On October 31, 2009 winds buffeted the Champlain Valley stirring the leaves of Halloween. The winds were sustained over a twelve hour period. The next day, the Plattsburgh Press Republican reported wind damage from throughout Essex and Clinton Counties. The cause of the winds was a low-level jet that had developed over Lake Champlain... Read...

Landlocked Atlantic salmon head from Lake Champlain into tributaries to spawn during the fall. The main run of salmon usually extends from early September into mid-November... Read...

The underwater cap at the Burlington Barge Canal Superfund Site is being repaired to ensure that contaminants don’t migrate to Lake Champlain. The $3.5 million sand and silt cap, originally installed during 2003 and 2004, has been largely effective... Read...

The presence of a new exotic species, Asian clam, has been confirmed in Lake George, NY. Lake George drains directly to Lake Champlain via the LaChute River. The thumbnail-sized Asian clam, blamed for clouding Lake Tahoe in the High Sierras... Read...

New York State has passed a bill regulating the use of phosphorus by homeowners. As of January 1, 2012, homeowners and landscape contractors will not be able to apply fertilizer containing phosphorus to their lawns in the absence of a soil test that demonstrates a need for phosphorus or if a new lawn is being established. LCC recommends always getting a soil test...

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Not sure what to do with leftover medicines collecting in your cabinet? The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration is sponsoring a nationwide collection event for unused, unwanted or expired drugs. On Saturday September 25 from 10:00 to 2:00 there will be free, anonymous drop-offs at numerous locations throughout the basin on both sides of the lake. Drugs and pharmaceuticals that are disposed of improperly can pass through sewage treatment plants and end up in the lake unchanged. Don’t flush unused medicines down the toilet or put them in the trash, bring them to a “Take Back” event for safe disposal. To find a collection site near you, just type in a zip code or city at this web page link: www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/takeback/.  Check your medicine cabinets and spread the word. Read...