NALMS 2019: Watershed Moments
NALMS and the New England Chapter of NALMS welcomed more than 600 attendees from throughout the US, Canada and seven other countries to a snowy Burlington, Vermont November 11–15 for NALMS’ 39th International Symposium.
The week started on Monday with a very full day of 15 workshops and a field trip. In addition to the traditional pre-symposium workshops, Monday’s program included a Lake & Watershed Stewards Program designed for volunteer lake leaders such as conservation commission members, lake and watershed group leaders and members, lakeside residents, as well as volunteer monitors and program coordinators. Workshops were held at the Davis Center on the neighboring University of Vermont (UVM) campus, at the UVM Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory, as well as at the conference hotel, the DoubleTree by Hilton Burlington Vermont.
Attendees take shelter from the snow at the welcome reception held at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. Photo by Todd Tietjen
Monday evening, as snow fell, we welcomed new and returning NALMS members and other symposium attendees with a reception on the shores of Lake Champlain at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain.
Attendees started the symposium on Tuesday with a plenary session featuring Doug Tallamy, a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. Dr. Tallamy’s talk focused on the specialized relationships between animals and plants in the ecosystem and how our yards and gardens are essential parts of those ecosystems. If you missed the symposium, you may still view Dr. Tallamy’s presentation on the Lake Champlain Basin Program’s YouTube channel.
The three-day technical program included approximately 240 oral presentations and 45 poster presentations. Special sessions covered topics such as source water protection and management, salt, phosphorus inactivation, lake restoration, paleolimnology, aquatic invasive species, monitoring, harmful algal blooms, and professional ethics.
A little snow and ice can’t stop Clean Lakes Classic participants. Photo by Todd Tietjen
Last year it was pouring rain, this year snow and ice for the annual Clean Lakes Classic 5K run. No matter the conditions, NALMS runners are an intrepid bunch. The trail conditions weren’t ideal, but that didn’t stop 36 runners from participating. Christopher Lee from Boulder, Colorado was the overall winner, while Anne Carroll from Boston was highest placed female runner.
Linda Green receives the 2019 Secchi Disk Award from 2018 recipient Gertrud Nürnberg. Photo by Todd Tietjen
Our annual awards festivities were held on Wednesday night and recognized the accomplishments and contributions of NALMS members and other worthy recipients to lake management. The Secchi Disk Award, the Society’s most prestigious award, given to a member who has made extraordinary contributions to the goals and objectives of the Society was bestowed upon Linda Green.
We also took a moment to look ahead to the 2020 NALMS Symposium where we’ll reconvene in Minneapolis, Minnesota to celebrate NALMS’ 40th anniversary.
Thank you to all who attended this year’s symposium! We look forward to seeing you next November in Minnesota for NALMS 2020!