleece jackets release 1.7 grams of microfibers each wash, which equates to an average of 80,000 microfibers.

As state legislatures struggle to take action on long-term funding for water protection and the Trump Administration proposes radical cuts to environmental programs, Doug Facey ponders the value of our lake. Doug is a longtime LCC member and professor of biology at St. Michael's College.

LCC ECO AmeriCorps member and Education and Outreach Coordinator Dominic Brennan has spent several months conducting research and doing site visits at schools in New York and Vermont. The outreach is part of our School Stormwater Assessment Project funded through a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program.

It has been over five years since Tropical Storm Irene ravaged our region. Most of the damage from that storm was caused by rivers leaving their channels and carving new routes through fields and homes. The Association of State Flood Plain Managers (ASFPM) released a white paper stressing the dangers posed by erosion hazards. The paper was co-authored by Mike Kline and Rebecca Pfeiffer of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation.

The Sandbar wetlands in Milton and Colchester, along with two other unique Vermont wetlands (Dennis Pond in Brunswick and Chickering Fen in Calais) are now classified as 'Class I' wetlands. The designation places extra protections on wetlands with exceptional ecological features. Though most wetlands exhibit substantial levels of plant and wildlife diversity, Class I wetlands are granted additional safeguards from encroaching development because of their irreplaceable values. The three are the first to be granted Class I status in over a decade. Only three other Vermont wetlands have been assigned Class I status: Dorset Marsh in Dorset, Northshore Wetland in Burlington, and Tinmouth Channel Wetland in Tinmouth.

Each February, the arrival of red-shouldered hawks signals the beginning of a procession of surprising regularity, the spring bird migrations. All up and down the Lake Champlain Basin, in woods, wetlands, and on the broad lake, the aerial parade of birds moving from warmer winter climes northward continues in fits and starts, ending with a few straggling ruddy turnstones in June.

In the summer of 2016, the first wild-born salmon was documented in Lake Champlain for the first time in two centuries!

The Open Space Institute (OSI) recently announced acquisition of shoreline property on Lake Champlain to enhance recreational boating and mountaintop hiking opportunities while protecting local water quality. Easily seen from western Vermont and the city of Burlington, the property also offers views of Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains to the east, and the Adirondack High Peaks to the north and west. The property features more than 4,000 feet of Lake Champlain frontage and is also the scenic backdrop to Schuyler Island, a renowned day trip for area kayakers and boaters.

Every month, Vermont's Clean Water Initiative Program highlights a "Clean Water Superstar", species that help keep waters swimmable, drinkable, and fishable. A past entry was the Raphanus sativux L, the oilseed radish. Since it's gardening season we thought we'd highlight its benefits in the excerpt below.

You don't have to be a fan of a radish's spicy crunch to reap the benefits of planting them in your garden. Although edible, oilseed, tillage, daikon, or forage radish is more commonly used as a cover crop.

How many people have access to clean and safe water? Where do they get it from and how much do they pay for it? A report by the World Health Organisation/Unicef Joint Monitoring Programme delves into data on drinking water from the last 17 years to give a detailed view of the state of access to drinking water today.

Help assess Lake Champlain water conditions around the lake. Complete our cyanobacteria monitor interest form if you're interested in monitoring during the 2017 season or want to attend a training session to learn more about the lake. Feel free to share this invite with other lake lovers.

Show your support for the vital role science plays in our health, safety, economies and governments by joining in the Earth Day March for Science.

Come work for clean water! Want to protect Lake Champlain's health and accessibility? Have a passion for both policy and field work? Are you a persuasive communicator of scientific and technical information? Direct your skills and energy to protecting the health and accessibility of Lake Champlain as LCC's Director of Science & Water Programs.

Dear Lake friends,

As someone who cares about clean water, are you willing to make one phone call? This week, the Vermont House will make key decisions about whether and how to address the $62.4 million annual investment needed to protect and restore our waterways. Please take a moment to call your legislators today and let them know you want them to invest in water clean-up now.

The White House is proposing to slash the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) budget by 25%. The $2 billion cut from EPA's budget of $8.14 billion represents a mere .05% "savings" in the total federal budget. 

For several years LCC has been raising awareness about tile drains and urging state agencies to focus more attention and regulatory scrutiny on them.

Dr. David Strayer, freshwater ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, shares his thoughts about why any efforts to repeal the EPA rule that defines waters of the United States (WOTUS) should be resisted, especially if you care about the health of our nation's lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands.

The Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) and environmental consulting firm Arrowwood Environmental (AE) won a competitive grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program to continue our aquatic invasive species mapping and control project.

The Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee (VT CAC) presented its annual Action Plan to the Vermont Legislature last week in a day-long series of meetings at the Vermont State House.

Many thanks to our friends at Magic Hat who have again brewed a special beer to celebrate and support Lake Champlain.

For a brief period in 1998, the United States government officially recognized Lake Champlain as one of the Great Lakes.

Winter is a great time for observing waterfowl on Lake Champlain.

Removing a dam makes a big difference for fish habitat, recreation, the local economy and water quality.

Every month, the Vermont's Clean Water Initiative Program highlights a " Clean Water Superstar", species that help keep waters swimmable, drinkable, and fishable.

Before 1999 Lake Superior ferries never operated all winter between the communities of Bayfield Wisconsin and Madeline Island, the small resort town that's home to about 250 year-round residents. 

The Vermont Legislature returned on January 4 with new faces and some changes in leadership. Mitzi Johnson of South Hero was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senator Tim Ashe, representing Chittenden County, was elected President Pro Tempore of the Vermont Senate. Congratulations to them and good news for the Lake Champlain Basin, as there are now two leaders that understand firsthand the environmental impacts of the phosphorus pollution on the lake and the surrounding waters.

The Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP), the Congressionally-designated initiative to restore and protect Lake Champlain and its watershed, seeks comments on Opportunities for Action (OFA). OFA maps out a plan for coordinated action by federal, state and provincial jurisdictions.

Last month, LCC, the Conservation Law Foundation, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Vermont Natural Resources Council, and others called for Senators to vote against the appointment of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator.

Help clean up your favorite park or walking trail before spring snowmelt and rains send a lot of foul stuff to the local swimming hole. LCC is looking for community partners for our April Stools' Day events. 

Like a strand of silken thread spun across an expanse of air by an ambitious spider, a river forms a line across the landscape. Its wandering path can be followed upstream, and sometimes traced to a single beginning high on a mountainside or at a spring.