Zack Porter: As Lake Champlain Lakekeeper[R], Zack Porter works on the ground with communities, at the state house with legislators, and hand in hand with partners to restore Vermont's iconic waterbody to health.

• Position: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR ...

1 You fell in love with Lake Champlain as a child--can you tell us about your earliest experiences on the lake?

I grew up in Boston, and my grandparents lived on Lake Champlain. My earliest memories all revolve around taking the ferry to visit them and keeping a lookout for Champ, the fabled lake monster. As a kid, there's something magical about stepping onto a boat on one shore and disembarking some place else entirely. I fell in love with the New England landscape young, and, years later, the lake and its surroundings haven't lost their magic.

2 Now that you're protecting the lake, what are your top priorities?

My passion is for creating connected and protected natural areas, which will also improve water quality, trap carbon, and provide critical habitat for fish and wildlife.

Lake Champlain is a barometer for the health of the entire watershed. If the lake is in trouble, then things are amiss upstream. I'm excited as Lakekeeper to work with communities throughout the watershed to return the lake's health to the point where we don't have to question if it's safe to swim, fish, or drink.

That means building on the nearly 20 years of progress made by past Lakekeepers and the talented legal team at CLF Vermont to improve water quality standards for Lake Champlain. We will continue to clean up pollution around the expansive watershed, but also look at natural solutions, like preserving and restoring forests and wetlands and removing dams.

3 How will you work with all of the different communities connected to the lake? How can Vermonters get involved and make a difference?

Lake Champlain is the largest body of freshwater in the U.S. after the Great Lakes. It supplies drinking water for 200,000 people, and yet portions of the lake become dead zones every summer due to...