LCBP FY2018 Budget Set

The Federal Fiscal Year 2018 budget cycle was certainly an interesting one for the LCBP and our partners. The LCBP receives the bulk of its funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency via their Geographic Areas Program, with additional support from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the National Park Service. The proposed White House budget eliminated funding to nearly all EPA Geographic Area Programs, including Lake Champlain.

Fortunately, Representatives Stefanik (NY) and Welch (VT) were able to pass an amendment to the House bill to restore this funding to Fiscal Year 2017 levels, at $4.399 million. The Senate, with the support of Senator Leahy (VT), who is vice-chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was then able to boost the EPA budget for Lake Champlain up to $8.399 million. Additional increases to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, International Joint Commission, National Sea Grant, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Lake Champlain work also benefitted from work of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

In all, we expect the LCBP FY18 budget will increase as much as 75% over the FY17 appropriation. We expect to begin rolling out programs in late 2018 supported with these funds:

• US EPA Geographic Areas Programs: $8.399 million. (FY17 appropriation: $4.399 million). The authorizing legislation for these funds specifies that $4 million of this amount will be designated for implementation of the 2016 Phosphorus Total Maximum Daily Load Plans for the Vermont portion of the Lake Champlain Basin. LCBP staff are currently discussing the distribution of this portion of the appropriation with staff from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and Senator Leahy’s office.
• Great Lakes Fishery Commission: $5 million. (FY17 appropriation: $3 million). These funds are apportioned out to the LCBP, USFWS, ECHO,  Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, and University of Vermont for fisheries research on Lake Champlain.
• National Park Service: $317,000. (FY17 appropriation: $300,000).

Grant Awards Top $1.5 Million

The South Champlain Historical Ecology Program will use an Education & Outreach grant to develop archaeological field lessons for local students. Photo: SCHEP

The LCBP has recently awarded $1,599,842 across 85 grants to communities and organizations to work on projects in New York, Vermont, and Québec. These awards—provided through several different grant programs—help support projects that improve water quality, reduce impacts from invasive species, and expand the appreciation and understanding of the cultural heritage of the Lake Champlain watershed. The grants were supported with funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and National Park Service.

The LCBP awarded 77 local implementation grants totaling $746,579 in several categories: pollution prevention and habitat conservation, aquatic invasive species spread prevention, education and outreach, organizational support, CVNHP Local Heritage, and CVNHP Making of Nations. These funds will support projects ranging water chestnut harvesting in Missisqoui Bay to songbooks of traditional Franco-American folk songs.

Eight grants awarded for technical Innovative agriculture and enhanced best management practice projects addressed calls in Opportunities for Action for fresh approaches to pollution reduction. These grants targeted new agricultural practices to the Basin and pollution prevention solutions that require more significant investment than those typically supported by the local grants program. Four grants were awarded in each of these categories for a total of more than $850,000.  

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, whose support was essential in securing the funds for these grants, commented, “I am so proud that these 85 towns, cities and local organizations are stepping up to protect and restore our great Lake Champlain. Lake Champlain is a treasure and I will continue to defend and expand funding for Lake Champlain through my work as Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee to enable this work to continue across the Basin.”

Since 1992, the LCBP has awarded more than $8.7 million for 1,209 projects in New York and Vermont in the competitive local implementation grants program. Funded projects cover actions in the Lake Champlain management plan Opportunities for Action. These grants are awarded through the Lake Champlain Basin Program via the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission.

View the list of grants awarded
Learn more about LCBP's grant programs

Lake Champlain Research Conference

Author Dan Egan's keynote address made connections between the issues faced by the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain.

On January 8th and 9th, the LCBP hosted the 2018 Lake Champlain Research Conference. This meeting focused on the past, present, and future of the Lake, and included interdisciplinary sessions on climate change, cyanobacteria, native fish restoration, and cultural heritage. The conference brought together more than 200 Lake and watershed stakeholders, including researchers, management practitioners, and the public, to learn about the state of research on Lake Champlain, and provided an opportunity for discussion, networking, and collaboration. The conference was multi-jurisdictional, featuring representation and research from New York, Vermont, Québec, and beyond.

