As the temperature drops across Alberta and the ice begins to form, lakes that, only a few months ago, teemed with boats, swimmers, fishermen, and sunbathers transform to accommodate ice fishing, skating, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing. It is a serene sight to see a snow covered lake on a crisp, sunny winter's day. But this view belies the activities that are going on under the ice. The water may be calm, but many of the largest changes in water chemistry and animal and plant activity occur during the winter.

 

Ice-cover nearly seals off the lake system, forcing its inhabitants to cope with drastic changes in water chemistry, habitat, and food availability - Changes can be unique to each individual lake and may vary greatly from year to year:

• Temperature profiles change from warm to cold from surface to bottom to cold to warm(er)
• Dissolved oxygen levels are continually reduced over the ice-covered months -Fish kills result when levels go below critical thresholds
• Algal abundance is greatly reduced
• Zooplankton (aka fish food) are less abundant due to less algae
• Fish are forced to crowd in areas of sufficient dissolved oxygen and compete for limited food   

Of course, native fish and invertebrate populations have had 10,000 yeas since the last glaciation to adapt to life in Alberta lakes. Changes which man creates, however, can quickly and profoundly alter the state of a lake. Sewage, wastewater and fertilizers can increase a lake's productivity, raising oxygen demand. Higher oxygen demand can cause lakes which normally support fish year-round to become anoxic, causing winterkill to possibly occur on a regular basis. Sediment and pollutants released into a lake can further stress animals living there during this time of year. Maintaining a healthy lake requires us to remember that scummy water, dense weeds and pollution are not just summer problems, but that the source of these problems affect the lake in winter as well, sometimes more profoundly. To read the full article by Mark Serediak click here

ALMS staff and members were well represented at this year's North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) Symposium in Spokane with six members attending, including ALMS president Steph Neufeld and long-term director Al Sosiak. Congrats to Steph who finished second overall (1st in women's) in the Clean Lakes Classic race. We would also like to congratulate Al who was is the newly appointed president of NALMS!  

The theme of this symposium was Diverse and Sustainable Lake Management. We all certainly learned a lot about how diverse the issues facing lake management and mangers are. For example, we were able to take part in full-day training courses on internal phosphorus loading and algal identification. ALMS was also chosen to give a presentation on the soon-to-be released Lake Management Framework. The technical and poster sessions covered a diverse range of topics including cyanobacteria, boating, in-lake treatments, water chemistry and several presentations on stewardship and volunteer monitoring programs from across North America.  

We look forward to bringing you much of this information through articles in the New Wave in the coming year. 

 

 The Battle River Watershed Alliance (BRWA) has just  released the  "State of the Battle River and Sounding  Creek Watersheds Report 2011". This summary report  provides an overview of the current ecological, social  and economic conditions in these watersheds. You can  download a copy of the report here. This watershed  contains well known lakes such as Battle and Pigeon and  many other shallow prairie lakes.   

 

ALMS has created two intern positions: a Communications position and an AWQA Day support position within the Serving Communities Internships Program (SCiP). This is a program for students to get involved in an initiative or program within a non-profit organization. The internships are for full-time students and are meant to be complementary to, not to replace, a student's course load. Upon completion of the internship the student will receive a $1000 bursary from Alberta Advanced Education and Technology. To apply please visit the SCiP internship search page.

Now accepting applications for a $1000 Scholarship to support a student studying lakes and/or their watersheds within Alberta. Click here for more information and to apply. Deadline is February 1, 2012.