On March 6, 1998 Bill Clinton signed the reauthorization of the National Sea Grant College Program, an act providing 33 colleges with grants for marine research and conservation. Hidden within the bill, which passed both the House and Senate without controversy, was a provision stating that “the term ‘Great Lakes’ includes Lake Champlain.” This single line of law went unnoticed by most legislators for about two weeks before it was quickly repealed. Lake Champlain, nestled between New York, Vermont, and the Canadian province of Quebec, is roughly 17 times smaller than Lake Ontario, the smallest Great Lake. Yet for 18 days Lake Champlain was placed on the same tier as Lakes Michigan, Huron, Superior, Ontario, and Erie. The classification of Lake Champlain as a Great Lake was widely mocked and criticized. A congressman from Ohio even stated that the lake should be renamed “Lake Plain Sham.” But the case for making Lake Champlain a Great Lake is not as ridiculous as it seems, and there are legitimate ecological, financial, and environmental arguments to be made for the classification of Lake Champlain as a Great Lake.
Both Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes are fed by the St. Lawrence River. Additionally, Lake Champlain is connected to the Great Lakes via the Erie and Champlain canals. The lake consequently faces ecological challenges that often originate in the St. Lawrence or Great Lake region. It is widely believed that sea lamprey, which can decimate native fish populations, found their way into Lake Champlain on ships traveling between Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River during the early 1800s. Similarly, zebra mussels, which can damage infrastructure, force out native mussel populations, and cause conditions hazardous to swimmers, were discovered in the Great Lakes in 1988. It took them just five years to find their way into Lake Champlain. Sea lamprey and zebra mussels are not the only challenges. In 2010, as New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo went out of his way to aid an effort to sever the Chicago canal, preventing Asian Carp from entering Lake Michigan. However, just two years later, as the invasive spiny water flea (a species first found in Lake Ontario) crept down the Champlain Canal toward Lake Champlain, Governor Cuomo refused to heed the warnings of advocacy groups and politicians. The canal remained open, and in 2016 the spiny water flea, which threatens the food sources of native fish populations, entered Lake Champlain. This issue is not one of the past; the spread of other invasive species continues to threaten the health of Lake Champlain’s ecology, public infrastructure, and local economy. If Lake Champlain were granted Great Lake status, local politicians would likely demonstrate more urgency surrounding the movement of invasive species.
Much like the Great Lakes, the health of Lake Champlain also has important implications for the regional economy. An unhealthy lake depresses tourism, impacts sport fishing, and has adverse effects on property values. Last summer Vermont’s largest city, Burlington, was forced to close its beaches due to algae blooms. Both Dartmouth College and the University of Vermont have conducted water clarity studies (which measure pollution) on the lake, concluding that just a one-meter decrease in clarity could result in the loss of 200 full-time jobs, roughly $17 million in annual economic activity, and over $175 million in property value. Additionally, revenue generation for lake cleanup often manifests itself in the form of taxes and fees for lakeside property owners, many of whom have the means to move elsewhere if the lake becomes too polluted and taxes become too high. On the New York side, many economically struggling towns and cities rely even more heavily on the lake for tourism and business. Many of those who opposed the reclassification of Lake Champlain in 1998 cited the important cultural weight that comes with the title, but Lake Champlain, present in a region without booming business or industry, is at the core of Vermont’s economy, values, and history. Keeping Lake Champlain pristine presents an economic and cultural opportunity that is irreplaceable.
Finally, there is a strong environmental argument to support making Lake Champlain a Great Lake. While Lake Champlain is far smaller than all of the Great Lakes, the size of its watershed (the total area from which water flows into it) is similar to the sizes of the watersheds of the Great Lakes. This means that pollution from a very large area ends up in a lake that, relative to the size of its watershed, is small. Since much of the land in the Lake Champlain watershed is used for farming, large quantities of phosphorus runoff from fertilizers end up in the lake. High phosphorus levels cause toxic algae blooms which are not just an eyesore but are also human health hazards and consume large amounts of the water’s oxygen. Although Lake Champlain borders New York, Vermont, and Quebec, Vermont has traditionally footed the bill for lake cleanup given that the state’s economy relies heavily on the wellbeing of Lake Champlain. Over the next 20 years, $2.3 billion must be spent on lake cleanup just to comply with federal clean water standards. Roughly half of that money has already been set aside by the State of Vermont or has been secured from federal and private sources; the burden of the remaining $1.2 billion, however, will likely fall on taxpayers and NGOs. Meanwhile, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which gave money to projects in southeastern Pennsylvania, central Indiana, central Illinois, and New Jersey, did not award a single grant to Vermont. Federal dollars for research and cleanup around Lake Champlain could mitigate Vermont’s financial burden which already strains a small state budget.
While many scoffed at the idea of declaring Lake Champlain a Great Lake when it was first proposed, the argument in favor of doing so is increasingly justifiable. The issues raised by Vermont politicians in their original claims for Great Lake status have only worsened over time. Pollution increasingly threatens the health of the lake, invasive species creep in from the west, and the economic burdens of lake cleanup have only increased. While there is great cultural weight that comes with the title of Great Lake, it does not make sense to withhold federal funding from a lake that is in desperate need of support based on a simple classification. All in all, the argument to make Lake Champlain a Great Lake requires seeing past the size of the body of water and measuring its greatness by its impact on the region.