Our city seal is named Lewis. Mayor Lewis was found on the southern beachside on March 22, 2016, dehydrated, exhausted, and severely injured. He was taken into the care of local resident Anima Rehabar, the local wildlife carer, to be brought back to full health. Due to infection, one of his back fins had to be amputated, causing local veterinarians to deem him unfit for release. It is believed this injury was caused by a scuff with a boat motor. Since then, Mayor Lewis has been cared for by Mr. Rehabar.
Mayor Lewis is a very rare Harbor Seal, a species which was believed to be extinct in Lake Champlain as of 1962. This spawned an international research operation into the ecology of Lake Champlain, where it was found that a small population of 25 individuals were surviving in the lake, using an underground, underwater cave as their home. It is believed that the seals developed this habitat to avoid human influence, as they were frequently hunted in the late 1800s.
Upon the towns peoples’ vote, Lewis was named Mayor in 2020, a year in which morale was at an all time low. Mayor Lewis now serves from a wonderful, specially constructed paddock on the beach, which allows for him to interact with his fellow Harbor Seals at his leisure. He decided to cede the majority of his official mayoral duties to Mayor Zora Dardas, as his flippers are unable to effectively hold a pen. He does enforce a yearly Seal Day celebration on March 22, both to celebrate his official birthday and to raise awareness and funding for Champlain Harbor Seal conservation. Entry fees are $20, which gets you access to all the seal-themed activities you could wish for, and all profits gained on the premises will be donated to the Champlain Seals and Wildlife Foundation run by Mr.Rehabar.
Ralston, Vermont's "Green Island" City 