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Drawbridge? No, drawboat!

Drawbridge? No, drawboat!

Drawbridge? No, drawboat!

Photo credit: Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. www.lcmm.org.

 

Despite what little commercial activity currently occurs, Lake Champlain once played a major role in the commercial transportation of goods. In the late 1800s large barges and freighters covered the water, and several trains rode the tracks up, down, and across the lake. With all this traffic, it’s no wonder Lake Champlain is widely known as one of the best places to dive and view under water wrecks.

The most intact, and one of the largest, was discovered in 1999, in Port Henry, New York’s, Bulwagga Bay. This is its story.

In 1870, the iron ore industry was booming. NY’s Port Henry became a shipping hub for the thousands of tons of ore being drilled out of the surrounding Adirondack foothills. The issue that arose, however, was how to most efficiently move the ore to the furnaces in Crown Point, NY. Rail wouldn’t work – a trestle would block all boat traffic to the bay, and to go around would be too far. Even by boat, you would have to get the ore to the boat, load it, ship it, unload it, and truck it to the furnaces – far too much work. The solution would need to allow for rail and boats to coexist.

The answer, it was determined, was a drawboat. This early style of drawbridge connected two sections of trestle. Most of the time, the barge stayed in place so the regularly scheduled trains could pass uninhibited. When a large boat did need to pass through, the barge was unbolted and pulled out of the way.

Made from 12” x 12” oak beams and reinforced with cross -bracing and iron plates, the Port Henry drawboat measured 250 feet long, 34 feet wide, and nearly 12 feet tall. It perfectly fit the gap in the new trestle, known as the Port Henry Bridge, which was built to connect the ore depot in Port Henry to the furnaces in Crown Point. When the system opened up for use in the early spring for the 1870 hauling season, it worked perfectly.

The drawboat continued to function throughout the season until the ice came in and operators were forced to close it down for the winter. Problems arose in the spring, however, when engineers did their inspection before opening up the railway. They discovered that over the winter, ice had lifted and shifted the trestle itself. The cost of repairs was more than anyone could afford. Left with no other choice, they dismantled the trestle for scrap and sank the barge.

Fast forward to 1999, Arthur Cohn, Director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, picked up the shape of a boat on radar. A follow-up dive revealed the largest and most well-preserved ship wreck ever found on Lake Champlain. With the exception of two long holes on the deck, perhaps caused when workers salvaged the metal from the attached rails and hardware, the barge sits in the same condition as the day it was sunk.

There is still an air of mystery surrounding the barge. It is unknown who constructed, and subsequently sunk, the barge. Nor is there any record of the barge ever having been named. What is known, however, is that this beautiful piece of well-preserved history is a reminder of just how much used to happen on Lake Champlain.

 

For more information, please see the following links and resources.

http://bit.ly/PMkgAH – Press Republican news article. July 15, 2000

http://bit.ly/O0XqSA – Adirondack Heritage-Travels through Time in New York’s North Country. A collection of stories by Lee Manchester

http://bit.ly/SVDP9R – extensive write-up by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

Champlain Hudson Power Express Progress Update

Champlain Hudson Power Express

The Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) project is moving along ahead of schedule with help from the summer’s good weather. This update on the progress of the CHPE project appeared in The Glens Falls Post Star online edition Poststar.com. Learn more about the CHPE, Click Here.

Good weather means good dredging: Hudson River project on target so far this summer

FORT EDWARD – This year’s Hudson River dredging project is well on its way to accomplishing — and perhaps exceeding — the goal for the season, after weather delays affected the first two years of dredging.

“Thus far, it’s been a terrific summer in terms of productivity,” said General Electric spokesman Mark Behan, of Behan Communications. “And we have more than two months of dredging still ahead.”

For GE, the goal is to meet the dredging standards set out by the Environmental Protection Agency, and exceed them if possible, Behan said.

GE for years in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls dumped polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, into the river before the substances were deemed harmful. GE is now conducting a multi-year cleanup under the EPA’s direction, to remove PCB-contaminated sediment from the bottom of the river.

This year, the goal is to dredge 350,000 cubic yards, or about 400,000 tons, of sediment from the river. As of July 21, 230,000 cubic yards had already been dredged. Last year, the dredging season lasted through early November.

Some increased production was expected this year, because of facility improvements made during the off-season. While the goal is dredging 350,000 cubic yards this year, project officials said late last year that, with the addition of another barge unloading station, as much as 450,000 cubic yards could be dredged.

“We are hopeful GE will exceed the goal, though there are many factors that could impact productivity,” EPA spokeswoman Larisa Romanowski wrote in an email. “Given where we are today, if all goes well, GE will likely exceed the 350,000.”

Factors that could disrupt productivity and are largely beyond the control of project operators, aside from weather, include the shipping of sediment off-site by train and the canal system, because dredging is dependent on use of the Champlain Canal.

Once the contaminated sediment is removed, it’s loaded onto barges and taken to a processing plant to be treated. It’s then shipped by train to a disposal facility.

Good weather has allowed for the project’s progress this summer, a departure from the weather-related delays in 2009 and 2011, the first two years dredging took place.

Last year, spring flooding meant the dredging season began late, and a rainy summer with high water levels posed challenges and sometimes delayed work. But warm fall weather allowed dredging to continue later in the year, and 363,000 cubic yards, or about 75 acres, were dredged.

This year, water levels are within the predicted range, and haven’t impeded dredging, Behan said.

This is the third year dredging is taking place, and the second year of the project’s second phase. The second phase is expected to last five to seven years.

After this year, it is expected that more than 1 million cubic yards of sediment will have been dredged from the Hudson over the three years. The goal is to dredge roughly 2.5 million cubic yards of sediment from a 40-mile stretch of the river from Fort Edward to Troy.

Once an area is dredged, clean backfill — a mixture of soil and gravel — is laid on the river bed. The material is sourced locally so it’s consistent with the Hudson River watershed, and it becomes the foundation for growth of plant and animal life.

Dredges are currently operating in a part of the river about two miles south of the village of Fort Edward, Behan said.

 

Boating Safety Checklist

boating safety checklist

Safe Boating Checklist

There’s nothing like a day on the water. Whether it’s fishing, paddling, sailing, skiing, boarding or just relaxing everyone can have a great time, provided that some basic safe boating practices are in place.

Too often, what starts out as a fun adventure turns into a nightmarish experience or worse, a tragedy. In many cases some basic precautions could have averted theses situations.

This boating safety checklist will  get you on the water, sufficiently prepared to make the most of what is never enough boating time.

Boating Safety Checklist:

Things To Do Before You Leave:

  • Check local weather conditions and forecasts.
  • Create and follow a float plan… and leave a copy on shore with a friend or family member.
  • Be sure that your gas tank is full.

Things you should have on-board:

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Helpful Resources:

Boating After Dark? Follow These Safety Tips

Kayaking Safety

Boating Safety

U.S.C.G. Boating Safety Resource Center

National Safe Boating Council

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Shop for
Personal Flotation Devices
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More Articles About Lake Champlain Safety:

Lake Champlain Phosphorus Levels (20 year chart)

Lake Champlain Phosphorus Levels for past 20 years

 

Lake Champlain Phosphorus Amounts Chart image

Amounts of Lake Champlain Phosphorus

This chart created by the Addison Independent from Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Water Management Division data shows the number of metric tons of Phosphorus in Lake Champlain per year from 1991 through 2011. The chart focuses on three Vermont watersheds, namely Otter Creek, the Winooski River and the Missisquoi River.

Last year’s record spring flooding and Tropical Storm Irene caused unprecedented amounts of phosphorus to be dumped into Lake Champlain. In some cases the amounts were two to three times the average high mean levels. These high Phosphorus levels are responsible for the widespread and sudden appearance of Blue-Green Algae, or cyanobacteria blooms that have closed beaches around the Lake.

“Phosphorus is key to causing the dense cyanobacteria blooms,” according to Angela Shambaugh, aquatic biologist for the Water Management Division at the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and a leading authority on cyanobacteria. “That bulk of algae really can’t grow without phosphorus, and it takes a lot of phosphorus to create that amount of biomass.”

