The number of Northern New England lakes at risk of eutrophication is growing due to non-point source (NPS) pollution from lakefront development, intensification of agricultural production and watershed residential development. Most lakeshore residents are not aware that their gardening and landscape efforts are horticulture and an important potential pollutant source. Reaching these residents is a challenge to LCSG and university Extension. The only reasonable approach for expanding lake watershed education and outreach programs to reach individual landowners is to empower community leaders, watershed and lake organization members, and local volunteers; there are too many individual private land owners/land managers to provide information to them all individually. VT, ME and NH have each developed successful programs that increase technical knowledge, youth involvement, leadership skills, communications and organization abilities for volunteer group members and leaders. Maine Cooperative Extension, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension and LCSG are bringing these successful programs together in a New England regional Lake Education and Action Project (LEAP), which has three components:

1) A comprehensive New England lakeshore landowner education package that incorporates the best elements of education, outreach and implementation programs developed individually in each state.

2) Leadership institute program for lake association members and community volunteers. This Train the Trainer approach provides a) skills and tools needed to communicate critical information to other watershed landowners, and b) technical knowledge to guide other residents in lake water quality protection activities.

3) Youth Action Teams/Conservation Corps model (YAT) that pairs teams with local volunteers and landowners to improve water quality in target lake watersheds.

Each state has a program with lake or watershed associations and youth in at least one critical or threatened watershed. Lake Champlain Sea Grant is working with 3 lakes in the south end of the Lake Champlain basin to train key members in lake stewardship, to train youth teams to identify potential residential pollution sources and to assist homeowners in preventing or reducing pollutant inputs to the lakes. We have been fielding youth lake action teams annually from 2005, involved in a range of activities, from educating boaters at launch sites about aquatic nuisance species introductions, to helping landowners design and plant shoreline buffers to a installing a demonstration buffer garden at a town entrance. The Lake Champlain Sea Grant youth education and service project is active on Lake St. Catherine, in the Lake Champlain watershed, and involves 6-12 high school age youth and an intern leader. The intern leader program is now a permanent position supported by the Poultney Mettowee Watershed Partnership, Green Mountain College and Lake Champlain Sea Grant. The intern leader is responsible for a summer program training youth teams to identify pollution sources, putting in remediation measures, running public awareness activities and working with local officials to reduce NPS pollution.

For more information, visit the University of Maine's LEAP page.