Troubled waters: CLF's Lake Champlain Lakekeeper keeps close watch on a persistent threat.

• Author: Inglehart, Caitlin
• Position: Tim Burke of the Conservation Law Foundation

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VISIT LAKE CHAMPLAIN AT THE HEIGHT OF SUMMER, and among the many pleasure boaters to be found navigating its scenic waterways, you're likely to discover a presence familiar to the lake. Tim Burke, CLF's Lake Champlain Lakekeeper, can often be found monitoring the waters in the Lakekeeper boat, a small outboard dedicated to patrolling this extraordinary natural resource. A veteran environmentalist and member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, Burke keeps a careful watch on pollution threats, takes policymakers and the press on fact finding tours, and helps find innovative solutions to make sure the lake remains a vibrant natural resource and recreational attraction.

Lake Champlain is one of North America's most historic and cherished water bodies. It provides drinking water to 200,000 people, is home to nearly 600 species of fish, birds and other animals, and is a recreational haven to several hundred thousand tourists who come to swim, boat, fish, camp and vacation on its shores.

On a clear July afternoon, it's hard to believe that every summer water quality problems force beaches to close and trigger water advisories in many portions of the lake. Virulent toxic blue-green algae blooms--thick, pea soup-looking growths that permeate northern regions of the lake--have become routine occurrences during summer months. These toxic blooms are dangerous to humans and have caused the deaths of several pet dogs that have ingested the tainted lake water. Invasive weeds, including Eurasian milfoil and water chestnuts, and bacterial contamination from polluted stormwater add to the water woes. Individually and collectively these water quality problems render whole regions unfit for swimming and other recreational activities, creating profound problems for the local tourism industry while diminishing the quality of life for year-round residents.

Dennis Hill, a resident of St. Albans Bay and board member of the St. Albans Bay Watershed Association, says exorbitant amounts of money are being spent each year in weed removal and on problems associated with blue-green algae outbreaks. "Right now, there's a full-blown algae bloom right in the bay," says Hill. "It's horrible, we can't swim, can't fish, I can't even let my dog near the water. We have this beautiful body of water right in front of us, and it's unusable."

The algae and weeds are fed by phosphorus pollution from sewage treatment plants, polluted farm runoff, polluted stormwater...