The Lake Champlain Basin provides a natural home to thousands of plants and animals that rely on its diverse natural habitats. From the Lake's edge to lowland forests and farmlands, to upland mountain forests, and higher still to patches of alpine tundra on the tallest peaks, the diversity of ecosystems is greatly influenced by elevation.

The Basin's plants and animals also include rare, threatened, and endangered species, such as the spiny softshell turtle, that occupies both aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and the common tern, which nests on islands in northern Lake Champlain. Many species of fish and wildlife in the Basin are managed by the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative whose partners include the states of Vermont and New York, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Lake Champlain has a diverse aquatic community of fish, plants, amphibians, reptiles, benthic (bottom-dwelling) organisms, and tiny phytoplankton and zooplankton. Eighty-one species of fish have been identified in the Lake. About 20 of these species are game fish, several of which are actively stocked. Lake trout and salmon populations are among those most impacted by the parasitic sea lamprey. Several fish species including lake trout and walleye have accumulated mercury and other toxics in their tissues. As a result, New York, Vermont and Quebec have fish eating advisories for people because mercury is a toxic substance. For more information, visit the LCBP's Fish Advisory webpage.

Invertebrates, such as mussels, aquatic snails, and bottom dwelling animals, are a very important but poorly understood part of Lake Champlain's ecosystem. A high diversity of invertebrates usually indicates a healthy lake. The Basin supports fourteen freshwater mussel species, but these native mussel populations are seriously impacted by competition for resources (including space) from the recently introduced non-native zebra mussels.

Amphibians and reptiles are generally abundant in the Basin and several dozen species are found in the Lake area. However, there is concern that populations of many species are declining significantly, probably due to a degradation of habitat quality and habitat loss.

Wetlands contain some of the richest natural communities in the Basin. They also maintain and improve water quality in Lake Champlain by removing nutrients, processing chemical and organic wastes, and trapping sediments carried by stormwater. In boreal and deciduous forests, swamps can be found in areas where ponds are slowly filling in with decaying plant material. Swamps typically contain trees such as red maple, tamarack, and cottonwood, and also contain a thick understory of shrubs such as speckled alder, willow and dogwoods. Marshes are found in lowlands, often at the edge of a lake or stream. Marshes differ from swamps in that they do not contain trees. Plants such as cattails, rushes and wild rice are common in marshes and provide nutritious food for wildlife. Submerged and emergent marsh plants are adapted to grow water levels which seasonally fluctuate.

Scattered among the spruce-fir forests are wetlands called bogs. Many bogs began as ponds or small lakes that formed at the end of the Ice Age when large blocks of ice separated from the retreating glacier and lodged in depressions in the land. When the ice melted, these depressions became ponds. Visit the Geology in the Basin page to learn more about the Ice Age. Bogs are nutrient poor and highly acidic, and contain an interesting array of plant life, including orchids and carnivorous species such as the pitcher plant. Sphagnum mosses, sedges and low shrubs spread rapidly and create a carpet-like mat on the unstable wetland surface of bogs.

Animal life in a bog is typically transient. A variety of mammals live in or frequently visit bogs, such as muskrat, beaver, otter, and deer. Moose graze on aquatic vegetation and small rodents, such as the bog lemming, make forays around a bog. Bird life is not rich, but frequent visitors include woodpeckers, the olive-sided and yellow-bellied flycatchers, and Lincoln's sparrow.

Ducks, herons and birds of prey such as osprey, red-tailed hawk and bald eagles forage and nest in or near wetlands. Lake Champlain Basin wetlands are located on the Atlantic Flyway, an important migratory corridor for waterfowl and other birds. These wetlands provide critical resting and feeding sites during fall and spring migration. In addition, certain fish species in Lake Champlain, such as the northern pike, require wetlands as spawning grounds and nursery areas for their young.

The high country slopes throughout the Basin are often heavily forested with spruce and fir, and to a lesser degree, white birch and mountain ash. The sites that support these montane forests usually have nutrient-poor soils, with minimal decomposition because of cold temperatures through much of the year. Coniferous (evergreen) trees have an advantage here. They require less nutrients from the soil because they do not produce all new foliage every year.

Mammals in the upland spruce-fir forests are more numerous than in the alpine zone, and include some of the same animals. Red squirrels, snowshoe hares, deer mice, shrews, pine marten, and moose are residents in these upper elevation forests. When spring arrives in the boreal forest, so do small birds migrating north, keeping pace with the hatching of multitudes of insects. Finches, grosbeaks, and crossbills are common migratory birds found in this area. The ruffed grouse is a year-round resident, and the males of this species produce a distinctive drumming sound by beating their wings against their breast to attract females.

The plant community that evokes a sense of familiarity to many is the broad-leaved deciduous forest. These are the trees that show such an exuberance of color in the fall that many people feel that their foliage keeps us in tune with the rhythms of the natural world. Though much of this forest has been harvested many times over in the last two centuries, many parts of the Basin are covered with the most common northern hardwoods -- sugar maple, beech and yellow birch. Hemlock is also a component of this forest.

The mammals of the Basin's hardwood forests have changed over the years, responding to changes in habitats resulting from human activities. Species such as the timber wolf and catamount (mountain lion) were extirpated from the area. Today the black bear, white-tailed deer, porcupine, coyote, beaver, and fisher are common. Birds in the hardwood forests include a wide array of owls, hawks, and resident and migrant songbirds. Familiar birds, such as the great horned owl, red-tailed hawk, blue jay, black-capped chickadee, and some woodpeckers are year-round residents. The spring arrival of migratory birds makes the northern forests come alive with a concert of birdsongs.

Small alpine tundra ecosystems thrive on several of the Basin's highest mountain peaks, such as Mt. Mansfield and Camel's Hump in Vermont and Mt. Marcy and Whiteface Mountain in New York. Characterized by miniature shrubs, herbs, mosses and lichens, the plant communities of the alpine zone have survived in these isolated and exposed habitats since the entire region was mantled with tundra soon after the glacier receded some 13,000 years ago. Alpine blueberries, mountain cranberries, Bigelow's sedge, cotton grass, and plants that adopt a wind resistant cushion-like form (such as Diapensia) make the alpine zone distinctive and beautiful. Although these species tolerate cold well, they are easily trampled and killed by the foot steps of hikers. Hikers should take care to travel only on marked trails and stay on rocks in the alpine zones.

Few mammals live exclusively in the alpine zone, although snowshoe hares, red squirrels, mice, shrews, and voles can commonly be found above treeline. Because of their mobility, several species of birds find alpine habitat attractive in the warmer season. Migratory birds, such as Bicknell's thrush, dark-eyed junco, and white-throated sparrow, typically spend the summer on mountain summits and migrate southward for winter. Chickadees and ravens are among those species remaining in the area during the winter, but find their way to lower elevations during colder periods.

• Adirondack Ecosystem (SUNY Adirondack Ecological Center)
• Adirondack Science Online
• ECHO at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
• Endangered Species in the Lake Champlain Basin Fact Sheet
• Fish and Wildlife in the Lake Champlain Basin (LCBP)
• Native Mussel Fact Sheet (by Au Sable River Association)
• New York Natural Heritage Program
• NYS Department of Environmental Conservation: Fish and Wildlife Resources
• Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
• Vermont Institute of Natural Science
• Vermont Nongame and Natural Heritage Program