Nonprofits combine research and legal expertise to protect Lake Champlain

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship

BURLINGTON — In the 1970s, Burlington’s waterfront was a place parents warned their kids to avoid. Barbed wire wrapped around crumbling industrial buildings, and the shoreline was littered with debris. Today, a sunny afternoon along Lake Champlain signals a good weekend for many families, a stark measure of how much has changed.

That transformation is the result of decades of environmental policy, advocacy and hands-on restoration efforts aimed at protecting one of Vermont’s most vital resources. Tens of thousands of Vermonters rely on Lake Champlain for drinking water, making its quality not just an environmental concern, but a public health necessity.

Two nonprofits have combined their expertise in legal advocacy and data collection to protect the lake and create policy change. They are part of the Lake Champlain Basin Marine Debris Coalition, composed of six organizations. 

For advocates like Julie Silverman, that collaboration is essential to protecting the lake long-term.

Silverman serves as the “Lake Champlain Lakekeeper” for environmental watchdog group Conservation Law Foundation. She’s charged with monitoring pollution, advocating for stronger protections and holding polluters accountable.

Silverman has been in Vermont since she was young, and began her conservation work as the first-ever employee at the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain She then worked with the Rozalia Project, a data driven nonprofit focusing on marine debris. 

Now with the Conservation Law Foundation, Silverman describes herself as the “Lorax of the lake.” She responds to calls about concerns and investigates from her boat or kayak, educates, and represents the health of the lake to legislators. 

“Everybody should care about having clean, drinkable, swimmable, fishable water,” Silverman said. “It’s a basic human right.”

One major milestone came in 2024, when the state legislature passed the Vermont Flood Safety Act. The law aims to reduce flood damage by limiting development in high-risk river areas while strengthening protections for wetlands and dams. It also restricts the use of environmentally harmful materials in docks, particularly unencapsulated foam, which can break apart and pollute waterways.

To push that legislation forward, the Conservation Law Foundation partnered with the Burlington-based Rozalia Project. Together, the organizations advocated in Montpelier, helping turn scientific research into tangible change.

That work has continued beyond the State House. On April 25, in recognition of Earth Day, the Rozalia Project hosted its annual beach cleanup along the lake. About 60 volunteers, including scientists, students and local residents, gathered to remove debris and collect data on the types of pollution entering the watershed.

People of all ages strolled along the shores of the lake, searching the rocks with a sharp eye. Everybody had gloves, buckets and tongs, and people smiled as their buckets slowly filled up.

After the initial cleanup, volunteers met Silverman and her team down the shore to sort all of the debris. The results: 6,553 pieces of debris, weighing in at over 600 pounds, data from the Rozalia Project show. 

As environmental protection laws have changed so, too, has the trash that Rozalia Project volunteers find. Over the course of 22 clean-ups prior to Vermont’s 2021 ban on plastic grocery bags, crews logged an average of 27 bags per clean-up. In 29 subsequent events, the average dropped to 16, according to data provided by the nonprofit. 

Rozalia Project executive director Ashley Sullivan calls herself and her team “garbologists” who  dig into the  debris collected and use that data to track sources of pollution. They then approach legislators when they discover trends that could be addressed with stronger laws. 

“It’s a really great example of how data can drive meaningful change in communities,” Sullivan said. 

Despite decades of progress, the lake still faces serious threats. Marine debris continues to enter the watershed, and older docks made of foam are breaking down into thousands of small, floating fragments. 

At the same time, nutrient pollution — primarily phosphorus runoff from agriculture and development — fuels harmful algal blooms that can make the water unsafe for recreation and drinking.

Plastic pollution adds another layer of concern. Scientists have identified more than 16,000 chemicals associated with plastics, many of which can degrade into water systems. As larger plastics break down into smaller particles, they become increasingly difficult to remove and more likely to be ingested by wildlife — and potentially humans.

Still, advocates say individual action remains a powerful and necessary tool.

“In today’s world, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and wonder what one person can do,” Sullivan said. “But small actions add up. Every step you take in the right direction matters, and collectively, those choices can make a real difference.”