NALMS Notes - September, 2007
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| Ken Wagner, not doing anything bizarre for a change. |
This represents my last e-newsletter column as President of NALMS. Dick Osgood will take over at the end of October, although I will remain on the Board as Past President for another year, mostly sitting in a corner, staring into space and drooling into a cup…no, just kidding – we are up for an exciting year in 2008, and Dick will provide renewed enthusiasm to carry NALMS to new heights. We will have a new Executive Director, someone who has impressed all involved in the selection process, and this addition provides both extra energy and day to day leadership that it is hard to provide as a volunteer officer. NALMS is truly poised to move to the next level, but it can’t get there without all of us pushing together.
This has been a year of rejuvenation and growth for NALMS, and we have indeed accomplished a lot. My sincere appreciation goes out to the committee members who took their roles seriously and accomplished many of the tasks that I outlined in my rather ambitious set of initiatives for 2007. When I took office, I said that if we accomplished half of everything I thought needed to be done, we would be doing well; we did better than that, although there are certainly still things on the list remaining to be done (and we have a couple of weeks left…). The Executive Committee has put in a lot of time on behalf of NALMS, despite a number of personal obstacles and organizational challenges, and the Board has responded quickly and decisively between meetings when input was needed. I am proud of the work we have done this year, although there is always more to do!
Additionally, I want to express my appreciation to the NALMS staff for the job they have done this year. At this time last year we had one actual employee, Philip Forsberg, aka The Lone Ranger, who had to do just about everything to keep NALMS afloat. Now that we have three staff members, all working hard, and still can’t keep up, I realize what that had to be like in 2006. Philip, I am truly impressed that you are not sitting in a corner, staring into space, drooling into a cup…or are you? In November we added Darcy Brown as Administrative Assistant, but with no administrator to which she could be of assistance. Darcy had to figure out a lot for herself. Some may dream of having the boss be absent every day, but if you actually have to accomplish something, it’s no picnic. Darcy has improved and maintained our financial records and helped so many members over the phone and internet, most of whom she has never met and knows little about; that is not easy, and I applaud her effort. Lastly and perhaps most critical to our success this year, we added Matt Remsik as webmaster in December. Matt has been a real find. He has enough background in water issues to understand what we are trying to do, and the computer programming expertise to accomplish the web transformation we so badly needed. The NALMS website is its own testimonial to Matt’s effort and ability. If you’ve been on the NALMS website over several years, you know what I mean. For those of us with limited programming capacity, it is even more impressive, but the bottom line is that we now have a user-friendly, robust, information packed, useful website that serves our membership and the general public. He did this all as a part-time employee and will be the first to tell you that he sees a lot more that can be done. We plan to give him that opportunity on a full time basis.
I would also like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to my clients and co-workers, as they had to be very tolerant of my schedule and pick up a lot of slack when I was unavailable. I am pleased that so many of my clients and co-workers are members of NALMS, for several reasons, including knowing that they will see this!
Last, but by no means least, I want to thank my family for their support. There were three criteria for me running for NALMS office: NALMS being in a position to move ahead, agreement by my employer to support my activities, and an understanding by my family that this would be a tough year for them in terms of my involvement. The first two criteria were met by cultivation over several years, meeting the last one represents a real sacrifice by a few people. My two sons are mostly out of the house (college and grad school), and my 15 year old daughter…well, she was more interested in getting to go to the symposium in Disney World than what it meant for my schedule. It is my wife who deserves the real thanks here, and she will be in Orlando. People have been kind with their comments on what I have been doing for NALMS, but I asked for this job – Marianne did not. So be sure to thank her for her commitment to NALMS when you see her. She will be the one sitting in the corner, staring into space, drooling into a cup.
So, as we transition to new leadership, I want to ask you all for continued support and to think about what NALMS means to you. We can do much more than we are now doing but only with your support and that of others not yet involved in NALMS. We must continue to increase membership, we must expand our network, we have to involve more corporations that depend on water, and we have to keep focused on our mission. It benefits us environmentally, professionally, economically, and even spirtitually to make NALMS the best organization it can be, and I urge you to do your part.
Ken Wagner
NALMS President
The ballot has been posted and voting continues until October 14th. We will elect a President-Elect, a Treasurer, and Directors from Regions I, III, V, and IX. The ballot is on-line at www.NALMS.org, 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 until 30 days before the meeting. We may even post proposed changes after the 30 day limit, just so you can be familiar with the proposal before the annual membership meeting.
Don't forget to vote, especially if you are in Region V! Every vote does count, and many elections are close.
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Are you proud of your NALMS membership? Would you like to flaunt it with style? Well, we have the perfect product for you! NALMS is proud to present you an opportunity to be one of the first members to proudly display your NALMS membership status through our newly designed decal. You've seen hundreds of decals on other cars - but never a NALMS decal... until now.
Thanks to Michael Martin, Past President, NALMS will have auto stickers shortly. These are about the size that you see on cars noting a country of origin or favorite organization, and we hope that you will both display your pride in NALMS and promote your organization by getting one for you car, trailer, RV, or children (they work great over the mouth). The design is modeled after the NALMS logo, and is an attractive reminder to support sound lake management.
Interested? For the first time, a limited number of these high-quality decals will be available at the registration desk in Orlando. They're only two dollars each; be sure to show your NALMS spirit today!
The Executive Director Search Committee has completed its mission, and we have a clear choice for Executive Director. Dick offers the following announcement:
I am extremely pleased to announce the NALMS Board has appointed an Executive Director. Susan Urbas begins in her official capacity on October 8th and will be joining us in Orlando. Susan’s appointment culminates the search process, which began on June 1st. The Search Committee deserves our thanks and gratitude, as they were instrumental in guiding and conducting the search. Also, a big "thanks" to the interview committee, who devoted several days in Madison to conduct the interviews. Donna Sefton and Suzanne Forsberg shuttled the interview team and candidates to and from various places. Let’s not forget to thank our staff, which has been professional and accommodating throughout this process. Bringing an Executive Director into the office will represent a change for our staff, which has played a key role in NALMS – and will continue to play a key role. They were involved in the interview process and contributed valuable feedback.
I am personally gratified and encouraged that this step represents a new beginning for NALMS. Many have had a role in preparing for a transition to a governance board, and the Executive Director is a key step in this process. The NALMS board – the current board as well as its predecessors – have set the stage for this step to be successful. We have accumulated an operating reserve as well as additional reserve funds to assure we will remain financially sound. And we have done the preparatory planning to assure we are ready for this step. I think the real bottom line in all of this is that NALMS will be able to make a quantum leap in fulfilling its mission more effectively and efficiently. Put simply, lakes will be better as a result of NALMS’ work.
Now, let me introduce Susan Urbas. Susan is a catch. She will bring a great depth of experience, energy and enthusiasm to this position and provide critical leadership. Susan has experience as an environmental attorney and has accepted this position out of interest in being involved in a water-oriented environmental organization. Susan has been active in competitive rowing, both as a participant and in leadership roles. Susan came to her interview very well prepared and impressed us with her grasp of NALMS’ needs, outlining a clear path to moving NALMS forward. Susan will hit the ground running, although we all need to give her time to absorb the culture of NALMS. I am looking forward to working with Susan and the Board as NALMS moves in this very positive direction.
My thanks goes out to all who have helped to make this major advancement possible.
Search Committee Members: Sharon Anderson, Jeff Bode, Larry Butler, Steve Colvin, Harry Gibbons, Chris Holdren, Neil Hutchinson, Gene Medley, Mark Mongin, Dick Osgood, Wayne Poppe, Ann St. Amand, Jeff Schloss, Matt Scott, and Donnas Sefton.
Interview Team Members: Sharon Anderson, Larry Butler, Harry Gibbons, Dick Osgood, and Ken Wagner.
Susan Urbas can be reached via email at surbas@nalms.org.
As of October 1st, 2007, NALMS membership stands at 1949 in terms of who is on our books and receives benefits. However, 805 of these have not renewed yet this year. Given issues with timely notification and database problems of 2006 and early 2007, we have not "cut them off", but everyone has received at least one dues invoice, and all who are due to pay before the end of 2007 (overdue or about to come due) will get invoices shortly. There are likely to be very few mistakes by now; if you get a notice, please renew immediately. You may certainly contact the office if you think there is an error, but as explained in the letter you will get with your invoice, our records are pretty complete and you are either overdue, due, or about to come due in 2007. We cannot afford to keep sending you LakeLine (and Lake and Reservoir Management for Professional Members) if you don’t keep current with your dues. Please renew, we need you! And while you are at it, recruit another member so Ken Wagner can reach his goal of 2007 members in 2007. He does not want to lose this bet!
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The final program will be on the website shortly if not already, and it is indeed a fine program. We have four concurrent sessions, enough to provide variety without forcing too many choices on attendees. Hans Paerl will give a plenary address on proliferation of 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. 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 repeat 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 on 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.
A few notes with regard to frequently asked questions:
- Workshops do have participant limits in many cases; you may be able to sign up at the symposium, but if you want a particular workshop, don’t wait. And the workshops are on Tuesday, before the opening Symposium plenary, so you would have to plan ahead to be there anyway.
- The business meeting is on Wednesday, between the end of presentation sessions and the start of the Exhibitors Reception. You will need to register at the door as a member if you expect to vote, so please show up early.
- The Exhibitors Reception is a Halloween Party – of course you should wear a costume! We have not set an official theme, but many of us plan to come as something related to lakes and lake management. Some hotel accommodations are a fair walk from the conference center; you may want to bring your costume with you to the business meeting (in a bag, not on you!) and then go directly to the reception, meeting family and friends there.
- The Awards Reception is between the end of the Poster Session and the Luau on Thursday. The poster session is the only one scheduled from 3:40 to 5:00 PM, along with various meetings for committees, so there is time to see the posters, get to a meeting, and/or go change for the reception. We would prefer if people did not come to the Awards Reception dressed for the Luau. We gave up the formal banquet idea in favor of a family fun event, but we are not giving up the idea of formally honoring award recipients. No one will be turned away, but the Awards Reception is not really an event for small children; best to let them play in the pool with a caregiver for that hour. However, the Luau is not formal, and you are encouraged to break out your best Hawaiian outfit or other tropical duds for the occasion. Easiest to bring them to the Awards Reception and change locally afterward, meeting family and friends in the conference center where both the Awards Reception and Luau will be held.
- The Luau is immediately after the Awards Reception – see above. It will likely be indoors, given uncertainty of weather at that time of year. But this is Disney – their magic transcends location!
- The Disney Youth Education Series (YES) program provides a morning of fun but educational activity for kids from about 10 on up. We picked three programs for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but have to have at least 10 to do it and can’t accept more than 20. But we have to know now! October 12 is probably the last day we can register anyone, and that is pushing it. Details are on the NALMS website, and we sent a separate email previously.
- After October 19th, off-site registration will be closed. It would not hurt to notify the NALMS office that you plan to attend, but in that week between the close of off-site registration and the actual symposium, we can’t guarantee your choice of workshops, a shirt for running in the Clean Lakes Classic, and so on. We will certainly try to accommodate everyone, but there are scheduling and ordering reasons for the deadlines, so please understand that advance registration is definitely preferred.
- Jeff Schloss has done a great job getting our room block enlarged in response to demand, but there are limits. If you have not reserved a room by the time you are reading this, you may not be able to do so in the Coronado Springs Resort.
If you need more convincing to sign up for the annual international symposium, read what Nico Rossouw had to say in a letter to Ken Wagner recently (used with permission).
I read with interest your comments in the September NALMS Notes about costs and what's on offer at international conferences. I fully agree with your assessment of what NALMS has to offer. Over the past 15 years or so I've been very fortunate to attend a small number of NALMS conferences; something that I have enjoyed tremendously. I guess as a South African, my opinion of Americans was shaped with what we see on TV. That was until I attended my first NALMS conference. I was pleasantly surprised with how friendly and open the NALMS community is and that has certainly changed my opinion of Americans forever. I only have very fond memories of the NALMS conferences I was able to attend and I've been fortunate to work professionally with scientists and engineers that I have met through NALMS. What attracts me to NALMS is its very practical approach to lake and reservoir management and the fact that it also involves non-scientists and engineers in its conferences. I have found the opinions of folks from lake associations and interest groups very refreshing and useful to understand what services people need from lakes and reservoirs.
That’s one fine endorsement, and words you should heed. Join us in Orlando!
The NALMS Affiliate Florida Lake Management Society will hold its annual conference in conjunction with the Southeast NALMS conference again in 2008. The dates are Tuesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 5 at the beautiful Sandestin Resort in the fabulous hurricane-free (so far) Florida panhandle. NALMS and FLMS will be working together to bring you another fine program in a location that many in the southeast will find very accessible. Mark your calendars!
The dreaded fear or misconception that many swimmers have about "weeds" in lakes is that they will reach out and grab your feet and pull you down. This fear was promoted again this past August when a young, inexperienced swimmer "drowned after apparently becoming entangled in thick forest of milfoil" while swimming at night on the Columbia River near the Tri-Cities area of eastern Washington.
The initial news releases of this very unfortunate event placed more emphasis or blame on the milfoil plant, but as the story unfolded days after the drowning, the news articles began to shift the focus on human error and even tried to teach people about what exotic species are. But in the end, what the public will remember will be that a thick "forest" of weeds got wrapped around a young swimmer’s legs and pulled him under.
Swimming in lakes and rivers can be fun, but people need to respect the dangers that go along with such activities. Thick plants, strong currents, big waves, cold water temperatures, and other environmental conditions do not kill people, it is the mental errors, lack of good judgment, and misunderstanding of powers of water that get people into panic situations that do.
