Interested in monitoring for aquatic invasive species in Lake Champlain?
Join the Lake Champlain Committee this season to monitor aquatic invasive species through our community science initiative—the Champlain Aquatic Invasive Monitoring Program (CHAMP)! You can learn more and sign up here.
Dear Vermont Business Magazine,
Happy spring! As we gear up for another field season at the Lake Champlain Committee (LCC), we're seeking volunteers for the Champlain Aquatic invasive Monitoring Program—CHAMP!
Now entering our third season of CHAMP, LCC recruits, trains, and supports volunteers to survey for aquatic invasive species (AIS) at sites throughout Lake Champlain. As a volunteer, you'll paddle or walk along a shoreline site, rake in samples of aquatic life, assess what you’ve gathered, and report your findings of key target invasive species to LCC via an online form.
CHAMP is an important tool for understanding AIS introduction and spread in Lake Champlain and in driving early detection rapid response efforts that prevent the spread of harmful invaders. Becoming a CHAMP monitor is a great way to get hands-on experience with lake stewardship. If you're interested in joining the LCC community science team to monitor for AIS in our lake, sign up here. Once we receive your form, we’ll follow up with more details about training and next steps for the season.
Read on further in this email for more information about AIS, how to participate in CHAMP this season, requirements for CHAMP volunteers, and the CHAMP training schedule for the virtual training and on-site sessions.
Thanks for caring about Lake Champlain and we hope to work with you this summer as a part of the CHAMP team! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Eileen at [email protected] / (802) 658-1461 or Lindsey at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Eileen Fitzgerald, LCC Education and Outreach Associate
Lindsey Carlson, Ph.D., LCC Water and Science Program Coordinator
Sign up to be a CHAMP Volunteer this season
LCC 2025 CHAMP Team
LCC’s CHAMP Team includes from left to right: Eileen Fitzgerald, Education & Outreach Associate; Lindsey Carlson, Water and Science Program Coordinator; Alexa Hachigian, Field Associate/Office Manager; and Jenny Patterson, Executive Director.
Why You're Needed & What's Involved
Lake Champlain currently has 51 known non-native and invasive species–and more are potentially on the way. For comparison, the Hudson River has more than twice as many, and the Great Lakes host nearly four times more. Aquatic invasive species (AIS) pose a significant threat to the lake’s health, biodiversity, and recreational use. Early detection is key to controlling new populations before they become established—and that’s where you come in.
In October 2024, a CHAMP volunteer discovered a new non-native species —golden clam (Corbicula fluminea). The finding triggered Early Detection Rapid Response from partners at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Lake Champlain Basin Program. The long-term impacts and implications of this discovery are still being assessed, but it demonstrates just how important your trained eyes on the water can be.
By giving just a few hours of your time, you’ll make a meaningful contribution to protecting Lake Champlain. As a CHAMP volunteer, you’ll complete at least three surveys between June and October. Surveys can be conducted from the lakeshore or by boat, whichever is easiest for you. We’ll equip you with everything you need: a toolkit to help you identify target AIS, training in surveying techniques, guidance on how to perform a rake toss to collect aquatic vegetation, help in selecting a survey site, and support throughout the season in assessing conditions and filing reports. With your help, we can continue building one of the region’s most effective early-warning systems for aquatic invaders.
To collect samples of AIS, volunteers like Veronica Stahl pictured here toss rakes into the water, pull up a clump of native and aquatic plants and invertebrates, identify the AIS, and report their findings back to LCC.
What is CHAMP?
Now entering its third season, the Champlain Aquatic invasive Monitoring Program (CHAMP) is a program that recruits, trains, and supports volunteers to survey for AIS at sites throughout Lake Champlain. Volunteers paddle or walk along a shoreline site, rake in samples of aquatic life, assess what they’ve gathered, and report their findings of key target invasive species to LCC via an online form. The program is twofold: AIS are a major threat to the ecological integrity of Lake Champlain, so community monitoring educates folks on how to identify AIS while getting important data to management professionals on where AIS are and aren’t established. Surveys aid in early detection and rapid response to new invaders -- we train volunteers in identification of “watchlist” invasive species that have been reported in the Hudson River and other nearby waterbodies, but not yet Lake Champlain.
