Category Archives: News

News and events around the Lake Champlain Valley of northern New York and Vermont and southern Quebec

Have You Signed the Petition to Close The Champlain Canal Yet?

Join Over 500 Other Friends of Lake Champlain

Please Sign The Petition to Close the Champlain Canal!

 

Petition to Close The Champlain Canal

Spiny Water flea

The Champlain Canal is a 60-mile long canal that connects Lake Champlain with the Hudson river.  At its peak, it was used by thousands of people to transport goods and for transportation. Today the canal is used mostly by recreational boaters and some commercial vessels.Approximately 20 invasive species have already been introduced to Lake Champlain through the canal, and the spiny water flea threatens to be the next invasive species that invades Lake Champlain. Like other lakes in the U.S., the Lake Champlain ecosystem, including fish and wildlife, and the surrounding economy will be significantly compromised with the invasion of the spiny water flea.  It is estimated that the total annual cost of invasive species linked to the canal is nearly $500 million (Pimentel, 2005; http://bit.ly/Ozpywt), clearly illustrating the economic importance of disconnecting the canal from Lake Champlain.  With 5,000 pleasure boats using the canal each year (Dan Weiller, spokesman for the NY State Canal Corp), it costs $100,000 of public funds per boat to keep the canal open.Numerous options exist to close the canal while accommodating boat traffic. Funding has already been set aside to cover the costs of closing the canal.

Please sign and share this petition to protect Lake Champlain and the regional economy from destructive invasive species.

You can learn more about the effort to disconnect the canal here: http://bit.ly/ChampCanal

You can also read “Feasibility of Champlain Canal Aquatic Nuisance Species Barrier Options” for suggested solutions on how to close the canal:http://www.uvm.edu:8889/~seagrant/communications/assets/ansbarrierrprt06.pdf

The post Have You Signed the Petition to Close The Champlain Canal Yet? appeared first on Lake Champlain Life.

New Way to Explore? SUP Lake Champlain!

SUP Lake Champlain in Essex, NY

SUP Lake Champlain in Essex, NY

You’ve tried canoeing and kayaking on Lake Champlain, but have you SUP’ed? A fast growing new water sport has made it’s way to the North Country – and more specifically, to Essex!  Now, you can rent a stand up paddle board from Split Rock Outfitters and Guides in Essex, and explore the lake! That’s right, it’s time to SUP Lake Champlain.

 

Stand Up Paddle Boarding

Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP) originated when surfers began using paddles to reach surfing spots further from the coast. Today SUP is a fast emerging sport in surfs, lakes, and rivers all around the globe. SUP is easy to learn and promotes balance and strength. It offers a way to experience the waterways like no other small paddle craft. SUP’ing is easy to learn. The boards are light, making them easy to carry and transport.

Split Rock Outfitters and Guides

Split Rock Outfitters and Guides, LLC., located in Essex and operating out of Essex Ice Cream and Café, is renting high quality boards to beginner and advanced paddlers. The beachfront location makes for easy launches on Lake Champlain, which offers a wide variety of paddling destinations. Because of the close proximity to the Bouquet River and Long Pond, Split Rock Outfitters can offer a more protected paddle experience for families or for the novice paddler. Straps and padding are free with rentals for folks who would like to venture to a waterway of their choice. It’s the perfect way to SUP Lake Champlain.

SUP Lake Champlain in Essex, NY

Kevin Shaw, owner of Split Rock Outfitters and Guides, has over 20 year experience in the outdoor education and recreation Industry. You can find him at his location at the Essex Ice Cream Café and at Beggs Park on Essex day (August 4th). Stop and in try a SUP.

While you there, sign up for one of their beginner rock climbing classes. An open enrollment introduction to rock climbing will be offered on August 5th and 6th.

Contact Kevin at kcshaw@westelcom.com, at 518-569-3588, or on Facebook.  The Split Rock Outfitters and Guides website is on its way!

The post New Way to Explore? SUP Lake Champlain! appeared first on Essex on Lake Champlain.