To make this senseless drowning have a purpose, please educate lake users that you know about the dangers with swimming in rivers and lakes. To see multiple articles about this accident, here are some links:
www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/v-rss/story/9253892p-9168872c.html
www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=6983293&nav=menu484_4
www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=6991357
seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/329182_milfoil27.html
A second edition of Fundamentals of Urban Runoff Management: Technical and Institutional Issues was recently published by the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS). The new document is an updated version of an edition published in 1994 and was prepared with support from EPA's Office of Wastewater Management and the Nonpoint Source Control Branch in EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds. The updated document includes new information that reflects the shift in direction of EPA’s stormwater program from a mitigation-based approach to a more source-based approach. Copies of the document are available at www.nalms.org/Resources/FundamentalsOfUrbanRunoffManagement.aspx.
A teleconference was sponsored by BNA, entitled "The World of Water Law: What was Old is New Again." This teleconference focused on the impact many recent court decisions have had on water law and how EPA, states, and congress have been reacting. The common theme through the discussion was that court decisions have been the most significant source of changes to water law in recent years and will likely continue to be in the future. The panelists felt this was because the water quality problems that are most easily addressed with the existing legal frameworks have been addressed. Some of the remaining issues include non-point sources of pollution and discharges from non-traditional point sources (e.g. vessels, water transfers, and dams). Since resolving these issues within the framework of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and NPDES program is cumbersome and involves untested applications of the law, regulatory agencies have been reluctant to address them. Environmental groups have been successfully challenging the agencies to apply the CWA to these problems in court. As a result, the NPDES program is being applied to numerous environmental issues for which its drafters had not envisioned; the result is a sometimes cumbersome regulatory and administrative environment.
Examples of recent US Supreme Court decisions that have substantially impacted water law recently include:
- The decision that discharges from vessels should be covered by the NPDES permitting program. EPA is currently grappling with how to apply a system intended for point source discharges to the large number of mobile sources that vessels represent.
- The SWANCC Decision. This decision determined that EPA and the USACE had exceeded their authority by applying the Section 404 of the CWA to isolated wetlands. This changed the longstanding position of applying the law to all wetlands and water bodies. Implications of this decision will likely result in further court actions, although there is a cooperative agency effort to develop a response framework, and the Clean Water Restoration Act (HR 2421) is intended to change the definitions to allow regulation of all waters and wetlands.
- The Rapanos Decision. This case centered on the definition of navigable waters and the application of the CWA to wetlands that are separated from navigable waters by small tributaries. In this decision, the Supreme Court found for a developer who had argued that wetlands on his property were not navigable waters and therefore not subject to regulation under the CWA. The implications of this decision are similar to those of the SWANCC decision, and have elicited similar responses.
Congress has not made substantial changes to any environmental laws in almost a decade. The panelists did not expect significant changes to water law from congress any time soon. All of the panelists agreed that the significant role that courts have been playing is likely to continue in the future. The result is significant uncertainty in the regulatory environment making long term planning a challenge. The results of shoehorning some of these environmental problems into a NPDES framework designed for traditional point sources of pollution are unclear and will require creative application of law to develop efficient and effective policies. The panelists did not believe that EPA was likely to be given authority to regulate water quantity; however, they did expect that the interrelationship between water quantity and water quality was likely to provide EPA with a significant role in water quantity issues.
Wondering how thick the ice will be on your lake this winter, can’t remember what the weather was like a year ago today, want to know what Canada’s weather will be like, or you need a good meatloaf recipe? Try the Farmers’ Almanac website. It is a little heavy on advertising, but there is quite a bit of fun, potentially lake-related information at this site to make you popular at this year’s Halloween party.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) spoke at a congressional briefing to mark the 35th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. Congressman Oberstar provided a first hand account of the origins of the Clean Water Act and told attendees that the intent of the Act was to oversee all the waters of the U.S., not just those that eventually flow into navigable waterways, as the current Supreme Court has interpreted. A panel that included past NALMS President Ken Reckhow of Duke University discussed the CleanWater Act. While the panelists agreed that the Clean Water Act has been effective, they all suggested improvements that could be made to address current water quality challenges. Itemized needs included moving toward a more integrated water resources model that approaches water quality issues from a watershed perspective, permits that require green infrastructure approaches to help solve urban stormwater pollution issues, and recognition of both the role of climate change and that water quantity will begin to drive water quality issues. Reckhow focused his remarks on how to improve water quality criteria by demonstrating better linkage between each criterion and the designated use for a particular waterway.
In response to the rising number of nutrient-related water quality impairments and increasing attention on the development of numeric nutrient criteria, Water Environment Federation developed and conducted two workshops on the development of nutrient TMDLs. Developed under a Cooperative Assistance Agreement with EPA, the workshops covered the basic tools, methodologies, and programmatic issues critical to successfully developing and implementing nutrient TMDLs. Materials from the second workshop are available at www.wef.org/nutrient-tmdl.
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.