Description
Noblewood Park is natural area at the outlet of the Boquet River on Lake Champlain. It provides beach access to Lake Champlain—one of the few public access points on the New York side of the lake—and offers views to the east of the Green Mountains of Vermont. This 69-acre property is owned by the Town of Willsboro and protected by a conservation easement held by The Nature Conservancy’s Adirondack Chapter. The town operates a seasonal park and primitive campground facility, as well as a children’s summer day-camp. The Conservancy works in cooperation with the town to ensure that the property’s natural resources are protected.
Why We Work Here
Lake Champlain is 120 miles long from north to south, up to 12 miles wide, and has a surface area of 435 square miles. Its maximum depth is 400 feet and the average depth is 64 feet. Lake Champlain’s multi-state and bi-national watershed encompasses 8,234 square miles, 37% of which is in New York State. The lake itself is home to an exceptional variety of native fish (87 species), owing at least in part to a mixing of waters over thousands of years from three disparate drainages: boreal, Atlantic coastal and Mississippi. Major ecological threats to Lake Champlain include climate change, poorly planned development, and incompatible agricultural practices, loss of wetlands and natural shorelines, and invasive species.
What We Do
Our conservation priorities in the Lake Champlain Basin are focused on enhancing fish and wildlife habitat, protecting key lands and waters, reducing the risks of climate change, and restoring the health and water quality of tributaries. The conservation benefits of Noblewood Park include floodplain and shoreline protections, scenic and open space protection, and wildlife habitat. The natural beach at Noblewood allows for the dynamic interplay between the Boquet River outlet and the lake into which it drains. The floodplain forest absorbs stormwater and cools the shallows, providing climate refuge for native mussels, fish and other organisms.