Warm weather keeping Lake Champlain from spawning runs
Sep 30, 2017
Biologists say the summer-like weather at the end of September is keeping some of the land-locked Atlantic salmon in Lake Champlain from making the runs up the Winooski River to their traditional spawning grounds
WINOOSKI, Vt. — Biologists say the summer-like weather at the end of September is keeping some of the land-locked Atlantic salmon in Lake Champlain from making the runs up the Winooski River to their traditional spawning grounds.
In the last week, no salmon have been carried up the river after swimming to the fish lift at the Winooski One hydroelectric plant between Burlington and Winooski.
Nick Staats of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the lift at the dam run by Burlington Electric opened Sept. 6 and before the weather turned hot, 24 salmon made it to the dam.
Last year, a total of 89 salmon were moved around the dam.
Staats says he hopes that when the weather turns colder, the salmon run will resume.
