• "Blodgett Dock vs Champlain Kayak Club"

• "Mission: Fishin"

• "New Weather Station"

Blodgett Dock vs Champlain Kayak Club

By Rory Cummings

n March 13, the Water Resources Board in Montpelier conducted a pre-hearing conference on the appeal of the permits granted to the Blodgett Oven Company by the Water Resources Board and the Burlington Harbor Commission. These permits grant Blodgett permission to place a 300-foot employee dock on the water.

These permits were appealed on behalf of the Champlain Kayak Club by Kevin Rose, a kayaker, when he discovered that the dock, which had already been built and launched, blocked a route that paddlers frequently use to avoid the deeper, choppier water farther from shore. He has been joined in his appeal by the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) represented here by Frank Wymond.

CLF states that it is an organization dedicated to the use of "...law to improve the management of natural resources ...". Particularly Public Trust Doctrines, which appoint the government as guardians of land rights, water rights, etc. The particular law which the CLF has in mind is the 1918 case of Hazen vs. Perkins which says "The waters...of boatable lakes are held by the people ... as sovereign in trust for public uses for which they are adapted." They feel that since the dock is quite large and for private use only, the permits are in clear violation of this ruling.

CLF is very hopeful that they will be able to set a precedent that they can use elsewhere; A similar case titled Dean Leary appealed a set of permits granted to Point Bay Marina. This case, however was dropped before it came to hearing. In many ways, the Blodgett case will determine the future of both public and private access to the Lake for many people.

Blodgett Oven, represented by Chris Gannon believes the increased use of the waterfront by Blodgett Employees and relatives would outweigh any damage to the public good caused by its size or location, which are, for the most part, unchangeable. The dock is in a tight position. To be usable, it has to be long enough to clear a wide, shallow sandbar that runs along the shore and reach the deeper water between the bar and the ruins of a stone shipping pier. Since the dock site is located on the company's employee park, Blodgett would have to purchase a new piece of property and either move the entire park there, or have the dock and the park separate, which would defeat the purpose.

Tentative dates for testimonials, rebuttals, and other legal matters have been set, and it looks like the actual case will be heard sometime in June. Since Blodgett's permits set the launch date in May, Blodgett is unsure if the docks will be launched at all this year, since it would already be well into the boating season before the case is finished.

Blodgett Dock Meets Resistance HARBOR WATCH March 1996

Mission: "Fishin"

Burlington Parks and Recreation

It's time for Ch.A.O.S. again! On Saturday morning, May 11, 1996, Burlington Parks and Recreation will hold its annual Kid's Fishing Derby, called Ch.A.O.S., which stands for "Child Angler - Open Species." Any child under the age of 14 may participate. Registration can be done at the Parks and Recreation Offices and also at 8 AM on the day of the derby. The event will start at 8:30 and finish around noon. There is no rain date; we'll fish rain or shine from the shore of Lake Champlain and its piers! (Sorry, no boats allowed!)

Last year, there were almost 400 kids participating in the derby with fishing knowledgeable volunteers to help out. The point of the program is to teach kids how to fish so they'll hopefully develop a lifetime love of it. Parks and Recreation's Ch.A.O.S. Fishing Derby is also part of the national "Hooked on Fishing - Not on Drugs" program sponsored by the Future Fisherman Foundation, so the cause is two fold: to introduce kids to fishing and to educate them about saying no to drugs. Every child returns home a winner because they all get goodie bags with coloring books, stickers, frozen yogurt coupons, gum, etc. The child who catches the largest fish from each age group (6 and under, 7-10, and 11-14) wins a fish trophy, too! Weigh-in is at the Boat House. The cost of the derby $2. Worms are provided and loaner rods will be available on a first come, first serve basis for a fee of just a dollar. A free lunch will be provided. For any questions, contact Dana Kanwit or Nancy Bove at the Parks an Recreation Office at 865-7247.

New Weather Station for Lake Champlain

he University of Vermont has received funding to install a permanent weather station on Colchester Reef, an island offshore from Colchester Point in Lake Champlain. The weather station will provide state-of-the-art monitoring for all standard meteorological measurements, including wind speed, direction, temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, solar radiation and water temperature. Data will be transferred continuously by radio to a computer on shore and then to the Internet for access by various groups.

"While the need for this kind of data has been apparent for some time, this project came about through the coordinated efforts of several groups of scientists studying the movement of atmospheric and water pollutants in the lake champlain basin," stated Tim Scherbatskoy, assistant professor in the UVM School of Natural Resources and Research Coordinator for the Vermont Monitoring Cooperative. "This station will provide for the first time, continuous, high-quality weather data for a location

" The project was funded though the Lake Champlain Basin Program, the Lake Champlain Research Consortium, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Maintenance and data management will be provided by the Vermont Monitoring Cooperative. Access to the island is made possible through the cooperation of the Burlington statation of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Several groups will benefit from this information, including scientists studying Lake water currents and air pollution in the Basin, recreational and commercial boaters on the Lake, tourists, and the National Weather Service. Previous to this, weather conditions on the Lake have only been inferred from weather data taken at the Burlington Airport and from reports from Lake observers. The weather station is expected to be operational in April, 1996. For further information, contact Tim Scherbatskoy, University of Vermont at (802)-656-8336.