Dan Egan, Pultizer Prize nominee and author of The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, gave the keynote address, which was free and open to the public. His presentation focused on the challenges and opportunities that the Great Lakes—and Lake Champlain—face. Great Lakes stakeholders are tackling invasive species, climate change, and cyanobacteria blooms caused by nutrient runoff—the same issues that are the focus here in the Lake Champlain Basin. The audience appreciated hearing about the lessons learned from management of Lake Champlain’s bigger siblings.

Larry Greenberg, a salmon researcher at Sweden’s Karlstad University, spoke about Atlantic salmon restoration efforts in Lake Vänern. This landlocked Swedish lake is similar to Lake Champlain in many ways, and conference attendees hope to continue collaborating with Dr. Greenberg and his colleagues.

Opportunities for large-scale meetings that bring together so many experts at one time are rare, and the LCBP is pleased to have been involved in this one. We are already looking forward to the next Lake Champlain Research Conference!

View presentations and posters from the conference

Education and Outreach Highlights

Keene Central School from New York has a strong showing at the World Water Day celebration each year.

World Water Day
The LCBP and our partners in the Champlain Basin Education Initiative (CBEI) hosted the annual celebration of World Water Day at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain on March 20. The event brought together artwork, writing, photography, and videography from 12 classrooms in New York and Vermont. Awards were presented to student submissions in each of four categories: Celebrate Water, Spread the Word, Citizen Science & Civic Action, and Act Locally-Think Globally. Keynote speaker Dr. Stephanie Hurley of the University of Vermont shared her work on solving water problems with nature's design with students and parents.

International World Water Day was designated by the United Nations in 1992 and is held annually on March 22nd as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. CBEI is a consortium of environmental and place-based education groups throughout the Lake Champlain Basin. CBEI holds workshops on teaching about the Lake Champlain Basin for K-12 educators, and interested citizens.

Learn about future CBEI events

Love the Lake

Mike Winslow explains the "phenomenal phenomenon" of lake stratification.

The LCBP again hosted the annual Love the Lake speaker series this winter. Visitors enjoyed tasty desserts in the warmth of the Gordon Center House while learning from long-time LCBP partner Martin Mimeault about what motivates a person to windsurf in 35-degree water. Mike Winslow, author of Lake Champlain: A Natural History explained the causes of mirages, steam devils, and other lake phenomena. A whirlwind visual tour by Don Wickman of the Kent-Delord House Museum provided a comprehensive look at the history of Lake Champlain, and avid angler Don Lee shared his love of salmon and Trout Unlimited’s work in local classrooms.

The Love the Lake speaker series was started in 2005 in memory of the contributions of long-time lake lover and LCBP supporter Jane Potvin. The series provides an opportunity for local residents to come together and hear from expert historians and scientists who are passionate about the Lake and our watershed.

Diving In

Teachers learn about benthic macro-invertebrates as part of Watershed for Every Classroom.

The LCBP released two new videos in the Diving In series. The series highlights the many ways that citizens are learning about and helping to protect water quality and habitat in the Lake Champlain Basin. The videos showcase opportunities for citizen action and the efforts of local watershed partners to engage students and community members.

“Volunteer Monitoring for Cyanobacteria” documents volunteers throughout the Basin who regularly take samples and assess lake conditions and report potentially toxic cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae blooms. Teachers and instructional partners reflect on their experience in a year-long professional development program that focuses on watershed education in “A Watershed for Every Classroom.”
Watch "Volunteer Monitoring for Cyanobacteria"
Watch "A Watershed for Every Classroom"

Lake Champlain Basin Atlas

The LCBP has launched a new version of the Lake Champlain Basin Atlas. The updated version features dynamic, interactive web maps that illustrate a variety of themes and issues in the Lake Champlain Basin. Accompanying figures, fact sheets and helpful resources provide more information about the natural and cultural features of the Basin. Each map includes links to the GIS data that is used to create it. Most of the data is available in shapefile and KMZ formats. Additionally, you’ll find links to printable PDF files and to the data in the web mapping tool ArcGIS Online.
Explore the Lake Champlain Basin Atlas

Summer Voyage of the Lois McClure

Photo: Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

In 1868, the Brooklyn Flint Glass Works relocated from New York City to a community on the banks of the Chemung River. The company adopted the name of that small town, and today Corning Glass is known worldwide. To mark the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of this event, the Corning Museum of Glass and the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum are joining forces to travel up the Hudson River and out the Erie Canal to reenact the 1868 relocation. The Lake Champlain replica canal schooner, Lois McClure, is the platform for historical interpretation alongside a “Glass Barge,” which conducts hot glass demonstrations at the tour’s ports of call. Visitors to the Lois McClure will learn about the interconnected waterways of the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership and aquatic invasive species prevention efforts of the Lake Champlain Basin Program. The voyage begins on May 17 with festivities in Brooklyn and concludes in a week-long celebration on the Burlington Waterfront in October.

Learn more about the CVNHP

Emerald Ash Borer Arrives in Vermont

Photo: Dr. James E. Zablotny, USDA

In February, Vermont became the 32nd state to have confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer when a forester discovered the beetle in a private woodlot in Orange County, in eastern Vermont. This newest invader has also been found in Groton, Barre, and Plainfield in recent weeks. This terrestrial invasive species from Asia has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America since it was first detected in Michigan in 2002. The emerald ash borer has cost hundreds of millions of dollars to the forest products and nursery industries and killed many beloved backyard trees.

The larvae of this beetle disrupt the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients by feeding on the inner bark of the trees. The loss of these trees can impair water quality by exposing soils to erosion. Signs of infested trees include a dead or dying appearance with yellow, wilted leaves, heavy presence of woodpeckers, and D-shaped exit holes. Only about one percent of ash populations survive infestation by the beetles.

Forest managers have been expecting the arrival of emerald ash borer for years, so the recent detection of this invader did not come as a surprise. Once it has been established, eradication is virtually impossible. As with many aquatic invasive species the LCBP and our partners work with, the strategy for managing the beetles focuses on spread prevention and containment. Tree surveys are being conducted in the four towns to determine the best course of action to prevent the species spread.

You can help prevent the spread of emerald ash borer by not transporting firewood over long distances.

Learn more about the emerald ash borer

Local Implementation Grant Results

Since 1992, the LCBP has awarded more than $8.7 million through 1,209 small grants to local organizations. These grants support a variety of pollution prevention, habitat restoration, and other projects that address the goals and priorities of the Lake Champlain Steering Committee as outlined in the LCBP's Lake Champlain management plan Opportunities for Action. A sample of recently completed projects include:

Access construction on the Lamoille River, volunteer monitoring for invasives in the Adirondacks, and a Plattsburgh beach on Cumberland Bay. Photos: Vermont River Conservancy, Adirondack Mountain Club, and City of Plattsburgh.

Lamoille River Paddlers’ Trail – Community Engagement and Stewardship
The Vermont River Conservancy (VRC) engaged community members in a series of educational and outreach projects along the Lamoille River that led to improved water-based recreational opportunities, addressed water quality issues, provided education about water quality issues, and cultivated long-term site stewards. VRC restored a river access in Johnson, led an educational community paddle, recruited and trained seven site stewards, and organized a river clean up. This work was done as part of an effort to create the Lamoille River Paddlers’ Trail, an emerging, community effort to improve recreational opportunities along the Lamoille River.
Grant Category: Education and Outreach

Adirondack Backcountry Water Monitors
In 2017, volunteers with the Adirondack Mountain Club surveyed fifteen backcountry water bodies in the Adirondack Park for aquatic invasive species. The Backcountry Water Monitoring Project included two AIS workshops for training volunteers, eight outings to backcountry ponds, and outreach about the project and best practices to prevent the spread of AIS. The project is an extension of the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program’s (APIPP) Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) spread prevention program and uses APIPP resources and expertise. Over the course of three years, the project has surveyed 44 ponds, finding invasives in one pond.
Grant Category: Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention

