News by Category

The end of the year brought good and bad news on management of air pollution in the United States. On the plus side, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced new rules and standards that will cut mercury emissions from power plants by up to 90%. MORE

The issue of using hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” as a means of extracting natural gas from shale and other tightly packed rock formations has stirred a great deal of controversy. MORE

Winter is a great time for observing waterfowl on Lake Champlain. During the chilly months many birds escape from even colder northern climes to the relative warmth and tranquility of Lake Champlain. Ducks can be found wherever the edge of the ice…

Membership support provides the majority of LCC’s funding and helps us protect water quality, safeguard natural habitats and enhance recreational access. MORE

The historic flooding of 2011 sent unprecedented quantities of nutrients, sediments and debris into the lake and brought tragic losses to many communities. The events reinforced the need to adapt to climate change by ensuring that our infrastructure…

LCC is seeking the following items and help for our new office space and work on the water. If you have items or time to contribute, please contact LCC Executive Director Lori Fisher. MORE

LCC’s work for a healthy, accessible lake depends upon the active involvement of many dedicated volunteers who lend heads, hands, and heart in a myriad of ways. As we close out 2011the LCC Board of Directors and staff extend our thanks to everyone…

The Lake Champlain Committee staff got a boost this fall with the hiring of Office Manager Jessica Rossi. A graduate of Elon University with a degree in strategic communications and business administration, she previously worked for the Boy Scouts of…

On November 7th the new bridge over Lake Champlain at Crown Point opened to the public. It replaced a structure built in 1929 under the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was governor of New York at the time. That bridge was closed…

On November 15th at the Vermont statehouse, lawmakers discussed issues surrounding gravel extraction as a response to Tropical Storm Irene. They heard from academics and state regulators about how removing gravel can often exacerbate downstream…

The twice annual mixing of the lake’s warm and cold layers begins in earnest once the water temperature dips below 40F. At that point, the lake water temperature and thus density becomes relatively uniform from top to bottom. When the lake reaches…

Gary loved Lake Champlain. Binoculars at the ready, always a close eye on the level of the lake, concern for how the Winooski was affecting water clarity in a given summer, whether the storm rumbling above the Adirondacks would make it to Colchester…

The native mudpuppy, a large salamander that lives in rivers along Lake Champlain, was denied a spot on Vermont's Endangered Species List for the second time since 2002. The Endangered Species Committee and Natural Resource Secretary Deb Markowitz…

Many USGS gages like this one on the Great Chazy River may be closed in March due to a loss of federal funding. On November 29, Staff Scientist Mike Winslow was asked to discuss regulation of Lake Champlain’s level with the New York Citizens’…

The second round of important public meetings on the re-writing of the Lake Champlain Phosphorous Total Maximum Daily Load – or TMDL - the phosphorus reduction budget will be held November 14 – 17 in the southern portion of the Lake Champlain Basin.…

In 2011 LCC completed five years of monitoring at a stream restoration site in St. Albans. Rugg Brook was targeted for restoration following an LCC assessment of the watershed. Prior to restoration, the stream had cut up to 11 feet deep into a…

LCC completed its ninth season of blue-green algae monitoring on Lake Champlain. In 2011, volunteers collected 172 samples and there were 29 low alerts and two high alerts issued during the ten weeks of citizen monitoring. MORE

(Adapted from an AP report)

A science program at the University of Vermont has been awarded a $20 million federal grant, the largest grant in the school's history, to help study the health of the Lake Champlain basin and look at the effects of…

Commercial divers recently reached the shipwrecked tugboat McAllister to assess whether it still contained diesel fuel from when it sank in 1963. The wreck sits in about 165-feet of water off Schuyler Reef. The tug was carrying diesel fuel when it…

Piles of autumn leaves left in the road can become part of the stormwater problem for the lake. Help keep our waters clean by sweeping or raking leaves away from roadways. Mulch them with a few passes of the lawnmower so the nutrients left in the…

