By Madison Hall
Champ Sightings Unconfirmed...That was the conclusion I was forced to come to after personally keeping a sharp eye out for the elusive but famous denizen (Left) of Lake Champlain. The Truth Is Out There.....
The Lake Champlain: Ecosystem at Risk event was highly interesting and great fun, which is the best combination in my opinion. Tom Henry of The Toledo Blade and Candace Page of The Burlington Free Press kept the tour moving briskly along.
Although the weather was windy, threatening rain and raw, spirits were cheery and a "hale fellow well-met" mood was the order of the day.
Read on for more details and pics of our adventure on the high seas of Lake Champlain........
We started out viewing various methods for slowing down and retaining storm water runoff. Solutions included viewing a suburban home which had been lucky enough to receive an $8,000 "Water Garden," (Left) which appeared on the surface as a simple garden with indigenous plants, while new piping diverted rain water under the garden, where it was allowed to eventually drain underground, instead of flowing quickly into storm drains on streets
This was followed up with quick visits to larger and larger pond-like drainage facilities which had a small wetland appearance, but included sophisticated piping, stone and gravel treatments to slow down and control flooding through streets and storm drains.
After this part of the tour, we were driven to Lake Champlain, where we toured the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum with Executive Director Arthur Cohn, afterwards, taking our lunch aboard the historic schooner "Lois
McClure."
Fortified by food, we gathered next inside the University of Vermont's Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory (Left) on the lake front, for a lecture by UVM professors William Bowden and Mary Watzin. This included a movie of underwater shipwrecks in Lake Champlain, giving us all a chance to thaw out from the raw and windy conditions outside.
Soon enough, we gathered on the waterfront again, this time boarding the UVM research vessel "Melosira," (Left) captained by Richard Furbush, a UVM Research Facilities Manager and Vessel Captain and his knowledgeable one-man crew, a graduate student at UVM.
The wind was fairly high with choppy waves, as Captain Furbush carefully charted a course beyond the break water barrier and further into Lake Champlain. The boat was fairly filled with our group, and not everyone could actually fit inside the crowded cabin, which offered the only shelter from cold, wet and wind. The rain contined to hold off as steel colored water reflected slate-like clouds glowering overhead.
UVM's Mary Watzin held forth on a variety of environmental topics as we headed out, pointing to many features landside, and describing their impact to Lake Champlain's health.
Later, a claw was sent to the bottom on a winch, dragging back up zebra mussels and fresh water mussels locked together. Next, a large net was dragged, bringing up several small mouth bass, the largest of which had the clear mark of having been recently ravaged by a lamprey eel. Still, it had plenty of fight left in it, and after we'd finished our examination, it was returned to the lake, where it appeared to be none the worse for our careful research.
Mary Watzin (Left) rounded out our tour by observing a water sample under a microscope, which was visible to the group on a large monitor nearby. We observed several life forms moving on the slide, clearly illustrating life in the lake waters at every level.
Captain Furbush generously allowed our group to move in and out of the heated cabin, as he pointed out navigation instruments like a fish finder, electric compass, GPS and other navigational devices. Below decks, you could see a small bunk room and miniscule kitchen. It looked snug and inviting.
Our final lesson was on the geology of a nearby Lake Champlain island (Left), where we were able to view several layers of rock on exposed cliffs. One layer was highly unusual and visible, rising at a significant tilt skyward.
This geological formation, as Watzin pointed out, was the inspiration for an exterior design element on the East side of the UVM Rubenstein building. Later, when I checked the building out, I could see a line of brick work that rose at a similar angle across the surface of the building, mimicking the local Lake Champlain geology. It was wonderful to see and a not-so-subtle reminder of purpose.
I returned to the Sheraton with a renewed appreciation for the many systems, problems and people involved with Lake Champlain water issues. The sheer beauty of the lake inspires and challenges me to continue learning about water issues that impact my own nearby Great Lakes and waterways.
As we were told on the tour, Lake Champlain applied to be considered a sixth Great Lake. When it was officially denied, it was determined by locals that it was still "A pretty darn good lake." And that's just how they plan on keeping it, Champ sightings and all.
Madison Hall, Intrepid Adventurer (Above)
PHOTO CREDITS: All photographs were taken by Madison Hall except for "Champ" photo.
Great tour. And enough images that made me feel like I was on it.
I agree. Lake Champlain is a pretty darn good lake. But the move to get it recognized as a Great Lake was nothing more than a political ploy to get funding that had been earmarked for the true Great Lakes. To see a true Great Lake you have to move up the watershed. Heck, we've got one lake in Michigan that's bigger than Lake Champlain and we don't even recognize that as a Great Lake.
Sigh...but we don't have a sea monster.
Posted by: dpoulson | October 31, 2006 at 06:55 AM