NALMS 32nd International Symposium

In these tough economic times, the values we place on our natural resources, including lakes, becomes more important than ever. These values are brought into focus by our vision for lakes, essentially what we want as an outcome of successful management. Finally, turning these visions into actions requires partnerships, good science, and perseverance! Because Lakes respond to stressors at a variety of scales, NALMS 32nd International Symposium emphasized the science of lakes in the landscape, ranging from in-lake to watershed to global, as well as approaches that facilitate lake management...from satellites to surveys to shorelines.

In bringing NALMS back to Madison and the Yahara Lakes we built on the successes of two previous symposia in 2001 and 2005. As before, we began each day with a set of plenary talks that related to the theme and served as an introduction to special sessions: Lake Values and Ecosystem Services, Landscape Limnology, Adapting to Climate Change. Dr. Steve Carpenter, directory of the University of Wisconsin Center for Limnology and 2011 recipient of the Stockholm Water Prize was our keynote speaker to open the symposium. We also celebrated 20 years of the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership, a unique collaboration between government (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources), education (University of Wisconsin Extension), and nonprofit advocacy (Wisconsin Lakes) institutions to protect and restore lakes in Wisconsin.

Finally, the 2012 Madison conference featured a special session on the Yahara River watershed and its more than 22,000 acres of lakes and streams that are so important to the region's economy and quality of life. This Friday session, "Yahara Lakes: Implementing a Vision," was open to all conference attendees and Madison area residents, and consisted of presentations by local scientists, managers and conservation groups on successes and challenges of implementing the water quality improvement strategies that emerged from the 2005 conference.

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