LAKE CHAMPLAIN INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS
    THE STRAIGHT PIPE * May 2014
     LAKE CHAMPLAIN HEALTH UPDATESTop
 
    IN THIS ISSUE:
 
Did you know there are two Lake Champlain newsletters? 
Looking for fishing & boating news? Then check out LCI's other monthly email newsletter, 'On the Hook!'
To subscribe to 'On the Hook,' click here and enter your email address. Simply follow the directions to update your subscription!
LakeChamplainBasinLAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN          BACK TO TOP

A clean lake starts here  
Riding the single chair ski lift to the 3637 feet summit of General Stark's Mountain at Mad River Glen is among my life's great pleasures. The lift pulls you ever upward through the forest at treetop height. You sit comfortably in solitude soaking it all in. Click here to read more!

 

Federal budget cuts mean money for Lake Champlain cleanup could be scarce   
Sen. Patrick Leahy and state officials are fishing for federal funds to clean up Lake Champlain. But cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency's budget could jeopardize that effort. Click here to read more!

 

Reptiles and amphibians are on the move     
You may have already heard the spring peepers or wood frogs calling in your backyard.  Or perhaps you've noticed salamanders crawling over rocks in a nearby stream.  The arrival of spring brings the return of reptiles and amphibians to the Vermont landscape. Keep reading...

 

Icy research drills down on summer algae bloom   
Where's the phosphorous? Historically, there have been few wintertime studies of lakes. Students Peter Isles and Trevor Gearhart are helping to change that as they cut through twenty-seven inches of ice to collect mud from the bottom of Lake Champlain. Click here to learn more! 
Diluted water cleanup bill gets preliminary approval in House    
The VT House gave preliminary approval to a bill designed to improve the state's waterways. But even the lead sponsor of the bill, Rep. David Deen, says the water quality legislation is too weak. "Until the Legislature and the administration finally commit themselves to taking action, H.586 will remain a hollow promise." Keep reading...
Will a Costco gas station add pollution
to Lake Champlain?     
Costco says that their plans to build a gas station in Colchester will include precautions to prevent additional water pollution into an adjacent stream that leads to the lake, but a study done by Watershed Consultant Associates finds different results. Read about it in VT Digger here...
Lake George Association (LGA) wins EPA
Environmental Quality Award 
LGA won this award for their floating classroom, the Rosalia Anna Asby. Each year, approximately 1,500 students board the floating classroom to learn more about maintaining the quality of one of New York State's largest lakes. The goal of the floating classroom is to broaden students' knowledge of the lake, its watershed and environmental challenges. The students measure water depth and clarity, use nets to collect plankton and learn about ways in which they can help protect the lake. Congratulations to the LGA team!
Report sturgeon sightings 
Lake sturgeon researchers in NY want your help to report sightings of these magnificent fish. While sturgeon restoration programs have traditionally focused on the VT side of the lake, NY biologists want to know if anyone sees or catches sturgeon in NY waters and tributaries, especially fish that may be spawning in tributaries. To report a sturgeon sighting, please contact Doug Carlson at (315) 785-2263 or [email protected]. Find out more and learn about the organization NY Sturgeon for Tomorrow here...
Why a state obsessed with 'local' doesn't eat Vermont fish
While Vermont is in the middle of the local food movement, Sevens Days explores why Vermonters don't eat more fish from Lake Champlain. LCI's Director and several partners help uncover the mystery and help determine what the next steps should be.  Read the fascinating article...  
Composting in the Champlain Basin 
Composting your food and yard waste reduces the amount of garbage you send to landfills and reduces carbon pollution. Using food and kitchen scraps, yard trimmings, and other organic waste to create a compost pile can also help increase soil water retention, decrease erosion, and replace chemical fertilizers (courtesy of EPA). Learn about composting from CSWD here!
Your name needed on Lake Champlain protection
online petitions 
When you sign the Lake Champlain protection petitions, you're adding to the strength of LCI's voice while we advocate for healthier fish and cleaner water every week of the year. Sign the petitions today!

ThinkYouKnowTHINK YOU KNOW CHAMPLAIN          BACK TO TOP

May 2014 | World Fish Migration Day
and the Swanton Dam on the Missisquoi River
 
May 24th is World Fish Migration Day.  It is also a good day to think about removal of the Swanton Dam on Vermont's Missisquoi River. LCI's scientist brings you on a fascinating tour of the dam's history and what Champlain's fisheries could be when the dam is removed--a project sometimes called the most important project to restore the lake's native fish populations. Find out more here...
WhatsNewLCIWHAT'S NEW WITH LCI                     BACK TO TOP
Find LCI at these upcoming events! 

Here are a few of the places you'll find LCI over the next couple of months:

May 4: Herricks Cove Wildlife Festival, Rockingham, VT Learn more!
May 6: American Flatbread Benefit Bake for LCI, Burlington, VT Learn more!

