The Co-Evolution of Monitoring, Science, and Management in the Intensively-Utilized Watershed of Lake Champlain: History, Successes, and Challenges

Lake Champlain has a surface area of 1,127 km2 (13th largest in U.S.) in a watershed area of 21,326 km2 that is shared by two U.S. states (New York and Vermont) and the Province of Quebec in Canada. The large watershed-to-lake area ratio (~19:1) means that there is an unusually strong influence of land cover and land use on water quality. The watershed is a productive, working landscape. About 67% of the land area is forested, though much of this forest land is fragmented with backroads and rural developments. Just over 14% of the land area is agricultural, largely in dairy. About 6% is developed or urbanized. Problems with nuisance algal blooms and expansion of weedy aquatic plants began to be noticed in some parts of the lake in the 1960’s. By the 1970’s there was a consensus that the primary culprit was excessive loading with phosphorus. Over the ensuing 50 years, numerous scientific and management initiatives have documented the state of the lake and to identified opportunities to reduce the threat of harmful algal blooms, avoid alternation of the native food web by invasive species, and protect recreational amenities that are of significant economic and spiritual importance. One of the most notable initiatives was the establishment of the Lake Champlain Basin Program partnership in 1992 which established a lake-wide environmental monitoring program. This monitoring program is now 25 years old and contains a wealth of physical, chemical, and biological data for 15 lake segments and 22 tributaries. This long-term data set has served as the foundation for scientific inquiry, leading to one of the most complex environmental modeling initiatives in the country. It has served as the basis for key management decisions, most notably the current Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) framework for phosphorus in Lake Champlain. And it has served as a resource and tool for education and outreach by numerous organizations and institutions in the region. This long-term water quality database is an excellent example of a science and technical resource that serves societal and policy needs. However, challenges remain and this presentation will use the Lake Champlain example to describe some of the fundamental issues that arise in using technical data and knowledge to address complex, long-term, multi-source, multi-jurisdictional problems.