How to Participate
To join the 2025 CHAMP team, please complete our online form, participate in the two-part training, and complete three surveys by the end of October. The virtual training session will be held on Thursday, May 29 from 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM via Zoom and will be recorded. You can either attend live to ask questions in real time or view the recording at your convenience before the in-person trainings.
On-site, in-person trainings will take place across New York and Vermont during the weeks of 6/9/2025 and 6/17/2025. These sessions will provide hands-on experience with aquatic invasive species identification and survey methods.
Together, the two training components take approximately three hours to complete. Each survey will take about one hour and can be conducted from the lakeshore or by boat.
CHAMP Requirements
To ensure consistent and high-quality data collection across Lake Champlain, we ask that all CHAMP volunteers meet a few baseline expectations. Whether you’re returning or joining for the first time, these requirements will prepare you to confidently identify target species and carry out effective surveys.
CHAMP volunteers are required to:
- Have access to a public or private lakeshore location. While LCC's top priority is to monitor public access sites, we also welcome surveys at private locations that help expand geographic coverage across the lake.
- Attend or view a virtual training session and attend an in-person training session to learn about aquatic species identification and CHAMP survey methods. These trainings also provide a great opportunity to deepen your knowledge of both invasive and native species!
- Conduct and submit at least three surveys per site for key target AIS at their selected site(s) between June and October.
LCC supports all CHAMP volunteers throughout the season by providing a full training program (both virtual and in-person), a CHAMP Toolkit with equipment and identification guides, and access to staff support for any questions that arise during the monitoring period.
Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are one of the most prevalent AIS in Lake Champlain. You’ll learn how to identify them, the other seven target AIS, and eight “watchlist” AIS not yet found in Lake Champlain, in the CHAMP training sessions.
Training Schedule
All new and returning CHAMP volunteers are asked to complete both the virtual and in-person training sessions to ensure consistency in species identification and survey techniques.
The virtual training session takes place on Thursday, May 29 from 3:00 – 4:30 PM and includes an overview of the CHAMP program, survey protocols, and identification of target and watchlist AIS. You can attend live via Zoom or view the recording before your in-person session.
The in-person training is a 1.5-hour session held at public access areas around the lake. This hands-on training will help you practice survey techniques, identify species in the field, and collect your CHAMP Toolkit and equipment. You must complete both training components before starting your surveys
In-person training dates and locations are:
- Monday 6/9/25 from 2:00-3:30 PM at the Keeler Bay Access Area (End of Sunrise Dr., South Hero VT 05486)
- Wednesday 6/11/2025 from 2:00-3:30 PM Westport Boat Launch (80 Champlain Ave., Westport NY)
- Friday 6/13/2025 from 1:00-2:30at the South Bay State Boat Launch (Parking lot behind 11 County Rte 7A, Whitehall, NY 12887)
- Friday 6/13/2025 from 3:30-5:00 PM at the Port Henry Boat Launch (35 Dock St., Port Henry, NY 12974)
- Saturday 6/14/2025 from 10:00-11:30 AM at the Peru Boat Launch (3930 US-9, Plattsburgh, NY 12901)
- Sunday 6/15/2025 from 10:00-11:30 AM at Oakledge Park South Cove (1 Flynn Ave. Burlington VT 05401 - drive past the tennis courts and park in the south lot to meet under the pavilion)
- Tuesday 6/17/2025 from 10:00-11:30 AM at the St. Albans Bay Access Area (Hathaway Point Rd, St. Albans Town 05478)
- Tuesday 6/17/2025 from 1:30-3:00 PM at the Sandy Pt. Public Boat Access (Rt. 78 on the Swanton end of the Swanton-Alburgh Bridge, Swanton VT 05488)
- Thursday 6/19/2025 from 10:00-11:30 AM at Converse Bay F&W Access (Cedar Beach Rd, Charlotte, VT 05445)
Please indicate your preferred in-person session on the CHAMP signup form.
Join the CHAMP 2025 community science team - sign up here!
About the Lake Champlain Committee
The Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) is a 501(c)3 bi-state nonprofit that has been working for a clean, accessible lake since 1963. We use science-based advocacy, education and collaborative action to protect and improve water quality, safeguard habitats, provide access and foster stewardship. LCC's work is primarily funded through donations. Click to renew your membership or join LCC.
This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement (LC00A01526) to NEIWPCC in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program.
Lake Champlain Committee
208 Flynn Ave Bldg 3
Studio 3f
Burlington, VT 05401
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