New York State Acquires 156 Acres of Lake Champlain Wetlands

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the acquisition of 156 acres of southern Lake Champlain, including 2,140 feet of undeveloped shoreline. The property is located in the Washington County town of Dresden (about midway from Ticonderoga and Whitehall, New York) between Lake George and the narrow headwaters of Lake Champlain. Here are the details of the purchase:

State Adds 156 Acres of Wetlands on Lake Champlain to Forest Preserve

DEC Partners with the Nature Conservancy to Conserve Chubbs Dock Property

New York State Acquires 156 Acres of Lake Champlain Wetlands

South Bay, Lake Champlain

ALBANY, NY (07/31/2012) (readMedia)–

In partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the state has acquired 156 acres on Southern Lake Champlain in the Town of Dresden, Washington County that will be added to the State Forest Preserve, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens announced today.

Known as the Chubbs Dock property, the land features 2,140 feet of undeveloped shoreline and 70 acres of wetland communities that support rare plants and falls within an area that provides critical breeding, staging and migration habitat for thousands of waterfowl species.

“Chubbs Dock conserves excellent wildlife habitat along the narrow headwaters of Lake Champlain,” said Commissioner Martens. “The property will be added to the Forest Preserve and serve as part of a travel corridor for wildlife between the Adirondack and Green Mountains. Thanks to our partners TNC, Washington County and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for making this land preservation possible.”

With funding through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s North American Wetland Conservation Act grant program, TNC purchased the property for $500,000 in November 2009. The property was then donated to New York State in May 2012. TNC has previously utilized North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grants to protect Mill Bay Marsh and Huckleberry Marsh in the Lake Champlain watershed.

“This is a great example of strategic, high leverage conservation work of regional and national importance,” said Michael Carr, Executive Director of the Conservancy’s Adirondack Chapter.

“Not only is New York State keeping intact some of the largest wetlands on Lake Champlain, but doing it in a way that will also secure public access for hunting, fishing, boating, and wildlife-oriented recreation-all of which contribute to the state’s outdoor recreation economy.”

The NAWCA grant application was supported by Washington County and included a commitment by the county to transfer an adjoining 283-acre tract on Maple Bend Island. Both transfers happened this year, adding a total of 439 acres with significant wetlands to public ownership. As part of the Forest Preserve, DEC will pay taxes on both properties. Public access to Lake Champlain and its shoreline is limited because most of the shoreline is privately owned. State acquisition of Chubb’s Dock will provide for new public access.

Protecting wetlands is also an important part of mitigating the impacts of climate change by helping to maintain the connection between wetlands and riparian habitat.

The NAWCA of 1989 provides matching grants to organizations and individuals who have developed partnerships to carry out wetland conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the benefit of wetlands-associated migratory birds and other wildlife. The Act was passed, in part, to support activities under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, an international agreement that provides a strategy for the long-term protection of wetlands and associated uplands habitats needed by waterfowl and other migratory birds in North America. In December 2002, Congress reauthorized the Act and expanded its scope to include the conservation of all habitats and birds associated with wetland ecosystems.

The Act emphasizes multi-stakeholder partnerships as necessary and valuable mechanisms for wetlands conservation, and for this reason proposals submitted for funding under the Act must include a substantial partnership component. Wetlands conservation projects focus specifically on the long-term protection, restoration, enhancement and/or management of wetland ecosystems.

The North American Wetlands Conservation Fund, set up under the Act, is funded through several federal sources, including direct appropriations, interest from receipts under the Pittman-Robertson Trust Fund, receipts from the Sportfish Restoration Account, and fines and forfeitures collected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of Bird Habitat Conservation is responsible for facilitating and administering grants under the Act’s two grants programs.

By focusing on public-private partnerships and working with multiple stakeholders to leverage federal dollars several times over with non-federal funding sources, the NAWCA Program has become one of the nation’s most successful conservation programs.

Posted Tuesday July 31, 2012 at 09:59 am by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

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

More Articles About Lake Champlain Safety: