Lake Champlain Committee

10/16/2026

Meet Maddy Schumacher, LCC’s New York Education & Field Engagement Associate! Maddy joined the team this September after over a decade of experience working with watersheds. She is looking forward to connecting with New York people, organizations, and communities within the Lake Champlain basin, especially through hands-on environmental education, pollution reduction, and watershed restoration efforts as well as serving as support for LCC’s community science volunteers in New York.

Read Maddy's intro, from our Autumn e-news, here: https://www.lakechamplaincommittee.org/learn/news/autumn-2026-e-news/meet-lccs-new-york-education-field-engagement-associate-maddy-schumacher

10/13/2026

The webinar series kicks off tomorrow with Meg Modley, Lake Champlain Basin Program Aquatic Invasive Species Management Coordinator, presenting the latest updates on AIS spread prevention in the Lake Champlain watershed - register here: https://www.lakechamplaincommittee.org/lcc-at-work/invasive-species-in-lake/lcc-2026-aquatic-invasive-species-webinar-series-sign-up

We're excited to announce our upcoming webinar series on aquatic invasive species! We will bring in experts to help us explore management of species like round goby, water chestnut, and phragmites in the Lake Champlain basin; with approaches ranging from boat launch inspections, wash stations, canal barriers, mechanical harvesters, and removal by hand.

Learn more and sign up here: https://www.lakechamplaincommittee.org/lcc-at-work/invasive-species-in-lake/lcc-2026-aquatic-invasive-species-webinar-series-sign-up

10/05/2026

We're excited to announce our upcoming webinar series on aquatic invasive species! We will bring in experts to help us explore management of species like round goby, water chestnut, and phragmites in the Lake Champlain basin; with approaches ranging from boat launch inspections, wash stations, canal barriers, mechanical harvesters, and removal by hand.

Learn more and sign up here: https://www.lakechamplaincommittee.org/lcc-at-work/invasive-species-in-lake/lcc-2026-aquatic-invasive-species-webinar-series-sign-up

10/02/2026

In grade school we learn about the natural water cycle and its familiar parts: precipitation, surface runoff, evaporation, and condensation. Human engineering has created a connected cycle that loops some of that water through taps and drains in homes and other buildings. Wastewater is collected and treated before being released back into water bodies such as Lake Champlain which provide drinking water, wildlife habitat, and opportunities for recreation. How does the offshoot “wastewater cycle,” from flush to tap, interact with the natural cycle, how has treatment changed over time, and what does that mean for water quality?

Read our October Lake Look column on the (waste)water cycle here: https://www.lakechamplaincommittee.org/learn/lake-look/the-wastewater-cycle-sewage-treatment-in-the-lake-champlain-basin

09/22/2026

Fertilizing your lawn this fall? Before buying. check the bag for a set of three numbers showing the percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Unless you have a soil test showing your lawn needs added phosphorus, make sure to choose fertilizers with a "0" in the middle for a phosphorus-free option. This will help keep the green in your lawn and out of the lake!
(Image credit New York State Department of Environmental Conservation)

09/16/2026

Cyanobacteria appeared in many forms last week (9/6-9/12/2026), from subtle green concentrations along the shoreline to dense surface accumulations. Of the 120 observations submitted for Lake Champlain, 29 documented bloom conditions, with much of the activity concentrated in St. Albans Bay, the Inland Sea, and Missisquoi Bay. Across Vermont’s inland waterbodies, monitors submitted 33 reports from 12 waterbodies, with one low alert and six high alerts, including the bloom at Shelburne Pond. Read the full report here: https://mailchi.mp/19297be3f443/lcc-wk-13-2026-cyano-monitoring-community-report-13856144?e=5f26682610

09/03/2026

School is back in session, and students throughout the Lake Champlain watershed will be looking out from classrooms as autumn showers drench their campuses.

Our latest Lake Look column--What Can We Learn From the Rain?--explores stormwater at schools, and how students at Georgia Elementary & Middle School took on a stewardship project to improve water quality and help educate the school community on the importance of stormwater. Read it here: https://www.lakechamplaincommittee.org/learn/lake-look/what-can-we-learn-from-the-rain-stormwater-and-stewardship-at-the-georgia-elementary-and-middle-school

08/25/2026

Bloom activity was high this week, with 24% of reports indicating bloom conditions, including 31 high alerts. These photos capture blooms from around Lake Champlain and Lake Carmi, many showing a familiar combination of calm water and dense green surface scums. Read the full breakdown from Week 10 of the cyanobacteria monitoring season (8/16-8/22/2026) in our report: https://mailchi.mp/9b55fc5f88e1/lcc-wk-10-2026-cyano-monitoring-community-report-13855523?e=abafd0bc76

08/20/2026

Bright green surface scums were a common sight among this week’s bloom reports. This Category 3 (high alert) bloom off Stanley Drive in Philipsburg, QC, is a great example of how calm water can allow cyanobacteria to rise and gather at the surface, forming a vivid green accumulation. Read the full breakdown from Week 9 of the cyanobacteria monitoring season (8/9-8/15/2026) in our report: https://mailchi.mp/b4e5883116c7/lcc-wk-9-2026-cyano-monitoring-community-report?e=5f26682610

08/20/2026