The diverse species and habitats of the Lake Champlain Basin provide many social and environmental benefits. Bird watchers flock to the region to add numerous species to their "life lists," hunters and anglers are attracted by the abundant fish and wildlife, and researchers from around the world study the Basin's unique habitats and species.

The Basin's fish and wildlife also provide tangible economic benefits to the region. In 1997, more than $204 million was spent on fishing-related activities in the the Basin. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources estimates that bird and other wildlife viewing activities generate at least $50 million a year.

• Amphibians and Reptiles
• Birds
• Cormorants
• Invertebrates
• Fish Hatcheries
• Fish
• Mammals
• Plants
• Fish and Wildlife Species Lists
• Plant and Animal Habitat Article (LC Basin Atlas)

Twenty species of amphibians have been identified in the Lake Champlain area. Only one species, the striped chorus frog, is listed as endangered in Vermont. This species has no special status in New York. Little is known about the population status and distribution of amphibians in the Lake Champlain area, however great progress is being made by the Vermont Amphibian and Reptile Project (link below).

Twenty species of reptiles are found in the vicinity of the Lake. Species listed by either Vermont and/or New York as threatened or endangered include:

• Bog Turtle (NY)
• Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle (VT)
• Eastern Racer Snake (VT)
• Eastern Black Rat Snake (VT)
• Five-lined Skink (VT)
• Spotted Turtle (VT)
• Timber Rattlesnake (VT & NY)

In Vermont, the five-lined skink is presently known from only one locality. Vermont timber rattlesnake populations were decimated out of fear, for bounties, and by destruction of habitat. Only two known populations remain in the Vermont portion of the Basin. Spiny softshell turtles in Lake Champlain are genetically separated from Great Lakes populations, and have been found only on the Vermont side of the Lake and in some Vermont tributaries. In Vermont, map turtles are restricted to Lake Champlain and the lower portions of its tributaries. Little is known about the distribution and population status of reptiles in the Lake Champlain area.

• New York DEC Amphibian and Reptile Atlas Project
• Vermont Amphibian and Reptile Project

Three hundred and eighteen species of birds breed or have once lived in the vicinity of Lake Champlain. A very visible part of the ecosystem, waterfowl and shore birds use the Lake Champlain Basin as breeding grounds, and for critical stopovers during spring and fall migrations along the Atlantic Flyway. Fourteen bird species in the Basin are listed by New York, Vermont and/or the federal government as endangered or threatened:

• Bald eagle (NY, VT, & Federal)
• Peregrine falcon (NY)
• Golden eagle (NY)
• Loggerhead shrike (NY & VT)
• Common tern (NY & VT)
• Black tern (NY & VT)
• Grasshopper sparrow (VT)
• Henslow's sparrow (NY & VT)
• Northern harrier (NY)
• Upland sandpiper (NY & VT)
• Sedge wren (NY & VT)
• Pied-billed grebe (NY)
• Least bittern (NY)
• Short-eared owl (NY)

Common threats to these species are destruction of habitat and declining water quality, particularly from persistent toxic pollutants. Lead has also harmed loons and other waterfowl. As of January 1, 2007, it will be illegal to use a lead sinker weighing one-half ounce or less to fish in Vermont. Visit VT's Get the Lead Out page to learn more. New York has banned the sale of lead sinkers less than one ounce.

• Common Tern Recovery Project - Audubon Vermont
• Lake Champlain Colonial Waterbird Database Project - Audubon Vermont (funded by LCBP)

Cormorants, considered a nuisance species by some, are certainly one of Lake Champlain's most notorious birds. Cormorants were first recorded in Vermont during the 1930's. In the 1970's they were seen near Young Island in Lake Champlain and in 1981 35 birds were recorded. Today, the number of nesting cormorants on Lake Champlain is very high - as of 2004, they exceeded 4,000 pairs. The summer population is now estimated at 15,000 birds, about 98% of which nest on Young Island, VT and Four Brothers Island, NY.

On Lake Champlain cormorants have been nesting on Young Island, Mud Island in Panton, Bixby Island, Shad, Popasquash, and Four Bothers Islands. They like to nest on islands where they are more protected from humans and other predators. Double crested cormorants were added in 1972 to the list of species protected by the federal 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. However, a ruling by the USFWS now allows certain population controls for the Lake Champlain region in areas where comorants damage fisheries, vegetation and other birds. On Young and Four Brothers Islands comorant guano has caused extensive defoliation which has negatively affected the nesting habitat for other birds like the black crowned night heron, cattle egret, great egret, snowy egret, and great blue heron.

These large black waterfowl are also of concern to fishermen who believe that the cormorants may be consuming game fish and significant numbers of yellow perch. A 2001-2002 study found that while cormorants do consume large quantities of yellow perch, they do not commonly feed on salmon, bass or trout.

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Cormorants
• Status of the Double-Crested Cormorant in North America - USFWS
• Cormorants in the Great Lakes

Five fish hatcheries or fish culture stations operate in the Lake Champlain Basin. These operations help to rehabilitate fish populations and expand the range of desirable fish. Several of the hatcheries are open to the public. Contact the hatcheries directly for more information.

