Letter from the Director

Summer 2022 is here and will be over before we know it! A friend recently suggested that July is the Saturday of summer here in the Lake Champlain Basin, and August is summer’s Sunday. I thought that was a pretty good analogy. I myself have only made it to the Lake a few times so far this summer – something I need to improve very quickly.

After an early summer that brought idyllic days and beautiful water conditions, we have now unfortunately experienced the first cyanobacteria blooms of the year. Our partners at the Lake Champlain Committee, the States of New York and Vermont, Province of Québec, and municipalities continue to work hard to keep beaches open and safe. Remember to always watch for signs of blooms when enjoying beaches and those areas of our lakes and waterways that are not monitored. Blooms can pop up suddenly as weather conditions on the Lake change quickly, especially as we head into August and the lake temperatures continue to warm up. 

LCBP and our partners have been very busy since our last E-newsletter. I encourage you to take a few minutes to browse through and learn about some of our recent activities and summer programs.

Please enjoy the Lake, safely!

Eric Howe
Director, Lake Champlain Basin Program & Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership

LCBP Releases New Management Plan

The LCBP released an update to the Lake Champlain management plan Opportunities for Action: An Evolving Plan for the Future of the Lake Champlain Basin. The plan will guide the LCBP’s work over the next five years to improve water quality and aquatic ecosystem health in the watershed.

This new version continues its focus on objectives and strategies that address four goals introduced in the 2017 plan: Clean Water, Healthy Ecosystems, Thriving Communities, and an Informed and Involved Public. It provides guidance to the Lake Champlain Steering Committee for prioritizing projects and allocating funds, including those for grant programs that support local organizations.

Read Opportunities for Action

Senator Leahy Leads Effort to Reauthorize the LCBP

Senator Leahy's leadership and steadfast support of the LCBP continued with the introduction of legislation to reauthorize the program. Photo: LCBP

U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy, Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders, and Kirsten Gillibrand in June introduced legislation to reauthorize the Lake Champlain Basin Program. Vermont Congressman Peter Welch introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The LCBP was established with the Lake Champlain Special Designation Act in 1990 and was reauthorized in 2002. The newly proposed legislation reflects the current structure of the Basin Program and the Lake Champlain Steering Committee, and it increases the Program’s authorized funding levels. The bill also formally recognizes the work of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in controlling sea lamprey, restoring the Lake Champlain fishery, and supporting the goals of Opportunities for Action.

Learn more

Intensive Monitoring for Round Goby Underway

Photo: USFWS

U.S. Geological Survey scientists have determined that the invasive round goby is still present at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers in New York, where they were first detected last summer. But monitoring results suggest that the invasive fish in the Hudson have not made it any closer to Lake Champlain, a critical concern for scientists and lake managers.

Samples collected in 2021 from the Richelieu River near the outlet of Lake Champlain showed the presence of goby DNA when analyzed this summer. However, samples collected this summer did not detect the presence of goby DNA. No physical specimens have been collected to confirm the result of the DNA analysis.

Scientists are conducting more sampling this summer on the Hudson River system and the Richelieu River, which drains Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence River in Canada. In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is conduction monitoring for a variety of fish, including round goby, at 70 sites on Lake Champlain.

Learn more about the round goby

LCBP and CVNHP Celebrate Clean Water Act 50th Anniversary

Birders joined the LCBP's Laura Hollowell in June for an excursion to the LaPlatte River Marsh Natural Area to learn how wetlands help keep our waters clean. The outing was a CWA50th commemoration event. Photo: LCBP

The LCBP and Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership continue the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Clean Water Act, which expanded federal protection of the waters of the United States and created the Lake Champlain Basin Program in 1990.

A series of six traveling exhibits will debut in August. The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and Lake George Historical Association are running CVNHP-funded exhibits focused on the Clean Water Act throughout the summer, and in the fall, LCBP naturalist Laura Hollowell will lead an exploration of the Burlington waterfront.

