Photo by Eileen Fitzgerald, © Lake Champlain Committee

Champlain Aquatic invasive Monitoring Program (CHAMP)

Program overview

The Lake Champlain Committee recruits, trains, and supports volunteers who survey for and report on aquatic invasive species (AIS) in Lake Champlain through the Champlain Aquatic invasive Monitoring Program (CHAMP). Aquatic invasives threaten Lake Champlain’s ecology, economy, and recreation, and having trained volunteers surveying for key AIS helps us better manage these species and prevent their spread.

CHAMP Volunteer Interest Form

Participating in CHAMP is a great way to learn about aquatic biology while also combating the spread of invasive species. You do not need to be an expert – we will train you! Anyone with a bit of free time and access to public or private Lake Champlain shoreline areas during the summer and early fall months can get involved. LCC provides volunteers with annual training, equipment, and ongoing support to survey for AIS in Lake Champlain. We train volunteers in identification of target AIS that are already found in Lake Champlain as well as watchlist AIS that have been reported in nearby waterbodies. 

Once trained, volunteers walk or boat along shoreline sites, rake in samples of aquatic life, and report their findings of key target invasive species to LCC at least three times during the summer and fall. The data gathered by dedicated CHAMP community science volunteers helps identify where AIS are established and aids in early detection and rapid response to prevent invaders from colonizing new areas. 

Program history

LCC launched CHAMP in 2023 to enlist and train community science volunteers to assist with AIS monitoring on Lake Champlain. While both Vermont and New York have strong volunteer AIS programs, such as the Vermont Invasive Patrollers (VIP) and the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) Lake Protectors, there is a gap for monitoring AIS in Lake Champlain. CHAMP fills that gap. Since then, the program has grown from seven to dozens of volunteers surveying sites from the southernmost reaches of the lake to its northernmost bays. In 2024, a CHAMP volunteer detected the first observation of invasive golden clam (Corbicula fluminea) in the South Lake region. CHAMP gets more trained eyes on the lake to search for watchlist AIS and identify new encroachments of invasives already in the lake which is essential to spread prevention and AIS management.

CHAMP volunteers are required to:

  • Have access to a public or private lakeshore location on Lake Champlain for at least three surveys over the course of the June-October season. LCC's top priority is monitoring public access sites and active wetland complexes and river deltas, with emphasis on the South Lake and Main Lake North regions of Lake Champlain.
  • Watch a virtual training and attend an in-person session to learn about aquatic species identification and CHAMP survey methods (combined training time is about 3 hours, not including travel to training site). LCC conducts the hands-on trainings at multiple locations on the VT and NY sides of Lake Champlain, usually in June.
  • Conduct and submit at least three surveys for key target AIS at a selected site between June and October. Surveys consist of ten rake tosses along a start and end point, with record and photo(s) of which species you encountered. 

LCC supports CHAMP volunteers by:

  • Providing a virtual training session presented with AIS professionals to share background on AIS, guidance on species identification, and outline survey and reporting protocols.
  • Hosting in-person training sessions where you can see examples of AIS and go through survey methodology
  • Supplying a CHAMP Toolkit containing materials needed for surveys: an AIS rake, ID resources, a loupe, white bins for photographing species, sealable plastic bags for QA samples and specimen collection, data sheets, survey instructions, and forms.
  • Being available for ongoing technical support for surveying and reporting throughout the field season.

Learn more about invasive species in Lake Champlain

Access the online CHAMP Volunteer Toolkit - check back soon!

CHAMP is funded in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement to NEIWPCC in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program.