From the Editor Bill Jones n keeping with our tradition of years’ LakeLine encourages letters to the editor. desert of Oregon. Doug Larson and past for the winter issue of LakeLine, Do you have a lake-related question? Or, Ron Larson, in text and images, present we feature another region of North have you read something in LakeLine a comprehensive study of the water I America and the lakes chemistry, aquatic life, history, and that stimulates your interest? We’d love identified with it. to hear from you via e-mail, telephone, management of this ancient lake. The featured region or postal letter. The annual NALMS elections are for this issue is the complete and, unlike the current U.S. North American Great elections cycle, we weren’t exposed to Plains. This region a vibrant event and each year I return myriad mind-numbing ads and sound extends all the way home with renewed vigor and ideas for bites from the candidates. Nonetheless, from northeastern better managing lakes and reservoirs. you elected an excellent slate of new Mexico, through the NALMS recognized numerous people and officers and directors. In this issue’s In center of the United States, and into organizations for their outstanding efforts the News, we present the members you Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta in during the awards banquet and we show voted to represent you and to do the southwestern Canada. you who the winners were. Speaking of important work of our society. We also There are few lakes within the spectacular photographs, we also print include an overview of the last meeting Great Plains, due largely to a lack of the five winning photos submitted to this of the Advisory Committee on Water precipitation as a result of the rain shadow year’s Photo Contest. Information (ACWI), of which NALMS effect of the Rocky Mountains. However, Our first theme article byDon is a member. as you will discover in this issue, the Huggins, Mark Jakubauskas, and Our Student Corner facilitator, lakes that are present are quite varied and Jude Kastens of the Kansas Biological Dana Bigham, picked up her pen interesting. Survey, describes the physical setting and (metaphorically) and wrote about an I have little personal experience with the many different lakes’ regions of the interesting exercise to illicit active the lakes of the North American Great Great Plains. Then, Barbara Hayford learning of lake management in group Plains so I was particularly interested in of Wayne State College (Nebraska) and settings. Called the “Skittles® Lake reading the articles submitted. I might add Debra Baker of the Central Plains Center Management Activity,” this activity that the authors have included some of for Bioassessment (Kansas) focus on encourages active participation and, yes, the most striking images that I’ve had the the lakes of the Nebraska Sandhills, the there is a “pay-off” at the end. As always, pleasure of publishing in LakeLine. It is largest sand dune area in the Western we conclude this issue with Literature our hope that you too will also find these Hemisphere. David Mushet, with the Review. articles to be interesting and stimulating. USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research So, pick a comfortable chair, sit We begin this issue with the last Center in Jamestown, North Dakota, back, and transport yourself to the North message from NALMS President Bev writes about the fascinating saline lakes American Great Plains for an afternoon Clark. We then provide extensive and wetlands of the northern Great Plains. respite from winter weather as you read coverage of the annual Symposium Then, Leeland Jackson of the University this issue of LakeLine. held, during late October in Spokane, of Calgary and Paul Moquin of the Enjoy! Washington. If you attended this University of Victoria describe the role Symposium, you might see yourself in of submerged macrophytes in regulating William (Bill) Jones, CLM, is LakeLine’s one of the photos. If you couldn’t attend, turbidity and water clarity in shallow editor and a former NALMS president, you might recognize some of those who prairie lakes. We finish our tour of the and clinical professor (retired) from did attend. In addition to a great program, lakes of the North American Great Plains Indiana University’s School of Public and the annual NALMS Symposium is a with a case study of Lake Winnipeg by Environmental Affairs. He can be reached at: great opportunity to see old friends and Elaine Page and Lucie Lévesque. 