2021 Achievement Award Recipients
The North American Lake Management Society, NALMS, recognizes individuals, teams, and organizations for their efforts and contributions to enhance management of lakes and reservoirs. Each year NALMS receives nomination letters from members and supporters lifting up their peers – individuals and groups – worthy of receiving recognition for their dedication to NALMS’ mission and/or for strides made in leadership, education, and lake management. It is with great honor that we share these nomination letters, as well as the 2021 award recipients recognized at the NALMS 41st annual symposium, held virtually this year.
Outgoing Officers & Directors
NALMS is a product of devoted individuals volunteering their time and efforts as officers and directors to advance the NALMS’ mission. Thank you outgoing officer and directors!
Officers
- Perry Thomas, Past President
Directors
- Chris Doyle, Region 2
- Colleen Prather, Region 12
Watch the 2021 Awards Video:
Jim Flynn Outstanding Corporation Award
The Jim Flynn Outstanding Corporation Award is given annually to recognize and honor the corporation considered to have made the most significant contributions to NALMS goals and objectives.
Aquarius Systems
Nominated by Dawn Klodd
I have been working for Aquarius Systems for 10 years and during that time, I have come to realize how important the NALMS organization and the overall health of the World’s waters are to our President, Jane Dauffenbach and in turn Aquarius Systems.
Aquarius Systems financially supports 21 organizations, including NALMS, ILMS, ML&SA, NYSFOLA and many others. We wish we could do even more financially! These organizations are so important to the overall health of the waterways and financially support their missions to protect them.
Not only do we offer financial support to those organizations, but we use our website and social media to promote those organizations and their events, showcase the important work that they do for the lakes, and help raise public awareness to not only the problems, but the achievements. Rarely do we pat ourselves on the back via social media or even our monthly newsletter, we tend to focus on important water issues. We share articles and other valuable information relating to lakes and waters.
On our website we have a wonderful Resource section that focuses on water related articles. It helps put some valuable information in one simple location. We have articles on water quality, lake vegetation management plans, aquatic invasive species control, water pollution, etc.
As a manufacturer, our direct impact on the lakes and watersheds may be minimal, but for almost 60 years the equipment we manufacture has helped clean and restores waters around the globe. We have 1000’s of customers that we support in any way possible; parts and service, offering advice, linking them with other customers having similar problems or simply congratulating them on removing a record amount of phosphorus from their harvesting efforts.
From weed removal, debris removal and wetland restoration, Aquarius Systems wants the World to know that we love our lakes and support those on the front lines making a difference. Our hope is to raise enough awareness to change the mindset that lakes aren’t landfills and invasive species stop spreading and that there is enough change so our equipment is no longer needed.
Leadership & Service Award:
Education & Outreach
Awards individuals or teams for design, facilitation, or performance of exceptional education and outreach activities supporting community understanding and appreciation of lake and reservoir management. Congratulations to our 2020 recipient!
Alberta Lake Management Society
Nominated by Michelle Gordy, North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance
For the last 30 years, the Alberta Lake Management Society (ALMS) has been working diligently to monitor and share lake health information across the province of Alberta, Canada, and to build strong community ties with its education and outreach activities. We, at the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance, a non-profit Watershed Planning and Advisory Council in Alberta, believe ALMS is truly deserving of the NALMS Leadership and Service Award for Education and Outreach, as their mission truly reflects the values and goals of NALMS, and their work, as described below, is exemplary. ALMS facilitates an extensive volunteer-based water quality monitoring LakeWatch program (now in its 25th year), involving local watershed volunteers and ALMS staff to collect information about their community lake or reservoir. Samples taken 4 times over the summer are analysed, and in turn, residents are informed about their lake’s water quality conditions and become empowered advocates for their local lake. The results are shared online through LakeWatch reports (www.alms.ca) and used to plan local and provincial lake management and restoration activities and further studies. Watershed stewardship groups involved with ALMS express high praise for the quality of the work and for the help received in preserving their lake. Over 100 unique lakes have been monitored since 1996, some with multi-year data. Through the dedication of the ALMS staff and volunteers, the LakeWatch program (2021: 26 Lakes, 35 volunteers, 450 volunteer hours) has grown into an exceptional outreach opportunity and educational tool. ALMS Summer (2021: 9 lakes, 12 volunteers, 100 volunteer hours) and Winter (2021: 48 locations on 41 lakes, 59 volunteers) LakeKeeper programs empower volunteers to independently monitor lakes for parameters important to ecological health. ALMS sends training manuals and monitoring equipment to LakeKeeper volunteers to collect data from their lake while they are ice-fishing. Data is collected and analysed by ALMS, and then shared through the DataStream web-portal (lakewinnipegdatastream.ca) for broader access. Involvement of citizens in monitoring allows for education/engagement of the individuals and their communities. ALMS also brings together community members, government leaders, NGOs, and industry leaders through their annual conference, and through webinars/presentations to local lake groups and other organizations. These outstanding educational opportunities allow lake/limnology experts to share current information and research. Networking between “lake-minded” people is highlighted. ALMS has also created a scholarship program to encourage and support students in disciplines related to lake management. Many of these students have gone on to careers in lake management related fields, and this multiplies the educational impact of ALMS. The work of ALMS led many local community groups to implement lake best management practices, start their own citizen science projects and set up collaborative lake interest activities. This exemplifies the broader impact of ALMS leadership. Overall, the work of ALMS has left a legacy in Alberta. Lake health has been improved with more awareness, more people engaged in lake preservation, sharing of reliable lake water quality data, and governments becoming supportive of lake management activities.
