• Don’t apply fertilizer in the spring. Early fall is the best time to fertilize in the Champlain Valley. So hold off on adding anything to your soil now and use the time instead to get a soil test done so you know what – if anything your soil needs. You can obtain soil test kits through your area Extension Agency or by stopping by the LCC office. 
• Don’t use fertilizer with phosphorus. Studies indicate that the majority of northeastern lawns have more than enough phosphorus. If you do use fertilizer, make sure to buy a bag of the phosphorus free stuff. The three numbers on the fertilizer bag indicate the Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K) content. A “zero” in the middle means it is phosphorus-free. Lawns rarely need extra potassium (K) but adding some won’t affect water quality.
• Plant grass seed on existing lawns in the fall and spring. Use a grass mixture that does well in the area and leave legumes, such as common white clover, among the grass to add nitrogen to your lawn naturally. These practices will encourage strong root growth and enable the grass to outcompete weeds.
• Mow to maintain a height of 3 to 4 inches. Cut off no more than 1/3 of the grass blade and leave the clippings on the lawn to add nutrients and organic matter.

Sweep any clippings and fertilizer off paved or hard surface areas. This will keep nutrients on your land instead of in the lake.  

For more lake friendly tips, check out the Learn and Get Involved sections of our website and consider taking our Lake Protection Pledge.

Reopening the TMDL poses challenges and opportunities, but is unlikely to affect overall efforts to manage the lake. The efforts of the state of Vermont have been guided by the best available science. The state has emphasized and prioritized appropriate actions and focal areas. State agencies have a strong conceptual model of phosphorus movement through the ecosystem and have developed programs to address each area where stopping such movements is appropriate. There are many possible reasons why in-lake responses have been so disappointingly slow.  

If EPA reopens the TMDL then LCC recommends that the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources consider separate TMDLs for separate lake segments. Such an effort would require an extensive planning effort, but it would allow managers to focus resources on the problems most acutely associated with each lake segment rather than pretending that all sources of lake pollution are universal. For example, much of the debate in the press has centered on the relative responsibility of wastewater treatment facilities. Yet not all facilities have the same impact on the lake simply by virtue of the segment to which they discharge. Separate lake-segment TMDLs would allow a focus on the facilities most likely to contribute to lake pollution.  

Pollution problems in Lake Champlain are not evenly distributed between the lake’s five principal segments. This fact is acknowledged in the detailed assessment of the lake clean-up plan but glossed over in press releases and political posturing. Phosphorus pollution problems substantially occur in the South Lake, Missisquoi Bay, and a portion of the Inland Sea, namely St. Albans Bay. Not only are pollution levels highest within these three segments, but they also serve as a source of pollution loading to adjacent lake segments. If phosphorus pollution is controlled in these three areas, the vast majority of the lake-wide problem will be resolved. That’s why LCC has long advocated to focus additional phosphorus reduction efforts and dollars on these sections of the lake.  

In considering separate TMDLs for separate lake segments, the work should begin with Missisquoi Bay. The bay receives a full 40% of Vermont’s share of Lake Champlain phosphorus pollution. It is directly connected to only one other lake segment and upstream of that. A single connection eases development of a TMDL. By contrast, identifying the relative pollution contribution from tributaries versus other lake segments will be much more difficult for lake segments like the Main Lake that have a direct connection to many other segments.  

There is precedent for segregating water bodies into distinct segments each of which receives their own pollution remediation plan. In Vermont, only portions of many rivers have been identified as in need of a TMDL rather than the entire river. In New York, a separate phosphorus TMDL exists for Little Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario, rather than for the entire lake.  

Development of separate TMDLs for different lake segments will present technical challenges and be time-consuming, however, the outcome will be a better focus on the specific causes of lake pollution and how they differ across the state.

The 2010 edition of the Lake Champlain Paddlers' Trail Guidebook and Stewardship Manual will be out in June. It’s filled with important information for great adventures on the water including site descriptions and chartlets for 39 Trail locations (including several new sites!), launch site listings, natural history articles, safety and stewardship tips, equipment check lists and more! - And it's available to all members who renew annually for $40 or more. Click here to make an online donation to ensure you have the guidebook in hand at the beginning of the paddling season.

The study determined that the spiny water flea is most likely to reach Lake Champlain in a recreational boat travelling between the two water bodies, saying, “based on the biology of the Spiny Water Flea, there is a low probability it will spread from Great Sacandaga Lake to Lake Champlain through the Champlain Canal. Although spiny water flea has been detected in riverine environments, their preferred habitat is a deep lake environment. If detected in the Sacandaga or Hudson rivers, it is not likely that the spiny water flea would persist long enough to travel an estimated 50 miles from Great Sacandaga Lake to Lake Champlain. There is higher likelihood that the SWF will be spread to Lake Champlain via human activities.”  

The study reinforces the importance of personal responsibility for preventing the spread of invasive species. Boaters must ensure that their crafts are clean and free of weed fragments, residual water in live wells and bait buckets, and other potential sources of invasive species. All boaters must take steps to personally help protect the ecological integrity of our waters.

Hazardous operations involving heavy equipment and frequent diver surveys continue in preparation for the new bridge construction. The no-wake zone is intended to minimize the risk a vessel’s wake could pose to both construction workers and boat operators in the area.

“Safety is our first priority,” said Coast Guard Senior Chief Louis Coleman, the officer in charge at Coast Guard Station Burlington. “With the construction area changing on a daily basis, it’s impossible for all of the hazards to be captured through broadcasts or on charts. Mariners need to slow down for their own safety, as well as the safety of the construction workers.”

A five-knot speed limit will be enforced in a regulated navigation area that stretches 300 yards to the north and south of the bridge construction zone. The area is bound by four, white and orange-striped “NO WAKE” buoys.

Additional navigation aids have also been installed to facilitate safe passage through the construction zone. Red and green lighted buoys now mark the channel within the regulated area, and the four remaining concrete piers from the old bridge are marked by warning signs and solid amber lights. Despite these safety measures, boaters are reminded to use extreme caution when passing through the area.

The New York State Department of Transportation estimates that there will be two days during the final phase of construction when the area will be completely closed to vessel traffic while the center bridge span is lifted into place.

In addition, the Coast Guard may close this area to all traffic for any circumstance that poses an imminent threat to boaters operating in the area. The Coast Guard will give as much advance notice as possible before closing the construction zone to vessels. Notice will be made by broadcast notices to mariners on VHF-radio channel 16 and 22, and will include the date and time of the closure as well as the date and time that normal vessel traffic is expected to resume.

The public can obtain information about the regulated navigation area by contacting the Coast Guard Sector Northern New England Command Center staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week at (207) 767-0303, or by checking the online Local Notice to Mariners.

To view the regulation online, go to http://www.regulations.gov/ and click on the “Read Comments” box, which will then become highlighted in blue. In the “Keyword” box insert “USCG-2010-0176” and click “Search.” Click the “Open Docket Folder” in the “Actions” column.