Freshwater Society

We all have a special lake.  Maybe you have a cabin next to it, maybe it's in the city and you visit it all the time, or maybe you've only been there once. But your memories of it are fond ones.  Whatever your reason, Conservation Minnesota wants to know what lake matters to you and why.

Photographs and videos will be collected through Sept. 6, 2010 for a "This Lake Matters" contest.

All submissions must legibly include the words "This Lake Matters," and feel free to get creative!  After September 6, Conservation Minnesota will pick five finalist images, giving weight to the number of Flickr comments a photo or video receives.

To become a finalist, the photographer or videographer may need to submit, if requested, an Image release and a release with the signatures of all subjects in the Image.  If the contestant or subjects are under 18, their parent or legal guardian must sign Conservation Minnesota's release.  You must agree to all terms and conditions to be eligible.

The finalist Images will be posted on the Conservation Minnesota web site.  Web visitors will then have a chance to vote for their favorite finalist Image (photograph or video) from Sept. 15 through Sept. 30.   The photograph or video with the most votes will be awarded a Flip Camera.

http://checkmylake.org/lake/what/?subsec=237

Symposium set June 21-24 on biocontrol of invasives

Water attitudes survey extended

Ice-out on Lake Minnetonka declared April 2

About 200 people - environmentalists and farmers - took part in an all-day conference on agriculture and water quality sponsored by the Izaak Walton League in partnership with the Freshwater Society.

The March 27 conference was aimed at trying to reach some common understanding of the contentious issue of pollution caused by agricultural production, especially farm drainage.

Are you one of the many people who closely follow -- for fun, or perhaps for profit -- the day Lake Minnetonka becomes ice-free? If so, you will be interested in a calendar of ice-out dates, compiled by the Freshwater Society, from 1855 through 2010.

Forget cloud seeding. Forget building more dams. Forget piping Great Lakes water to the Southwest. Figure out how to save most of the 6 billion or so gallons of drinking water-quality water that Americans flush down their toilets each day. And, most important of all, put a price on water that reflects its importance and will persuade individuals and businesses to buy and sell the right to use water.

Robert Glennon and Deborah Swackhamer

That was the message author Robert Glennon delivered to about 250 people who attended his lecture Feb. 22 at the University of Minnesota.

Glennon, whose most recent book is Unquenchable: America's Water crisis and What to Do About It, delivered a lecture sponsored by the Freshwater Society and the university's College of Biological Sciences.

His talk was the first in what will be a four-part lecture series - the Moos Family Speaker Series - that is part of 2010 - The Year of Water, a yearlong celebration of water organized by the Freshwater Society.

Three longtime citizens groups in the Minnesota River Basin - Friends of the Minnesota Valley, Coalition for a Clean Minnesota River and Clean Up the River Environment - are collaborating on "Working Together for the Minnesota River," a project designed to accelerate the clean-up of the Minnesota River. Subtitled "Collaboration Through Communication," the project has two major components:

• A video documentary about the history of the river from Glacial Lake Agassiz to the present, including an overview of current pollution problems and restoration activities. Produced in collaboration with Ron Schara Productions, the documentary will be presented statewide on commercial television, and it will be distributed on DVD to schools and other organizations throughout the basin.
• A "Web 2.0" website that will enable academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, businesses, and the general public to access and contribute information about the Minnesota River Basin. The centerpiece of the site will be an interactive map providing information about all public lands and restoration activities throughout the basin. An iPhone version of the map will be produced so that people can use it while on the road.

The project was endorsed by acclamation at the January meeting of the Minnesota River Watershed Alliance and is also supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which awarded the project a $10,000 challenge grant; the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; the Water Resource Center at Minnesota State University Mankato; the U.S. Geological Survey's Minnesota Water Science Center; the Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter; and the High Island Creek & Rush River Watershed Implementation Projects.

Visit http://mnriver.org to see a 3-minute video describing the project. For more information, contact Friends of the Minnesota Valley board member John Hickman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .