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Administration

The Heritage Area Program Advisory Committee guides the work of the CVNHP. Photo: LCBP

Lake Champlain Steering Committee

The Lake Champlain Steering Committee provides a forum for information exchange and a mechanism to coordinate state, federal, and Québec provincial policies and programs. Created by the Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Cooperation on the Management of Lake Champlain adopted by New York, Québec, and Vermont in 1988 and remaining in force following periodic revisions, most recently in 2015, the Steering Committee is the only formal, international, multi-jurisdictional, government-based institution focused on Lake Champlain and its large watershed. The authorizing language of the CVNHP expanded the geographical scope, responsibility, and interest of the Steering Committee to include the entire CVNHP area. The Steering Committee meets about four times each year. An Executive Committee conducts the business of the LCBP between Steering Committee meetings.

Membership of the Steering Committee consists of top-level officials representing governments of the states of New York and Vermont and the Canadian Province of Québec, three local government representatives, the three Citizen Advisory Committee chairs, the Technical Advisory Committee chair, Heritage Area Partnership Advisory Committee chair, Education and Outreach Advisory Committee chair, and five U.S. federal agency representatives.

In guiding implementation of the CVNHP, the LCBP Steering Committee:

  • includes among its members and staff significant leadership and cultural heritage expertise, to ensure effective CVNHP Management Plan development and implementation;
  • secures and directs funding for CVNHP Management Plan implementation, in close partnership with NEIWPCC, the fiscal managers for the LCBP;
  • updates the CVNHP Management Plan recommendations periodically, based on advice from the chair of the Heritage Area Program Advisory Committee (HAPAC) and LCBP staff, to reflect current and emerging cultural heritage issues, changing environmental conditions, funding levels and public input;
  • develops the CVNHP annual budget to ensure effective task implementation and appropriate geographical equity throughout the region; and
  • approves agreements and commitments among partnering agencies and organizations.

The LCBP Steering Committee, in addressing its assigned role as the CVNHP management entity, expanded its membership to include NPS representation in 2008 to provide appropriate balance among the governmental jurisdictions with responsibility for the region. The Steering Committee includes very significant cultural heritage and resource expertise, reflecting highly experienced and highly professional leadership from New York, Vermont, Québec, and U.S. federal agencies.

Among the Lake Champlain Steering Committee members are senior representatives of the following:

  • LCBP Heritage Area Partnership Advisory Committee (Committee Chair)
  • LCBP Education & Outreach Committee (Committee Chair)
  • LCBP Technical Advisory Committee (Committee Chair)
  • National Park Service – Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
  • New York Citizens Advisory Committee (Committee Chair)
  • New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
  • New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets
  • New York Local Government Representative
  • New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
  • New York State Empire Development Corporation
  • Québec Citizens Advisory Committee (Committee Chair)
  • Québec Local Government Representative
  • Québec Ministere de l’Agriculture, des Pecheries et de l’alimentation
  • Québec Ministère des Ressources Naturelles et de la Faune
  • Québec Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs
  • S. Army Corp of Engineers
  • S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2
  • S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1 – New England
  • S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • S. National Park Service
  • USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (New York)
  • USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (Vermont)
  • Lake Champlain Sea Grant
  • Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (includes Department of Tourism & Marketing and Division of Historic Preservation)
  • Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (includes Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation)
  • Vermont Agency of Transportation
  • Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee (Chair)
  • Vermont Agency of Agriculture and Markets
  • Vermont Local Government Representative

 

Heritage Area Program Advisory Committee

The Heritage Area Program Advisory Committee (HAPAC) was formed in 2010 to provide plan implementation advice to the LCBP staff and Steering Committee. The HAPAC members include representation of individuals from the public and private sectors knowledgeable in the cultural heritage, tourism, natural heritage and recreation fields.  HAPAC members are appointed by the Steering Committee, not as stakeholder representatives, but rather as individual professionals with expertise needed to advise the CVNHP staff and the Steering Committee regarding CVNHP management plan implementation.  All advisory committee members serve at the pleasure of the LCBP Steering Committee, which also appoints the chair and vice-chair. Specific functions of the HAPAC include:

  • presenting the CVNHP staff and the Steering Committee with sound advice concerning cultural heritage and recreational initiatives to be used in its decision-making process;
  • advising the Steering Committee about emerging issues, related management implications and research or actions needed to address those issues;
  • advising the Steering Committee and staff regarding opportunities for trans-boundary partnerships, key partnerships and cooperative projects both within the CVNHP and with adjacent areas; and
  • assessing the technical merit of LCBP and CVNHP-funded cultural heritage and recreation proposals, workplans, studies, and reports when requested.

 

Members of the HAPAC include:

  • Chairman John Krueger, City of Plattsburgh Historian (retired)
  • Vice-chair Catherine Brooks, Director of Rokeby Museum
  • Simon Bergeron, art historian and business owner
  • Lou Bresee, Lake Champlain Bikeways
  • Kelly Cerialo, Business and Hospitality Professor, Paul Smith’s College
  • Isabelle Charlebois, Directrice Générale, Tourisme Haut-Richelieu
  • Jim Connolly, Adirondack Park Agency (retired)
  • Linda Davignon, Municipal Councilor, Saint-George-de-Clarenceville, Québec
  • Jane Lendway, Vermont State Historic Preservation Officer (retired)
  • Jim Lockridge, Director of Big Heavy World/Vermont Music Library
  • Suzanne Maye, Manager & Lake Champlain Region Marketing Coordinator
  • Suzie O’Bomsawin, Directrice des consultations territoriales Grand conseil de la Nation Waban-Aki
  • Celine Paquette, Founder and Director Samuel de Champlain History Center Director
  • Steve Peters, business owner