Vermont hosting Great Lakes scientists at not-so-great lake

Scientists from across the world are going to be on the campus of the University of Vermont in Burlington for a week-long conference on the Great Lakes, not far from the shores of the not-so-great Lake Champlain.

In 1998, Lake Champlain was briefly named as the sixth Great Lake, but that designation was lifted after representatives of the states around the five traditional Great Lakes complained the tiny lake between Vermont and New York didn’t qualify.

Organizers of the conference in Burlington say the leaders of the International Association of Great Lakes Research are working to expand the definition of great lakes to include the largest fresh water lakes in the world.

Scientists and students at the conference will be able to choose from hundreds of presentations.