1305 East Richland Drive, Bloomington, IN colleagues and to make new friends Our Featured Lake this issue is 47408; (812) 855-1600; e-mail: joneswi@ and colleagues. I always find it such Lake Abert, a saline lake in the high indiana.edu. x 6 Winter 2011 / LAKELINE From the Bill Jones President Bev Clark s you read this, I am officially Although lakes are, for the most part, activities of its members are applying a the past president of NALMS exotic soups of transported molecules great deal of pressure to ensure that our but Bill tells me that this edition and species in a changing physical goals with respect to Lakes continue to be A of LakeLine is the environment, it is possible that they have met. handoff point for avoided potentially worse conditions due I thank you all for working with President’s messages, to the activities of conscientious lake me over the last year and I urge you so this will be the last managers. The problems are many but to continue to support and be actively one from me. One year the vector that our lakes are following involved with NALMS. Onwards.... is a very short term, with respect to lake health (if you want especially if there is a to call it that) may not be in a downward Bev Clark worked for 35 years with long wish list of things direction. It may not be unreasonable to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment to accomplish. It is ask for more than that but there are many conducting whole lake experiments at the not always possible to determine whether forces that tug on the lake management Dorset Environmental Science Center. He or not there have been gains over a short process. now works as an aquatic scientist with period and this is certainly the case with Can we say that things have changed Hutchinson Environmental Sciences in the general health of lakes. How much, either way in the last year – who knows? Bracebridge, Ontario. x for example, have they improved or I do know, however, that NALMS and the deteriorated over the past several years? Often we need to point to things such as new legislation that will be likely to improve our lakes (and sometimes the opposite) if we want to project whether or not we have made headway, over short periods, since the demonstration of effects can usually only be made over a span of many years. Over my career it seems like the adverse effects that are at the forefront change without warning on a 10- to 15-year cycle. In the beginning it was eutrophication. Then it switched, more or less without warning, to acidification, which swung the spotlight around to long- range transport of contaminants, which in turn led to a closer look at the atmosphere to define climate change as our most pressing problem. We didn’t predict any of these things, which would suggest that we have no idea what is coming next. All of these things influence the bellwethers that indicate trends in the general health of our lakes. I think we managed to improve our lakes from a eutrophication standpoint and we enacted agreements that greatly mitigated the effects of acid precipitation. Check us out at www.nalms.org! Winter 2011 / LAKELINE 7 The Spokane River and Riverfront Park provided a scenic setting for the 31st NALMS Symposium hotel and convention center (back right). Spokane Conference Summary From the Plains of Oklahoma in 2010, NALMS journeyed to Spokane, Washington and the Inland Northwest for its 31st International Symposium. The Washington State Lake Protection Association (WALPA) welcomed approximately 480 attendees from 44 states, 6 Canadian provinces, Australia, China, Japan, and Sweden to the 2011 Symposium, held October 26–28. The theme for this year’s symposium was “Diverse and Sustainable Lake Management,” and was kicked off by plenary talks by Washington State Representative, Andy Billig and Dr. John Stockner of the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre. Representative Billig was the prime sponsor of HB 1489, which was signed into law by Washington’s Governor in April 2011 and eliminates unnecessary phosphorus in lawn fertilizer. Dr. Stockner challenged attendees to seek out holistic and ecological management solutions for lake management issues to improve the health of the entire system, rather than solutions that may address short-term concerns, but don’t improve the long-term health of the lake ecosystem. 8 Winter 2011 / LAKELINE The technical program started event attracted a record number of 64 and emcee of the awards ceremony. on Tuesday with five pre-conference participants. Paul Gantzer from Kirkland, The Awards Banquet concluded with workshops on topics such as algal Washington was the overall winner with a entertainment, by The McManus identification, internal phosphorus loading time of 20 minutes, 36 seconds, which he Comedies, based on the writing of Patrick and alum treatments. The symposium did while running barefoot! Steph Neufeld McManus, a former editor of Field & program included an impressive array from Edmonton, Alberta led the women Stream and Outdoor Life. of 48 technical sessions, with 188 oral and came in second place overall with a NALMS and the host committee presentations and 40 poster presentations.