Category Archives: Points of Interest

points of interest, locations and attractions related to the history of the Lake Champlain Valley

Signal Buoy Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Signal Buoy Island

 

Signal Buoy Island - Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex (LCIMC)

 

Signal Buoy Island is less than 1 acre in size. It is the southernmost island of the Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex (LCIMC) – owned and operated by the State of New York.

Signal Buoy Island is located 2.5 miles south of Sheepshead Island in the Town of Ticonderoga, New York. This small island has a Coast Guard signal buoy set in the water (for which it is named) and has no recreational facilities.

Other Articles About Lake Champlain Islands:   List of Lake Champlain's Islands

Land Donation Expands Dead Creek WMA in Addison County, VT 

Land Donation Expands Dead Creek WMA in Addison County, VT

Popular Vermont bid-watching and waterfowl destination to increase by 37 acres

 

 

One of Vermont’s premiere wildlife hotspots, the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area in Addison has expanded according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. A donation by Dubois Farm Inc of Addison will expand the property by 37 acres, bringing the property up to a total of 2,895 acres.

 

“We are grateful to the Dubois Farm for donating this land,” said Louis Porter, Vermont’s commissioner of the Fish & Wildlife Department. “Their generosity contributes to a growing legacy of conservation that will last for generations.”

 

The new parcel hosts rare and ecologically important clay-plain forest. These forests contain oak and hickory trees that attract turkeys, gray squirrels, and deer, making them popular destinations for hunters. Because the forest is next to wetlands, it is particularly important for amphibians such as frogs, toads, and salamanders.
Land Donation Expands Dead Creek WMA in Addison County, VT

“Birdwatchers and hunters have coveted access to this property for many years,” said Porter. “The diversity of bird species found in this forest is incredible for bird enthusiasts. Previous owners closed the land to the public to conduct private turkey hunts. Now, any hunter may now access the land to try their luck at calling in a turkey.”

For almost forty years the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has partnered with The Nature Conservancy in Vermont and local landowners to place a conservation easement on this property after recognizing the forest’s significance to wildlife. That project began a multi-decade partnership between the two organizations that has resulted in many conservation success stories.

 

Wildlife Management Areas (WMA’s) are conserved lands throughout the state of Vermont, owned by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. They are managed for fish and wildlife habitat and wildlife-based recreational access. Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area hosts 200 bird species, and is one of the most popular Vermont destinations for bird-watchers and waterfowl hunters.

 

Vermont has more than 80 state wildlife management areas covering well over 100,000 acres. Management activities on these areas vary by habitat type, but perhaps none are more intensively managed than wetland wildlife management ares. Although wetland areas like the Dead Creek WMA in Addison look often like they do not need any improving, behind the scenes state biologists and volunteers work year-round to make them as attractive and beneficial to wildlife as possible.

 

Landowners wishing to donate land to be permanently conserved are encouraged to contact the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. Anyone can donate to the department’s land conservation efforts by purchasing a 2017 Vermont Habitat Stamp, available at vtfishandwildlife.com.

 

 

Other Lake Champlain Wildlife Articles:

Lake Champlain Wildlife Management Areas

Lake Champlain Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs)

 

What are Wildlife Management Areas?

Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) are protected areas set aside for the conservation of fish, birds and other wildlife and for protection of their habitat. Some of the WMAs occupy land that is environmentally sensitive.

WMAs are also set aside for recreational activities involving wildlife and to provide people with opportunities for fish and wildlife-based recreation. WMAs are open to hunting, trapping, fishing, wildlife viewing and other wildlife-related outdoor activities.

 

How WMAs are Funded

Primarily the management and administration of all WMAs is funded through the sale of hunting and trapping licenses, and from the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration (Pittman-Robertson) Fund. The Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 places an excise tax on guns, ammunition and archery equipment, of which 10% is returned to the states to fund restoration and management efforts and to acquire land for wildlife habitat and restore and manage the wildlife on that land.

Some Vermont WMAs have also been purchased with assistance from the Vermont Duck Stamp Fund, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Ducks Unlimited, The North American Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the North American Wetland Conservation Fund. New York State Bond Acts in 1960, 1972 and 1986 have also helped fund the New York WMA system.

 

Lake Champlain Wildlife Management Areas

New York State offers over 110 Wildlife Management Areas and Vermont has over 80 WMA’s. There are 24 WMA’s along Lake Champlain; they are:

New York WMAs

  • Ausable Marsh
  • East Bay
  • King’s Bay
  • Monty’s Bay
  • Wickham Marsh

Vermont WMAs

  • Black Creek
  • Carmans Marsh
  • Cornwall Swamp
  • Dead Creek
  • East Creek
  • Halfmoon Cove
  • Hubbardton Battlefield
  • Intervale
  • Lemon Fair WMA
  • Little Otter Creek
  • Lower Lamoille River
  • Lower Otter Creek
  • Maquam
  • Mud Creek
  • Rock River
  • Sandbar
  • The Narrows
  • Ward Marsh
  • Whitney-Hospital Creek

Get out and explore some of these wonderful areas that are set aside for your enjoyment.


Tom

March 10, 2017

Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex (LCIMC)

 

Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex (LCIMC)

 

The Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex (LCIMC) is comprised of six islands owned by the State of New York and managed collectively. LCIMC is located in the northeastern Adirondacks in the towns of Ausable, Peru and Plattsburgh in Clinton County and in the towns of Crown Point, Chesterfield, Ticonderoga, Westport and Willsboro in Essex County.

