• Colchester Lighthouse Sends Weather Report

• Lake Champlain Basin Program Distributes Partnership Awards

• Basin Program Supports Public Access Improvements

Colchester Lighthouse Sends Weather Report

Colchester, VT

Colchester Reef

ast Autumn a UVM researcher spear headed the installation of a permanent weather station on Colchester Reef in Lake Champlain. Tim Scherbatskoy, with the Forestry Department of the UVM School of Natural Resources, explained that there is very little data on lake weather available and that this is the first weather station on the lake in modern times. His project is funded by NOAA through the Lake Champlain Basin Program and the Lake Champlain Research Consortium. The UVM School of Natural Resources operates the station which is fully automated and continuously collects temperature, wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity, solar radiation and water temperature. Data is radioed hourly to a computer and formatted into a readable format.

Although the station has been operating since the Fall its data has not been monitored and checked for accuracy until recently. The National Weather Service has begun to publish the data in it’s recreational forecast.

According to Scherbatskoy, there are many groups that want to understand Lake Champlain weather patterns. Scherbatskoy’s interest is the movement of pollutants on the lake and how they become deposited throughout the watershed and nearby forests. He cited recent discovery of high mercury levels as the cause for the interest.

This new data source will add more details to the Vermont Forest Ecosystem Monitoring (VFOREM) program at UVM. VFOREM is an integrated approach to long term ecosystem monitoring. Ecosystems include atmosphere, people, wildlife and pollution. Weather data has been coming from Mount Mansfield. The new data source will improve mathematical models contained in VFOREM.

Others will benefit from this new data source, Scherbatskoy said . Recreational boaters, commercial vessels, and others should all be able to make use of the data. Scherbatskoy hopes to eventually publish the data on an Internet Web site.

Tim Scherbatskoy can be contacted at 656-8336.

Lake Champlain Basin Program Distributes Partnership Awards

Grand Isle, VT —

he NY-VT Citizens Advisory Committees recently awarded $48,000 in 1997 Partnership Program funds to fifteen organizations in the Lake Champlain Basin. The awards were given for local grassroots projects that demonstrate practical ways to address economic and conservation challenges that enhance historic, cultural, scenic and natural resources.

Adaptive Sailing Collaborative, Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, $1,562
Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, in conjunction with the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center will provide sailing opportunities for people with disabilities. Funding will be used to coordinate the program and to support a sailing instructor.

Champfest: A Lake Champlain a Water Festival, Lake Champlain Sport Fishing Trust, $2,500
Champfest is a two day event aimed at educating nearly 2,000 school children (grades 5-8) about Lake Champlain issues. Funding will be used to develop and distribute pre-teaching materials and to produce a program which is more closely in line with state curricula. In addition, funds will be used to help provide a better outdoor leaming environment, particularly by providing more sheltered teaching areas under tents.

East Bay/Poultney River Clean- Up, Whitehall Senior Science Class, $ 1,465
The Whitehall Senior Science Program has participated in several field trips to gather water samples from the Poultney River and worked together with students from Fair Haven Union High School in Vermont to clean up East Bay. Funding will be used to develop an informational sign about the East Bay project, to purchase water quality testing kits and a computer software program to track the water quality data, and to publish informational trail maps and wildlife checklists.

Eco-Cultural Toursfor Visitors and Entrepreneurs, Boquet River Association, $4,000
Working closely with several members of the Champlain Valley Heritage Network, BRASS will develop and offer eco-cultural tours for visitors to the New York portion of the Champlain Valley and to local business entrepreneurs. Funding will be used to develop and conduct tours for entrepreneurs, print an accompanying tours brochure, and evaluate this demonstration project through participant surveys.

Intervale Land Restoration, Intervale Foundation, $5,000
The Intervale Foundation seeks to unleash the agricultural potential of the North Burlington land alongside the Winooski River. Funding will be used to conduct soil tests, apply compost and install cover crops. Interpretive Markers Linking Fort Ticonderoga, Mt Defiance and Mount Independence, Fort Ticonderoga Association, $3,000 The Fort Ticonderoga Association will use Partnership Program funding to design and produce markers to interpret Lake Champlain, Fort Ticonderoga, Mount Defiance and Mount Independence (located in Orwell, VT). This project is a partnership between Fort Ticonderoga, the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Shorewell Ferry.

Lamoille County Rivers Public Access Identification, Lamoille Regional Planning Commission, $4,323
With these funds, the Lamoille County Planning Commission will identify and assess publically artifacts before they are obscured by layers of colonizing zebra mussels. The LCMM hopes to continue scanning the entire bottom of Lake Champlain, estimated to take the next 5-7 years.

LaPlatte River Green-Up Project, Green Mountain Audubon Society, $1,800
The Green Mountain Audubon Society will work with community volunteers, the Nature Conservancy and the Shelburne Natural Resources and Conservation Committees to restore sections of riverbank along the LaPlatte River by removing unsightly and potentially hazardous materials from two sites.Funding will assist with tipping and hauling fees, site remediation, materials for nesting boxes and volunteer coordinator time.

Mentors in the Champlain Valley, Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance, $3,000
The Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance will expand its existing mentoring program by reaching out to museums and historical societies in the western portion of the Champlain Basin. Funding will be used to help support stipends for the mentors.

Noble Trust Archeological Field Vurvey, Town of Willsboro, $4,000
The Town of Willsboro will conduct an archeological field survey on the Noble Trust property, fulfilling a required step in the process for planning and receiving a state permit to use the property as a public park.

