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The resource inventory and analysis, conducted under the aegis of. the Central Planning Office by the Hoff Administration, has led to definite conclusions concerning the state's potential for economic development. One of these conclusions is that the state has a relatively great economic development potential, through development of recreation facilities and attracting light industry on the basis of recreation offerings and other amenities, This conclusion concerming the key role of recreation development leads, logically, to a more intensive study of the recreation potential of various areas in the state.
Grand Isle County, because of its unique scenery and location, is receiving its share of this intensified interest (Appendix I). The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation of the U.S. Department of Interior made a survey of the recreation potential of Grand Isle County during the summer of 1964. The National Park Service is presently conducting a reconnaissance survey of the potential of Grand Isle County with reference to the National Park Service program. The Grand Isle County Development Association, in its studies, has recognized the importance of recreation in the future development of the county. The National Association of Soil Conservation Districts is sponsoring a survey of private and quasi-public recreation facilities in Grand Isle County during the summer of 1965. The Vermont Recreation Department is studying the recreation facilities in a number of towns in Grand Isle County. The Department of Forests and Parks is. working on a state recreation plan for purposes of qualifying for federal assistance in purchase of land. The purchase of the Rutland. Railroad right of way north of Burlington by the State of Vermont has greatly intensified interest in recreation development of the area.
In view of this intensified activity, plus the nonrecreation land use planning and interests in Grand Isle County (such as road relocation and interests of private property owners to purchase parcels of the right of way), it appears necessary to try to develop a plan of action which will be acceptable to all major interest groups and will be in accord with the desires of the people of the area and of the state.
Lake Champlain is the sixth largest natural water body in the United States and the largest in the northeast region, It is 107 miles long and from one half to 14 miles wide. Its water surface covers some 600 square miles -- 407 of these are in Vermont. This means Vermont owns almost 80 percent of Lake Champlain, the largest fresh water lake in the East.
The weather of the Champlain Basin is conducive to outdoor activity. The record high and low temperatures for the area are 104 degrees maximum and minus 44 degrees minimum, The average annual temperature is 45 degrees. Average January temperature is 19 degrees in the lake area. In July temperatures average about 70 degrees in the lake area. The lake keeps the regional winters reasonably mild and the summers cool which makes this an ideal vacationland for Northeast America.
The area abounds with fossils and has an interesting geological history. For the naturalist it has botanical specimens which include Hudsonia, This is an area which can start a climax forest in one generation. The railroad right of way offers a path which nature has already begun to heal and plant with its many varieties of trees and ferns. It also includes marble causeways which take you far out into Lake Champlain.
Lake Champlain and its islands constitute a unique natural resource complex. This region has long been known as an important link in the Atlantic flyway used by several species of migratory waterfowl as a resting, breeding, and feeding ground. Canadian geese, black duck, and other waterfowl nest and find refuge in the area. The names of some of the bays and points in the lake, such as Goose Point and Gander Bay, are reminders of this fact. More than 60 different species of fish are found in the lake. Its bays, coves, and estuaries provide thousands of acres of open water for fishing, boating, sailing, hunting, swimming, and sightseeing.
The Green Mountains of Vermont and the Adrondacks of New York rise to the east and west of this large water body creating incomparable scenic vistas in all directions.