May 10: Burlington Kids Day, Burlington, VT Learn more!   

May 18: LCI Mayfly Festival, Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, VT Learn more! 

May 21: WVPD event, Burlington, VT - info coming soon! 

May 21: Colchester Fun & Safety Night, Colchester, VT - info coming soon! 

May 21-22: Vermont Business Expo, Burlington, VT Learn more! 

May 24: Essex Memorial Day Parade, Essex Jct., VT Learn more! 

May 28: 7th Annual LCI Governor's Cup, Colchester, VT Learn more! 

June will be here before you know it. 
It's time to celebrate family, friends & fishing!

Registration now open for the 33rd Annual 
LCI Father's Day Derby presented by Yamaha.

Here's what's in store for you in 2014!
Sign up online today and save 25% over retail registration prices.    


NEW EVENT!
LCI Mayfly Festival registration is open! 
We're bringing you experts to share with you their knowledge on finding wild brook trout, matching the hatch, Vermont bird ID, and foraging for wild edibles! Join us at Shelburne Farms for coffee, the workshop of your choice, lunch, and the field trip of your choice on May 6! Learn more and register here!
'Benefit Bake' for LCI at American Flatbread! May 6 
American Flatbread in Burlington is hosting a "Benefit Bake" for LCI Tuesday, May 6! All you need to do is join us at the restaurant between 5pm and 10pm with all the friends and family you can gather, order a flatbread pizza (or two or three or more), and enjoy! American Flatbread will donate to LCI $3.50 for each large flatbread sold and $1.75 for each small flatbread sold during the evening. More info...
NEW! Sign-up with GoodSwipe to Help Lake Champlain
Now through everyday purchases with your debit or credit card at more than 50,000 stores around the nation, a percentage of your purchase can be donated to LCI! Learn how to sign-up here...
 membersLCI's NEWEST MEMBERS                BACK TO TOP
LCI Business Members support the work that you and LCI are so passionately involved with. These businesses recognize the vital importance of clean waters and healthy fisheries to our local and regional economy, communities, and health.

Engineers Construction is a family-owned general contractor business specializing in civil, sitework, concrete construction, paving, railroad construction, and directional drilling. ECI was founded by Alan Pidgeon in 1965 and strives to provide a quality project at a fair price. Find them online!  

 

Thomas Mott Homestead B&B (Partner Level)  

Thomas Mott Homestead B&B is located directly on Ransom Bay on beautiful northern Lake Champlain.  They have four guestrooms all with private baths. The B&B is located 60 miles north of Burlington, Vermont and 60 miles south of Montreal, Quebec. Find them online here!  
  
Climate Systems (Contributor Level)  
Climate Systems is a full-service heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration provider, specializing in a complete range of products and services, including the design and installation of new equipment, retrofits of existing systems, mechanical plumbing systems, sheet metal fabrication, direct digital controls and comprehensive maintenance programs and emergency service.
Find them online!

Vermont Engine Services (Contributor Level)  
Vermont Engine is the largest engine machine shop in Vermont with a combined work experience in the engine machine shop and parts sales business of over 100 years. Other than the engine machine shop and parts sales business, they have an electrical shop for starter and alternator rebuilding. Vt Engine started selling the Dixie Chopper zero-turn lawn mowers in 2006. Find them online!
 

Click here to see all of LCI's business members! 



KidsOutsideGETTING KIDS OUTSIDE                BACK TO TOP

How to get kids (and their gadgets) outdoors

We can all agree that video games, computers, phones, and other technologies are keeping kids inside more than even ten or twenty years ago. But, what if we were to use these technologies to get kids outside? Check out this article exploring just that...
NationWorldNATION & WORLD                          BACK TO TOP

IRS says 'green' water infrastructure is 'taxable' income, irking proponents  

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has reportedly decided that the value of green infrastructure that is funded by municipalities on private property to control stormwater runoff can be considered "taxable income" subject to federal tax levies. They say this creates another hurdle for proponents of the technology just as EPA is scaling back its regulatory efforts to advance the practice.

 

"How's My Waterway" now more user-friendly   
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an enhanced version of "How's My Waterway," an app and website to help people find information on the condition of thousands of lakes, rivers and streams across the United States from their smart phone, tablet or desktop computer. Learn more here!
A cleanup plan for a toxic river    
The inventory of pollutants at the bottom of the Passaic River, which meanders for 90 miles through northern New Jersey, is long and truly frightening. More than a century of industrial activity has deposited PCBs, pesticides and other contaminants into sediment that, in some places, is 15 feet deep. Read more here!
National Drug Take Back Day - April 26
pills

The 8th National Prescription Take Back Day is Saturday, April 26 this year! Help prevent chemicals from getting into our lake and drinking water by disposing of your old or unused drugs properly. Plus, it keeps kids safer! Click here to find a place near you to dispose of your old drugs... 

