NALMS Affiliate News – May / June 2020

Florida Lake Management Society

FLMS 31st Annual Symposium Update

After much discussion and input from our members, it is with a heavy heart that we announce we will not be holding our 31st annual symposium in person. But that doesn’t mean we won’t see you! Your Board is currently working on a plan to roll out our usual technical sessions and workshops as individual webinars. We will also hold our annual business meeting for all members on August 26 in order to swear in our new Board of Directors and announce this year’s Awards of Excellence. Stay tuned for details and thank you for your support! We can’t do it without YOU!

Lakes Appreciation Month

For Lakes Appreciation Month, the Lake County Water Authority will be approving a Lakes Appreciation Month proclamation at their June 24 Board of Trustees meeting. There will also be several cities in Lake County who will be doing the same.


New York State Federation of Lake Associations

Although our 37th annual conference was cancelled due to COVID-19, the New York State Federation of Lake Associations, Inc. (NYSFOLA) has remained active over the last several months.

The 2020 season of the Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program (CSLAP) is officially up and running with over 150 lakes participating this year. Volunteers have shown overwhelming support to continue the program this year, and readily agreed to adhere to CDC and NYPause Guidelines. While a few volunteers have understandably opted out, we are at nearly full capacity this year. We thank each and every one of our citizen scientists as well as our partners at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and Upstate Freshwater Institute for pulling the program together with relatively short notice.

We have also collaborated with the Syracuse University Center for Environmental Finance to host a webinar series on popular topics pulled from our conference agenda. The first webinar entitled “Insurance Coverage for Nonprofit Lake Associations” was recorded, and you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM_N1-bHQVo&feature=youtu.be. The rest of the series is as follows. Links are available on the NALMS events page and they will also be recorded. Check the NYSFOLA website www.nysfola.org for links after the events have taken place.

Conflict Management for Organizations
June 18, 2020

Does your organization experience conflict over how to manage resources or make decisions? Learn from a Syracuse University expert to develop awareness and skills in order to transform conflict into opportunity.

This webinar will feature Catherine Gerard, Director of the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (ParCC) at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Finance.

An Introduction to Lake Ecosystems: A New York State Perspective
July 9, 2020 10:00 am – 11:00 am EDT

New York State is blessed with a diverse array of nearly 8,000 lake ecosystems, ranging from unnamed small lakes and ponds to some of the largest lakes on Earth. These ecosystems provide a wide range of services, including recreation, aesthetics, water supply, and habitat for aquatic organisms. This webinar will provide an overview of lake science and water quality management from the perspective of New York’s lakes. Topics will include temperature stratification, harmful algal blooms, aquatic invasive species, lake food webs, and relationships between land use and water quality.

One of our most popular annual conference sessions goes virtual thanks to Dr. David Matthews, Director, Upstate Freshwater Institute; David Andrews, Research Scientist, Upstate Freshwater Institute; and Monica Matt, Research Scientist, Upstate Freshwater Institute

This is a great opportunity for lake association members to understand more about their lake and watershed.

To register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5834185025545919246

Working with Local Government to Improve Lakes and Communities
July 23, 2020 10:00 am – 11:00 am EDT

Learn from two long-time experts about the experiences of towns and lake associations working together through zoning, land use planning, and water quality issues.

Senior Project Manager–Aquatics Chris Mikolajczyk from Princeton Hydro LLC will give a talk entitled: ”A regional based approach to the management of the Lakes of the Borough of Ringwood” and discuss how the Borough of Ringwood is situated in the heart of the New Jersey Highlands (which provides drinking water to millions of New Jersey residents) and is home to several public and private lakes that sit within the Ramapo Mountains. In order to take an active role in the management of these natural resources within multiple watersheds, the Borough of Ringwood is the first municipality in the state of New Jersey to take a regional approach to private lake management through a public-private partnership (PPP) with four lake associations.

NYSFOLA Board Member, Town of Nelson, NY Supervisor and member of the Eatonbrook Lake Association and Madison County Federation of Lake Associations Jim Cunningham will be talking about the role of local government in lake management using his decades of experience and examples from Madison County, NY.

To register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6816456827963800334