By Scott Williams
VLMP Executive Director
A number of volunteer lake monitors have expressed interest in expanding their knowledge and capabilities for monitoring their lakes through advanced training options. Many have indicated an interest in learning to link the data that they gather on the water with conditions in the lake watershed. Others are concerned about the potential effects of global climate change on their lakes. The VLMP will offer two new workshops in 2010 to provide volunteers with information to help them gather holistic data for their lakes and watersheds:
Monitoring Your Lake Watershed: How to Identify, Monitor and Mitigate Ways in Which Watershed Land Use Influences Lake Water Quality
Virtually all of the natural characteristics of a lake are influenced by the land area, commonly known as the watershed, that drains to the lake. But human activities that alter the natural protective features of lake watersheds can result in serious degradation of water quality and aquatic habitat over time, unless conservation measures are taken to protect the lake.
Kezar Lake & a portion of its surrounding watershed
The workshop will focus on the following topics:
How to Identify your lake watershed (lake-specific watershed maps will be provided for each attendee)
Lake and watershed connectivity: understanding how pollutants travel through the watershed to the lake
How land use influences water quality: a discussion of how different land uses affect the lake, including the short and long-term effects of watershed development on water quality
Surveying and monitoring the effect of watershed land use on lake water quality: How to conduct and document the findings of a lake watershed survey
The use of conservation practices to minimize the effect of watershed development
Lake and watershed stewardship: Ways in which volunteer lake monitors can foster lake protection at the community level
The workshop will include a site walk through a local lake watershed. We will discuss guidelines for conducting a lake watershed survey, including options for seeking financial support. This workshop will be offered in the early summer of 2011.
Monitoring the Effects of Climate Change on Lakes: An Overview of Ways in Which Warming May Influence Lake Ecosystems, and How You Can Help Document The Effects
There is overwhelming, credible scientific data indicating that our climate is warming. As air temperatures and lake water warms, many of the existing threats to the health of our lakes will likely be exacerbated, and a number of new threats are likely to emerge. VLMP volunteer monitors are already providing data for many of the most important indicators of climate change on lakes, including Secchi transparency, temperature and dissolved oxygen data, and other indicators of lake productivity. This workshop will provide an overview of the ways in which Maine’s lakes are likely to be affected by climate warming, the implications of these changes, and ways in which volunteers can document them.
A few of the topics to be discussed in the workshop include:
The effect of warming on lake ecosystems
Potential changes in lake productivity, resulting from warmer water, including greater algae growth, reduced water clarity and lower concentrations of dissolved oxygen
The effect of more severe storm events on stormwater runoff from lake watersheds
Invasive and native plant proliferation—it is not going to get better if the water is warmer
The apparent increase in metaphyton (aka: green cotton candy) in lakes: An early indicator of warming? How can we monitor this phenomenon?
What can you do to monitor changes in your lake?
The first workshop on the influence of climate change on lakes will take place in summer, 2011
Climate Change & Water Resources
Slides from US EPA
The following link provides a good overview of the effects of climate change on water resources in the U.S:
http://water.epa.gov/learn/training/wacademy/upload/2009_10_27_slides.pdf
Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program
vlmp@mainevlmp.org
24 Maple Hill Road, Auburn, ME 04210
(207) 783-7733
www.MaineVolunteerLakeMonitors.org
copyright 2010 Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program | website comments to: vlmp@mainevlmp.org
