by Elynne Murray, ALMS Intern

 

For as long as I can remember, Dr. David Suzuki has been a permanent fixture in my home, whether on the television screen, over the radio, or in the newspaper. On October 31st I was excited to be among a packed audience at the University of Alberta's Meyer Horowitz theatre to welcome the famous environmentalist. Dr. Suzuki was in Edmonton as a part of the Letting in the Light Symposium on Public Water Policy, a tribute to the career and achievements of the renowned Dr. David Schindler. These two colleagues referred to themselves as elders, shared jokes and spoke of passing the torch to the next generation. When speaking of future plans, both expressed excitement at the possibility of offering a new, more powerful form of support which draws upon a lifetime of learning and becomes easier with the removal of professional agendas and investments.

 

The symposium brought together professionals from across Canada to speak on topics ranging from paleolimnology projects in the oil sands to the effects of acid rain and endocrine disruptors in our water bodies. The overarching theme of these talks was the importance of recognizing interconnectedness in our ecosystems and an appreciation for the bigger picture. The Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), formed in the 1970's, was built on this very concept and allowed Dr. Schindler and his colleagues to focus a lifetime of research on long-term whole lake studies and human influences on lake systems.

 

Presenter Dr. John Smol used the term "aquatic osteoporosis" to describe his findings on calcium deficiencies in lakes: a negative effect of acid rain which disrupts aquatic food-webs resulting in increased algal blooms despite constant nutrient levels. Is the birth control pill as effective on fish as it is on humans? Dr. Karen Kidd flew across Canada to answer this question in relation to her ELA studies on endocrine disrupters in the fathead minnow (the answer is yes, by the way). Dr. Hecky re-lived his experience with the whole-lake experiment at Lake 227 which, for the first time, proved controlling nitrogen and phosphorus to be effective at recovering lakes from eutrophication - the number one water quality problem across the globe.

 

The tone of the symposium was captured in the closing question to Dr. Suzuki on the first night. When asked for his perspective on a doom and gloom outlook towards the future of our environment he replied simply, "we do not yet know enough, to know the results". To environmental non-government organizations, researchers, stewardship groups, private industry and individuals, this should come as a message of hope - do not stop trying, for it is too soon to say what the collective impact of our efforts might achieve.

 

For a live recording of the symposium including power point materials, visit http://new.livestream.com/aict/water2013

By Arin MacFarlane Dyer, ALMS GM

 

The Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta is decommissioning the Meanook Biological Research Station and I got a call asking if we wanted some aerial photos of Wabamun Lake from 1970. My first thought was sure, that we would be interested and my second thought was sadness at the thought of Meanook closing down...

 

Meanook has been in existence since 1916 and operated as a geophysical station until 1979. At that time, 214 ha of land was declared surplus and was purchased by the Canadian Wildlife Service to create a National Wildlife Area. In 1983, the building site was transferred to the University of Alberta and was developed by what was then the Department of Zoology into a centre for aquatic and terrestrial research. Research programs were encouraged from the University of Alberta as well as other research, government, and private sector organizations. Meanook provided researchers and students with basic accommodations and meals as well as space for teaching, lab work, equipment storage, and quad and walking trails for training. Hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students have been trained there, including me and many ALMS members and supporters.

 

Students based out of Meanook have significantly contributed to our understanding of the functioning of Alberta lakes by collecting baseline as well as experimental data. For example, large coordinated programs such as TROLS (Terrestrial, Riparian, Organisms Lakes and Streams) project described the ecology of boreal aquatic ecosystems. Experimentation on lake management treatments such as oxygenation (Amisk) or liming (Halfmoon) were run out of the research station and helped to determine the feasibility of using these treatments for improving lake water quality. I believe we are in better position to protect and manage central and northern aquatic ecosystems because of all this research.

 

I've been told that field stations are difficult to run, and with essentially no University of Alberta researchers actively using the station it was difficult to fund and manage. Further, a fire in 2012 destroyed one of the main laboratories and essentially sealed its fate.

 

So I write this blog as a type of eulogy, so we can remember the contribution of this collection of buildings in this little patch of boreal forest towards the broader goals of ALMS.

By Bradley Peter, LakeWatch Coordinator

 

Interested in adding an item to your resume as a citizen scientist? Interested in better understanding your lake? IceWatch, a program of NatureWatch, is a volunteer monitoring program that collects freeze and thaw data from lakes across the country. Our lakes can act as important sentinels of climate change, so every data point we collect can add valuable information to our climate record. In addition, the timing of freeze and thaw events may have important implications on the growth of algae in our lakes. Already, arctic researchers have linked earlier ice-off dates to earlier spring algal blooms.

 

Becoming involved with IceWatch is simple. Visit the New User page to create your account, then read through the short How To and Identifying Ice sections for instructions on recording your observations. When ready, download the printable field sheet and start recording! 

 

Your data can be loaded directly to the IceWatch website or you can mail your observations to ALMS.

 

Have historical data you would like to upload? IceWatch wants that too! Just fill out a field sheet with your historical data and submit it as you would your current data.

 

Currently, IceWatch has very little freeze and thaw data from Alberta, but we can change that! If you are interested in getting involved, let me know at bradley.j.peter@gmail.com so we can add you to our IceWatch mailing list, and don't hesitate to contact us with any questions.

 

Happy IceWatching! 

Last week the Government of Alberta tabled legislation to create a new agency responsible for a comprehensive, science-based monitoring system. It is called the Alberta Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Agency (AEMERA). 

 

The arms-length agency established by Bill 31, Protecting Alberta's Environment Act, will oversee environmental monitoring across the province, beginning in the oil sands region.

 

Its centrally-coordinated system will integrate the monitoring, evaluation and reporting of air, land, water and biodiversity indicators. The province indicates the information gathered is meant to be scientifically credible and publicly accessible.

 

ALMS is very excited that the Government of Alberta is taking on this initiative. 

It will be critical now to make sure it is adequately resourced and funded and that the data is used to make decisions in an adaptive management framework.

The 5 minute clip (above) will be used and distributed around rural Alberta by the AWWOA as part of as a resource series to aid other Albertans as they address similar water challenges. 

Give it a watch, it might prove to be a resource to your watershed stewardship group and you just might recognize some of the people in the video!

 has published a series of fact sheets to showcase key learnings from recently completed projects. Click on the links to read:  

Non-Point Source Pollution

Partnerships

WFL Implementation Review

 

Mighty Peace Watershed Alliance Newsletter