NALMS
Notes
2006--Issue 1
In this Issue
Upcoming National & Regional NALMS Conferences
Lakes Appreciation T-Shirt Sales
Don't Forget the NALMS Chapters Yahoo! Group
Open Invitation to Add to the Next NALMS Notes
Suggestions? Comments? E-mail them to Steve Lundt <slundt@mwrd.dst.co.us> or Philip Forsberg <forsberg@nalms.org>
Not a NALMS member? Want to become one? Click here to join!
Join the Great Lakes Givers Club!
©2006. North American Lake Management
Society
PO Box 5443
Madison, WI 53705
608.233.2836
I’m a Member!
If your association or organization has ever held an annual conference and included membership in the conference registration fee, you’ve probably run into this quandary. Sooner or later (over the years) you realize there are a lot of people running around who think they are members, when in fact most people are not. We at NALMS HQ often see that misconception with Chapter members who think that they are NALMS members. Does it ring a bell, anyone? The frustrating result is that the very people we at NALMS would like to reach with our materials and message – those people who are not even “on our radar” – are feeling ticked off that they have somehow not been well-served by NALMS.
Do I care if you are a member of NALMS? Sure, I do. But what is really important is that we reach out to one another. NALMS isn’t some giant conglomerate HQ with all its little satellite Chapters. We are just people caring about lake management in a big way. Our strongest desire is to communicate with one another – to share knowledge, experience, camaraderie. Our development committee has been working hard on the who and how of a NALMS communication plan and you’ll be seeing more soon. Meanwhile, think about all those who could benefit and ENJOY NALMS. There are large numbers of people working in lake management (or struggling with lake management) who have never even heard of NALMS, in municipal water departments, for example.
There is a whole list of things that NALMS does on the national level, above and beyond the applied lake and watershed management stuff. And we’ve done it for 25 years thanks to hard-working, dedicated, over-worked volunteers. We are fortunate now to have a small, but hard working, dedicated, over-worked staff to help us out. And we have friends like the EPA to thank.
But through it all, it is members who make or break NALMS – by joining and by participating. So check your wallet, folks. If you really want to help your lake, join your local lake association, make sure your local lake association joins the nearest NALMS Chapter, and make sure you join NALMS at the national level. If you want to do more, ask me about the Lake Givers Club.
As we say in the north country,
May your ice go out easy,Michael R. Martin, CLM • michael@cedareden.com
President, North American Lake Management Society
LakeLine
The summer issue of LakeLine has the theme of "Algal Toxins." Harmful Algae Blooms affected much of the Midwest and East last summer causing m any concerns for public health officials and lake users. This important topic was the subject of an all-day session at the 2005 NALMS Symposium. Ann St. Amand has worked with some of the presenters from the symposium to put together this issue. Articles featured are:
1. Bill Harding--South African Experience with Toxic Cyanobacteria
2. Brian Kotak--Cyanobacterial Toxins in Canadian Freshwaters
3. Tony Fristachi--Risk Assessment of Cyanobacterial Toxins in Drinking and Recreational Water
4. Ann St. Amand--DNA Methods for Confirming Species Identifications
5. Teri Holland and Greg Good--The Summer of Cylindro in Illinois
6. Ellie Prepas--Cyanobacteria, Toxins and Water Quality: A Case Study on Lake of the Woods, Canada
7. Chris Williams--Toxigenic Cyanobacteria in Florida's Freshwater SystemsThrough a generous contribution from the US EPA, NALMS is able to offer this issue to our Chapters and others at a special bulk quantity rate of $2.00/each (minimum order of 20) plus shipping. This rate is only good on preorders. Deadline date to place your preorder is May 15.
Please contact Philip Forsberg at the NALMS office to place your order (forsberg@nalms.org).
Upcoming National and Regional NALMS Conferences for 2006
NALMS 2006 Annual International Symposium – Indianapolis, Indiana November 8-10
The Call for Papers for the 26th NALMS International Symposium is out. As a reminder, the Symposium dates are November 8-10, 2006 in Indianapolis, IN at the Crowne Plaza and Union Station Conference Center. Abstracts are due Friday, June 2, 2006 and must be submitted via the NALMS web site. PLEASE NOTE: The $25 submission fee advertised in the Call for Papers brochure will not be required. Please disregard that note. NO SUBMISSION FEE IS REQUIRED.