Two signature events will formally mark the commemoration. Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute is partnering with the LCBP and the U.S. EPA to host several events during  Adirondack Water Week. A second event is planned for October 8 in Burlington.

Join the Clean Water Act anniversary commemoration

LCBP to Host Photo Contest

In recognition of Senator Leahy’s long-standing commitment to the Lake and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, the LCBP will host the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Photo Contest later this summer.

The LCBP will accept submissions in four categories that correspond to the four management goals of Opportunities for Action: Clean Water, Healthy Ecosystems, Thriving Communities, and Informed and Involved Public. Awards will be presented to the winners in each category.

Look for details to be released soon

Stream Wise Initiative Launched

The LCBP and several partners recently launched Stream Wise, a program that brings neighbors together to protect and restore waterways across the Lake Champlain Basin. Part awareness campaign and part assistance resource, Stream Wise provides tools, connections, and resources for watershed organizations and other groups who work directly with their local stream communities.

The initiative will help increase flood resilience and protect and restore water quality and habitat. Partners conduct outreach about best practices for stream health and resiliency, perform assessments of stream buffers, and recognize streamside landowners who maintain wide buffers of native plants along their section of river or stream.

Learn more about Stream Wise

New Buoys Provide Improved Water Monitoring

The Lake Champlain Research Institute team at SUNY Plattsburgh prepares to deploy the Malletts Bay monitoring buoy, supported by LCBP. Photo: LCBP

LCBP recently launched two monitoring buoys to collect weather and water quality data in Malletts Bay and the Lamoille River, in partnership with SUNY Plattsburgh and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. These buoys are part of a pilot project that will provide real-time data to managers and lake users, and will supplement the monitoring provided by the Lake Champlain Long-Term Monitoring Program.

Parameters such as wind speed, solar radiation, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity are now measured multiple times per hour in each of these locations; this can reveal rapid changes in water quality and will provide valuable information on how water quality changes over time.

These buoys are part of a pilot project that is planned to expand to other areas of the Lake and tributaries in coming years. Real-time water quality data collected by the buoys and from other programs around the Lake Champlain Basin is now available at http://data.lcbp.org.

Teachers Sample Lake Champlain Basin Shrimp

Teachers on a tour of the aquaculture operation at Earthkeep Farmcommon in Charlotte, VT. Photo: LCBP

There wasn’t any shrimp on the menu, but several Vermont and New York teachers and two UVM summer assistants did recently learn about shrimp grown right here in the Basin. They joined the Champlain Basin Education Initiative (CBEI) at the Earthkeep Farmcommon in Charlotte this month to learn about aquaculture systems, including the shrimp aquaculture operation on-site.

Why aquaculture? Lake Champlain Sea Grant Specialist Theo Willis discussed human consumption of fish and the role that aquaculture plays in U.S. markets. The Lake Champlain Basin is home to eight professional aquaculture operations, with two more in the planning phase.

Read more

For more information about the Champlain Basin Education Initiative contact Colleen Hickey.

LCBP Welcomes New Staff

The LCBP welcomed two staff members this summer!

Dr. Erik Reardon joined the team in June as an AIS outreach specialist working in the Champlain Canal corridor in New York. Erik is a NEIWPCC-LCBP employee positioned with the NYS DEC and is conducting targeted outreach to anglers, stakeholders, and community members to increase awareness of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS). Erik earned a Ph.D. in Environmental History from the University of Maine, specializing in Indigenous and Euro-American relationships with rivers and the historic dimensions of fisheries conservation. He previously served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of history and environmental studies at Colby College and Bates College in Maine. Recently, Erik worked with the Adirondack Experience Museum, the Wild Center, the Nature Conservancy, and the Adirondack Diversity Initiative to develop a virtual program series exploring the region’s history and present-day reality through the lens of environmental justice. Erik enjoys getting outside, running trails, and fly-fishing rivers and streams across northern New England.