In Vermont, cyanobacteria live in warm, shallow waters that get lots of sun and low winds. And they flourish most where their primary source of food  – phosphorus – is most abundant. As the above chart illustrates, Lake Champlain Phosphorus levels have never been higher. Warmer weather and calmer wind and waves provide the ideal conditions for the formation of Blue-Green Algae blooms and have contributed to our current outbreaks.

Lake Champlain phosphorus levels lead to Blue-Green Algae Bloom

Boaters, swimmers, water-skiers, waders, parents, pet-owners and residents should become familiar with the appearance of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria). Avoid contact with dense accumulations of these algae. Children are at higher risk because they are more likely to drink the water. Pets should not be allowed in algae-contaminated water, because they will also drink the water and consume algae on their fur.

For more information on the causes, dangers and prevention of Blue-Green Algae blooms see Blue-Green Algae Tips.

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Further Reading: 

Blue-Green Algae Tips, (LakeChamplainLife.com)

Lake Champlain Blue-Green Algae Bloom Status Map, (Vt Dept. of Health)

Lake Champlain, Environmental Reports, (VT ANR)

Blue-green Algae, Information Bulletin, (NYS Dept. of Health)

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) in Vermont, (VT ANR)

Blue-green algae and our surface water, (MDDEP, Quebec)

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[nrelate-related]

Caspian Tern Population Growing on Lake Champlain

Caspian Tern

Caspian Tern and lake ChamplainHydroprogne caspia

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The Caspian Tern, Hydroprogne caspia, is the largest tern inhabiting the Lake Champlain Basin, and is, in fact, the largest tern in the world. After Double-crested Cormorants denuded parts of Island C of Lake Champlain’s Four Brothers Islands in eight years ago, Caspian Terns found the bare ground appealing and began nesting there.

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Newcomers to Lake Champlain

Caspian terns and Lake Champlain

Four Brothers Islands, Lake Champlain

Relative newcomers to Lake Champlain – the first recorded nesting was in 2001, when a pair was found on Young Island, off of North Hero and on Popasquash Island, off shore between St. Albans and Swanton. By 2004 Caspian terns began nesting on Four Brothers Island and as of 2007 that colony had 50 pairs of birds. The island now hosts over 100 nesting pairs – a ten-fold increase since they were first confirmed on Island C ten years ago.

Although the Caspian Tern is rare to Lake Champlain, it is not listed as threatened or endangered in either Vermont or New York. Much of the Caspian Tern’s core population is found in the Great Lakes region, but that population is suffering from avian botulism, which is killing thousands of terns. Lake Champlain hosts the only Caspian tern colonies in Vermont and the only other New York colony is on Little Galoo Island in Lake Ontario..

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Caspian Tern Characteristics

caspian tern on lake champlainThe same size as gulls, and with similar white plumage, Caspian Terns has bright orange bills and swept-back black crests. They are one of three species of terns that can be found on Lake Champlain.  They can be found throughout much of the world, but rarely in large numbers. While hunting, terns dive down on prey, un-like most gulls. They also hunt with their heads lowered to the water, a posture quite different from soaring gulls. Their voice, a raspy ‘kowk’ also differs from that of gulls. While Caspian terns have increased in number, their cousins, common terns have faced troubles.  In the late 1960s, between 300 and 400 pairs of common terns nested on Lake Champlain, but by 1988 the population had fallen to just 50 pairs. The species is currently listed as ‘Endangered’ in Vermont and ‘Threatened’ in New York. The birds nest on small rocky islands in the lake. Work by Audubon Vermont, the Vermont Non-game and Natural Heritage Program, and the Lake Champlain Land Trust has increased the number of nesting terns since the late 1980s and now between 160 and 200 pairs nest on the lake.

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Interesting Trivia About Caspian Terns:

Caspian Terns may begin to vocalize while still in the egg. When an adult gives a ‘Fish Call’ signaling their return to the nest with food, the soon-to-be chicks may respond with begging calls before they are even hatched.

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