LCC: Invasives, the lake between, raising the migration, water news

Submitted by tim on Sat, 12/01/2018 - 15:34

Lake Champlain CommitteeWhile snow has blanketed much of the Champlain watershed and dusted the edges of the lake, we still have a few more weeks of fall left. Below we share some late autumn updates about recent work, our 2018 GreatNonprofit status, an upcoming event along with nature notes, Lake Look and water news from near and far. We hope you enjoy reading them, and look forward to your continued engagement in the work for clean water.

Deep thanks to all of you who recently supported us onGiving Tuesday, the international day of giving. If you didn’t get around to donating that day, you can still contribute to the work for healthy water by making aspecial donation,renewing your membership,joining as a new member, orgifting a membership. Any donation you make to LCC will be put directly to work to protect water quality, safeguard habitats, provide access and foster stewardship for this beautiful waterway.

Thanks for investing in water protection,

Lori Fisher, LCC Executive Director

Newest Lake Invader – The Fishhook Waterflea

The fishhook waterflea was discovered near Valcour Island in September, making it the fifty-first known invasive species to date in Lake Champlain. The discovery was made by Plattsburgh SUNY’s Lake Champlain Research Institute (LCRI) at an established Lake Champlain Long-term Biological Monitoring Program site supported by the Lake Champlain Basin Program.

Lake Champlain Committee Named 2018 Top-rated Nonprofit

The Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) has been named a “2018 Top-Rated Nonprofit” by GreatNonprofits, the leading provider of user reviews of charities and nonprofits.

LCC & Magic Hat Search for Invaders

It was a sunny, crisp October morning. The rainy grey mist from the week before had cleared to reveal a stunning panorama of mountains, lake, and sand. On a beach just north of Burlington LCC staff and volunteers and a crew from Magic Hat Brewery, bundled in warm layers against the morning chill, arranged in a staggered line.

The Lake Between – Sign Up Soon for International Conference

Interested in Lake Champlain’s past, present and future?Sign up soonto join LCC atThe Lake Between (Le lac qui nous unit)– an International Conference designed to bring together academics, business leaders, policy-makers, outdoor enthusiasts, boaters and swimmers, musicians and artists to talk about the lake.

Nature Note

Raising the Migration:
Part 1

This past summer I worked as a gardener, traveling from house to house to weed, mulch, plant, and trim everything in sight. One of the unfortunate realities of gardening, however, is that sometimes I would have to weed out a native milkweed – tall, gangly, and painfully obvious in a row of petunias.

Lake Look

Chaousarou

OnAugust 18of this year, a man fishing for channel catfish in Lake Champlain’s South Bay reeled in a record-breaking longnose gar instead. The big fish was 52 and ¼ inches long and weighed in at 14 pounds 10 ounces, besting the 1999 New York state record by one and a half pounds. (The records are based on weight not length.)

In their press release publicizing the catch, New York Department of Environmental Conservation noted that “[e]volutionarily speaking, longnose gar are considered living dinosaurs. Their long, needle-like snout is filled with rows of teeth, making them unmistakable from any other fish species.”

New Face at LCC

LCC Welcomes Laura Pratt

Laura Pratt is LCC’s newest ECO AmeriCorps Education & Outreach Coordinator. She joined LCC in September and picks up on the service of Dominic Brennan and Daniel Denora who preceded her in the eleven-month position.Recently arrived from Minnesota, Laura is excited to spend the year in the Lake Champlain watershed.

Thank You

Thank You Cyano. Monitors

Deep thanks to all our cyanobacteria monitors for their diligent work during the 2018 season. Many began assessing site conditions in mid-June and filed their final report 19 weeks later in mid-October. LCC monitors and our partners at the Vermont and New York Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation gathered data from nearly 150 sites in the Lake Champlain watershed and filed more than 1,800 reports about water conditions.

Hats Off to Magic Hat

For several years,Magic Hat Brewing Companyhas been funding LCC programs, promoting our work for clean water with special lake brews, and providing volunteer assistance for special projects. Our latest collaboration was a two-day session to search for Asian clams, an invasive mollusk that’s been found in nearby waterways.

Water News from Near and Far

Culling Cormorants

WCAX- "A shorebird with an intense appetite and destructive droppings is on the decline in Lake Champlain. A multi-year effort by Vermont Fish and Wildlife, the New York DEC, and private land owners to reduce the cormorant population appears to be paying off."

The Return on Investment of Conserving Land

The Trust for Public Land- "The Trust for Public Land conducted an economic analysis and found that every $1 invested in land conservation by the state returns $9 in economic value in natural goods and services, such aswater quality protection, flood mitigation, and food production, to the Vermont economy."Read the full report here!

Plastic Pick-up at Pacific Garbage Patch

The New York Times- "A multimillion-dollar floating boom designed to corral plastic debris littering the Pacific Ocean deployed from San Francisco Bay on Saturday as part of a larger high-stakes and ambitious undertaking."

Scientists Engineer Bacteria Hunting Virus to Kill E. coli in Drinking Water

Water World - "To rapidly detect the presence of E. coli indrinking water, Cornell University food scientists now can employ a bacteriophage - -a genetically engineered virus -- in a test used in hard-to-reach areas around the world."Click hereto watch a video on howthis bacteriophage hunts and kills E. coli bacteria.

Source: Lake Champlain Committee.www.lakechamplaincommittee.org

LCC: Invasives, the lake between, raising the migration, water news

Newest Lake Invader – The Fishhook Waterflea

Lake Champlain Committee Named 2018 Top-rated Nonprofit

LCC & Magic Hat Search for Invaders

The Lake Between – Sign Up Soon for International Conference

Nature Note

Raising the Migration:Part 1

Lake Look

Chaousarou

New Face at LCC

LCC Welcomes Laura Pratt

Thank You

Thank You Cyano. Monitors

Hats Off to Magic Hat

Water News from Near and Far

Culling Cormorants

The Return on Investment of Conserving Land

Plastic Pick-up at Pacific Garbage Patch

Scientists Engineer Bacteria Hunting Virus to Kill E. coli in Drinking Water

Raising the Migration:
Part 1