Using Microbial Source Tracking to Identify and Prevent Fecal Pollution to Cumberland Bay
The City of Plattsburgh, New York conducted an investigation of potential sources of high bacteria levels observed in recent years at beaches in Cumberland Bay. The city collected samples at eight locations on the Saranac River, Scomotion Creek and Cumberland Bay beaches in the summer of 2017. The samples were analyzed for evidence of bacteria (including fecal coliform, E. coli., and enterococcus) from a variety of hosts, including goose and gulls, human, dogs, and cows. Results showed that high bacteria levels were tied to wet-weather events, particularly storms that resulted in combined sewer overflows (CSOs). Gulls and cows were identified as the most common source of bacteria during dry weather conditions. Gulls and bovine were the most common sources after rainstorms that did not result in CSOs. After storms that caused CSOs, gulls and humans were the most common sources, with dogs to a lesser extent, in Cumberland Bay.
Grant Category: Pollution Prevention

Saving Our Waters
Vermont Public Television (VPT) developed outreach and education components to support Saving Our Waters, a three-part documentary series about water quality challenges and solutions in the Basin. These efforts seek to empower citizens to actively modify water management behaviors and policies that contribute to lake pollution, decrease the amount of pollutants that reach Vermont’s waterways, and build a collective will to change the way we manage water runoff from our farms, homes, and towns. VPT hired middle and high school teachers to create Saving our Waters Curriculum Connections that engage the next generation of stewards. These curriculum units connect to the Next Generation Science Standards.
Grant Category: Education and Outreach

Organizational Support
In addition to projects that directly implement specific actions to improve water quality and ecosystem integrity, the LCBP awards grants that help support the general organizational capacity and long-term effectiveness of watershed groups. These grants support basic operational needs of not-for-profit organizations with limited budgets. Recent grants have supported the purchase of water testing equipment by the Warren County Soil and water Conservation District, development of a project tracking database for the Missisquoi River Basin Association, river restoration training for staff at the Ausable River Association, and the creation or update of websites for Watersheds United Vermont, Lake Champlain International, and Lewis Creek Association.
Grant Category: Organizational Support

Search our grants database to learn about other projects supported by the LCBP

Upcoming Events

State of the Lake Release
The LCBP will release the 2018 State of the Lake and Ecosystem Indicators Report in mid-June. Stay tuned for more details.

29th Annual Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference
April 25-26, Glens Falls, NY
This conference, which is coordinated by New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) in partnership with member states and EPA, is the premier forum for sharing information about nonpoint source pollution (NPS) issues and projects in the region. The conference sessions will reflect the theme of Innovation.
Learn more

CBEI Workshops for Educators
May 17, 2018, Ausasble Chasm, NY
Natural History of Ausable Chasm and the History of the Underground Railroad

June 7, 2018, Valcour Bay, Peru, NY
The lighthouse, maritime history, water quality monitoring and State of the Lake.
Learn more

Vermont Lake Seminar
June 1, 2018, Montpelier, VT
Join the Federation of Vermont Lakes and Ponds and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation for an educational event to celebrate Vermont’s lake and to network with other lake lovers. The seminar will provide opportunities to learn about lake science, the health of Vermont’s lakes, and how to form partnerships to leverage grant funding.
Learn more

Watershed for Every Classroom (WEC)
July 2018 – May 2019, multiple locations
The Champlain Basin Education Initiative will offer this year-long professional development experience for educators in the Lake Champlain Basin (Vermont, New York, and Québec). The eleven-day program offers teachers inspiration, knowledge and skills to frame exciting watershed education. Participants can earn five graduate credits through St. Michaels College.
Learn more

International Joint Commission (IJC): Lake Champlain – Richelieu River Flood Mitigation Study
Summer/Fall 2018 public meetings in NY, QC, VT
The IJC will be holding a second round of public meetings in late summer or early fall 2018 to provide an update on their project to develop flood mitigation measures to address flooding concerns in Lake Champlain and downstream in Québec in the Richelieu River, and to receive feedback from stakeholders.
Learn more and subscribe for updates