THE WATERWHEEL FOUNDATION

WaterWheel Donates $78,000 To Lake Champlain Organizations

February 24, 1999

The WaterWheel Foundation is pleased to announce its first grants to organizations dedicated to the protection and preservation of Lake Champlain and its watershed. Totaling $78,000, these three grants are the first distribution of royalties from Phish Food, one of Ben & Jerry's top selling ice cream flavors since its introduction in 1997. All royalties due Phish from the sale of the ice cream and related merchandise plus a portion of Ben & Jerry's revenue will be used to improve the environmental well-being of Lake Champlain and its watershed. These funds are administered by the WaterWheel Foundation, established by Phish in 1997 to oversee the band's philanthropic activities. Receiving the grants are the Lake Champlain Land Trust, the University of Vermont Ecosystem Science Laboratory, and the Lake Champlain Committee.

The Lake Champlain Land Trust (LCLT) will receive $20,000 to complete its purchase of Rock Island, a half acre island in St Albans Bay in Lake Champlain and a nesting site for the endangered bird species, the Common Tern. Since its inception in 1978, the LCLT has preserved over $23 million of land in Lake Champlain and its watershed, protecting it from development and preserving it for public access in perpetuity. According to Peter Espenshade, LCLT's Executive Director, the preservation of land in the Lake Champlain Basin is crucial to the future of the Lake:

"The preservation of Rock Island has been one of our goals for years now. Land conservation is a permanent solution to some of Lake Champlain's most pressing problems: the over-development of shoreline, the loss of public access opportunities, and the loss of species habitat. Conservation projects like Rock Island are a permanent legacy that we leave for future generations."

$33,000 will be donated to the University of Vermont Ecosystem Science Laboratory to equip its Teaching Laboratory with a state-of-the art video/computer projection system and video microscope. The Teaching Lab will be used by teachers and students from Vermont's colleges and secondary schools to provide an interactive environment for experiential learning about Lake Champlain. Dr. Mary Watzin, UVM Professor of Natural Resources and manager of the project, describes the benefits of the new equipment:

"We are thrilled with the prospect of having such great teaching equipment in the classroom when it opens. The computer projection unit and video microscope will make it possible for students to observe multiple images on the screen at once including live samples, web pages, course materials and so on."

The Laboratory is scheduled to open in September of this year, and will be situated on Burlington's waterfront next to the $8 million Lake Champlain Basin Science Center, opening in 2001. Research will focus on the impact of human activities on the Lake Champlain Basin ecosystem using specialized labs for the study of water quality, soils and sediments, aquatic biota and the pollutants that threaten them.

A grant of $25,000 will go to the Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) for general operating expenses. Founded in 1963, LCC's mission is to protect the natural resources and scenic beauty of Lake Champlain and the Champlain Valley through advocacy, education, and research. Lori Fisher, Executive Director of LCC, explains:

"Nearly 200,000 people rely on Lake Champlain for drinking water every day. The Lake is a breeding ground for hundreds of wildlife species and provides one of the finest game fisheries in North America. Over $880 million is generated annually in lake-related tourism. The health of the economy and the vitality of recreational opportunities within the region are inextricably tied to the health of the Lake. Today, due to nutrient loading, toxic pollution and the spread of nuisance plants and animals, the Lake is in trouble. LCC is working to improve Lake Champlain's water quality through grassroots programs and policy initiatives focused on reducing phosphorus, cleaning up toxic hot spots, managing invasive species, and improving public access for low-impact recreation."

LCC's most recent accomplishment was playing a key role to effect a multi-party agreement for the clean up of the Barge Canal Superfund site in Burlington VT. The agreement has been hailed by the EPA as a model for cleaning up Superfund sites across the country.

Lake Champlain is the sixth-largest freshwater lake in the conterminous United States (after the five Great Lakes). Situated between the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Adirondack Mountains of New York, Lake Champlain extends north into Quebec and its basin is home to more than 600,000 people. For more information about The WaterWheel Foundation email waterwheel@phish.com or write to PO Box 4120, Burlington VT 05406.

Other press releases from WaterWheel are listed below.