\n\tMark Malchoff devoted more than 21 years of expertise and service as Aquatic Resources Specialist with Lake Champlain Sea Grant (LCSG) and the Lake Champlain Research Institute (LCRI) on the New York side of the lake. Mark will retire from the State University of New York (SUNY) Plattsburgh on December 4, 2020.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMark\u2019s understanding of lake ecology, experience within the national Sea Grant program, and connections within the greater Lake Champlain community are exceptional and an important reason that the Lake Champlain Sea Grant program has evolved into the successful Sea Grant Institute that we are today,\u201d said Breck Bowden, LCSG Director at the University of Vermont (UVM). \u201cMark has set the foundation for a bright future for Lake Champlain Sea Grant. His talents, teamwork, knowledge, and comradery will be missed by us all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIn 1983, Mark began his tenure\u00a0with Sea Grant as an extension specialist in Fredonia, New York. He then served as a Cornell University extension associate in Ithaca, New York and a cooperative extension agent in Warren County. In 1988, Mark took a position as Marine Fisheries Specialist with New York Sea Grant and renewed what would become a 34-year career with Sea Grant.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn 1999, Mark joined Lake Champlain Sea Grant, a project of New York Sea Grant at the time, based at SUNY\u2019s Research Institute and the UVM Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMark Malchoff was an original staff member of Lake Champlain Sea Grant and has been a valuable source of information and support for this program,\u201d said Tim Mihuc, Co-director of LCSG at SUNY Plattsburgh and Coordinator of LCRI. \u201cSUNY Plattsburgh has appreciated his efforts in outreach, extension, and research over his time with Lake Champlain Sea Grant.\u00a0His many colleagues\u00a0at Plattsburgh wish him well in retirement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tAquatic Invasive Species<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tDuring his early years on Lake Champlain, Mark focused on aquatic invasive species (AIS) spread prevention. He continued to pursue these efforts, along with new projects, when Lake Champlain Sea Grant gained independent status and transitioned to a UVM and SUNY Plattsburgh program in 2002.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tMark collaborated with Drs. Ellen Marsden and Eric Howe on invasive sea lamprey research at UVM. Later, Mark joined Ellen and former LCSG Director of Outreach and Education Jurij Homziak on an investigation of barriers to prevent invasive species from entering Lake Champlain through the Champlain Canal. The 2005 Feasibility of Champlain Canal Aquatic Nuisance Species Barrier Options <\/em>report<\/a>, co-authored by Mark, Ellen, and Mike Hauser, continues to be cited by the United States Army Corp of Engineers and consultants seeking barrier feasibility options.<\/p>\n \n\tMark also provided AIS training to Lake Champlain Basin Program boat launch stewards, Vermont Game Wardens, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) staff. Mark\u2019s collaborative AIS work led to co-authorship of the Lake Champlain Basin Aquatic Nuisance Species Management Plan<\/em><\/a> in 2005.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMark has consistently brought a wealth of expertise and thoughtful input to the Lake Champlain Basin Program Technical Advisory Committee and Aquatic Nuisance Species Subcommittee,\u201d said Meg Modley, AIS Management Coordinator of the Lake Champlain Basin Program. \u201cHe tackled challenging messaging to a diverse community of stakeholders and has helped to develop education tools, programs, and trainings to encourage stewardship, including a Lake Champlain AIS identification guide<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSustainable Bass Fishing<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tIn addition to aquatic invasives, Mark\u2019s efforts with Sea Grant included research and outreach related to bass fishing tournaments on Lake Champlain. Bass tournaments on the New York side of the lake have gained in popularity over the past decade and contribute more than $2 million annually to local economies.<\/p>\n \n\tMark partnered with SUNY Lake Champlain Research Institute scientists to examine the health of black bass following catch-and-release tournaments and studied how to increase survival and dispersal rates. At tournament weigh-in stations, they measured, weighed, and assessed fish for evidence of stress and developed a stress index. They followed the movements of nearly 2400 tagged fish in Lake Champlain.<\/p>\n