Natural History
In 2010, the estimate of cormorant population, considered a nuisance, ranged from 14,000 to 16,000. A Fish and Wildlife commissioner said that the ideal population would be 3,300 or about 3 per 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi). Cormorants had disappeared from the lake (and all northern lakes) due to the use of DDT in the 1940s and 1950s.
Ring-billed gulls are also considered a nuisance. Measures have been taken to reduce their population. Authorities are attempting to encourage the return of black crowned night herons, cattle egrets, great blue herons, which disappeared during the time DDT was being used.
Read more about this topic: Lake Champlain
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