Latest Updates

Join ADK Explorer's water reporter Zach Matson as he moderates a panel of water quality experts and environmental leaders (including LCC Executive Director Jenny Patterson!) tackling Lake Champlain's persistent water quality challenges. For over three decades, communities and advocates across Lake Champlain’s sprawling watershed have sought to control phosphorus, a key nutrient powering harmful algal blooms in the lake and fueling more public beach closures as summers get hotter. Read...

In week 18 (10/12-10/28/2025) of the cyanobacteria monitoring season, we saw the lingering late-season bloom in North Hero, the vibrant green waters at Shelburne Pond, a swirl of green and teal at Graveyard Point, a bright surface bloom at North Harbor, and the serene fall waterscape along a clear shoreline. Read...

Even as fall advances and temperatures turn cool and crisp, cyanobacteria blooms continue to appear across Lake Champlain and Vermont’s inland waterbodies. This week, only low-alert blooms were observed in Lake Champlain, occurring in the Inland Sea and Main Lake North. Three inland Vermont lakes experienced blooms, with Halls Lake showing a high number of high-alert blooms. Read...

With fall now underway, cyanobacteria blooms are still being observed in multiple sections of Lake Champlain and in inland Vermont waterbodies. This week, we saw a mixed bloom with different types of cyanobacteria at Graveyard Point, patchy cyanobacteria mats at North Harbor, persistent bright green blooms at Shelburne Pond, and a muted green cyanobacteria blending into the fall-colored surroundings at Lake Memphremagog.

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Even with cooler temperatures and autumn colors setting in, cyanobacteria blooms are still showing up across Lake Champlain and nearby Vermont waterbodies. During Week 15, the Main Lake South experienced a notably high amount of blooms, while Lake Memphremagog saw several high alert conditions. Other areas with reported blooms included the Inland Sea, Main Lake Central, Main Lake South, Main Lake North, and inland lakes such as Shelburne Pond. Read...

The products we use to encourage prolific lawn growth may end up fueling less-welcome species, including cyanobacteria, when they end up in Lake Champlain. Read...

Although fall is officially here, cyanobacteria blooms were still observed across Lake Champlain and several inland Vermont waterbodies during Week 14. While the overall number of reports was lower, blooms occurred in several key areas on Lake Champlain, including the Inland Sea, Main Lake North, Main Lake South, Missisquoi Bay, and St. Albans Bay, as well as in Vermont waterbodies like Shelburne Pond and Lake Memphremagog. Read...

This week we saw a paint-like bloom at Venise-en-Québec shoreline, a green sheen bloom at Black Bridge in St. Albans Town, a faint green haze at North Beach in Burlington, an intense bright green layer at the U.S. Coast Guard Boat Access Ramp in Burlington, and clear waters at Alburgh Dunes State Park. Read...

During Week 12 (8/9 - 9/6/2025) of the cyanobacteria monitoring season, we saw paint-like green bloom at Philipsburg Boat Launch, dense mats coating the shoreline at Philipsburg, vibrant green waters at North Hero Marina, bright teal and green cyanobacteria patches at Parc Jameson, and speckled green patterns at Rock Point Eagle Bay. Read...

Under a velvety dark sky on the night of a new moon, an American eel (Anguilla rostrata) slithers from her watery home in Lake Champlain to embark on a fateful mission. To mate, she must venture on a journey that stretches north through the Richelieu River, down the broad St. Lawrence, into the cold sweep of the North Atlantic, and then thousands of miles south to the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda. Read...

This week we saw teal tinted waters at Parc Jameson, patches of green from a low alert at Graveyard Point East, green waters at Shelburne Pond, tiny cyanobacteria at Black Bridge in St. Albans, and specks of cyanobacteria at Graveyard Point West. Read...

This week we saw bright green surface accumulations at Shipyard in Highgate Springs, thick swirling scums at Philipsburg, nearshore pea soup conditions at Lakeshore Park in Alburgh later in the week, patchy shoreline blooms at Graveyard Point in North Hero, and clear water conditions at Burlington’s Triangle Beach. Read...