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LAKE CHAMPLAIN INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS
THE STRAIGHT PIPE * July 2014
LAKE CHAMPLAIN HEALTH UPDATES
IN THIS ISSUE:
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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!
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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
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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.
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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
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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 |
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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
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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
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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 |
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15th LCI Evinrude Fox Marine Bass Open presented by Twisted Tea
 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. |
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Find LCI at these upcoming events!
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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
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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! |
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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... |
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Use GoodSearch for shopping, dining
& internet searching and help Lake Champlain!
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Shop online, eat dinner out,
and search the internetall in the name of a healthier Lake Champlain!
Learn how!
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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.
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RGS Energy renews as Signature Member
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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
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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 |
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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
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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? |
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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 |
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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.
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____________________________________________
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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in the Basin!
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3 Clicks for a Better Lake
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Protect Our Lake
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Sick of closed beaches & unsafe water?
Let LCI Help You
Certify Your Home as BLUE®
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1% for the Planet Partner
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Good Links to Know
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(Buy your VT license here) |
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LCI Staff
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James Ehlers
Executive Director
Eric LaMontagne
Outreach Director
Liz Ehlers
Business Manager
Wayne Laroche
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LCI Board of Directors
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Michael Brigham
Richard Butz
James Ehlers
Jason Galipeau
Treasurer
Scott Goddard
Vice President
Mary Catherine Jones Bob Qua
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LCI Advisory Council
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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.
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Featured Article
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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.
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