Lake Champlain Committee

Water protection program center - water sustains life. The Lake Champlain Committee, Inc. (lcc) influences policy, regulations, research and funding to protect and improve Lake Champlain's water quality and overall health. We take a watershed approach and focus on reducing nutrient loading and toxic pollution, safeguarding habitats and fostering community activism. A defining strength of lcc's work is its emphasis on science-based advocacy, education and collaborative action. Lcc plays a leadership role in the technical and policy bodies that direct how state, provincial and federal agencies invest in, monitor and improve Lake health.

Education and outreach - lcc believes an educated community is key to protecting Lake Champlain's health for this and future generations. We work to increase understanding of Lake issues and engage community members and policymakers in protecting and restoring water quality and low impact access. We oversee the award-winning cyanobacteria monitoring program and annually train hundreds of community members to assess and report on conditions at more than 150 Lake Champlain and inland Lake locations. Lcc publications include a regular e-newsletter on topical issues, an award- winning natural history book, a bi-lingual boating manual, and regular science and issue columns. We provide and host educational presentations throughout the watershed and run ongoing programs and campaigns to foster stewardship.

Recreation & access - lcc promotes water stewardship and fosters recreational access because a healthy Lake depends on all of us. We serve as the home organization of the Lake Champlain paddlers' trail, a recreational corridor for human-powered craft, with more than 40 shoreline and island locations. Lcc works with state, municipal and private landowners to develop and maintain trail sites. We also oversee an active stewardship program for remote trail locations and publish an annual online trail and stewardship guidebook to help people safely explore the Lake.

Ecological integrity - lcc works to safeguard habitats, combat invasive species and help build more resilient communities in the face of climate change. Our publication "lessons from the floods" provides guidance for towns in the Champlain watershed on how to adapt to a changing environment of greater and more frequent storm events.