Emma Preuss has joined the LCBP as an Education and Outreach Steward for the summer. Emma will begin her senior year this fall at the University of Vermont. She is pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Studies, with a minor in Health & Society and a Place-Based Education Certification. Prior to working for LCBP, Emma was a Watershed Educator with UVM Extension and Sea Grant teaching K-12 watershed science. In her free time, Emma loves to go on hikes, scuba dive, and spend time with family & friends.

IJC Study Nears Completion

Heavy spring rains and melting snow flooded many low-lying areas around Lake Champlain in Spring 2011. Photo: LCBP

The International Lake Champlain-Richelieu River (LCRR) Study Board has released a number of technical reports as the work of the Study comes to a close. The reports focus on flood mapping and risk management and the effects of climate change in the Lake Champlain-Richelieu River basin. Additional reports, including a suite of performance indicators the Study used in evaluating proposed solutions to flooding, will be published soon. All reports are available in French and English on the LCRR study website.

The Study recently completed its final report, which provides a comprehensive summary of the Study’s work, and finalized recommendations to the International Joint Commission on how to address future flood risk. The final report and accompanying summary document will be available on the LCRR website. The IJC will hold a public comment period on the LCRR final report in late summer/early fall. Public hearings with virtual and in-person engagement options will be held in early fall.

The LCBP supports the IJC LCRR Study by providing administrative support and coordination of technical workshops, data acquisition, and public outreach, and through an LCBP staff member who serves as the U.S. Study Manager

Learn more about the International Lake Champlain - Richelieu River (LCRR) Study Board and the LCBP’s role

NEIWPCC Celebrates 75th Anniversary

NEIWPCC was formed to tackle water quality issues that couldn’t be solved by any one state on its own – whether it was developing water quality standards, creating the first wastewater operator training program in the region, or facilitating interstate collaboration around key topics.

Seventy-five years later, NEIWPCC continues its leadership, with a mission of advancing clean water in the Northeast through collaboration with, and service to its seven member states in New England and New York. NEIWPCC manages the financial, contractual, and human resource business operations for the LCBP on behalf of the Lake Champlain Steering Committee. LCBP staff are employees of NEIWPCC operating from the LCBP office in Grand Isle, VT.

Learn more about NEIWPCC's 75th anniversary

Local Implementation Grant Highlights

Clockwise from top left: Lake George Association, OBVBM, Vermont River Conservancy, BluSeed Studios..

The LCBP has awarded more than $14 million through more than 1,490 small grants to local organizations since 1992. These grants support pollution prevention, habitat restoration, and other projects to improve the water quality and health of the Lake Champlain ecosystem. A sample of recently completed projects include:

I-87 Asphalt Swale Replacement & Ditch Improvements
The Lake George Association (LGA) worked with Warren County Soil & Water District  and the New York State Department of Transportation to install stormwater retrofits in 2,300 feet of drainage ditches along I-87. They replaced impervious asphalt swales with stabilized and vegetated swales that would allow for infiltration of runoff and nutrient absorption, reducing the amount of polluted stormwater entering the streams that feed Lake George. The LGA expects to complete a runoff sampling study to assess the project’s effectiveness in removing nutrients by 2023.

Grant Category: Enhanced BMP.

Biodiversity Assessment of Wetlands and Riparian Woods

Organisme de bassin versant de la baie Missisquoi (OBVBM) conducted field inventories and ecological assessments at five sites in the Pike River watershed in the Québec portion of the Missisquoi River Basin. The sites, which included several hundred hectares of wetlands and riparian woodlands on private lands, are surrounded by largescale grain farms making them especially important for conservation. A total of 286 different species were identified, 26 of which are endangered species with a legal status in Québec and/or Canada, confirming the need to conserve these sensitive habitats. OBVBM sent 40 summaries of their findings to landowners and municipalities to initiate discussions about conserving the areas.

Grant Category: Pollution Prevention and Habitat Conservation

Lamoille River Paddlers Trail Stewardship

The Vermont Rivers Conservancy worked with community members, local businesses, students, and youth crews in a series of hand-on stewardship projects and ecological assessments along the Lamoille River. These projects helped protect water quality, enhance public access, and reduce impacts from recreational use. They included the development of a new paddler campsite in Milton, restoration of access to an existing campsite in Fairfax, the creation of a formal river access at Boyden Farm, and the completion of an ecological assessment and signage project at McCuin Island to help protect rare plants and insects, and promote responsible use.

