LCC News

Lake Champlain currently has 51 known non-native and invasive species with many more approaching—the Hudson River has over twice as many and the Great Lakes host nearly four times more. AIS pose a significant threat to ecosystem health. Early detection is key to controlling new populations before they become established—and you can help by becoming an LCC CHAMP community science volunteer! Click to learn more and sign up.

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After CLF, LCC and VNRC’s petition, EPA says state of Vermont must revamp agricultural regulation. Read...

In a letter issued today to the VT Agency of Natural Resources the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says Vermont falls short on Clean Water Act enforcement. The letter comes almost two and a half years after LCC, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), and the Vermont Natural Resources Council filed a petition asking EPA to thoroughly investigate how the state applies the Clean Water Act on farms. The issue arose from the Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources and Agency of Agriculture both overseeing clean water regulations for farms. EPA found that Vermont does not do enough to regulate concentrated animal feeding operations – farms that keep a large number of animals confined to a small, densely populated space. Read...

Reporting dropped off dramatically during week 12 as we had fewer blooms, and many municipal and state personnel who monitor beaches left seasonal posts. Reminder that while week 12 had a fairly low incidence of blooms compared to recent weeks it is still peak bloom season and cyanobacteria can show up in any waterway. (We are seeing a bloom response to the warmer temperatures in week 13.) Read...

Blooms were dominant at the beginning of week 11 in the northeast section of Lake Champlain on 8/26 with extensive ones reported in Missisquoi Bay, St. Albans Bay, Main Lake North, and the Inland Sea. Blooms were also observed at Lake Carmi, Lake Memphremagog, Shelburne Pond, and Ticklenaked Pond and unusual pink cyanobacteria was observed at Silver Lake in Barnard VT. Read...

Week 10 was busy for the LCC cyanobacteria monitoring team as Lori announced her upcoming retirement (12/31/24), Alexa got married, Lindsey headed off to trek for a week in the wilds of Montana and Alberta, and Eileen wrapped up a big project on native aquatic plants. On the cyanobacteria beat, blooms dominated the scene in some Quebec portions of Lake Champlain’s Missisquoi Bay and parts of St. Albans Bay. Read...

I am writing to let you know that after nearly four decades at the Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) I will retire at the end of 2024. I am deeply honored to have had this wonderful job. Lake Champlain is a constant source of wonder, beauty, and sustenance in my life, and I feel very grateful for the privilege of serving as LCC Executive Director. While I love my LCC work, I now have three young grandchildren and want to be there for them, playing outdoors, and helping to nurture their environmental ethic. Read...

I am writing to share some bittersweet news about the Lake Champlain Committee. After an extraordinary career spanning nearly four decades, our beloved Executive Director, Lori Fisher, has announced her retirement, effective at the end of 2024.

Lori’s unwavering dedication and passion for protecting and preserving Lake Champlain have made her an iconic figure in our community and beyond. Her leadership has been instrumental in countless achievements for the LCC, and her impact on the health and well-being of our lake is immeasurable. We are deeply grateful for her tireless efforts and invaluable contributions to our organization. Read...

The Lake Champlain Committee of Vermont, New York, and Quebec announced today that Lori Fisher, its esteemed Executive Director, will retire on December 31 after more than 30 years of dedicated service to the organization and the Lake Champlain Basin.

Under Fisher’s leadership, the Lake Champlain Committee has made significant strides in protecting and restoring the health of Lake Champlain. Her passion for the lake and her unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship have been key to advancing LCC’s mission. Read...

It was another week of highly variable conditions depending upon where you were. Monitors filed 240 reports during week 9 and 19% were of blooms. The majority came from northern sections of Lake Champlain. Some blooms persisted for days and continued into week 10. The many bloom reports also delayed the compilation and sending of our weekly email. LCC does roughly 90% of the report vetting and follow-up with monitors so our report to you goes out later during high traffic weeks. Read...

Some extensive and persistent blooms were experienced in northern sections of Lake Champlain and various inland waterways including the Poultney River during week 8 of monitoring. Big thanks to all the community science volunteers who are chronicling conditions. Cyanobacteria monitoring will continue through the fall so click here if you’d like to join the 2024 cyanobacteria monitoring team.  

While most monitors reported generally safe conditions during their week 7 site rounds, those that did observe blooms often found them widespread. And blooms certainly weren’t restricted to Lake Champlain – VT inland waterways of Lake Carmi, Shadow Lake, and the Moore Reservoir all had significant blooms. In this email you’ll find details on weekly conditions, resources to help you recognize cyanobacteria, along with photographs of Gloeotrichia sp.; spinach smoothie look-alikes; bloom gloom at Lake Champlain sites at Venise-en-Québec QC, Philipsburg QC, Macomber Point in the Inland Sea VT, Niquette Bay VT; and inland lake VT sites at Lake Carmi, Shadow Lake, and Shelburne Pond. Read...

While many monitors reported bloom-free conditions during week 6, where cyanobacteria did show up it sometimes persisted for several days. In this email you’ll find details on weekly conditions; resources to help you recognize, avoid and report cyanobacteria; and photographs of week 6 bloom zooms, high alerts at Stephenson’s Point VT and Philipsburg QC, a low alert at Lake Carmi, khaki-colored blooms, clumps of blooms, Gloeotrichia sp. – a colonial cyanobacteria, tools of the trade, clear water scenes, and parting shots tracking a bloom. Read...

Monitors weathered another week of IT challenges as the tech issue that shut systems down worldwide also affected the cyanobacteria tracker. It’s the reason you’re getting this weekly compilation of results much later than usual. Many LCC monitors had to delay filing reports due to the IT problem so there was a backlog of assessments to enter and vet once the tracker was working again. Read...

It was eerily familiar last week as floodwaters wreaked havoc on infrastructure, communities, and ecosystems, exactly a year after the historic July 2023 flooding. We hope you didn’t personally endure damage but know everyone in the watershed is affected as we witness the devastating effects of another high intensity storm. Some monitors were unable to access their sites due to washed out roads and some sites are closed due to damage. Read...

Hot weather during the 4th of July holiday led to a burst of blooms and the cyanobacteria tracker went down over the weekend making for a challenging week! Please read on for June 30 – July 6, 2024 monitoring results and resources to help you recognize, avoid and report cyanobacteria. Read...

With summer in full swing, the native aquatic plants in Lake Champlain are spreading and blooming, adding pops of color to the water. How did they get here, and what helps make them successful away from land? Read...

Happy summer! Thank you for signing up to receive the Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) Cyanobacteria monitoring reports! Each week we’ll send you an update about conditions monitors are finding on Lake Champlain and at select inland Vermont lakes. Monitoring began the week of June 16 and will run through early fall. This week’s report covers results from Sunday, June 23 through Saturday, June 29, 2024. Read...