Cedar Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Cedar Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Cedar Island - Lake Champlain Islands

Cedar Island – Lake Champlain Islands

Cedar Island is a 8.4 acre privately owned island in Lake Champlain. It is the southernmost of three islands to the east of South Hero, Vermont. Cedar Island lies about two miles north of the Sand Bar Bridge, and is accessible only by boat.

There is a house on the island, but it’s not your average cabin in the woods. Cedar Island hosts a five-bedroom, two-bath main house, with a stone patio, tennis court and hot tub. There’s also a guest cabin, boathouse, four beaches and a hammock strung between two of the cedar trees that give the island its name.

 

The island boasts three-hundred-and-sixty-degree views – with sunrise over the Green Mountains and sunset over the Adirondacks, and recently sold for over $1,000,000.00.

Cedar Island - Lake Champlain Islands

Cedar Island – Lake Champlain Island

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

Salinity Increasing in Vermont’s Lakes: Prevention is Key to Protection

Salinity Increasing in Vermont’s Lakes

 

Salinity Increasing in Vermont’s Lakes

The charts above show chloride concentrations (mg/L) over time at selected Lake Champlain stations. (Data source: Lake Champlain Long-Term Water Quality and Biological Monitoring Project)
Click image to Enlarge

Prevention is Key to Protection

A new study on increasing salinity levels in freshwater lakes around North America has been in the news recently. The study used data from 371 lakes, including Lake Champlain and several others Vermont lakes. The study found that chloride, the major contributor to salinity in freshwater, has been increasing in many lakes around North America during the last several decades. If the trend continues, chloride levels could become high enough to harm some lake organisms. Much of this chloride is getting into surface waters through winter road de-icing. The study notes that impervious surfaces, such as parking lots, roofs, roads, and other hard surfaces are a strong predictor of chloride trends in the Northeast.

 

Lake Champlain Impacted

Lake Champlain was highlighted as one of the lakes showing an increasing chloride trend. The Lake Champlain Long-Term Water Quality and Biological Monitoring Project has been

Lake monitoring

tracking chloride since 1990 and has documented increased chloride in all areas of the lake. Because of these findings and other data from around the Northeast, the Watershed Management Division added chloride criteria to the Vermont Water Quality Standards in 2014, representing the maximum level allowable without harm to aquatic life. The Watershed Management Division and other partners and stakeholders identify watersheds around Vermont with elevated chloride levels so that outreach and chloride reduction efforts can start. While the increasing trend in chloride in Lake Champlain is noteworthy, levels are very low relative to the Vermont Water Quality Standards limits.

 

Prevention

Winter de-icing practices around Northeast use road salt (sodium chloride) and some calcium chloride to keep roads safe. Salinity Increasing in Vermont’s Lakes: Prevention is Key to ProtectionThe Vermont Agency of Transportation and many local municipalities have implemented smart de-icing practices that include applying the amount of sodium chloride needed to keep roads open for travel while reducing the impact on water. Homeowners, business owners, and private maintenance companies can also protect our waters by carefully applying de-icing salts and other products throughout the winter.

To learn more about the harmful impacts of salt on aquatic organisms, read the Watershed Management Division’s summary of chloride impacts. Homeowners and business owners can watch this video to learn about the best tools to remove snow and ice.

Lake Champlain

This 128-page softcover book features stunning historical images from the archives of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and other regional collections, and includes chapters on Patriotic Sites and Celebrations; Commerce in the Canal Era; The Age of Steam; Crossing Lake Champlain; Recreational Boating; Summer and Summer Folk; Hunting and Fishing; and Winter. ‘Lake Champlain’ tells the story of this historic, busy commercial corridor and recreational destination.

Buy Here

More Lake Champlain News:  

Vermont Walleye Fishing Season Opens May 6

The Vermont walleye fishing season opens on Saturday, May 6, marking the return of some of the best walleye fishing in New England. The Vermont state record walleye was caught in Lake Champlain by Richard Levesque in 2010 and weighed 14 lbs. 8.8 oz.

Walleye are the largest member of the perch family, which also includes Yellow Perch and Sauger. They have a large, silvery eye, a white belly and flanks ranging from olive-brown to golden-yellow.

As a reminder to anglers, there is no open season on sauger, a close cousin to the walleye. Once abundant in southern Lake Champlain, sauger still appear there, though rarely. If caught , sauger must be immediately released. Walleye are differentiated from sauger, which they closely resemble, by their first dorsal fin which is dusky colored and spotless.

 

“We saw some really nice, trophy-size walleye during our recent survey work, which certainly brightens the outlook a bit for the upcoming walleye season,” said Chet MacKenzie, fisheries biologist with Vermont Fish & Wildlife. “The fishing conditions are also lining up to be exceptional for opening weekend as flows have dropped in many of the major spawning tributaries to Lake Champlain, meaning anglers will have a great opportunity to connect with post-spawn walleye.”

 

Where to Find Walleye

Vermont has excellent spring walleye fishing opportunities in a number of lakes and rivers across the state. Such opportunities include Lake Champlain and its tributaries – the Missisquoi, Lamoille and Winooski rivers and Otter Creek, Salem Lake, Island Pond, Clyde Pond and the Clyde River. 

