We were delighted to receive the 2013 Green Mountain Power (GMP) Meeri Zetterstrom award at a May ceremony at the Vermont State House. “The Lake Champlain Committee has been an active, constructive force for the betterment of Lake Champlain and the entire Champlain Valley for half a century,” GMP President and CEO Mary Powell said in delivering the award. MORE Read...

LCC's blue-green algae monitoring program got underway several weeks ago. Staff Scientist Mike Winslow has trained over 200 people to assess conditions, differentiate blue-green algae from other lake phenomena, and categorize water quality. MORE Read...

Don't forget to mark your calendar and plan to join us for our 50th anniversary celebration at Flat Rock Camp in Willsboro, New York. We'll have great food, camaraderie as we reflect on the past and look forward. Many thanks to our hosts the Paine Family and event sponsor Champlain National Bank. Further details will follow but please set aside the date for this special lake gathering. Read...

The 2013 edition of the Paddlers' Trail guidebook is out! It’s jam-packed with important information for great adventures on the water including site descriptions and chartlets for 41 Trail locations (with access to over 600 campsites), launch site listings, natural history articles, safety and stewardship tips, equipment check lists and more! MORE Read...

Get out on the water and support great lake-related causes - including the Lake Champlain Committee - by participating in the 2013 Regatta for Lake Champlain! This year’s event, the tenth annual, will take place on Burlington’s Waterfront July 19 and 20. The Regatta for Lake Champlain is not your ordinary day out on the Lake; it's a family-friendly benefit sailboat race to promote the health, well-being, sustainable use and stewardship of Lake Champlain. MORE Read...

The USGS is once again threatening to stop operating stream gages in the Champlain Basin. The notice on their website reads, “The U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) will discontinue operation of up to 375 streamgages nationwide due to budget cuts as a result of sequestration. Additional streamgages may be affected if partners reduce their funding to support USGS streamgages. MORE Read...

The Army Corps is notoriously slow in developing and implementing projects. The Champlain Canal is a disappointing example of their glacial pace. It’s been almost a year since the invasive spiny water flea was found in the Canal. It has taken that long for the Army Corps and the New York State Canal Corps to figure out what they need to study before they can erect any barriers to spreading the species to Lake Champlain. MORE Read...

The New York State Public Service Commission has approved construction of a high voltage direct current transmission line to deliver electricity from generating sources in Quebec to the New York City area. The original application was filed over three years ago and negotiations towards approval spanned almost 16 months. MORE Read...

The 2013 legislative session saw little progress on water quality despite starting out with a report from the Agency of Natural Resources about the substantial problems facing the state’s waterways and high price tag for addressing all the issues. MORE Read...

The New York State Assembly passed a bill that would extend by two years a moratorium on fracking in the state. However, the Senate continues to stall consideration of that bill and another that would end an industry exemption that stripped the designation ‘hazardous’ from fracking waste. Read...

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) will begin collecting discharge reports of untreated and partially treated sewage from public wastewater systems. The new law requires notification of any discharges from publically owned waste water treatment works or sewer systems within two hours of discovery of the discharge. MORE Read...

A yellow scum often appears along the shores of Lake Champlain from late spring through early summer. Though the scum has the texture and consistency of an algae bloom it is actually pollen. While the pollen may be unsightly, its presence means there are many pine trees in the vicinity of the lake, and thus indicates a degree of health in the watershed. MORE Read...

Last July the manager of Sand Bar State Park in Milton, Vermont received a call that would greatly affect his summer. Someone whose family had visited on July 1, 2012 reported that two children who had been swimming later became ill. MORE Read...