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Kathy OBrien


GRAND ISLE – The good news from Lake Champlain is that no new invasive species have made their way into its waters since 2014, but the by now familiar bad news is that phosphorus levels in many parts of the lake remain disconcertingly high.

These were among the findings in the 2018 State of the Lake Report released on Friday. The report, a health check compiled every three years by the Lake Champlain Basin Program, covers water quality, aquatic species, and economics. The basin program, a creation of Congress, is a partnership of the states of Vermont and New York, and the Canadian province of Quebec, to monitor the health of the lake and its more than 8,000 square mile watershed.

“Without monitoring and assessing the results of all this work, we wouldn’t know if we were making progress,” said Melville Cote, EPA project manager, addressing those assembled for the report’s release at the basin program’s Grand Isle offices.

The emphasis on invasive species monitoring is so that Lake Champlain doesn’t suffer the fate of the Great Lakes, whose fisheries were devastated when the completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959 allowed the introduction of non-native species.

Vermont in recent years has ramped up efforts to stop invasive aquatic species from entering its own great lake. Boat greeters are stationed at access points around the lake, to educate boaters about invasive species and to remove plant material from watercraft entering and leaving the lake. Greeters have removed 4,782 invasive specimens from the 95,177 boats they have surveyed, according to the report.

As a result, the water chestnut that in 1999 choked more than 25 percent of the narrow south end of Lake Champlain, clogging boat motors and destroying fish habitat, has been significantly reduced. Removal may soon get more high-tech with the use of drones to detect any new spread of water chestnut all around the lake.

A long term sea lamprey management program has led to a significant decrease in the lake’s most notorious invasive species. Sea lamprey come equipped with a suction-cup mouth — and a ring of many teeth. They feed on freshwater fish by latching onto their smooth sides, and draining bodily fluids.

There has been a marked decline in the “wounding” of salmon over the last 15 years, but for reasons that are not entirely clear, the wounding of lake trout “has increased dramatically” in the past two years, Ellen Kujawa, technical associate for the basin program.

Even so, the juvenile lake trout population nearly doubled from 2016 to 2017, and for the first time in a century landlocked Atlantic salmon have begun to reproduce naturally in the Winooski River, Kujawa said. “For the most part, Lake Champlain sport fish continue to thrive,” she added.

The stubborn phosphorus problem is in part a result of the geography of the lake. For every square mile of water, 18 square miles of land drain into the lake, which is significantly more than the drainage into the Great Lakes, said Matt Vaughan, technical coordinator with the LCBP.

“Most nutrients come from sources on the land, so the relatively high land-to-lake ratio for Lake Champlain poses significant challenges in limiting pollution,” said Vaughan, who added that the lake’s tributaries deliver around 2 million pounds of phosphorus each year.

“Long term phosphorus loading trends have not improved for most Lake Champlain tributaries,” he said.

Phosphorus levels are highest in the Missisquoi Bay, the South Lake and St. Albans Bay — areas that face a potent combination of shallow water and heavy agricultural runoff. ANR Secretary Julie Moore said the northern bay areas have cyanobacteria blooms that “continue to be persistent despite all our efforts to reduce nonpoint source pollution.”

Although 38 percent of the lake’s phosphorus load comes from agricultural lands, developed land contributes more than twice as much phosphorus per square mile, according to the report. The state is using edge of field monitoring to determine the effectiveness of agricultural best practices such as cover cropping and no-till planting in reducing sediment runoff into the lake, Lake Champlain Basin Program manager Eric Howe said. Moore called the ongoing effort to reduce phosphorus across the watershed a “sustained heavy lift” by partners around Vermont, New York and Quebec.

Lake Champlain generates $300 million in tourist revenue each year, and a decline in water quality could lead to a $16.8 million decrease in summertime business, the report warned. Speakers at the report release highlighted the importance of funding infrastructure, like boat access points and lakeside bike trails, that connects tourists and residents to the lake.

