Yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus), with its striking yellow flowers, is a beautiful plant, but also a threat to our priority natural communities and native plants. In recent years, it has gained a foothold in many Lake Champlain wetlands and floodplain forests (priority natural communities, as documented by Vermont Fish & Wildlife Natural Heritage Program).
Great news! As I write this I am listening to Governor Scott’s address, and in Vermont it is still looking like our policies and actions are continuing to positively impact our COVID-19 data.
The Lewis Creek Association will host a free screening of Toxic Puzzle: Hunt for the Hidden Killer, a documentary about scientist Dr. Paul Cox’s team investigating linkages between toxins produced by blue-green algae and the neurodegenerative diseases ALS, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Discussion will follow with UVM scientists Jon Erickson, Ph.D and Dr. Rachelle Gould highlighting their research on blue-green algae found in Vermont lakes.
Do you enjoy spending time on Lake Champlain? Do you care about water quality and habitat? Join Lewis Creek Association and volunteers as we manage European frogbit and other aquatic invasive plants in Shelburne and Charlotte this June!
We often hear about climate change and its implications, but what does it actually mean for Lake Champlain and the communities around it? Lake Champlain has already seen drastic increases in lake temperature.
Some people say we’re due for a January thaw. As I write this, the temperature outside is -3 and the wind chill is -20. The night sky has finally opened up after a snowstorm blanketed the valley, and the stars are shimmering brightly. It’s the kind of cold that when you breathe in, the hairs inside your nose clang together like fragile glass tendrils daring to shatter. All around us people are hibernating in their dens, huddled against the woodstove or heater. But the hardiest of us are enjoying the arctic blast, knowing that the lake is “making ice.” If I were a betting man, I’d put money on the whole lake freezing over this year and lots of truck traffic in the bays.