Ashley Eaton and Caroline Blake, NOAA’s Lake Champlain Sea Grant in Burlington, VT

Lake Champlain, known as Bitawbakw by the Abenaki people, is home to lake trout. As one of the top predators in Lake Champlain, they play an important role in maintaining balance within the lake ecosystem. When lake trout populations struggled, it took coordinated efforts to contain sea lamprey to help them recover. Management of sea lamprey has greatly reduced stress of lake trout and since 2015 lake trout populations have been slowly recovering. Join us to learn the heroic tale of the Lake Champlain lake trout, and the efforts that inform conservation of this important freshwater species!

Resources to access at home:

» Nebi: Abenaki Ways of Knowing Water | Lake Champlain Sea Grant: This video is mentioned in the webinar (~10 minute long)
» Zoom a Scientist: A fish’s story: following lake trout movement around Lake Champlain (~50 minute long webinar)
» Fish Files – Lake Trout (~3 minute long video)
» Fish Files – Lake Trout Dissection (video)
» Fashion a Fish: This activity is aimed at students K-5