Installing a WaterSense labeled aerator to your faucet is one of the most cost-effective ways to save water. Also consider replacing the entire faucet with a WaterSense labeled model. Either way, you can increase a faucet's efficiency by 30 percent…

Under any scenario events like Tropical Storm Irene and the spring floods of 2011 will be extreme outliers; however, climate models do predict we should expect and prepare for more intense storms in the years to come. MORE

Tropical Storm Irene will shape our thoughts about and relationship with rivers for at least a generation. A previous generation reacted to the floods of 1927 by straightening and berming rivers and dredging sediments. Bulldozers ran down the rivers…

The sandbar at the mouth of Mill Creek in Port Henry is covered with loafing birds, white balls of feathers in various states of repose. Most are ring-billed gulls with a few other gulls mixed in, but two birds in particular stand out. They are the…

Thanks to the lake lovers who joined the Rozalia Project, LCC and other lake partners in a September cleanup of the Burlington waterfront! The afternoon effort removed 1,500 items and 408 pounds of debris along a half mile of shoreline. MORE

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation will host important meetings on the re-writing of the Lake Champlain Phosphorous Total Maximum Daily Load or TMDL - the phosphorus reduction…

Join the Rozalia Project, LCC and other lake friends in a lakeside cleanup as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). The ICC is the world's largest effort for ocean (and lake) health with millions of volunteers from over 150 countries…

Please join Lake Champlain Committee board, staff and friends at "The Big House" at Sunnywood in Chazy, New York on Saturday, October 1st from 2:00 PM-5:00 PM for our 48th Annual Meeting. Learn about LCC’s work and lake issues, get a guided tour of…

Between 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM on Sunday August 28th Lake Champlain rose approximately three feet according to the gauge in Whitehall, NY at the southern end of the lake. Over the same time span the gauge at Rouses Point at the northern end of the lake…

Tropical Storm Irene delivered another slug of nutrients and sediments to Lake Champlain along with tremendous quantities of debris causing challenges for navigation. Boaters should use extreme caution on the water. Conditions are particularly…

Lake Champlain was above flood stage for two months this spring. The record flooding that occurred in New York, Vermont and Quebec has led to calls for the governments to ‘do something’. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and Quebec Premier Jean Charest…

On Friday August 26th the 402 foot center span for the new Champlain Bridge was floated from Port Henry to Crown Point, lifted into place, and secured to the east and west bridge approaches. Now bridge construction enters its home stretch.…

Late summer and early fall are wonderful times to be out on the water. Be sure you have the 2011 edition of the Paddlers’ Trail guidebook in tow. It’s filled with important information for great adventures on the water including site descriptions and…

A new population of European frog-bit was discovered during a plant survey in Missisquoi Bay. Researchers from LCC and Arrowwood Environmental had been surveying the plant communities (video) when they came across the population in an isolated…

The 2011 blue-green algae monitoring season is winding down. This year following spring flooding, blooms in Missisquoi Bay were extensive and thick. Additional persistent blooms were found in St. Albans Bay and sporadic blooms occurred throughout…

Brown jelly-like blobs have been reported from various places around Lake Champlain this summer. The patterning on the surface of the blobs makes them resemble brains or diseased tree branches. These are actually colonies of sessile invertebrate…

One small step you can take to minimize damage from storms to local roads and waterways including Lake Champlain is to clear any storm drains in your neighborhood. When storm drains clog, the water that they are designed to collect bypasses the…

As the kayak glides through the still water of a marshy bay it parts the green verdure floating on top. A bullfrog sits camouflaged amidst the tiny leaves. This is no algae bloom. Each spot of green is a separate little plant, the smallest of the…

If you’ve had an address change recently, please send us an email so we can update your files and ensure you receive news on lake issues and LCC’s work. Our primary form of communication with members is through email. By mailing electronically we…

The owners of a tugboat that sank on Lake Champlain in 1963, the week before President Kennedy’s assassination, has agreed to begin efforts to remove any residual fuel left on the boat. The tug, an oil tanker, struck Schuyler Reef and sank in waters…