I’ve long lamented the lack of identity for Lake Champlain and the magnificent valley that cradles it.<\/p>\n
With the Green Mountains on one side and the Adirondacks on the other, there is no more gorgeous landscape in America.<\/p>\n
The farms and woodlands and wild rivers and striving cities and villages make up a vital and fascinating community.<\/p>\n
There is as much history in this valley, mile for mile, as in any other landscape.<\/p>\n
Yet because of our artificial borders — between New York and Vermont and the U.S. and Canada — the valley has never developed a clear sense of place. <\/p>\n
There are a handful of institutions that attempt to bridge the divide — including the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, ECHO, and the Lake Champlain Basin Program.<\/p>\n
But we are still defined by the divisions, and not by the incredible, shared experience of the valley.<\/p>\n
The closure of the Crown Point bridge has illuminated how false and misguided this perception is.<\/p>\n
The people who live along Lake Champlain’s shore and uplands cross back and forth daily, sharing livelihoods and churches. <\/p>\n
They send fire trucks to aid their neighbors and deliver their babies on opposite sides.<\/p>\n
If one good thing comes from the debacle of the bridge’s deterioration, it may be this: that we and our civic leaders are reminded that Lake Champlain is a community.<\/p>\n
What ails the New York shore, will harm the economy across the lake. <\/p>\n
And likewise, when Vermont or Quebec suffer, so will New York communities from Rouses Point to Ticonderoga. <\/p>\n
It would be great to see more effort to transcend the false boundaries of Lake Champlain — through smarter tourism marketing, shared efforts at broadband internet, and (obviously) improved transportation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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