Climate Change in the Champlain Basin - The Nature Conservancy

Climate Change in the Champlain BasinEurasian water milfoil, courtesy of APIPP3. For federal, state and local policymakers:legislative and funding recommendationsLake Champlain © C. Black• Environmental monitoring in the context of ongoing and predicted climatic changeshould become a funding priority for state and federal governments as well as privatefoundations.• More funding is needed for river corridor protection, including vegetated buffer zonesas well as wetland and forest conservation throughout the watershed.Courtesy of APIPP• The invasion of new nonnative species will continue to pose a serious and chronicthreat to ecosystems in the Champlain Basin for the foreseeable future. The best protectivestrategy, with or without climate change in the picture, will be to keep them outin the first place. In particular, more state and federal funding is needed for the designand construction of dispersal barriers that can discourage invasive species from enteringthe lake via the Champlain and Chambly Canals.• Vermont, New York and Quebec should adopt consistent invasive species policiesand enforcement that include stronger bait bucket laws, live-well cleaning programs,engine-flushing prohibitions, and prohibitions on introduction of nonnative species.• Fund and strengthen efforts to educate the public about the causes and consequencesof invasive species introductions, especially by expanding monitoring and educationalactivities of lake steward programs at boat launches.• More effective federal regulation is needed to reduce airborne mercury deposition inthe Northeast.• More efforts are needed at all levels to reduce CO2 emissions.38