Guest speaker Lisa Borre is a Senior Research Specialist with the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies who also blogs about water issues for National Geographic. She has sailed across the Atlantic, authored dozens of sailing and water quality articles, and co-founded an international lake network. Lisa will share stories from her research, travels, and work with the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) about how climate change is affecting lake communities worldwide. She'll also review lessons learned and promising strategies for protecting lakes in a time of global change.

Climate change is having profound effects on lakes here in the U.S. and around the world, including Lake Champlain. Rising water temperatures, loss of winter ice cover, a lengthening of the lake stratification season, increased evaporation, and more extreme weather events, including droughts and intense rainstorms, are exacerbating already challenging lake restoration efforts. These changes are affecting the food web in lakes, from the tiny plankton to entire fish communities. Climate change is also affecting the water balance and the delivery and movement of pollutants in lakes and their surrounding watersheds. Complicating matters is the interaction between multiple stressors on lakes, from invasive species and nutrient pollution to changes in agricultural practices and climate at a regional and global scale.

LCC will present our Legacy Award to Mike Kline, manager of the Rivers Program at the VT Dept. of Environmental Conservation. For nearly three decades Mike has worked tirelessly and effectively to align state and federal programs to move away from stream channelization and promote natural stream stability. Stressing the importance of river science and data collection, he has developed a nationally-recognized River Corridor Protection Program to minimize riverine erosion based on the principles of stream equilibrium and natural floodplain function. Join in recognizing his leadership to protect and restore our waterways. 

During his 15+ year tenure at LCC, Staff Scientist Mike Winslow has provided thoughtful, scientific grounding for LCC's policy work. He's authored the lake's only natural history book, helped implement our award-winning blue-green algae monitoring program, given countless presentations to foster stewardship, trained hundreds of people to assess water quality, and written eloquently about the lake. Help us give him a warm send off to his new post at VT EPSCoR.  

Pick up a jar of our microbead-free coffee exfoliant (while supplies last) along with recipes for making your own plastic-free personal care products. Made with local honey from LCC member John Little and leftover grinds from area coffee shops, LCC's homemade concoction uses natural cleaning agents to give your skin a buzz without fouling the water. 

Sincere thanks to the following businesses for providing support and delicious food from the Champlain Valley for our gathering: Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Chef’s Corner South End, Trader Duke's at Double Tree Hotel, Engineering Ventures, FlynnDog Gallery, Great Harvest Bread Company, Hannaford Supermarket, Hilton Burlington Hotel, Holiday Inn, Lake Champlain Chocolates, Magic Hat Brewing Company, Saratoga Olive Oil Company, Price Chopper, Shaw's, Shelburne Orchards, Stewart’s Bakery, Sugarsnap Vermont Catering, Verilux, Vermont Creamery, VCAM, and Vermont Smoke and Cure!

Register online or by calling the LCC office (802-658-1414). The first 20 to sign up and attend will take home a set of LCC lake note cards. (Must be present to receive the cards.) RSVP by 10/10/16 to be entered into our door prize pool. Email Dom Brennan at dominicb@ lakechamplaincommittee.org, LCC's new ECO AmeriCorps Education & Outreach Coordinator, if you'd like to volunteer at the LCC annual meeting.