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Idea Jam Blog

President Obama’s Great Outdoors Initiative

President Obama recently introduced the "America's Great Outdoors" Initiative (AGO) in remarks before the Department of Interior.

It has three basic goals of particular interest to us at Lake Champlain International, Inc.:

1) reconnecting Americans to "rivers and waterways";
2) building upon successful local conservation efforts, and determining how the Federal government can support them; and

Spiny Water Flea Report Emphasizes Need for Education and Monitoring

A study conducted in the past six months helped scientists and lake managers learn new information about the possible transport of the spiny water flea to Lake Champlain. The spiny water flea, Bythotrephes longimanus, is an invasive invertebrate from Eurasia with the potential for ecological disruption in lake systems. It is currently found closest to the Lake Champlain basin in the Great Sacandaga Lake in New York.  Currently Lake Champlain has 49 known nonnative species, many of which are invasive.

HELP LCI and VT Fish & Wildlife Safeguard Spring Spawning!

This time of year many fish species are traveling up rivers and streams to spawn.  Where fish encounter a barrier, such as at dams or culverts, they are often found in large numbers making them highly vulnerable to poachers.  Increase your vigilance of these spawning waters to protect Vermont’s natural fish population, and if you observe a fish or wildlife violation, please call your local State Police Dispatcher or call, anonymously, the Operation Game Thief Hotline: 1-800-75ALERT  Or call us at 802.879.3466.  Thank you for caring.

Let’s Go Fishing Instructor Training A Success

The Fish and Wildlife Department hosted its annual 2010 Let’s Go Fishing Instructor Training on Saturday, March 13th at the Education Center at the Edward F. Kehoe Conservation Camp in Castleton, VT. 

Exploring Population-Level Effects of Fishery Closures during Spawning of largemouth bass

Please consider reading further about a recent study published in the Transactions of the American Fisheries Society regarding the impacts of recreational angling during spawning on populations of largemouth bass and the potential benefits of seasonal fishing closures. The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Florida.

Service Announces Addition of Wetlands Specialist

LAKE CHAMPLAIN FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES OFFICE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chris Smith
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Supervisory Fish and Wildlife Biologist
802-872-0629 Ext. 20
January 26, 2010                                                                                              

SERVICE ANNOUNCES ADDITION OF WETLANDS SPECIALIST

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Resources Office today announced the hiring of Ryan Crehan to serve as fish and wildlife biologist focused on the technical delivery of wetlands habitat improvement projects in the Lake Champlain Basin.

“Ryan’s knowledge of wetland ecology, on-the-ground experience with all aspects of wetlands restoration, and his understanding of U.S. Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service programs and procedures greatly increases the capacity of cooperative efforts to restore wetlands in the Lake Champlain basin,” said Dave Tilton, Project Leader of the Lake Champlain Office.  “We are excited to add such a high caliber biologist to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service team.”  

State and Federal agencies estimate over 35% of Vermont’s historic wetlands have been lost. The State of Vermont Agency of Natural Resources has worked with conservation partners to identify over 85,000 acres of degraded wetland habitats in the Lake Champlain watershed.  According to Julie Moore, Director of the Agency’s Clean and Clear Program, “The restoration of degraded wetlands improves water quality and provides valuable habitat for fish and wildlife resources.”

Joint Study Improves Water Quality in Missisquoi Bay

Release Date: 01-21-2010
Author: Lisa Halvorsen


High phosphorus inputs from the Missisquoi Watershed in Vermont and Quebec have made Missisquoi Bay one of the most eutrophic areas of Lake Champlain. Although not the only source of nonpoint source pollution, runoff from agricultural fields contributes to the high phosphorus levels that may cause excessive aquatic vegetation growth and toxic blue-green algae.

2010 Vermont Angler Survey – 2nd Mailing

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department mailed a survey to randomly selected anglers in early January and is asking those who didn’t respond to please do so.
 
The questionnaire asking anglers about their fishing habits and opinions on a wide range of fisheries management issues was mailed to 4,500 Vermont resident and 900 nonresident anglers.  A second mailing will go out January 27th to those who did not respond earlier.
 
The survey is directed and funded by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and is being carried out by Cornell University’s Human Dimensions Research Unit. 
 
Anglers receiving questionnaires have been randomly selected from 2009 fishing license records.  Anglers’ identities will be kept confidential and answers will not be associated with their names.
 

DEP Tests Show Prescription Drugs Leaching From Landfills

Please consider reading this article by Susan Sharon at the Maine Public Broadcasting Network

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection says it now has enough evidence to prove that unwanted prescription drugs being tossed into local landfills pose a threat to surface and groundwater supplies around the state. New test results of leachate at three Maine landfills show high concentrations of a wide range of pharmaceuticals. And the findings are likely to boost support for a bill to require drug companies to collect and dispose of unused medication.

"Prove it." That's what Mark Hyland of the DEP's Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management says drug makers asked him to do. For a long time they had argued that if unused medication shouldn't be flushed down the toilet because of the risk to ground and surface water, then the best option was to throw it out with the trash until someone could show them evidence that that also posed a threat.

But now Hyland says he can prove that prescription drugs are showing up in water that collects at three Maine landfills: in Augusta, Brunswick and Bath. "And what we found was that the landfill leachate includes things like antidepressants, antibiotics, steroids, hormones, heart and asthma medications and a lot of pain medications, kind of the usual group of pharmaceuticals that you would see anywhere," Hyland says.

Leachate, the rainwater that percolates through the landfill and collects at the bottom, typically flows to a wastewater treatment plant. But unlike human waste that can be treated, pharmaceuticals cannot. And this contaminated water negatively affects aquatic organisms, fish and other wildlife.

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