Fun facts about Indianapolis
1) One of the first complete bathrooms in Indianapolis was in the home of Hoosier poet, James Whitcomb Riley.
2) Frank Sinatra first sang with the Tommy Dorsey Band at the Lyric Theatre in Indianapolis.
3) The world's first transistor radio was made in Indianapolis.NALMS’ Annual Chicago Conference
A National Conference Planning A Survey of the Nation's Lakes
April 25-28
Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza, Chicago, Illinois.NALMS’ Mid-Term Board Meeting
The NALMS Board will meet in Chicago on Saturday, April 29 at Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza. The Board meeting is open to all members.
NALMS’ Northwest Regional Meeting
September 13-15
Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
Lakes Appreciation T-Shirt Sales – Biggest mover at Old Navy
(Just kidding) It is true though, NALMS is selling Lakes Appreciation t-shirts to help fund the student poster contests. Recent cutbacks with federal funding of the poster contest has allowed for the wonderful creation of one-of-a-kind t-shirt. Cost is $15.00 per shirt. Contact the NALMS office for more information. Great to sell at your Lakes Appreciation Month events this coming July!
Ask the Lakespert
Q: Sometimes when I am out on a lake, I see parallel lines of white foam on the surface. What makes this happen, and why do I usually loose my hat on those days?—John Bote, Nutria, Colorado
A: Wind! Wind between 7-16 mph makes these lines and seems to also blow your hat off. Those lines are called Langmuir streaks, discovered by Irving Langmuir in about 1938 when he noticed these streaks as he crossed the Atlantic.
The theory is that when wind speed between 3-7 m/sec (7-16 mph) occurs over the surface of a lake, the sporadic turbulence begins to organize into vertical helical currents in the upper layers of the lake (Langmuir Cells). Convection from this vertical motion generates streaks, which are oriented parallel to the wind direction. The streaks are at the point where two parallel, horizontal cells are converging, creating a collection point of surface debris and floating foam.
The usual Langmuir cell will be 4-6 meters deep. However, in certain situations in the ocean, mixing can occur as much as 200 meters below the water surface. Typically the cell axes are aligned along the wind direction but can vary as much as 20 degrees. When wind directions change, the cells will gradually shift to realign, lagging behind by 15-20 minutes.
“Who cares?” might be your next question. These cells are providing a great opportunity for mixing to occur in the lake. Mixing can be causing many different things to happen in your lake: 1: Downwelling from the surface can help pull down oxygenated water to deeper, anoxic water, 2: At the same time, upwelling can pull of nutrient-rich bottom water, creating entrainment of nutrients and a potential algae bloom days later, and 3: understanding how the water mixes during windy weather can help with lake modeling and predicting the movement of water, algae, nutrients, and other pollutants.
Your Very Own Lake Blog
NALMS has a link to a lake and reservoir management blog (web log). Check for yourself to see what others are doing and saying about their lakes and reservoirs around the country. Visit http://www.lakestewardship.org and click on the link for LakeStewardship Blog (http://lakestewardship.blogspot.com).
Chapters News
A comprehensive list of chapter websites and chapter contacts may be found on the NALMS web site @ http://www.nalms.org/chapters/chapters.htm. By the way, Virginia wins the “Best Logo” contest. Please visit all these sites to see what other chapters are doing and to learn from one another.
Texas
The Texas River and Reservoir Management Society (TRRMS) and The University of Texas at Austin (UT) announce they are hosting the 2006 Annual TRRMS Conference & Symposium in Austin, Texas on May 18-19, 2006 at the UT Space Center, MCC Building, 3925 W. Braker Lane, Austin, TX 78759.
Abstracts are due by March 31st. Interested scientists are invited to present their research in the special symposium on the first day or the general contributed sessions on the second day. Each contributed paper or symposium presentation requires an abstract. The theme of this year's Symposium is: "Emerging Technologies for Research on Rivers and Reservoirs."
