What’s a Lake Watershed Action Plan—and What is FNLC bringing to North Hero?
- Josh Serpe ~ FNLC Project Manager
- Aug 18
- 2 min read
If you’ve spent any time around Vermont’s lakes, ponds, and bays of the Lake Champlain basin, you know what makes these places special: quiet coves, gentle waves, great fishing, and loons to name a few. But like many parts of Vermont’s lakes, the bays of Lake Champlain are also vulnerable to erosion, runoff, and pollution that impact the overall health of the lake. That’s where a Lake Watershed Action Plan, or LWAP, comes in.
Think of an LWAP as a game plan for protecting and restoring the health of the lake and the land that drains into it. It’s a science-based, community-informed tool that helps us:
Understand where problems are coming from (like stormwater runoff, eroding streambanks, or undersized culverts).
Identify opportunities to fix them (like improving roadside drainage or restoring shoreline vegetation).
Prioritize which actions to take first—because resources are limited, and we want the biggest benefit to the community at the smallest price tag.
An LWAP isn’t about pointing fingers—it’s about finding solutions together. It’s meant to support town road crews, lakeshore landowners, recreators, and everyday residents in caring for the place we all love.
Carry & Pelot Bay: A Focused Effort in North Hero
Right now, the Friends of Northern Lake Champlain, the Grand Isle County Natural Resources Conservation District, and local partners are beginning an LWAP focused specifically on Carry Bay and Pelot Bay in North Hero, Vermont. These shallow bays are ecologically rich and play an important role in the health of the broader Lake Champlain system, but they’re also sensitive to change.
Over the coming years, we’ll be:
Assessing wetlands, streams, and shorelines,
Assessing stormwater issues,
Assessing roads
Talking with landowners and the town about where we can make real improvements.
We’re not starting from scratch—local knowledge is a huge part of this process. Whether you’ve noticed a ditch that’s always washing out, a stream that seems to be shifting course, we want to hear from you.
When it comes to clean water, it’s not just about science and maps. It’s about community, and this plan is just the beginning.