MOU Extends Cooperative Basin Management

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and Québec Premier Philippe Couillard sign the Lake Champlain Memorandum of Understanding.

The Province of Québec and the States of New York and Vermont renewed their longstanding commitment to the cooperative management of Lake Champlain and its watershed with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Cooperation on the Management of Lake Champlain on March 23rd. Québec Premier Phillipe Couillard and Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed the MOU while New York State DEC Region 5 Director Bob Stegemann pledged New York’s support and intention to sign. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed in New York later that day.

The MOU re-establishes the goals of coordinated research, sharing of information, and implementation of programs to protect water quality and ecosystem integrity in the Basin, and affirms the roles and functions of the Lake Champlain Steering Committee, including implementing the Lake Champlain Basin’s long-term management plan Opportunities for Action and developing the annual budget for the Lake Champlain Basin Program. The updated MOU also includes provisions that emphasize the importance of flood resilience in protecting water quality in the Basin.

First signed in 1988 by Governor Mario Cuomo of New York, Governor Madeleine Kunin of Vermont, and Premier Robert Bourassa of Québec, the MOU has been updated seven times. From the beginning, the MOU has provided for public input through the work of Citizen Advisory Committees (CACs) in New York, Vermont and Québec. The CAC chairpersons sit on the Steering Committee.

LCBP Awards $662,471 in Grants

Students collect macroinvertebrates as part of the Missisquoi River Basin Association’s Bugworks program supported with Education and Outreach grant funds.

The LCBP has awarded 68 grants totaling $662,471 to communities and organizations in Vermont and New York that are implementing projects to improve the future of the Lake Champlain watershed. The grants support projects in four categories: Pollution Prevention and Habitat, Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention, Education and Outreach, and Organizational Support.

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, whose support was essential in securing the funds for the grants, commented,  "These grants to scores of communities, watershed groups and other organizations on both sides of the Lake are so important in promoting and protecting our 'Great Lake.' Supporting these crucial efforts at the local level is exactly why it's always among my highest priorities to bring funds to our Lake Champlain work."

“Local NGOs and municipalities will use these funds to complete projects in every corner of the Lake Champlain watershed,” said Bill Howland, LCBP Director. “Some local watershed groups partner up with public works crews to identify specific opportunities to prevent erosion from ditches and municipal parking lots. Other watershed groups help landowners to restore eroded streambanks through riparian plantings, reduce contamination at local beaches, and create programs that help students understand watershed problems and implement solutions.” 

Denise Smith, Executive Director of the Friends of Northern Lake Champlain, said “Thanks to LCBP, we will be able to implement a water conservation project at a key location in St. Albans Town, and we will be able to implement a direct outreach and education program about water quality to small and backyard farmers in our region.  The partnership between LCBP and small local watershed groups in the Lake Champlain Basin is critical to the success of the Lake Champlain clean-up efforts and improving water quality in the State of Vermont.”

The total of all requests, some $1,081,635, indicates the very strong interest and need for local projects in the Lake Champlain Basin. These grants were supported with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and National Park Service funds. This year, the Lake Champlain Basin Program requested assistance from 26 members of the public, representing a wide diversity of watershed interests, to carefully review and rank the applications before making grant funding recommendations to the LCBP’s Executive Committee.

Since 1992, the LCBP has awarded more than $6.5 million to 918 projects in New York and Vermont in the competitive Local Grants programs. Funded projects cover all actions in the Lake Champlain management plan Opportunities for Action. To learn more about these grants, please search our Grants Database or browse our Grants Map. Read more about recently completed grant projects below.

Love the Lake is a Hoot!

This year’s Love the Lake Speaker Series concluded with a record turnout for the Bird Diva Bridget Butler’s presentation on “Owls in the Lake Champlain Basin.” The standing-room-only crowd learned about the owls that call the Basin home, and practiced their owl calls. The series included a program that balanced pressing issues in the Basin.

