LAKE CHAMPLAIN INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS
    THE STRAIGHT PIPE * July 2014
     LAKE CHAMPLAIN HEALTH UPDATESTop
 
    IN THIS ISSUE:
 
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LakeChamplainBasinLAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN          BACK TO TOP
Keeping pollution at bay:  Regulator visits to farms could become a reality

Water quality advocates and farmers lined up to testify recently as Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Ross considered a petition asking the state to require best management practices on all Missisquoi Bay watershed farms having fields identified as critical sources of pollution. Read more

Reeling with questions: Fisheries expert Ellen Marsden

Listening to her North Yorkshire accent, a visitor to Ellen Marsden's laboratory might be tempted to list her as a non-native species. But Marsden, a researcher and professor of fisheries at University of Vermont since 1996, (and a resident of the U.S. for much longer) appears to have adapted well to the local conditions.  Read more

Kayaking on Shelburne Bay makes a good day excursion

Jump in a kayak and paddle a bay just south of Burlington to see the beauty of Lake Champlain.
It's high summer and the water temperature in Lake Champlain is downright comfortable.  Or almost comfortable.   So why not splash around in a kayak or canoe?  Free Press reporter Molly Walsh caught up with Lori Fisher, executive director of the Lake Champlain Committee, to talk about the Lake Champlain Paddlers Trail and a day paddle in Shelburne Bay a few miles from Burlington.  Read more 

Eating wild-caught fish can be healthy for you and the environment

MONTPELIER, VT. -- Fishing is a favorite summer pastime among Vermonters and visitors to the state for good reason -- fish tastes great.  While anglers may enjoy fishing as a chance to get in the outdoors with friends and family, many also appreciate the benefit of bringing their catch home for a nutritious meal.  Learn more

Vermont's dirty secret: Free-ranging cows are crapping in the water supply

Vermont -- mention the state, and people picture the soft-focus Holsteins on Ben & Jerry's ice cream cartons and postcard pictures of cows grazing a hilly, pastoral heaven.  And for good reason: As New England's leading milk producer, the Green Mountain State has a huge cultural and financial investment in dairies.

Amidst all the bovine iconography, however, here's one image you'll never see: Bessie pooping in the sparkling waters of Lake Champlain.  But increasingly, waste from Vermont's lightly regulated farms is polluting the lake, the nation's sixth-largest body of fresh water.  It's undermining Vermont's tourist economy and jeopardizing drinking water supplies for a third of the state's population.  Read more

Farmers: Vermont water quality rules are too onerous

ST. ALBANS -- Farmers say they are willing to help clean up Lake Champlain, but many oppose statewide regulations forcing them to do so. 

Unsafe levels of E. coli close county swimming holes


MONKTON, Vt
-- Water quality tests done by the Lewis Creek Association late last week have determined that two swimming sites in northern Addison County are currently unsafe for swimming.

The sites, along Lewis Creek at Route 7 in Ferrisburgh and Tyler Bridge Road in Monkton, tested for unsafe levels of E. coli. 

The E. coli levels at Tyler Bridge were 686.7 MPN per 100 ml, the unit of measure used for E. coli colonies.  The Route 7 site tested 272.3 MPN per 100 ml. The state standard is 77 MPN per 100 ml. Read more

Phosphorus and our freshwater lakes

It is strange to think of phosphorus as a pollutant, since phosphorus is a nutrient essential to all plant and animal life. The problem arises when too much phosphorus is washed into lakes and ponds where algae are waiting to grow.  Read more

Vermont Outdoors Woman -- Fall Doe Camp returns to Jackson's Lodge in Canaan, VT.  Sept 19-21, 2014

Vermont Outdoors Woman is sponsoring a weekend retreat for adventurous women 18 years and older in Canaan, Vermont on September 19-21, 2014. Fall foliage will be in full swing as classes are held in the woods and on the lake.  Learn more
   
ThinkYouKnowTHINK YOU KNOW CHAMPLAIN          BACK TO TOP
Don't take your fish home alive

Humans have a powerful, primal urge to possess, hold close and propagate anything and everything that makes them feel good or in some way provides them with a sense of value.  This urge seems to be generated spontaneously without nurture from the depths of a child's being.  It is a purely selfish instinct that cares not of any consequences to man, beast or the earth we live on.  It is neither good nor evil: it is what it is.  Read more

WhatsNewLCIWHAT'S NEW WITH LCI                     BACK TO TOP
James Ehlers' straight talk on protecting the lake

Is he tactful?  Not exactly.

James Ehlers will be the first to tell you: Polite diplomacy in the world of water quality advocacy is a vehicle for delay and inaction.

For a decade and a half, Ehlers, 45, has helmed Colchester-based Lake Champlain International, a nonprofit that advocates for healthy fisheries.

The group's splashy angling derbies lure thousands of visitors to the lake.

In tournaments of a different sort, Ehlers delivers regular broadsides against polluters.  Read more

15th LCI Evinrude Fox Marine Bass Open presented by Twisted Tea

Bass Couple Two person teams should register online soon and prepare to head to Mallets Bay on Lake Champlain for a heaviest bag-of-six bass tournament.  

Find LCI at these upcoming events! 

Here are a few of the places you'll find LCI this summer:

 

August 23: Champlain Basin Bike Tour Learn more

 

August 23: Water Dance, stay tuned, more info to come!