• Ed Weed Fish Culture Station
  Grand Isle, VT
  VT Fish and Wildlife Department - (802) 372-3171
• Salisbury Hatchery
  Salisbury, VT
  VT Fish and Wildlife Department - (802) 352-4371
• Pittsford National Fish Hatchery
  North Chittenden, VT
  US Fish and Wildlife Service - (802) 483-6618
• Adirondack Hatchery
  Saranac Lake, NY
  NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation - (518) 891-3358
• Essex County Fish Hatchery
  Crown Point, NY
  Essex County Fisheries Department (518) 597-3844

Eighty-one species of fish have been identified in Lake Champlain. About twenty of these species are actively sought by anglers, including large and smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, chain pickerel, brown bullhead, channel catfish, yellow perch, lake trout, landlocked Atlantic salmon, steelhead trout, brown trout, and rainbow smelt. The New York DEC and VT Fish and Wildlife Department stock rainbow, lake, and brown trout to Basin waters. The US Fish and Wildlife Service stocks young Alantic salmon.

The presence of aquatic nuisance species has threatened the population of a number of fish species in the Lake. At present, eight species found in the Basin are classified by Vermont and/or New York as endangered or threatened:

• Lake sturgeon (VT & NY)
• Northern brook lamprey (VT)
• Stonecat (VT)
• Channel darter (VT)
• Eastern sand darter (NY & VT)
• American brook lamprey (VT)
• Mooneye (NY)
• Round whitefish (NY)

Useful Publications and Websites:

• Baitfish of Vermont Including Lake Champlain (VT FWD) (763 KB PDF)
• Freshwater Fishes of New York (NYSDEC)
• Fishes of Vermont book (published in 2006 by the VT Fish & Wildlife Dept.)
• Fish Profiles of the Great Lakes (Many LC species listed)
• Lake Champlain Fisheries Habitat (NOAA & Sea Grant) (5 MB PDF)

Invertebrates, including organisms such as mussels, aquatic snails, and insects are a very important and poorly understood part of the Lake Champlain ecosystem. Surveys and studies of invertebrates in the Lake Champlain Basin have focused on freshwater mussels, dragonflies and damselflies, butterflies and moths, and beetles (particularly ground beetles and tiger beetles). A rare dragonfly, the clubtail, is known from historic records to have inhabited the southern Lake Champlain Basin.

Fourteen freshwater mussel species live in the Basin, but these native mussel populations are seriously impacted by nonnative zebra mussels. Zebra mussels compete with native mussels for resources and habitat and they also suffocate native mussels by attaching to their shells. Eight freshwater mussel species are listed as threatened or endangered:

• Black Sandshell (VT)
• Pocketbook (VT)
• Fragile Papershell (VT)
• Pink heelsplitter (VT)
• Giant Floater (VT)
• Fluted shell (VT)
• Cylindrical papershell (VT)
• Eastern pearlshell (VT)

Other small shrimp-like invertebrates, called "zooplankton," float in the Lake and its tributaries. All of these invertebrates are food for a huge variety of larger animals, such as small fish, frogs and turtles. Zooplankton and tiny plants called "phytoplankton" form the base of Lake Champlain's food web. Greater knowledge of this broad group of animals will help us to better understand this important food web linkage and to preserve the Basin's biological diversity.

• Native Mussels in the AuSable River Watershed Fact Sheet (192 KB PDF)

Fifty-six species of mammals find their homes in the Lake Champlain area. Three species are listed as threatened or endangered by New York, Vermont and/or Federal designation:

• Indiana bat (NY, VT & Federal)
• Marten (VT)
• Small-footed bat (VT)

There is a state recovery plan for the marten and a federal recovery plan for the Indiana bat. State management plans have been completed for the white- tailed deer (NY, VT), moose (NY, VT), black bear (VT), and beaver (NY).

The Lake Champlain Basin, including the shorelines of the Lake and associated wetlands, river shores, cliffs and bluffs, supports a diverse array of natural plant communities and many rare plant species. Cobble shores, sand beaches and dunes, low-gradient rivers, emergent marshes, bogs and fens, floodplain forests, maple-ash swamps, hardwood-cedar swamps, pine-oak-heath sandplain forests, oak-hickory forests, calcareous cliffs, alpine tundra, and cedar-pine lake bluffs are some important natural communities found in the watershed. The mineral-rich bedrock and soils of this region support natural communities high in plant diversity, including several plant species rarely encountered outside the area.

In the Vermont portion of the Basin, 56 plant species are listed as endangered or threatened under Vermont law. New York State published a list of protected native plants that includes endangered, threatened, vulnerable and rare species. One hundred and twenty species on this list are associated with Lake Champlain and its wetlands, tributaries, shorelines, and bluffs. Common threats to these rare plants and plant communities are land development, land clearing and trampling.

• New York Natural Heritage Program (Species List and Natural Community Information)
• Vermont Threatened and Endangered Plants List (go to bottom of page)
• Vermont Natural Community Types