Grant Category: Education and Outreach.

Multi-Cultural Interpretations on How Pollution impacts the Lake Champlain Watershed
BluSeed Studio in Saranac Lake, NY, hosted a program that drew on the creative and communicative powers of art to interpret water quality issues in the Basin. A team of artists worked with Dr. Curt Stager from Paul Smith’s College who provided insight on ecology and the threats to our ecosystem. The team, which include members of the North Country’s Indigenous community, displayed their works at the studio throughout June 2022. Several artists also brought their artistic process and multi-cultural perspectives to students in North Country schools.

Category: Education and Outreach Large Project.

View more LCBP project highlights

LCBP Seeks Art Concepts

Students create ephemeral art as part of an artist-in-residence program hosted by the Friends of the Winooski River and Friends of the Mad River. Photo: Friends of the WInooski River

The LCBP has released a Request for Pre-proposals for Artist-in-Residence (AiR) programs. These 2023-24 programs will support artists using scientific data and historical records to inspire and inform citizens about the lake environment, cultural heritage, or social concerns using a variety of creative media. The LCBP will accept proposals for up to $40,000 for a two-year program and anticipates awarding three grants to support work in New York, Québec, and Vermont. The pre-proposal application deadline is August 15, 2022.

Submit a pre-proposal for an artist-in-residence program

Ongoing Grants for Teachers and Watershed Organizations

The LCPB offers ongoing grants to support the efforts of teachers and staff of watershed organizations.

Educator Mini-grants (up to $1,ooo)

These mini-grants provide educators with funds to buy materials for their classroom that will aid in teaching students about Lake Champlain Basin issues. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Watershed Association Professional Development Mini-Grants (up to $500/year)

These mini-grants provide professional development funds for the staff and volunteers of qualified watershed organizations in the Lake Champlain Basin, to cover expenses such as travel, meals, registration and accommodations at meetings, conferences, workshops and other venues designed to enhance the organizations’ capacity to operate.

Learn more about ongoing LCBP grants

Upcoming Events

Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership International Summit
September 19, 2022
Hotel Saranac, Saranac Lake, NY

The CVNHP’s 13th annual International Summit will provide an opportunity for networking, partnerships, and helping set the future focus of the CVNHP. A field trip to nearby cultural and natural heritage sites will be held on Sunday, September 18, 2022. Both events are free and open to the public.
Register for the CVNHP International Summit

National Tanks Conference
September 13-15, 2022
Pittsburgh, PA
NEIWPCC is proudly co-sponsoring the NTC in partnership with U.S. EPA’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) and the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO). The event brings together hundreds of UST/LUST professionals, including tank inspectors; cleanup specialists; state, tribal, and territorial employees; federal regulators; and industry representatives to network and learn about emerging issues, policy, equipment, and many other topics.
Learn more and register

11th U.S. Symposium on Harmful Algae
October 23-28, 2022
Albany, NY

Local coordination is being led by NEIWPCC, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and U.S. Geological Survey with support from the U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The theme for the upcoming symposium is “Science to Support Solutions from Shore to Shore“. From freshwater to marine systems, the prevalence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) is a national environmental challenge, and solutions are needed. Celebrating this event in New York – the only state with Great Lake shorelines, marine coasts, and the diverse range of ecosystems between these extremes – creates an ideal setting to discuss progress in understanding algal bloom ecology and the solutions necessary to prevent and reduce HABs.
Learn more and register

LCBP Committee Meetings

• LCBP Executive Committee, September 14, 2022
• Lake Champlain Steering Committee, September 21, 2022
• LCBP Executive Committee, October 25, 2022
• LCBP Executive Committee, November 16, 2022
• Lake Champlain Steering Committee, December 14, 2022

Contact Kathy Jarvis for more information.