The six islands are: Valcour, Schuyler, Cole, Garden, Sheepshead and Signal Buoy. The six islands contain about 1,130 acres of Forest Preserve land. LCIMC maintains about 13 miles of hiking trails and 34 designated campsites. The LCIMC also maintains three boat launch sites located at Peru Dock, Port Douglas and Willsboro Bay.

 

Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex (LCIMC) Bluff Point Lighthouse

Bluff Point Lighthouse

The six islands that make up the LCIMC contain 13 miles of hiking trails, 34 designated campsites and offer a variety of day-use opportunities that include hiking, picnicking, wildlife and bird watching or visiting the Bluff Point Lighthouse on Valcour Island.

 

The Bluff Point Lighthouse is the only lighthouse on Lake Champlain to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It overlooks Valcour Bay, the site of the 1776 Battle of Valcour Bay (the first naval battle of the Revolutionary War). The Bay is also a National Historic Landmark. The light continues to serve as a U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation.

 

 

Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex Unit Management Plan

Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex (LCIMC)

Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex (LCIMC)

 

The Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex Unit Management Plan includes: Valcour Island Primitive Area (968.5 acres); Schuyler Island Primitive Area (161.4 acres); Champlain Islands Wild Forest (4 acres);  Peru Dock Boat Launch Intensive Use Area (10.5 acres);  Port Douglas Boat Launch Intensive Use Area (2.5 acres); and Willsboro Bay Boat Launch Intensive Use Area (15.1 acres).  Champlain Islands Wild Forest consists of four islands: Garden Island, Cole Island, Sheepshead Island and Signal Buoy. Each is less than one acre of land surface.

 

 

Other Articles About Lake Champlain Islands:   List of Lake Champlain's Islands

Lake Champlain Islands

 Lake Champlain Islands

Lake Champlain Islands

Lake Champlain is home to over 80 islands. Some of these islands are no more than a large rock jutting from the lake; others are large enough to support entire towns. There are privately owned islands with seasonal residences, publicly owned islands that are nature preserves and year-round communities of ‘Islanders’.

 

The ‘Lake Champlain Islands’

When people refer to the ‘Lake Champlain Islands’, they are usually speaking about Vermont’s Grand Isle County, which is made up of some of the lake’s largest islands. Grand Isle County is comprised of the Vermont towns of Alburgh, Grand Isle, Isle LaMotte, North Hero and South Hero. These towns are all located on the ‘Lake Champlain Islands’ except Alburgh, which is actually located on a peninsula extending south into Lake Champlain from Quebec, Canada. Alburgh, Vermont is not attached to any other part of Vermont or the rest of the United States by land, and can only be reached by bridge or boat from the U.S. (see: Alburgh, Vermont: An Exclave).

 

Listing of Lake Champlain Islands

Following is an alphabetical list of Lake Champlain’s islands. The list includes some islands that are actually in tributaries of Lake Champlain, or are located in the Richelieu River at the outflow of the lake. Links to the individual islands will be activated as the listings become available.

Ash Island (Ile Ash): large island in Richelieu River between Clarenceville and Lacolle, Quebec
Ball Island
Birch Island
Bixby Island: one of the Three Sisters Islands
Burton Island: This large island lies off the southwestern tip of St. Albans Point in LakeChamplain’s Inland Sea
Butler Island: located just east of North Hero, Vermont
Button Island: located in Button Bay in Vergennes, Vermont
Carleton’s Prize: Carleton’s Prize is a solitary chunk of rock that rises from the lake about three miles east of Valcour, just off Providence Island
Cave Island: Located in Mallett’s Bay in Colchester, Vermont
Cedar Island – Charlotte, Vermont: located in Converse Bay in Charlotte, Vermont
Cedar Island – South Hero, Vermont: privately owned 8.4 acre island just east of South Hero, Vermont
Cloak Island: small island located off Isle La Motte’s south east coast
Coates Island:
Cole Island:
Crab Island:
Dameas Island:
Dean Island:
Deer Island:
Diamond Island:
Duck Blind Island:
Fish Bladder Island:
Four Brothers Islands:
Garden Island – Charlotte, Vermont:
Garden Island – Peru, New York:
Gardiner Island:
Gondola Island:
Gull Island:
Harbor Island:
Hen Island:
Hog Island:
Hogback Island:
Ile Aux Branches:
Ile Aux Noix:
Ile de l’Hopital:
Isle La Motte:
Johnson Island:
Juniper Island: Juniper Island is a 13-acre island in Lake Champlain, approximately 3.15-mile southwest of Burlington, Vermont
Kellogg Island (Kibbe Island):
Kibbe Island:
Knight Island:
Lake Champlain Islands Management Complex (LCIMC): is comprised of six islands owned by the State of New York and managed collectively.
Lapham Island:
Law Island:
Lazy Lady Island:
Long Point Island:
Maple Bend Island:
Marble Island:
Meach Island:
Metcalfe Island:
Mosquito Island:
Mud Island:
Mudgett Island:
Noak’s Island:
North Hero Island:
Odzihozo:
Pickett Island:
Popasquash Island:
Providence Island:
Queneska Island:
Rock Dunder:
Rock Island – Panton, Vermont:
Rock Island – Saint Albans, Vermont:
Savage Island:
Sawyer Island:
Schuyler Island:
Shad Island:
Sheepshead Island:
Ship Point:
Signal Buoy Island: One of six islands owned by the State of New York and managed as LCMCI.
Sloop Island:
South Hero Island:
Stave Island:
Sunset Island:
Three Sisters: A small group of islands just northwest of Grand Isle (island):
Upper Fish Bladder Island:
Valcour Island:
White’s Island:
Whitney Island:
Wood’s Island:
Young Island:

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Other Articles About Lake Champlain Islands:   List of Lake Champlain's Islands