NALMS Notes - September, 2007
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| Ken Wagner taking the plunge. |
I will draw on the Grand Canyon one more time to make my point here. The last full day of my trip on the Colorado River this summer involved a series of optional jumps off successively higher cliffs, culminating in a roughly 35 ft drop. We were told that if we hit wrong, it would really hurt. We quickly calculated that we would be hitting the water at just over 40 mph. Assuming one surfaced, a fast swim was needed to make it to the raft before being swept downstream. So what was the upside? Frankly, I didn’t see one and was content to sit in the raft with most of the crew while 10 intrepid younger folks went up to jump. As they came out of the water, they each asked when I was going to take the plunge and gave me a hard time about not getting up there. I finally gave in – I’m not afraid of heights, it’s the landing that worries me. It was exhilarating, and while the entire trip was a great experience, it is that jump that everyone talks about now, the one I was prepared to sit out.
So how does this relate to NALMS? Well, it does on several fronts. Quite simply, if you don’t get involved, you don’t know what you are missing. We are all busy people – there is way too much to do these days to not choose wisely, but I maintain that time spent on NALMS issues is time well spent. It benefits our lakes, it benefits other people, and it benefits you. The network you will establish is invaluable, the knowledge you will gain will help with your work, and the friends you will make will be good ones. There are lots of small volunteer jobs to do within NALMS, and each has its own rewards that I believe more than make up for the time commitment. And if everyone volunteers, that commitment can be small. Many of us give back to our communities through volunteer work; we should also give back to our profession, to our natural heritage, and to our lakes through NALMS.
The more specific reason I write this column this month, however, is that I want you all to attend the annual symposium in Orlando, Florida at the end of October. This is a plunge of some substance, for sure. You or your employer or your organization must shell out a registration fee, transportation costs, and lodging expenses. No question, it is not an inexpensive proposition. However, having gone to so many conferences over the years, and especially this past year on behalf of NALMS, I will tell you that I know of no greater meeting value out there. I have had discussions with several members about how to keep costs down and why our price should be kept as low as possible, but I will tell you that NALMS puts on a great symposium for a remarkable price every year. A few cases in point:
- I went to the International Limnology Society meetings just last month. Excellent content, but with 14 concurrent sessions, I had to miss 90% of what was offered. We were given one meal. Coffee breaks were just that – coffee (which I don’t drink!). Exhibitors could not attend sessions. In the name of being “green” there was no paper to write notes on and the program book was just that – the program, without abstracts, which we got on a CD (difficult to review if you came without your computer). A fine conference to be sure but over 75% more expensive than NALMS, where almost all meals are covered and everyone is invited to everything.
- I went to the Aquatic Plant Management Society in July, which has a lot of overlap with NALMS and does a fine job with a focused, one-session program, always in an interesting venue with great receptions. But if there is a paper in which one has no interest, there is no alternative, and I paid $200 a night for a room, 33% more than anyone has to spend to stay in Disney World with NALMS!
- Over the years I have attended ASLO, AFS, and AWWA conferences, and am a member of every organization I have mentioned so far. I have always learned useful things, met interesting people, and enjoyed the experience. Yet I have never obtained so much information so immediately useful to me in my occupation or been exposed to the range of people representing every aspect of the associated resource as I do at NALMS each year. I have never met a local fisherman who came to AFS to learn about the resource, or a drinking water utility customer who wanted to learn more about water treatment at AWWA. But I meet people who swim, boat, fish or otherwise use lakes with no professional connection to NALMS at our symposium every year, and it is a refreshing reality check. Our diversity can be daunting when trying to gain consensus on an issue, but it makes our symposia great!
So I urge you to take the plunge. Register soon for the 2007 NALMS Symposium in Disney World in Orlando, Florida, October 31st to November 2nd, and while you are at it, join NALMS (and get the member discount) or renew your membership on-line in the process. If you prefer, you can download a registration form and send it to the NALMS office or just call and they can walk you through the registration process. And if you want the cost for future meetings to come down, sign up a few more members; the larger the membership, the less we have to charge per member.
Ken Wagner
NALMS President
The ballot has been posted. We will elect a President-Elect, a Treasurer, and Directors from Regions I, III, V, and IX. The ballot is on-line and you can vote electronically. Consistent with NALMS procedures, anyone wishing to vote by mailed ballot can contact the office for a paper ballot, but the election will be conducted mainly in an electronic format. While you are voting, note that any proposed changes to the Bylaws are also posted, and the election provided an opportunity to give everyone advance review privileges. In fact, we must post proposed Constitution and Bylaw changes 30 days before the membership meeting if we want to pass them with a simple majority; otherwise, changes proposed within 30 days of the meeting require a 2/3 majority. Keep checking the website, though, as proposals can be modified or added until 30 days before the meeting. Also, the 2005 and 2006 Membership meeting minutes are posted, and should be reviewed by attendees prior to the upcoming Membership meeting.
Ever wonder how the budget is crafted? Do you know how much NALMS takes in or spends in a year? Do rumors of Ken Wagner putting it all on red in Vegas make you nervous? If so, the budget is actually the responsibility of the incoming President, who prepares it with the help of the Treasurer and anyone else from whom he seeks or gets input when he is still President Elect, usually in September (which means now!). There are basic operating expenses over which we don’t have a lot of control (e.g., rent, phone, printing costs) but need to understand, other more or less mandatory expenses over which some control is exercised (e.g., staff salaries, office equipment upgrades), and costs related to initiatives for the coming year, usually set by the incoming President with a lot of thought and input, all of which have to be balanced with anticipated income. By using the past few years as examples, most costs can be estimated within reason, and it is the balancing act between income and expense that requires the most attention. With this process just underway, it is important that all members with interests on the income or expense side make those interests known, so that we can plan to meet needs with the upcoming 2008 budget. Send Dick Osgood and Sue Robertson emails about anything you feel should be included or excluded and provide enough back-up info to allow them to appropriately utilize this info. The budget is approved by the Board of Directors at its Board meeting (Oct 29th this year, in Orlando) and presented at the membership meeting (Oct 31st, which makes this a huge trick or treat!).
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| Wendy Gendron, Membership Chair, in the NALMS booth at SIL in Montreal in August. |
As part of a Society exchange, NALMS hosted representatives of the International Limnology Society at our Indianapolis symposium, and SIL returned the favor at their August meeting in Montreal, the first time this truly international group has held a meeting in North America in 34 years. It was an impressive gathering of lake scientists, and NALMS hosted a 1.5 day track of sessions on lake management that was well received. Ken Wagner participated in a lunchtime panel discussion as well, and Wendy Gendron, with help from several NALMS members, ran the NALMS booth, which experienced high traffic and a lot of interest in both membership and publications.
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| Janice Faaborg with Jack Jones of the NALMS Editorial Board at the SIL meetings in Montreal. |
For those who publish in Lake and Reservoir Management, Janice is our redactory editor, the one who checks spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, and all those other annoying details that make the difference in a great paper. She provides the same services for APMS and SIL. She and her husband attended the SIL meeting, so NALMS members in attendance got a chance to meet her and discuss the value of the semi-colon (not really…). Janice does a great job with Lake and Reservoir Management, and it was nice to finally attach a face to the name. We just had to be careful to spell it correctly!
Remember to bring your best lake photos to this year’s symposium in Orlando. Top winners will have their photos on the cover of Lakeline and in the NALMS annual calendar. Contact Bill Jones for the details on how to enter the contest or check the upcoming issue of LakeLine.
The Executive Director Search Committee has narrowed the field to a select few who will be interviewed in late September. We are searching for the right person, not just a qualified manager, to run NALMS at the direction of the Board. While a detailed and iterative review has provided us with seemingly viable candidates, there is no guarantee that a hire will be made this fall, although we are very hopeful that the right candidate will emerge. If we do get a match, you can meet the new Executive Director at the annual symposium in Disney World in Orlando, Florida. All we can say now is that it won’t be Michael Eisner or Mickey Mouse! Dick Osgood has offered to answer any questions about the search.
We have reached the time of year when the leadership takes stock of what we have accomplished from our rather lengthy “to-do” list, partly to determine where an extra push is needed to meet annual goals and partly to determine what continued or alternative initiatives are needed next year. The goals set by President Wagner were pretty lofty, but also essential to position NALMS for the future. He will provide a more detailed summary at the Orlando meeting, in both written and oral form, but here are a few of the key items from the plan, with their status:
- ExCom Actions – Held monthly conference calls, kept up with necessary actions to manage NALMS, attended or were officially represented at 6 Affiliate conferences and 3 sister society meetings, provided staff supervision, managed NALMS funds, and kept in touch with EPA, the Corps and several other long-term sponsors. More liaison work was desired than could be supported with available time.
- NALMS Finances – We remain on solid ground, with >$300,000 in the bank at the end of July. This cushion is essential to provide the member-mandated operating reserves, separate internal accounts for life memberships and scholarship funds, and start-up costs for an Executive Director.
- NALMS Staff – We hired two new staff and completed their orientation. We performed personnel reviews in April and will do so again in October. We re-assigned various duties to even workloads and maximize application of skills to corresponding tasks. A new health plan is in development. On-site support and supervision remains an important need.
- Executive Director Search – We are in the interview phase, and if we find the right person, we will have an ED by symposium time.
- Symposium Preparation – The 2007 Symposium will be in Orlando, FL. The Disney World venue speaks for itself. The program is in final draft form, with just a few additions still expected. Special events are all planned and are almost all family-friendly. Planning for Lake Louise in 2008 is progressing well, with the committee working out the logistics for this spectacular setting. The New England Symposium in 2009 will be in a revitalized Hartford, CT in late October. Evaluation for a 2010 site in the west is in progress, and 2011 will be back in Wisconsin.
- Membership – If everyone who received a renewal notice in early July renews, membership will stand at about 1750. We won’t get them all, but with new memberships to go with symposium attendance, facilitated by our on-line system and member discount, we have a decent shot at 2000 members by the start of the symposium, the original goal for this year.
- Website – The NALMS website has been moved, re-designed, repopulated with more and better information, and administered professionally. We have added a new and exclusive on-line publication, Fundamentals of Urban Runoff Management, produced under contract and edited by a suite of NALMS volunteers. We have added blue-green algal pages with a wealth of info on this hot topic. An on-line conference registration system has been added and a new membership database has been constructed. A number of other improvements remain in development.
- Publications – LakeLine and Lake and Reservoir Management have been published on time and well received. A monthly electronic newsletter has been sent out. Fundamentals of Urban Runoff Management has been completed. The DVD from the 2005 Harmful Algal Bloom symposium is available through NALMS. A Michigan version of Your Lake and You is in production. The remote sensing project manual is in preparation, and a few other desired publications remain in the planning stage.
- Government Affairs – Two issue summaries and updates were prepared. U.S. legislation was tracked and members were informed of key developments. An article about how U.S. legislation develops was written for the newsletter. A similar effort for Canada remains underway.
- Affiliates –The conversion of Chapters to Affiliates has gone fairly smoothly, and an Affiliate Council has been created. However, progress with organization is slow, and there will be no planned Constitution and Bylaws amendment to give this group a seat on the Board at this time. It will be up to the Affiliates to bond together and make it work, with support from NALMS.
- Bylaws – The bylaws were reviewed and some changes were made, others are to be proposed shortly.
- Policy – The NALMS operational procedures were reviewed, adjusted, and accepted by the Board. Two new position statements are expected to have been adopted this year, with a third possible, although more remain in the planning stage.
We will leave it to the membership to assign grades for this report card, but it has been a very active year, with more to come.
We have the new member database up and running, and the vast majority of members have checked their information and adjusted as needed. However, we are still suffering from problems over a year ago that resulted in many mistakes and no renewal invoices going out for nine months. People who renewed this last winter were not paying for the next year but for the last year, to which we tacked on 6 free months to bring them up through June of 2007. Invoices went out at the end of June, and it appears that a lot of well known NALMS members threw them away or otherwise ignored them, figuring they paid back in the winter and were not due to renew for another 6 months. Not so! This next issue of LakeLine and Lake and Reservoir Management will be the last for those who were sent invoices but do not renew by symposium time. And if you were actually due to renew over a year ago, you won’t get this next issue either. We will re-issue those renewal invoices in September; please respond promptly. NALMS relies on your support! And by the way, you can check your renewal date in “My Account” when you logon to the website, or just check your LakeLine mailing label; it’s there too!
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The final draft program will be on the website by the time you read this, and it is indeed a fine program. We expect to run with four concurrent sessions, enough to provide variety without forcing too many choices on attendees. A few targeted sessions have yet to be finalized, and are therefore not shown, but the EPA plans to provide an update on the Survey of the Nation’s Lakes and APMS/AERF is expecting to bring us the best of the recent APMS conference on invasive plant management. We will have Hans Paerl give a plenary address on harmful algal blooms in a changing climate, a perfect set-up for an all day track of sessions on understanding algal blooms and related water quality problems that will also feature Alex Elliot from the UK. Ben Grumbles of the USEPA has been invited to give a plenary address as well, and is trying to fit it into his schedule. There are many other hot topics in lake management represented in the program, which you should check out. Walt Disney World’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida will be the venue. Workshops including standard offerings on algae, aquatic plants, water quality assessment, and phosphorus inactivation, as well as some new ones, such as writing to be read, will be given on October 30th. Actual sessions are October 31st through November 2rd, with tours and other events, as well as the opportunity to do the Disney parks, sandwiched on either end (Oct 30 and Nov 3). Check out the NALMS website for details, updates and options. Register on-line or through the office, and while you are at it, you can join NALMS or renew your membership as part of the same process. There are only a few spaces left for deserving presentations; contact Harvey Harper at hharper@erd.org quickly if you want to fill one of those spaces!
Independent of the NALMS symposium but tagged onto the end of it for convenience, Eric MacBeth of MN is organizing a diving trip to some famous Florida springs for the Saturday after the symposium ends (November 3rd). Contact Eric directly at emacbeth@cityofeagan.com if you are interested.
- Of the 1,880 U.S. species classified as imperiled, invasives played a major role in the listing of 49% of them. This was second only to habitat loss.
- Worldwide, at least 7,000 species, ranging from cholera and botulism bacteria to invertebrates and fish, are probably in motion each day in the ballast water of tens of thousands of ships.
- The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) estimated that at least 4,600 nonindigenous species were established in the United States by 1990.
- Approximately 400 nonindigenous species are known in the estuaries along the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf coasts of the continental United States.
- Historically, Hawaii had no native freshwater fish; now it has 52 non-native ones.
- For fish, deliberate introductions, e.g., for sport fishing, aquaculture, home aquaria, or biological control, account for more than 40% of the non-native fish species in the United States.
- Most introduced species do not survive, they find neither a tolerable environment nor an available ecological niche. Of those species that do become established, only a limited number spread and become damaging. OTA found that of the more than 1,300 established, nonindigenous species in the US analyzed, approximately 15% caused “severe harm” to native ecosystems, species, or the economy.
- "The greatest single paroxysm of extinction ever recorded" – in the 1960’s, colonial authorities began stocking Lake Victoria with the aggressive Nile perch (Lates niloticus). This single species led to the disappearance of up to 200 native cichlid fish species.
- Between 1906 and 1991, 79 nonindigenous species caused documented losses of $97 billion in the U.S.
- During the 1999-2000 fiscal year, more than $17 million in federal, state, and local funds were spent to treat mostly aquatic plants on almost 42,000 acres in Florida.
And for those awkward silent moments after you have spoken at the party, here are some thought-provoking Invasive Species questions:
- What is the definition of Invasive Species?
- What constitutes an "invasion?"
- What makes ecosystems vulnerable to invasion?
- In what circumstances is eradication feasible?
- Under what circumstances is the use of transgenic organisms safe and effective?
- What should be done in those rare circumstances when invasive species provide valued ecosystem services or support threatened and endangered species?
TORONTO (Reuters) - Warmer, drier weather coupled with alterations to the waterways of North America's Great Lakes will likely drive Lake Superior down to record low water levels sometime this year, experts say.
Lake Superior, the world's largest body of fresh water by surface area, has declined precipitously over the last decade but plunged down another 30 cm (1 foot) in the last year alone amid an "extreme drought," putting pressure on both commercial shipping and fish habitats.
"That's a dramatic fall," Cynthia Sellinger, a hydrologist at the U.S. Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, told Reuters. "Lake Superior has been in and out of an extreme drought since 2003, and now the drought has got more extreme on the lake's western basin."
Lakes Huron and Michigan, into which Superior flows, are similarly low -- down 1 meter (3.3 feet) in the last ten years -- leaving dried out marshes and some inaccessible ports.
In the last 30 years, precipitation has decreased while evaporation has increased, leading to higher water temperatures in the three upper Great Lakes. Lakes Erie and Ontario are the lower of the five, which make up the world's second-largest body of unfrozen, fresh water behind Russia's deep Lake Baikal.
Average spring temperatures in northwestern Ontario, the Canadian shoreline of Lake Superior, were at least 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal this year. The warmer temperatures melt ice on the lake, resulting in more water lost through evaporation.
Sellinger said there is a 15 percent to 20 percent probability that Lake Superior, the northernmost lake, will reach record low levels for at least a couple of months this year.
It is only 6 cm (2.4 inches) above its lowest levels, which were recorded in the 1960s when the biggest and most controversial dredging project took place on the St. Clair River, a major shipping route near Detroit that connects the upper and lower lakes.
A recent study showed that the amount of water flowing through the St. Clair River and, eventually, out to the Atlantic Ocean, is about 2.5 billion gallons (9.5 million cubic meters) a day -- triple what was previously thought.
The group of Canadian homeowners on Lake Huron used data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for its waterflow measurements, and compared that with findings from a study it commissioned two years ago.
The association blames regular dredging for navigation on the St. Clair River and wants sills and a gate to be built so that water levels won't drop any further.
Iron ore and grain are among the biggest cargoes shipped on the lakes, which are connected to the Atlantic through the St. Lawrence Seaway's system of locks and canals, which opened in 1959, allowing ocean-going vessels into the industrial heartland of North America.
In 1962, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deepened the St. Clair River channel by 0.6 meters (2 feet) to accommodate commercial shipping. U.S. and Canadian governments planned to construct underwater sills to stem the flow, but never did because water levels in the upper lakes rose to record highs in the 1970s.
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WEST YELLOWSTONE -- People who own homes or businesses on the shores of Hebgen Lake have a big problem this summer: lack of water.
Boat docks are 8 feet out of the water in some places. In other places, what used to be a quick hop to a swimming beach is now an extended walk. There are unconfirmed reports of sickly fish. Tourists are leaving. Businesses are suffering.
“I think we ought to share the burden of this drought,” said Jim Albin, manager of the Yellowstone Holiday, a marina and campground on the lake’s north shore. “But they’ve decided that Hebgen Lake ought to take it all.”
Hebgen Lake is not a natural water body. It is a reservoir created in 1911 with a dam across the Madison River. But since that time, dozens of homes and a handful of businesses have gone up around the lake, taking advantage of the good fishing, clear waters, fine boating and scenery.
Hebgen is part of a complicated, heavily regulated system of rivers and reservoirs. Its management is spelled out under a 2000 agreement between PPL Montana, which owns the dam, state agencies and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
That document calls for managing the two Madison River dams with a primary focus on preserving the wild fishery in the river. The second priority is the recreation and fishery in Hebgen Lake.
Hoffman said PPL is willing to examine all possible alternatives, but the weather will remain a key player. This year, the company was relying on traditional June rains to bring the lake nearly to capacity. But the rain didn’t come.
The Yellowstone River remains at record-low flows: just 1,660 cubic feet per second Wednesday, beating the record low of 1,710 cfs on the same day during the scorching, blazing, smoky summer of 1988, and matching levels of the dust bowl years.
Other rivers in the area also are approaching record lows, most of which were set decades ago.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks announced Wednesday that, as of Friday, all fishing will be banned on the Big Hole and Jefferson rivers, 24 hours a day, joining a host of other rivers and streams with at least some restrictions.
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Keep this website handy for next summer. People now have the ability to check on water quality, through the EPA eBeaches service.
Using a web-based portal, coastal and Great Lakes States can electronically transmit beach water quality and swimming advisory information to EPA. Data is based on the latest information available from a state, although environmental groups have said that states and the federal government usually provide information that’s several days old. Nonetheless, EPA says the new site is providing a valuable service to those heading to the beach.
After browsing your favorite vacation beaches, you do notice that smaller lake beaches are also apart of this electronic information sharing system if the future. See if your lake is listed. And who knows, maybe those land-locked states can start adding their lake beaches also.
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Jim Olsen, fisheries biologist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and a crew of fisheries workers, including three from Canada, were working in late August in the Goose Creek drainage and at Huckleberry, Mutt and Jeff lakes to eradicate brook trout. To that end, drip stations were set up on portions of the creek to leak rotenone into the creek while the crew used backpack sprayers to reach into all the small nooks and crannies of the waterway. On the two smaller lakes - Mutt and Jeff - a pump-driven sprayer was used to disperse the poison. On larger Huckleberry Lake, 240 gallons of poison was sprayed and mixed in with a motorized boat and dry ice.
The Goose Creek project, if successful, will culminate next year with the restocking of the waterways with Yellowstone cutthroat trout, a species of special concern in Montana because of its dwindling numbers and habitat. Populations of the fish in its former stronghold, Yellowstone Lake, have crashed.
"We plan on stocking fishable-size cutthroat, up to 12 inches, by the fall," Olsen said, provided all the brook trout can be removed.
Although not native to the Goose Creek drainage, the Yellowstone cutthroat is a fish native to the general area, whereas brook trout have been planted from stock brought in from the East.
No one knows when the brook trout were stocked in Mutt, Jeff and Huckleberry lakes. They were probably brought in by horse packers looking to create mountain fisheries. Olsen guessed the brook trout were planted in the 1930s.
The poisoning project also offered a teaching opportunity for three fisheries officials from British Columbia. "We wanted to make sure we had some hands-on experience in the field," said Bruce Runciman of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Canada hasn't used fish poisons, called piscicides, since the mid- to late 1980s, he said. But this fall the agency plans to work with the provincial Ministry of Environment to treat parts of the upper Thompson River basin in British Columbia to remove perch and bass that were stocked. Removal of the stocked fish will help ensure survival of native trout and Chinook salmon, Runciman said.
If you are having a conference, have a lake-related question, need advice, looking for similar lake problems/solutions, have an interesting story to share, or just want to be heard throughout NALMS, please send your material to Steve Lundt.
All e-newsletter material is due to Steve Lundt by the first Friday of each month to be considered for inclusion in that month’s e-newsletter.