Registration forms will be mailed by mid March 2006 and also will be available on the Texas Chapter web site soon thereafter at the following URL address: www.nalms.org/trrms/. Both the mailed announcement and the web site will contain information regarding registration, hotels, social events and all costs, which are kept to the minimum in order to encourage student participation. In addition, the final program will be available online at the TRRMS web site prior to the May 18-19th meeting. Hard copies of the conference program will be distributed at the conference to registrants. We are encouraging presenters to get their Abstracts in soon for early selection and approval for presentation at this year's exciting meeting.
British Columbia
The BC Lake Stewardship Society 2006 Annual Conference & AGM. This year's event, Alien Invasions: Plants, Animals, Fish and People, will be held at the Cowichan Lake Research Station Conference Centre (Vancouver Island) on June 16th - 18th. Registration information and details will be available on the BCLSS website (www.bclss.org) as they become available.
If you have any questions or require clarification, contact Carolyn Johns at carolynj-bclss@shaw.ca.
Colorado
Upcoming events in 2006 for Colorado Lake & Reservoir Management Association include:
1. Annual Spring Luncheon and Volunteer Lake Monitoring Training Workshop
2. 2nd year for the Colorado Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program
3. Lake Appreciation Month celebrations at Cherry Creek Reservoir
4. Annual Fall Conference in OctoberFor more information and details on events in Colorado, go to www.clrma.org
Florida
Florida Lake Management Society - 17th Annual Meeting, 2006 Annual Conference, Integrating Science and Technology to Enhance Lake Management - June 5-8, Casa Monica Hotel, St. Augustine, Florida
Invasive Species
Atlantic needlefish continue to spread
Atlantic needlefish (Strongylura marina) can reach two feet in length. They have a slender, round body–yellow to green on top and silvery on the sides?with a dark green strip down the back.
If you’re on the water and see what appears to be a flying fish snapping its long, needle-like jaw and razor-sharp teeth in pursuit of prey, you’re probably not imagining things. Chances are, you’ve just gotten a glimpse of an Atlantic needlefish.
As the name implies, this swift-moving, salt-water predator is found throughout much of the Atlantic Ocean, ranging from Maine to Brazil. Surprisingly, it also seems able to thrive in freshwater. In fact, today, the Atlantic needlefish probably holds the distance record in both Alabama and Tennessee for inland occurrence of a primarily marine species.
Scientists believe that needlefish gained access to the Tennessee River by working their way through the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, an artificial canal completed in 1985, after detouring from the Gulf of Mexico up the Mobile and Tombigbee Rivers in Alabama. They were first discovered in Pickwick Reservoir in 1990 and then in Kentucky Reservoir in 1992. Recently, TVA scientists collected the non-native fish during routine monitoring at Cumberland Fossil Plant on the Cumberland River in Tennessee—hundreds of miles from its last known distributions.
“It’s unlikely that the needlefish population will grow large enough to pose a threat to Tennessee Valley waters,” says Greg Shaffer, a TVA fish biologist. “But any non-native species has the potential to negatively impact native fish. The needlefish is of special concern because it feeds on shad, brook silversides and shiners, the same prey favored by area sport fish. At times, their bait-stealing habits also can make them a nuisance to anglers.”
Atlantic needlefish typically swim in small schools near the water’s surface. They are most active at night and are attracted by lights around docks, bridges and piers. In spring, they are known to congregate in area immediately below locks and dams.
TVA scientists monitor both native and non-native fish species in the Tennessee River system annually. See TVA’s latest monitoring results at www.tva.com/environment/water.
Don’t forget the NALMS Chapters Yahoo Group
Be a member of the NALMS Chapters Yahoo Group by signing up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NALMSChapters/ --- a place for the exchange of information among members of the State, Provincial, and Regional Chapters of NALMS.
Open Invitation to Add to the Next NALMS Notes
If you are having a conference, have a lake-related question, need advice, looking for similar lake problems, have an interesting story to share, are selling something, or just want to be heard throughout NALMS, please send your material to Steve Lundt at slundt@mwrd.dst.co.us.