The Nature Conservancy

Curt Stager & Mary Thrill

The Champlain Basin has a long and varied environmental history that includes the slow climatic oscillations of Ice Ages, the comings and goings of countless species, and a period roughly 10,000 years ago when the valley was an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. Today, the region is entering a new phase of its history in which humans play a major role in determining what lives here and even what the local weather is like. Significant climatic changes, which most scientists agree are now driven primarily by human-generated greenhouse gases, are already underway in the Champlain Basin.