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…
Transmission Developers, Inc. (TDI), a Canadian Company, is continuing to push for an electric power line to be placed on the bottom of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River.
The line would provide energy for the New York City area. TDI has made some…
The 2011 edition of the Lake Champlain Paddlers' Trail Guidebook and Stewardship Manual is out! It’s jam-packed with important information for great adventures on the water including site descriptions and chartlets for 39 Trail locations (with access…
An astute resident found a new population of an invasive species near the ferry dock in Essex, NY. The plant, giant hogweed, is a federally listed noxious weed within the carrot family. Exposure to its sap can cause severe skin irritation,…
Summer is here. Swimmers no longer need to brave the cold as the lake has warmed up over 700 F according to USGS gauges. The lake level, though still high, has receded well below flood stage. The first harvests of the gardens are in and gardeners…
~ Step on it: Grass doesn’t always need water just because it’s hot out. Step on the lawn, and if the grass springs back, then it doesn’t need water. An inexpensive soil moisture sensor can also show the amount of moisture at the plant’s roots and…
In early July gray tree frogs can still be heard calling for mates, but by the end of the month bullfrog (jug-o-rum) and green frog (like a single tong from a banjo string) calls become more prominent. Tree frogs breed earlier in the season because…
The Albany Times Union reported that this year’s lake flooding has led to some navigational challenges in the South Lake. Portions of the shoreline have broken off creating ‘islands’ as large as half an acre within navigation channels. In mid-July,…
LCC began its ninth season of our award-winning blue-green algae monitoring program in early July. Volunteer monitors take samples once per week at selected locations around the lake. The samples are then analyzed by the Rubenstein School of Natural…
We’re delighted to note that LCC’s Blue Green Algae monitoring program received the Citizen Scientist Green Mountain Environmental Award. The awards were created by ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center and FreePressMedia to recognize environmental…
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…
Want to add to your properties’ curb appeal and protect Lake Champlain and other water ways? The Lake Champlain Committee encourages designing a water-smart yard that puts nature to work creating healthy lawns and gardens. Click on the title for…
We spent much of the last month moving the Lake Champlain Committee office. The move gave us an opportunity to weed through our files and cull much of the material that no longer seems relevant. It’s amazing how many papers accumulate over time.…
Focus some of your spring cleaning efforts on shoreline areas this year. Lake flooding has washed up tons of debris around the lake. Extra hands will be needed to clear trash and prepare recreation areas for summer. Consider contacting the managers…
LCC is gearing up for the 2011 blue-green algae monitoring season. The LCC shoreline monitoring has been on-going since 2004. Our monitoring efforts concentrate on Missisquoi Bay and the northern lake where we know blooms are most common and most…
Efforts are underway in Lake George to use benthic mats to exterminate a population of Asian clam. The Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea, is a small bivalve that is native to southern Asia, the eastern Mediterranean, and Australia. They are small,…
Near the end of the session a bill was introduced that proposed a number of programs and changes designed to improve water quality and the management of Lake Champlain. The specifics of the bill will clearly change as it moves forward. The bill was…
The Vermont House passed a bill that would strengthen participation of citizens in environmental enforcement decisions. The bill allows a 30-day public comment period on any penalties assessed with regard to environmental violations, and allows for…
The Vermont legislature passed a bill that will help facilitate drug take-back programs at pharmacies. Unwanted pharmaceuticals present a potential water quality hazard when they are carelessly dumped down the toilet. In an ideal situation consumers…
Lake flooding presents numerous recreational hazards. Incredible amounts of debris, large litter and logs, now float around the lake. Some normally exposed structures, like the Burlington breakwater, are under water. Many of Lake Champlain’s sand…
Lake Champlain remains well above flood stage though it has receded from its maximum of 103.2’, reached on May 6th. At that height the lake contained an extra 867 billion gallons of water and the area of the lake increased by 15%. During the last…
Lake flooding presents a mixed bag for the animals of the region. Some fish species will likely benefit from the extra area for spawning. In particular, pike, pickerel, and carp spawn in shallows along the shore and the extra water increases the area…
The unprecedented flooding and high lake levels have closed beaches and access areas and submerged Trail sites. LCC is working with state and municipal officials and private landowners to assess the damage to the 39 Trail locations. Several sites may…
The Vermont legislature joined seven other states in regulating the use of phosphorus fertilizer on lawns. LCC has long-advocated for this important step in reducing pollution to Lake Champlain. In 2003 we spurred an investigation of lawn phosphorus…