Advancements in Lake Management Techniques
CD3, General Benefit Corporation
Nominated by Edgar Rudberg
Until the invention of CD3 Systems, the economics of aquatic invasive species (AIS) decontamination strategies and AIS education/awareness campaigns were at a crossroads. This divide was driven by the cost to operate AIS decontamination sites and an inability to actualize low cost, proven prevention strategies of cleaning, draining drying and disposing of bait at a boat launch. Decontamination stations using heated, pressurized water can cost in excess of $80,000/year to operate due to the need for extensive maintenance and trained staff to run the stations. While cleaning, draining, drying and disposing of bait is a proven boater best management practice, physical adoption of these behaviors is often challenging due to the absence of tools for users to execute these BMPs.
As a potential solution to bridge this gap of economics and education, CD3 Systems (Clean Drain Dry, and Dispose) developed a suite of cleaning stations and digital resources to empower boaters themselves to stop the spread of invasive species. CD3 aggregated best in class AIS prevention techniques into the CD3 Systems. combining high functioning, utilitarian, self-service cleaning sites. We now have CD3 Systems installed at over 100 high traffic, high risk boat launches nationwide and have empowered over 1,000,000 AIS preventative behaviors.
Lake Management Success Stories
Awarded to individuals or organizations accomplishing successful lake management efforts. Nominees must show demonstrable improvements in lake conditions through lake and watershed management.
Lake Hopatcong Commission
Nominated by Kelsey Mattison, Princeton Hydro
The Lake Hopatcong Commission (LHC) and the Lake Hopatcong Foundation (LHF) have worked tirelessly to make Lake Hopatcong a safe and reliable place to live and recreate. After being challenged with several Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) the last two summers, causing beach closures and a harsh blow to the local economy, LHC and LHF worked together with Princeton Hydro and several project partners to implement unique and innovative techniques for combatting HABs. We would like to nominate LHC and LHF as a team for NALMS’ Lake Management Success Stories Achievement Award.
In 2019, as a result of short but intense storms followed by sunny weather throughout the month of June, many lakes in the Mid-Atlantic region experienced large-scale and long-lasting HABs. In freshwater systems, HABs are produced by cyanobacteria, which have the potential to produce cyanotoxins. These compounds can negatively impact the health of people, pets, livestock, and wildlife. These weather patterns resulted in some of the highest early summer total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in Lake Hopatcong in over 20 years. The mean June TP concentration was .043 mg/L; the last time it exceeded .04 was in 1999.
In 2020 and 2021, LHC worked with LHF; the four municipalities and two Counties in the Lake Hopatcong watershed; Rutgers University; and Princeton Hydro to develop a scope of work that was awarded funding that implemented and evaluated a variety of innovative, nearshore projects to address HABs and limit the availability of phosphorus. These projects included a large nutrient inactivation treatment with PhosLock; the use of an alternative non-copper-based algaecide; installation and monitoring of Biochar to remove phosphorus from the water and stormwater; and installation of various nearshore aeration systems and floating wetland islands.
The first project implemented was the application of Phoslock, a clay-based nutrient inactivating technology, in 50 acres of the lake. After Phoslock is applied, it sinks through the water column, binding phosphate as it moves towards the sediment. Once settled at the bottom of the lake, it forms a thin layer and continues to bind phosphate released from the sediment, controlling the release of phosphorus into the lake. The second innovative technique utilized was the implementation of biochar bags/socks. Biochar
has been known to improve water quality by removing dissolved phosphorus from fresh waterbodies, limiting algal growth and reducing the likelihood of HABs. Biochar can be placed in floatation balls, cages, or sacks, which are then tethered along the shoreline and in critical locations throughout the waterbody, like where an inlet enters a lake.
These efforts, in addition to the LHC updating the lake’s Watershed Implementation Plan with funds provided through the NJ Highlands Council, have already produced positive results. As previously mentioned, the 2019 mean June TP concentration was .043 mg/L. In contrast, the 2020 and 2021 mean June TP concentrations were .033 and .020 mg/L., respectively. Thus, all of the in-lake and watershed efforts of the LHC and associated stakeholders have had a positive impact on reducing available phosphorus and, in turn, reducing the size and magnitude of HABs on Lake Hopatcong. It is for this reason that we are nominating the LHC and LHF team for the Lake Management Success Stories Achievement Award.