Got Five Minutes? You Can Help Lake Champlain.
Vermonters are concerned about the health of Lake Champlain. Whether you’ve got five minutes, an hour, or more, you can get involved in clean water advocacy to help the lake.
Vermonters are concerned about the health of Lake Champlain. Whether you’ve got five minutes, an hour, or more, you can get involved in clean water advocacy to help the lake.
Pollution from stormwater runoff is one of the biggest threats to clean water in New England. A new permitting rule could improve stormwater pollution in Vermont.
“Vermont cannot be a champion of conservation when state authorities are giving towns the green light to dump more toxic pollution into Lake Champlain,” said Elena Mihaly, Staff Attorney, Conservation Law Foundation. “Lake Champlain is a natural treasure and economic driver for Vermont and it is the agency’s obligation to protect our waters. Granting permits that will increase pollution flowing into this iconic lake is irresponsible, reckless, and unlawful.”
Nutrient pollution impacts waterways across New England, from Lake Champlain to Narragansett Bay. These waters all carry excess levels of nitrogen or phosphorous – a problem caused by fertilizer running off of farms and lawns and animal waste from confined animal feeding operations. Another major cause is human sewage improperly treated by septic systems or overflowed… Continue reading 10 Things You Can Do to Help Protect Our Waters
Water was a hot topic of the 2018 Vermont legislative session, with many bills that touched on clean water challenges. We made some progress, but we’re still too far behind when it comes to the long-term funding we need to make true progress on cleaning up Lake Champlain and other ailing waters across the state.
“Vermonters deserve a safe Lake Champlain, and the state must drastically improve its clean-up efforts,” said CLF Lake Champlain Lakekeeper Rebekah Weber. “Toxic blue-green algae threatens both the health of the lake and the people who enjoy it. Our elected officials must pass legislation that invests in this iconic resource.”
The Conservation Law Foundation has given the state of Vermont a D+ for poor progress toward a cleanup of Lake Champlain. Issuing its annual Lake Champlain Report Card on Monday, the environmental watchdog said, “The near-failing grade is the result of a consistent pattern of missed deadlines, weak treatment standards and a lack of investment in clean-up programs.”
Vermont’s rivers and lakes are not healthy. Toxic cyanobacteria plague our waters year after year threatening the health of people, wildlife, and our economy. Too often throughout the summer, signs are posted at public beaches warning families to stay out of the water. This is an annoyance for the parents who heed the warnings, scary… Continue reading Lake Champlain Report Card: State Gets a D+ for Its Clean-up Efforts
In this special issue of Conservation Matters, we want to take you behind the scenes of our work, to give you a glimpse into how we break down challenges and take advantage of opportunities to create a healthy, thriving New England – not just for today, but for generations to come.
If there’s one thing that most Vermonters can agree on, it’s that Lake Champlain is in trouble. The iconic lake is central to Vermont’s identity and its tourism economy. It provides drinking water and feeds thirsty farms throughout its large watershed. It’s also dying a slow death due to unchecked pollution. How to stop that… Continue reading Saving Lake Champlain