ON THE WATER: FOR 20 YEARS, CLF'S LAKE CHAMPLAIN LAKEKE EPER HAS SERVED AS THE VOICE FOR VERMONT'S ICONIC LAKE, MONITORING THREATS AND PUSHING FOR ITS PROTECTION.

• Author: O'Reilly, Laurie

VISIT LAKE CHAMPLAIN AT THE HEIGHT OF SUMMER NEXT YEAR and among the many boaters navigating its scenic waters, you'll find Julie Silverman, CLF's Lake Champlain Lakekeeper. She'll be easy to spot as she monitors the lake's waters in the Lakekeeper boat, a vessel dedicated to patrolling this extraordinary natural resource.

As CLF's seventh Lake Champlain Lakekeeper, Silverman is carrying on a 20-year legacy of activism and engagement for Vermont's iconic lake. The Lakekeeper serves not only as an on-the-water advocate who can identify and monitor pollution problems, but also as a visible spokesperson engaging the public directly about protecting and restoring the ailing lake.

"This role is a great opportunity to connect with people, from the mountains to the lake, and help them really understand how important the water is to everyone's life," says Silverman, who joined CLF in February.

Lake Champlain is one of North America's most historic and cherished waterbodies. It provides drinking water to 145,000 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 every year.

But 20 years ago, the iconic lake was in trouble, making headlines in all the wrong ways. Two dogs had died after ingesting lake water tainted with cyanobacteria, and NBC's Today show featured Lake Champlain in a "Don't Go There" guide. In 2002, environmental groups around the country were celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and its role in cleaning up polluted waters nationally. But CLF's Vermont advocates faced a lake in decline.

Water quality problems forced beaches to close and triggered water advisories for many portions of the lake. Virulent toxic blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) outbreaks--thick, pea soup-looking growths that permeate the lake--had become routine occurrences during summer months. Invasive weeds, including Eurasian milfoil and water chestnuts, and bacterial contamination from polluted stormwater added to the water woes.

By the early 2000s, CLF already had a long history of battling water pollution in Lake Champlain. Its legal advocates had successfully fought against sprawling development, illegal stormwater discharges, and industrial-scale agriculture--all sources of the phosphorus pollution that fuels algal and bacterial outbreaks. CLF had also challenged federal regulations that aimed to...