Lake Carmi, Chittenden Reservoir and the Connecticut River, also offer quality walleye fishing but are subject to specific regulations.

Lake Champlain walleye hotspots include near Savage, Cedar and Fishbladder Islands in the Inland Sea, and around Juniper and Valcour Islands and the Four Brothers in the Broad Lake.

 

Walleye Fishing Regulations

In all waters of Vermont except Lake Carmi, Chittenden Reservoir and the Connecticut River, walleye have an 18” minimum length requirement and three-fish daily limit. The open season is from Saturday, May 6 to March 15, 2018.

Lake Carmi has a slot limit for walleye because of the lake’s high productivity and high rate of walleye harvest. The minimum length is 15 inches, all walleye between 17 and 19 inches must be released. The daily limit is five walleye, but only one may be over 19 inches long. The season is open May 6 through March 15.

Chittenden Reservoir has special walleye regulations to produce large walleye that can help control its over-abundant yellow perch population and offer anglers with an opportunity to harvest a trophy walleye. The minimum length is 22 inches, the daily limit is two, and the season is open June 1 through March 15.

Connecticut River walleye fishing rules are set by New Hampshire. No walleye between 16 and 18 inches may be kept and the daily limit is four fish, of which only one may be longer than 18 inches.

Anglers should reference the 2017 Vermont Fishing Guide & Regulations Digest or the new Online Fishing Regulations Tool at www.vtfishandwildlife.com to check a full listing of Vermont waters and all applicable regulations.

To buy a fishing license, or learn more about fishing in Vermont, visit www.vtfishandwildlife.com.

 


Other Lake Champlain Fishing Articles:

The Rush-Bagot Treaty

April 28, 1818: The Rush-Bagot Treaty

The Rush-Bagot Treaty demilitarized Lake Champlain

The Rush-Bagot Treaty demilitarized Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes

On April 28, 1817, Acting United States Secretary of State Richard Rush and the British Minister to Washington Sir Charles Bagot signed and exchanged letters that became the Rush-Bagot Agreement or Treaty, which demilitarized Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes.

 

Rush-Bagot Treaty plaque

Rush-Bagot Treaty plaque

 

The agreement  provided for demilitarization of the lakes along the international boundary, where many British naval arrangements and forts remained. The treaty stipulated that the United States and British North America could each keep one military vessel (of no more than 100 tons) as well as one cannon (no more than eighteen pounds) on Lake Ontario and Lake Champlain. It later extended this to the other Great Lakes and to the entire Canadian border.

The USA and Canada have worked well together at cleaning up the lakes and keeping them demilitarized. The US Coast Guard now has bigger guns, but Canada looks the other way. According to Wikipedia, “The Canadian government decided that the armament did not violate the treaty, as the guns were to be used for law enforcement rather than military activities. Canada reserved the right to arm its law enforcement vessels with similar weapons.”

Click here to learn more about The Rush-Bagot Treaty

Lake Champlain

This 128-page softcover book features stunning historical images from the archives of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and other regional collections, and includes chapters on Patriotic Sites and Celebrations; Commerce in the Canal Era; The Age of Steam; Crossing Lake Champlain; Recreational Boating; Summer and Summer Folk; Hunting and Fishing; and Winter. ‘Lake Champlain’ tells the story of this historic, busy commercial corridor and recreational destination.

Buy Here

More About Lake Champlain History:

Be Tick Smart

be tick smart logo

 

With the return of warmer weather you’ll want to spend more time enjoying the outdoors. More time outside though, can mean an increased chance of contact with an unwelcome resident of the Lake Champlain Basin – ticks.

Aside from being unpleasant, ticks are dangerous due to the diseases that they can transmit. Lyme disease is among the more dangerous of tick-borne diseases. Because tick are most active during warm months, tick-borne illnesses are most often transmitted from early spring to late fall.

There are six tick species known to bite humans in the Lake Champlain region, and five can transmit diseases. But nearly all tick-borne diseases reported are caused by the blacklegged tick, also known as the deer tick.

 

Be Tick Smart Blacklegged tick

Blacklegged tick or Deer tick (Ixodes scapularis)
Transmits: Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus disease, and Borrelia miyamotoi disease.

 

 

4 Tips to be Tick Smart

Here are four recommendations to make you tick smart and decrease your risk of infection.

REPEL

    • Duration™ Permethrin 0.5% RTU

      Use an EPA-approved tick repellent on skin.

    • Apply permethrin to clothing.
    • Wear light-colored pants and long sleeves.

INSPECT

  • Check daily for ticks on yourself, your children and pets.
  • Shower soon after spending time outdoors.

REMOVE 

Be Tick Smart - How to Remove a Tick

How to Remove a Tick
Click Image

  • Use tweezers to remove tick, do not scrape it off.
  • Wash hands and bite area with soap and water.
  • Put clothing in dryer on high heat setting for 10 minutes.

WATCH

  • Watch for symptoms of tick-borne diseases (fever, muscle aches, fatigue and joint pain).
  • About 70% of people with Lyme disease develop a rash.
  • If you display any of these symptoms, contact your health care provider.

 

* Avoid folklore remedies such as “painting” the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make the tick detach from the skin. Your goal is to remove the tick as quickly as possible–not wait for it to detach.