Neil Kamman is an environmental scientist with the VT Department of Environmental Conservation. As the states’ chief Lake Assessment Specialist, he has conducted a variety of research and monitoring activities over his 12 years with the State, and presently directs State program which acquires information regarding the ecological health of Vermont’s lake and pond resources. Neil holds a B.S. in Forest Biology from the University of VT., and is in the final stages of earning his M.S. is Water Resources from that same institution.

Neil’s primary professional interests for VT’s fresh waters are threefold: mercury risk assessment; biological criteria and standards development; and the relationship between water quality and the uses of waters. As Principal Investigator for a large collaborative research initiative regarding mercury fate and transfer in VT and NH lakes, Neil seeks to understand the characteristics of lakes which pose the greatest risk of mercury exposure to humans and biota, by studying historical mercury deposition to lakes, and by identifying the pathways by which mercury presently passes up food chains. As Principal Investigator on an effort to characterize biota occupying waters which are subject to a variety of human disturbances, Neil seeks to develop measurable indicators of aquatic life and ecosystem health. Neil uses these and other data and information to assess the compliance of VT’s waters with VT’s Water Quality Standards. In the past, he has spent considerable time working on Lake Champlain to characterize baseline water quality conditions, to diagnose the cause of nutrient problems in St. Albans Bay, and to document the initial years of the invasion of zebra mussels in Vermont waters.

Neil serves on several regional technical advisory groups and research collaboratives. Some of these are the Northeast Biocriteria Technical Advisory Group, The Northeast Clean Water Act Section 305(B) Consistency workgroup, the nationally recognized Northeast Mercury Loon Study Workgroup, the Lake Champlain Research Consortium, and the Vermont Monitoring Cooperative. He has on-going research and monitoring collaborations with peers in academia and Federal and State governments nationwide.