The historic spring 2011 Lake Champlain flooding event, followed by the subsequent catastrophic impacts of tropical storm Irene in August of 2011 highlighted the need for prompt updating of best management practices pertaining to storm events and changes in precipitation patterns calculations.
The LCBP hosted two climate change workshops concurrent with the New England Association of Environmental Biologists (NEAEB) Annual Meeting in Spring 2014. The meeting was attended by 75 people from around the basin who heard presentations from 20 regional experts on climate change adaptation.
The goal of these workshops was to gather the latest regional climate change research as it related to stormwater management and aquatic ecosystem impacts. Attention was focused on discussions of management tools that work in the Lake Champlain Basin, and how current management may be modified to adapt to climate change.
Resource managers, municipal officials, and regional planners learned about the latest research and and considered how to apply management recommendations on the ground. Topics covered in the stormwater workshop included: a plenary talk by Dr. Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux overviewing climate change models and possible impacts on Lake Champlain, and sessions on low impact development recommendations, updates on the Vermont Stormwater manual, and a roundtable panel discussion examining regional climate adaptation and stormwater management. The aquatic ecosystem workshop featured a plenary by Dr. Curt Stager, Paul Smith’s College, who discussed climate change impacts on Lake Champlain’s ecosystem. Other sessions included aquatic invasive species pathways and potential new threats, climate impacts on native aquatic species, and a panel discussion examining ANS management tools.
Final Agenda with presentations: click here
Meeting Summary: click here