Bradley Young, Fish Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service presented “Choosing the Right Tool for the Job: Controlling Lake Champlain’s Sea Lamprey in Québec.” Young, who was instrumental in designing the Morpion Stream sea lamprey barrier, tributary to the Pike River, discussed the cross-border partnership with Québec to complete the barrier dam, and summarized the first year of progress on the lamprey harvest.

Dr. Tim Mihuc, Director, SUNY Lake Champlain Research Institute, discussed last summer’s invasion of the Spiny Waterflea and the potential impacts of this and other aquatic invasive species on the ecosystem. Mihuc conducts the New York component of the Lake Champlain Basin Program’s Long Term Water Quality Monitoring Program in partnership with New York  DEC. Mihuc is an aquatic ecologist who has also studied long-term patterns in Lake Champlain zooplankton and phytoplankton communities, the Lake’s food web, cyanobacteria, and benthic macro invertebrates.

Rob Clark, lighthouse enthusiast and resident of Champlain, NY took the audience on a tour of Lake Champlain Lighthouses, adding special emphasis on the details and history of the Windmill Point and Isle La Motte lighthouses.

Watch the crowd practice owl calls with Bird Diva Bridget Butler >>

Programs for Student and Educators

Participants at the Teaching Place conference collected data on the Burlington waterfront, and created blogs and maps to tell stories of the natural and cultural history of the area.

Technology in Place-Based Education

Twenty-five educators participated in the Champlain Basin Education Initiative’s (CBEI) January 24 conference “Teaching Place: Using Technology and Professional Wisdom to Uncover the Interrelationships Between Natural and Built Systems.” The conference offered educators the opportunity to explore the use of a variety of technologies in investigating human interactions with built and natural landscapes.

Teachers collected data on the Burlington waterfront, created blogs and maps to tell stories of the natural and cultural history of the area, and collected weather and climate data. Dr. Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux, Professor of Climatology and Vermont State Climatologist, delivered the keynote address “Nimble and Active: Using Technology to Respond to Real World Events in a Changing Climate.”

World Water Day Celebration

The Champlain Basin Education Initiative’s (CBEI) second annual World Water Day celebration saw a significant increase in participation from last year’s inaugural event. Ninety-three educators and students came to hear Rachael Miller of the Rozalia Project speak about the threat of micro-plastics to aquatic environments as well as solutions that environmental stewards of all ages can implement to prevent pollution.

The day’s events included an exhibit of entries into the Celebrate Water! contest. Students submitted photos, artwork, maps, dioramas, and videos that addressed one of four themes: Celebrate Water, Spread the Word, Citizen Science and Civic Action, and Act Locally-Think Locally. All students were recognized for their contributions. Top awards included a day at Ausable Chasm in New York for Keene Central School students, a narrated trip on the Spirit of Ethan Allen on the Burlington waterfront for St. Albans City School students, and a scientific investigation aboard UVM’s R/V Melosira for a fifth grade class at Champlain Elementary.

Watch the video produced by St. Albans City School >>

See more contest entries on the WatershED Matters Gallery page >>

Grant Results

Lake George Municipal De-Icing BMPs

Recent studies in the Lake Champlain Basin have documented the adverse impacts of road salt on aquatic habitat. In an effort to stem these effects, the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board (LCLGRPB) used Lake Champlain Basin Program pollution prevention funding  to hold a Municipal De-Icing Best Management Practices Forum in Lake George. The purpose of the forum was to educate state, county, and local highway crews on improved winter road maintenance techniques and activities. It was determined during the workshop that the public works departments in the towns around Lake George lacked critical new technology that would allow them to reduce road salt application. In response, the LCLGRPB purchased pavement temperature sensors for the Town of Lake George, Town of Queensbury and Town of Dresden that help plow truck operators better gauge the temperature of the road, which is generally higher than the temperature of the air, to better assess the amount of treatment needed on the roads. The sensors were used throughout the winter of 2014 – 2015. Each municipality is happy with the performance of the sensors and have used it as a platform to improve other winter road maintenance equipment, including switching to automated spreader systems.