TechnologyTECHNOLOGY  & INNOVATION            BACK TO TOP

U.S. Navy's ability to make fuel from seawater a 'game- changer'

US experts and Navy brass jointly announced a "game-changer" process that extracts carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas from seawater to produce liquid hydrocarbon fuel to power ships and jet aircraft. Read more here! 

 

New test screens wastewater biosolids
for environmental contaminants

winter manure spreading

Every year waste treatment facilities in the United States process more than eight million tons of semi-solid sewage called biosolids-about half of which is recycled into fertilizer and spread on crop land. The practice helps solve storage issues and produces revenue to support the treatment plants, but what else is being spread in that sludge? Keep reading...  

ThomasTalksTHOMAS TALKS                            BACK TO TOP
 
May Edition | The water rat
This month, Thomas informs us some very interesting facts about the muskrat--a critter that you can find along Lake Champlain and throughout the basin. Read this month's Thomas Talks here...
EventsAllEVENTS                                      BACK TO TOP

2nd Annual Lund Boats LCI Champlain Basin Derby 
April 12, 2014 - March 2015  
Fish around the entire Lake Champlain Basin for almost an entire year starting April 12 for your chance to win cash while exploring our region's spectacular network of streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. You never know what you'll catch! Sign up today... 

Benefit Bake at American Flatbread Burlington Hearth
May 6, 2014
American Flatbread in Burlington is hosting a "Benefit Bake" for LCI Tuesday, May 6! All you need to do is join us at the restaurant between 5pm and 10pm with all the friends and family you can gather, order a flatbread pizza (or two or three or more), and enjoy! American Flatbread will donate to LCI $3.50 for each large flatbread sold and $1.75 for each small flatbread sold during the evening. More info here... 

LCI Mayfly Festival
May 18, 2014
Join LCI and experts for a day of workshops, expert speakers, field trips, delicious lunch, friends, and fun!  Choose from three different workshops and three field trips to become engaged with the Lake Champlain Basin, from our insects to the birds and the habitat in between!  By the end of the festival, you'll have gained fascinating and useful knowledge with which you can impress your friends and understand your backyard better. More info and register here...

FNLC Tyler Place 2014 Dinner
May 22, 2014
The Tyler Place in Highgate Springs is graciously hosting the Friends of Northern Lake Champlain Evening Dinner on Thursday, May 22nd.
 

____________________________________________ 

 

kid fishing edited

 

Lake Champlain 

International, Inc.                          

531 Main Street

Colchester, VT 05446

802.879.3466  Fax: 802.879.1746 

  

a 501(c)(3) organization   


www.mychamplain.net

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 LCI Staff

James Ehlers
Executive Director 

Eric LaMontagne
Outreach Director 

Ross Saxton
Director of Conservation & Education 

Liz Ehlers
Business Manager 

Wayne Laroche
Chief Scientist

Cathy Pirie Merrill 
Let's Go Fishing Administrator

Meet the LCI Staff! 

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Shawn Bartlett
President  

Michael Brigham
 
James Ehlers

Jason Galipeau
Treasurer

Scott Goddard

Vice President

 

Bob Qua

Bob Shannon

Frank Stanley
 

 LCI Advisory Council 

 
Ed Adrian, Esq., M.S.E.L.

Aleksandra Drizo, Ph.D.

Brian T. Fitzgerald, M.S.

Sally Flis, Ph.D.

Jim Douglas, Governor (2003-2011)

Brian Grenon, Ph.D.

Gary Henry, M.S.

Janette Henry, M.S.

Scott Mapes, P.E., Esq.

Timothy B. Mihuc, Ph.D.

April Moulaert, M.S.
   
 

mychamplain.net | facebook.com/LakeChamplain | Donate | Become A Member

Lake Champlain International (LCI) is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization actively involved in shaping the future of Lake Champlain's water and fisheries health for the well-being of the people who depend on it today and tomorrow.  To protect, restore, and revitalize Lake Champlain and its communities, LCI educates, advocates, and motivates to ensure that Lake Champlain is swimmable, drinkable, and fishable, understanding that healthy water resources are essential for a healthy economy and a healthy community.
LCI Business Members support your lake and your community.

Click here to learn how you can become an LCI Business Member!

Our primary fundraiser, the LCI Father's Day Derby presented by Yamaha, is one of the key reasons we are able to accomplish so much throughout the year.
This event would not be possible without support from our partners, including our Principal
and Major Sponsors.

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Lake Champlain International, a Top-Rated Nonprofit Award winner, has earned the Guidestar Exchange Seal and is accredited by the Better Business Bureau, illustrating the highest standards of transparency, accountability, and effectiveness as set forth by these internationally trusted organizations.