Panton Mini-Parks, Town of Panton, $2,000
The town of Panton will create two mini-parks, one at the Panton Four Comers and the other on the Lake Road near the former site of the old schoolhouse, These mini-parks will provide rest areas along major bike routes and include signage for historic points of interest.

Poultney River Streambank Stabilization Project, Poultney-Mettowee Conservation District, $3,350
The project will provide streambank stabilization using bio-engineering for 1, 100 feet along four reaches of the Poultney River adjacent to Green Mountain College in the town of Poultney. Funding will pay for mulch, seed and plant materials, signs for the site and for necessary excavation.

Public Interpretation of Lake Survey, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, $5,000
During 1996, the LCMM surveyed 40 square miles of lake bottom, capturing new geological data and discovering ten new shipwrecks. By creating and distributing a short video on the findings, the public can become informed about the countless wooden shipwrecks, representing multiple forms of historic transportation, that lie hidden beneath the waters of Lake Champlain.

River Walk Esplanade, Saranac Lake River Corridor Commission, $5,000
The Saranac Lake River Corridor Commission, in cooperation with the Village of Saranac Lake and several community organizations will utilize funds to complete construction of the River Walk esplanade section initiated in 1996.

YCC Watershed Restoration Crew, Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, $2,000
The Youth Conservation Corps will complete several projects on habitat, wetlands and streambank restoration on Potash, Allen and Bartlett Brooks in the greater Burlington area. Funding will be used to purchase tools and, equipment and to help support youth crews at the site.

Basin Program Supports Public Access Improvements

Crown Point, NY —

he Lake Champlain Basin Program is pleased to announce the selection of seven public access enhancement projects on Lake Champlain. Through the new Lake Champlain Public Access Enhancement Grants Program, four projects in VT and three in New York will receive funds ranging from $700-$5,800. A total of $27,500 was awarded.

Designed to support local efforts to improve and enhance a diversity of public access opportunities on Lake Champlain, the program received 20 applications, totaling over $160,000. “This high level of interest demonstrates the significant need for better access to Lake Champlain,” commented Maja Smith, Lake Champlain Basin Program Recreation Coordinator. “Through this new funding opportunity, our hope is to continue to help communities make small improvements to access areas for a variety of recreational uses.”

Most of these projects will be completed this summer. The selection was made by a committee comprised of individuals from Vermont and New York. Selected projects are described below.

Selected LCBP Public Access Enhancement Projects

Noblewood Access Enhancements, Willsboro, NY $5,800

The Town of Willsboro, NY seeks to provide multiple use and expand access to the unique “Noblewood” Lake Champlain park and conservation area. The project will include: (1) the installation of a 300 foot access trail/stair with a railing, providing access between a beach and an adjacent day camp; (2) the purchase of two wheelchairs, retrofitted with beach wheels for use by the disabled and elderly; (3) the installation of a push-button single access detector system on a single lane road permitting boaters to safely load and unload watercraft; and (4) the development of three primitive campsites accessible by watercraft.

Ferrisburgh Town Beach Improvement, Ferrisburgh, VT $5,800

The Town of Ferrisburgh, VT will utilize funds to improve its town beach. The project will include: (1) diverting existing drainage to the beach to curtail silt running from the area’s parking lot and to prevent existing soil erosion; (2) re-designing the existing parking lot to gain additional lawn area along the beach for recreation purposes; and (3) enhancing the natural beauty of the beach by landscaping the area with native shrubs and trees.

Panton Town Beach Reconstruction, Panton, VT $2,500

The Town of Panton, VT will utilize funds to improve its town beach. The project will include: (1) enhancing access to the beach by providing additional handicap access parking, and improving pedestrian access with a gravel walkway; (2) improving the beach and swimming area; and (3) installing an interpretive and directional sign. The project will include: (1) enhancing access to the beach by providing additional handicap access parking, and improving pedestrian access with a gravel walkway; (2) improving the beach and swimming area; and (3) installing an interpretive and directional sign.

Boat Ramp and Dock Expansion, Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center, Burlington, VT $3,700

Located on the waterfront in Burlington, VT, the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center will expand an existing ramp and dock system, and build a launch ramp on the north side of an existing sluiceway to accommodate paddlecraft and other small boats.

Floating Dock System, Town of Crown Point, NY $4,000

As part of a new boat launch at Monitor Bay, the Town of Crown Point, NY will use funds to purchase and install a floating dock system.

Natural Interpretive Signs for Isle La Motte, Town of Isle La Motte, VT $700

The Town of Isle La Motte, VT will utilize funds to post five interpretive signs identifying geologic features along a bicycle loop around the island. The signs will inform and educate the public about Fisk Quarry, Day Point Limestone Reef, a fossilized coral reef, and the geology of the surrounding mountains.

Beggs Park Renovations, Town of Essex, NY $5,000

The town of Essex, NY will repair a historic 19th century stone retaining wall along the Beggs Park shoreline. Due to deterioration from freezing and thawing, wave action, and effects of Lake ice, the wall needs extensive repairs. In addition, the town will replenish sand along a wading beach within the park.

Notification of the next potential round of grants will be released by early 1998. For more information, or to be placed on the mailing list, contact: Maja Smith, Lake Champlain Recreation Coordinator, Lake Champlain Basin Program, Crown Point Office, RR 1, Box 220, Crown Point, NY 12928 Tel: (518) 597-4464.