 

August 31: LCI Evinrude Fox Marine Bass Open p/b Twisted Tea

 

Two person teams are encouraged to register online soon and prepare to head for Malletts Bay for this best-six-bass tournament.  Learn more & sign-up

First Annual Water Dance
Stay tuned for more to come on this charity dancing event to celebrate the health of women, girls, moms, and Mother Nature. Coming August 23, 2014!
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 MEMBER               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.

RGS Energy renews as Signature Member

RGS Energy, previously Real Good Solar, has renewed their membership for 2014/2015. 

 

RGS specializes in installing and setting up residential and commercial solar, and can offer you innovative and budget-friendly options to start powering your home with solar. You can have a panel installed in your home for no upfront cost, and you only pay for the power. click her to learn more

 

 



KidsOutsideLCI PARTNER NEWS               BACK TO TOP
Yamaha Marine announces "Summer of Choice" sales event

New promotion offers consumers five years of warranty protection or up to $750 in dealer credit with purchase of eligible outboard.  Read more

KidsOutsideGETTING KIDS OUTSIDE                BACK TO TOP
Kids Cruise sponsored by Lake Champlain Shoreline Cruises

Spirit of Ethan Allen has teamed up with GymKids Academy, Inc. to host a special cruise for kids:

Saturday, August 2 - 10:00 to 11:30 AM 

NationWorldNATION & WORLD                          BACK TO TOP
Moyer to Congress: Don't trash the Clean Water Act

Dear Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee:

Forty years ago the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee played a leadership role in enacting one of the nation's most vital natural resource conservation laws, the Clean Water Act.  Today, that same committee plans to slash this law with some of the most ill-conceived attacks in the history of the Act.  On behalf of TU's 153,000 members and sportsmen and women across the nation, he urged them to reject the "terrible trifecta of bad bills."  Read more

New Trout Unlimited report documents importance of small streams to clean water and fishing in America

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A new report from Trout Unlimited details the importance of small seasonal streams across America to the overall health of the country's rivers, its fish and fishing opportunity, and it asks anglers to take action to protect these waters by contacting their members of Congress and telling lawmakers to keep the Clean Water Act intact.  Read more

Humans changed behavior, and alewives are rebounding in Kennebec, Penobscot, St. Croix

For the last few weeks sea-run fish known as alewives have been heading up Maine's rivers to lay their eggs.  Their journey is a breathtaking force of nature to behold, as they fight strong currents, heading upstream in droves. While probably hundreds of millions of alewives lived in Maine a few centuries ago, now they return at a fraction of their historical abundance. Read more

Three ugly numbers behind the Governors' push for Canadian hydropower

As the New England Governors and the Eastern Canadian Premiers gather at Bretton Woods for their annual conference next week, it's likely there will be much discussion of building new transmission lines to enable additional imports of Canadian hydropower into New England. 

Guy Page: Despite EPA "pass," Vermont faces carbon reduction challenges

State officials celebrated Vermont getting a "pass" after the U.S. EPA announced June 2 its state-by-state plan to reduce power-related carbon emissions 30 percent nationwide by 2030.  Lacking any full-time fossil-fuel powered electricity generating plants, it is not surprising that Vermont is exempt from the new rule.  While this may seem like a victory for the Green Mountain State, our energy policy has actually left us "browner," more vulnerable to price increases fro the new rule, and virtually powerless over how our electricity is generated.  Read more

FEMA won't fund culvert plan for Vermont roads washed out by Irene

The Obama administration recently launched an initiative aimed at helping local communities better prepare for the impacts of climate change, but one of Vermont's key recommendations to the President was not included.
The state wants to use FEMA public assistance money to help rebuild culverts and bridges so streams pass under the roads instead of washing them out.  

But according to FEMA, the state's engineering plans for these projects do not meet its current uniform "codes and standards" and therefore don't qualify for public assistance money.  Read more
TechnologyTECHNOLOGY  & INNOVATION            BACK TO TOP
Is vertical farming the farming of the future?

Soon, traditional agriculture will no longer be able to supply food for the earth's population. The only thing left to do? Grow UP.
 
While people around the world may differ on a million other issues, there's one thing that's certain: the global population isn't getting any smaller.  Along with that comes another fact of life: everyone has to eat.  With a finite amount of resources to grow and supply food -- and  global hunger already a major problem with our current number of global residents -- how are we going to avoid impending food insecurity? 

Affinor growers closes technology license with Vertical Designs Ltd. to enter the billion dollar strawberry Market
 
MONTREAL, CANADA-- June 24, 2014.
Affinor Growers is extremely excited to enter the multi-billion dollar strawberry market after closing the exclusive licence to grow market-ready strawberries using automated, software-driven, vertical farming technology from Vertical Designs Ltd.  
Learn more

EventsAllEVENTS                                      BACK TO TOP
Lake Champlain Maritime Festival - August 7-10
At Burlington's Waterfront Park: Stroll along the shores from venue to venue. Classic boats, boat building demonstrations, music and more. Learn more
 
Water Dance - August 23 
Keep your eyes open for this benefit event to celebrate the health of women, girls, moms, and Mother Nature. More info to come.   

____________________________________________ 

 

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

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 LCI Advisory Council 

 
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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.

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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
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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.