Climate Change in the Champlain Basin - The Nature Conservancy

What natural resource managers can expect and doLake level adaptation• The Lake Champlain Basin Program has developed guidelines for shoreline stabilization but they have beenadopted by only a few communities. Those standards should be updated with a stronger consideration of theconservation targets identified in this report and promoted among local and state regulatory bodies, engineers,builders and property owners.• If credible forecasts can be made of future lake levels and shoreline inundation or exposure (see research needs),wetland conservation strategies should be adjusted accordingly by federal, state and nongovernmental organizationsto help prepare them to act in a timely manner to reduce or prevent anticipated wetland loss.• The measures currently used in regulatory processes (such as the 100-year flood hazard zone and mean highwater level) should be recalculated regularly, using the current period of record and more accurate topographicinformation. This includes revision of the FEMA flood hazard maps and the definition of “mean high water” asapplied in federal, state and local regulations. More accurate high-resolution maps of land surface elevations(such as those that could be produced through partnership with the USGS’s National LIDAR Initiative) are neededin order to determine the precise locations, extent and vulnerabilities of flood-prone areas.• Shoreline erosion mitigation strategies should be planned in ways that are sustainable and that minimize undesirableecological impacts. Governing agencies on all sides of the lake should work toward consistent, biologicallysound shoreline stabilization regulations.• Increase shoreowner education on the water-quality impacts of fertilizer use and the benefits of vegetated bufferzones to shoreline stabilization efforts.Fish and mussel assemblage management• Incorporate climate considerations such as those outlined inthis report into fisheries management plans.• Design fishing seasons to take account of climate-drivenchanges in the timing of spawning (see research and monitoringneeds).• Management decisions should be more consistently informedby accurate and up-to-date information concerning watertemperature, plankton ecology, species viability, and otherconsiderations identified in the preceding list of research andmonitoring needs.• Stream and runoff management recommendations (see “tributaryand runoff management”) are key to maintaining viablefish and mussel habitats.Aquatic invasive species research, Lake Champlain,courtesy of Ann Bove, VT DEC37