C.4. LAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES MANAGEMENT 
PLAN 
C.4.1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN’S PLAN 
The Lake Champlain Basin Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Management Plan was 
approved in May 2000 (available at http://www.northeastans.org/pdf/lcbansplan200Q.PDF ). The 
Management Plan was coordinated by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation 
and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in cooperation with state 
and federal agencies, lake groups, and the research communities in New York, Vermont, and 
Quebec. The three goals of the plan are to prevent new introductions, limit ANS spread into 
uninfested waters, and abate ANS impacts. In order to accomplish these goals, the Management 
Plan outlines six objectives to (1) coordinate plan implementation; (2) fill information gaps; (3) 
select target ANS; (4) evaluate ANS management alternatives; (5) implement management 
actions that eradicate and/or prevent the spread of ANS; and (6) increase awareness ANS issues. 
Each objective has associated strategies and actions. The Management Plan also describes ANS 
problems in the Lake Champlain Basin, authorities and programs related to ANS management, 
and a list of priority actions for implementation in the two years following the release of the 
Plan. 
C.4.2. CHANGE AND INVASIVE SPECIES IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN 
Climate change models project that minimum winter temperatures in the Northeast may 
increase from 5 to 9.5°F (2.9 to 5.3°C) by 2100 (Hayhoe et al., 2007). Precipitation projections 
range from increases of up to 30% in the summer to decreases or small changes in the winter 
(Hayhoe et ah, 2007). These climatic changes are likely to increase water temperature, which 
will affect dissolved oxygen levels and nutrient content (Hayhoe et ah, 2007). 
The precipitation regime greatly influences the lake’s ecosystem and changes to this 
regime d could negatively affect habitat for lake species and facilitate the spread of ANS already 
present in the Lake Champlain Basin. For example, the common reed (Phragmites australis) is 
identified in the Management Plan as an ANS already established in the basin. Altered 
conditions and habitat availability due to climate change may allow Phragmites to spread further. 
C.4.3. THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN PLAN’S CURRENT INTEGRATION OF CLIMATE 
CHANGE 
Table C-3 summarizes how the Lake Champlain Basin ANS Management Plan addresses 
and incorporates the projected effects of climate change. While the Management Plan does not 
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