Many wetland protection and restoration projects are underway in the Lake Champlain Basin.

The wetlands acquisition program works with willing landowners to permanently protect important wetlands. Some of these wetlands are shown on the Wetlands Acquisition Map [566 KB]. The LCBP supported the initial study to prioritize wetlands for acquisition, completed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in 1994, which resulted in over $1.4 million in awards under the federal North American Wetlands Conservation Act.

TNC has overseen the first two of four planned phases of the program, in close cooperation with New York, Vermont and local towns. So far, nearly 4,000 acres of wetlands and surrounding areas have been acquired for protection under the program, and over 2,800 additional acres are expected to be purchased before the second phase of the program ends. With support from the LCBP, TNC is now planning for the program’s third phase.

Wetlands habitat has also been restored through the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. Since 1991, 763 acres of wetlands which were previously drained for agriculture and other uses have been restored. Similar programs underway in the Basin include the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program in the US. In Quebec, the Pike River Ecological Preserve has been initiated which will protect over 311 acres of wetlands in the delta of the Pike River (in Missisquoi Bay).

• LCBP Fact Sheet #4 - Wetlands in the Basin
• Partners For Fish and Wildlife (US Fish and Wildlife)
• Vermont Wetlands Section (VT DEC)
• Wildife Habitat Incentives Program (USDA NRCS)
• Wetlands Reserve Program (USDA NRCS)
• Lake Champlain Wetlands Acquisition Study. Jon Binhammer, Vermont Nature Conservancy. June 1994. LCBP Technical Report #8.