Bulwagga Bay Campground Shoreline Stabilization Project

The town of Moriah, NY, used shoreline habitat grant funds to construct a 75-foot-long berm at the Bulwagga Bay Beach Campground. This berm stabilizes an area where extensive erosion has resulted in the significant loss of shoreline vegetation, extensive damage to campground infrastructure, and hazardous conditions for residents and visitors. In addition to protecting the town’s investment in public recreation facilities, the project benefits the near-shore aquatic environment with the introduction of native shoreline vegetation and improved water quality by reducing sedimentation. The established vegetation provides habitat for wildlife, and the shade generated from the trees when they mature will benefit fish and other water organisms.

Stormwater Reduction and Restoration in East Creek

Using pollution prevention grant funds, the Rutland Natural Resources Conservation District (RNRCD) installed three Low Impact Development demonstration practices in the East Creek watershed. These stormwater best management practices include an infiltration trench, tree plantings, and a rain garden. Pet waste receptacles with signage were also installed at Parks in the City and a cistern has been designed and will be implemented with future funding at Garden Time. The work will help create public awareness that will lead to behavior changes and greater watershed stewardship in the City of Rutland. The East Creek is listed in the State of VT 2012 List of Priority Surface Waters Outside the Scope of Clean Water Act Section 303(d) Part C., Surface Waters In Need of Further Assessment for both sediment and temperature. Tenney Brook, a tributary to the East Creek, was identified in the Otter Creek Basin Water Quality Management Plan as an urban stream with moderately high levels of phosphorus.

Intervale Tree Guard Removal

In 2014 the Intervale Center’s Conservation Nursery removed 25,485 tree tubes from 14 past riparian restoration projects in Addison County and one site in Rutland County, eliminating more than two tons of plastic from the landscape. The plastic tree guards were used at the time of planting between 2000 and 2007 to protect seedlings from meadow voles and other rodents that browse on the young plants. As the trees grow, the guards eventually threaten the trees by girdling them. Restoration practices attempt to minimize the use of the plastic tubes by strategically identifying seedlings most likely to benefit from the guards.

Upcoming Events

Annual Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference
April 28-29, 2015, Freeport Maine
The 26th Annual Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference for the New England states and New York is coordinated by New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) in partnership with its member states and EPA. The conference provides a forum for sharing information about nonpoint source pollution (NPS) issues and projects in this region. In 2015, the conference sessions will reflect the following theme: “The Watershed Approach:  Addressing Today’s Challenges with an Eye on the Future.”

The regional conference will bring together many of those in New England and New York State involved in NPS pollution management, including participants from state, federal, and municipal governments; the private sector; academia; and watershed organizations. For more information, please visit NEIWPCC Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference website.

IAGLR 2015
May 25-29, 2015
Researchers from around the world will gather in Burlington, Vermont, for the International Association of Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) 58th Annual Conference, co-sponsored by the LCBP. A great program is in store with four days of scientific sessions and speakers focusing on the theme New Views New Tools. Mark your calendars for May 25-29, 2015. Visit the IAGLR 2015 website for more information.

Annual Report of Activities

The LCBP has released an Annual Report of Activities for Fiscal Year 2014, which highlights LCBP projects that were in progress or concluded between October 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014. The grants, externally managed projects, technical reports, and staff products summarized in the report total $3,212,935. This work is completed with funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and the National Park Service as well as special project funding from the International Joint Commission.

Read the LCBP Annual Report of Activities >>

LCBP Takes to the Streets

The LCBP hit the streets of Plattsburgh, NY and Burlington, VT last summer to talk to the public about where the water in Lake Champlain comes from and what they think the average person can do to help protect water quality. We documented the responses of those people we spoke with on the street and added some tips of our own in this new “Man on the Street” video.

View the video >>