“Vermont’s crown jewel,” Gov. Phil Scott called the lake on Friday. “Water quality goes hand-in-hand with the growth of our economy,” Scott said, though he added, “From my perspective, we don’t have to choose between the environment and our economy — we can support both.”


Fairfield, Vt. | $699,000

A 2002 house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms

This architect-designed timber-frame home, with a three-bedroom septic plan, was built for an airplane pilot who used it as a retreat. It sits on 98 acres, 45 minutes from Burlington, Vt. The Canadian border is about 40 minutes away. Lake Champlain is visible from the property, as are (on clear nights) the twinkling lights of Montreal.

Size: 1,424 square feet

Price per square foot: $491

Indoors: The house is warmed visually by custom cherry, maple and mahogany finishes and physically by radiant-heated floors. The centerpiece is a great room with a double-height ceiling and wood-burning fireplace. This level also has a kitchen with a built-in beer tap and cooler, a small library and a bathroom with a shower.

Upstairs, the main bedroom is part of a suite overlooking the great room that includes a bathroom with a soaking tub and a study that could be converted into a bunk room. A ladder provides access to a loft that sleeps an additional two people. The house also has a full basement with a workshop and a wine storage area.

Outdoor space: The owner personally hauled the rose-colored granite used for the path to the entrance and created several trails through the property. The land is divided equally between meadows and forest.

Taxes: $5,719

Contact: Kathy O’Brien, Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty, 802-343-9433; kathyobrien.com


Reduce Refinancing Costs 

The closing costs associated with a new loan could add several thousand dollars to your mortgage balance.  The following suggestions may help you to reduce the expense to refinance.

?         Tell the lender up-front that you want to have the loan quoted with minimal closing costs.

?         Check with your existing lender to see if the rate and closing costs might be cheaper.

?         Shop around with other lenders and compare rate and closing costs.

?         If you're refinancing an FHA or VA loan, consider the streamline refinance.

?         Credit unions may have lower closing costs because they are generally loaning deposits and their cost of funds is less.

?         Reducing the loan-to-value so mortgage insurance is not required will reduce expenses and lower the payment.

?         Ask if the lender can use an AVM, automated valuation model, instead of an appraisal.

?         You may not need a new survey if no changes have been made.

?         There may be a discount on the mortgagee's title policy available on a refinance.

?         Points on refinancing, unlike a purchase, are ratably deductible over the life of the loan ($3,000 in points on a 30-year loan would result in a $100 tax deduction each year.)

?         Consider a 15-year loan.  If you can afford the higher payments, you can expect a lower interest rate than a 30-year loan and obviously, it will build equity faster and pay off in half the time.

A lender must provide you a list of the fees involved with making the loan within 3 days of making a loan application in the form of a Loan Estimate and a Closing Disclosure Form.  Every dollar counts, and they belong to you. Take the Lake Protection Pledge!

We all need to take personal responsibility for the health of Lake Champlain. That's why the Lake Champlain Committee has put together a list of actions, the Lake Protection Pledge (pdf), you can take to protect water quality around your home, in your garage, and around your community.

Fill out the online pledge form below to commit to taking personal action to protect the health of the lake.

Yes. I/we agree to take the Lake Protection Pledge!

I/We Pledge To:





Daydreaming about moving somewhere less populated, maybe to where you can ski in your down time and tap trees for maple syrup? If so, Vermont is beckoning, and might even pay you for your trouble.

On Wednesday, Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, signed into law a bill that will give a number of people who move to Vermont from another state up to $10,000 to help ease the transition.

The money — part of a grant program designed to draw tech workers and revitalize the state’s aging work force — is intended to help with costs like relocation, computer software and hardware, broadband access and membership in a shared professional space.

Those who relocate and take part in the program need to be full-time employees of a business based outside of Vermont and need to be able to work remotely. They also must become a full-time Vermont resident in 2019.






