The ALMS Board of Directors will be writing a regular column for our monthly newsletter.  This is the first issue of this new article.  We call it "A Corner of the Board" because it gives Board members a small and very open corner to tell you about something of our choosing related to lakes, water, wetlands or riparian areas.  Or we may just talk about ourselves so that you can learn about the broad range of interests the Board members have and the diverse backgrounds we come from. The column could be an outreach initiative, it could promote advocacy or just be an editorial opinion about a current issue in Alberta. In addition, you are invited to respond with an opinion or query and our editorial board may post your letter or comments in a subsequent issue.  Today before I start I want to tell you that as VP of ALMS I look forward to the increased interaction between ALMS, our general membership and the public at large that this column hopes to generate. ~ Sheldon Helbert, ALMS V.P.

For our first column I have the privilege of telling you about our annual workshop and AGM that was held in Cold Lake from the evening of September 26 through the afternoon of September 28, 2012. It was hosted at the Lakewood Inn with over 100 people participating from Alberta and Saskatchewan.  Every year we move the 

event to a different region of the province and build on a different theme current to Albertans and society.  We also partner with one or more local organizations and this year we were fortunate enough to team up with the Moose Lake Watershed Society. Speakers represent the technical aspects of the theme and include university professors and graduate students.  Speakers also include provincial and federal government authorities that present the ongoing work they do and what activities, programs and initiatives they might be involved in.  We also welcome NGO speakers that represent grass roots organizations and they often speak of the trials and tribulations they face in managing their lakes and watersheds as well as their success stories. Occasionally, municipalities make a presentation that is always interesting because urban areas typically have the greatest land use pressures on their lakes, ponds and wetlands.  Finally, we have participation from industry in two main sectors, oil and gas and land development. This year was no exception and I will highlight a few of these talks to show the reader how diverse and engaging these talks are.  My apologies if your presentation was not included, there were just too many to be able to include them all.  Please visit our website for a full outline of speakers, their presentations and biographies.

The event starts Thursday night with registration, wine, cheese and a guest plenary speaker.  This year Dr. Rolf Vinebrooke spoke of the history and trends of eutrophication on Prairie lakes and ponds.  It is clear from the evidence that our nutrient rich soils often lead to algal blooms.  He discussed some of the factors that influence agal blooms, the different characteristics of a variety of algal species and an experiment to remediate the unwanted algal blooms in Alberta.   

Over the next day and a half we heard from a number of different speakers.  The interest in this year's workshop was high enough that we had to run concurrent sessions Friday afternoon. Some of the speakers and their topics included Dr. William Shotyk (University of Alberta) discussing the natural removal of arsenic from water using peat materials. We heard from Richard Casey (Government of Alberta) on the long-term water quality of the lakes in the Beaver River watershed.  George Walker (independent) informed us of how video can be used as a tool to assess lakeside riparian areas.  Dr. Jen Russel-Houston (Osum Oil Sands Corp) updated the audience on the latest and greatest advances in using saline waters for SAGD operations.  Judy Stewart (one of ALMS own Board members) provided the stewardship groups with a series of pointers on how to critically examine lakeshore subdivision development proposals. The eminent Dr. Halliday (independent) who has been on the IJC and Prairie Province Water Board spoke of the upcoming report on the state of the Beaver River Watershed.  Larry Kuchmak (government of Alberta) gave an informative talk on the Water Act and how it applies o lakeshore development along with insight from his long career dealing with water issues.  Dwayne Rowlett (Saskatchewan Watershed Authority) spoke of a case study where lakeshore residents moved lock stock and barrel from their shorlines in order to restore a lake to its former size that would have inundated their properties. Sandi Riemersma (Palliser Environmental) spoke of provincial and international trans-boundary issues in the Milk River Watershed. Brent Welsh (Government of Alberta) spoke of the natural levels of uranium that occur in groundwater in the Beaver River Watershed.  

At our AGM, Lauren Bortolotti, who is the recipient of the ALMS annual graduate student scholarship, spoke about her research on the success and failures of prairie wetland restoration projects.  Friday Night at the banquet, after indulging in the most tasteful dinner, Dr Hamid Habibi gave an enjoyable and informative talk on the new Institute of Environmental Toxicity (University of Calgalry). It is a good thing Dr Habibi spoke because it gave everyone the chance to digest their dinner before stepping up to dance to the country music of Hiway 55 until the wee hours.  You know a good time was had by all by the look on their somewhat tired but happy faces standing around the coffee urn in the next morning.  After the conference we had an afternoon field trip with close to 60 participants.  It included a visit to the shores of Jesse Lake to see first hand the some issues of invasive plants and a visit to a very well planned shoreline development on Moose Lake.  The developers at Wood Creek Resort fed us a wonderful hot meal and gave us the tour of their eco-responsible development. 

It was a good networking event, the workshop was informative, lots of open discussion, good audience participation, and lots of fun!  Kellie Nichiporik and Kay Lee Kinch, from the Moose Lake Watershed Society, led a stewardship group show and share in the pub and Steph Neufeld, our ALMS president, even led us on an easy run through meadows and trails on Friday afternoon after the AGM; we had so much fun we plan to do this again next year.  Of course it would not have been a success without the financial supporters, like Wood Creek Development, MD of Bonnyville, Beaver River Watershed Alliance, Lakeland Agricultural Research Association, Government of Alberta, Homegrown Hydroseeding, Aquality, Max Mechanical, and MPI Oilfield.

Thanks to all participants, the caterers, the music band, members of the Moose Lake Watershed Society, and last but not least, the work of the ALMS staff for a great three days. Until next year, be well, have fun, be safe.  

Sheldon Helbert is the ALMS V.P.  He has been in the environmental sector for over 25 years and is presently running his own consulting firm.