BCLSS Loonie News - August 2021

BCLSS Newsletter

August 2021 

*reposted with permission*

Lake Life: What is a Seiche? A seiche is a standing wave oscillating in a body of water, like the water that sloshes back and forth in a bathtub or cup of water when disturbed. They typically occur in enclosed waterbodies such as lakes, reservoirs, or even swimming pools. These waves can be surface waves or internal waves.  What causes a seiche? They are typically caused by strong winds and rapid changes in atmospheric pressure that push water from one end of a water body to the other. After the wind event, the water rebounds to the other side of the enclosed area and continues to oscillate back and forth for hours or even days, depending on the size of the lake.  Seiches may be noticed under ordinary water conditions as a result of periodic changes in water level or underwater currents associated with the oscillating movement. At some locations and times, these sea-level oscillations and currents may produce hazardous or even destructive conditions. Internal waves form that can be as high as 10 to 30 meters, all unseen from the lake surface.  Seiche waves generate currents and turbulence that rhythmically flow back and forth. These currents can cause bottom water to come to the surface, and can also mobilize lake sediments and carry them into the water. To learn more about seiches, watch the video from Larratt Aquatic Consulting Ltd.  References National Ocean Service, NOAA, What is a seiche? 3 March 2021 https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/seiche.html Stevens, C. L., & Lawrence, G. A. (1997). Estimation of wind-forced internal seiche amplitudes in lakes and reservoirs, with data from British Columbia, Canada. Aquatic Sciences, 59(2), 115-134. https://bit.ly/3dbjUV1  Members Needed for the BCLSS AGM We still need more members to register for the Annual General Meeting!  In order for us to reach quorum at the AGM, we require a minimum of 17 members in good standing. The BCLSS AGM will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, September 29th from 12 pm – 1 pm PDT. Please register here. An agenda and AGM package will be emailed to you upon registration. If you have any questions, please contact us. Call for Secchi Dip-In Data   Did you participate in Secchi Dip-In this year? If so, please submit your completed forms on our website or send to marie@bclss.org by September 30th, 2021. If you took Secchi readings as part of the BC Lake Stewardship and Monitoring Program during the month of July, you can use that data to participate in the Secchi Dip-In, just fill out this form and submit. The Secchi Dip-In provides a snapshot of lake water quality throughout the province as well as the rest of the world. Scientists and volunteers can get a sense of how transparency varies according to water type, regional geology, and land use. Thank you to those who have already sent in their forms! So far we have received data from over 30 lakes across BC.  BCLSS Q & A Session Are you interested in learning more about the BCLSS and how we can help protect your local lake? Do you have questions about lake water quality and ecology? Would you like to know more about our programs and how you can participate? Join our Q and A Session on Wednesday, October 13th at 12 pm (PDT) to have your questions answered! Register here:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdOmrpjgpHtZYWql60sQheiNFfga13XG1 Grant Applications Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation Stewardship Grants HCTF recognizes the importance of environmental stewardship and invests in projects that create stewards. Stewards include individuals, practitioners, and community organizations who take responsibility for promoting, monitoring, conserving, and restoring ecosystems to ultimately result in enduring conservation outcomes for fish and wildlife and their habitats. HCTF prefers stewardship projects that create stewards through community-based, hands on engagement programs, including Citizen Science. Stewardship projects may include some on-the-ground components such as habitat restoration. Each year, HCTF provides approximately $600,000 in Stewardship Grants. There is no upper limit on funding requests but there is a 5-year limit to project funding. Stewardship Grant budgets typically range from $10,000 to over $80,000 annually, with an average grant of approximately $30,000. To learn more about this funding opportunity, visit the HCTF website.  BC Conservation & Biodiversity Awards This initiative is designed to support work to preserve our province’s pristine natural wilderness. Every year grants will be awarded of $10,000 to $50,000 to organizations and ideas making the greatest positive impact on the future of B.C. in these areas: - Land and ocean-based initiatives - Clean air and water initiatives - Climate change initiatives Academic and science-based studies targeting the environment and preservation of wilderness and biodiversity award applications are accepted throughout the calendar year to December 31, with the annual award winners then chosen by the Selection Committee and announced on March 1st of the following year. To learn more and apply for funding, click here.  Announcements and Reminders ALMS 2021 Fall Webinar Series This year ALMS is hosting a webinar series to learn from experts from across North America on various lake related topics! This series will showcase presentations every Friday morning from September 10th - October 1st. Registration can be achieved through EventBrite. To view the webinar agenda and watch recordings of past webinars, visit the ALMS website here.  CALMS 2021: 36th Annual Symposium  The California Lake Management Society will be hosting their annual conference on Zoom from Oct 4th to Oct 7th. Talks will begin at 12:00 and 12:30 daily. Presenters, topics and Zoom links will be posted here as they become available. To participate in the 2021 conference, click here to register.  2021 Go Fish BC Photo Contest The annual photo contest hosted by Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC is on again! Share your photos of fishing in B.C. and go in the running to win cash prizes and a weekly prize pack.  Categories:  1. Luck on the Lake – for photos of anglers in action on lakes in B.C.  2. Fishing Buddies – for photos of your fishing buddy in action, whether it be a family member, friend, or pet 3. First Catch – for photos of a first catch - this can be first fish ever caught, first of a particular species caught, or first fish of the season.  Prizes: For each category, the following cash prizes will be awarded: 1st Prize: $300 2nd Prize: $150 3rd Prize: $75 To learn more and submit photos, click here! Deadline to submit photos is October 31st, 2021.  S’amunu Make a Difference Day  Please join the WildWings Nature & Art Festival community volunteers for a community cleanup of the S’amunu watershed streams. The Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society recently completed assessing the condition of the S’amunu/Somenos watershed streams and discovered that the most pressing issue is the amount of garbage in these streams and riparian corridors. The 2nd annual S’amunu Make a Difference Day is the day teams of volunteers, guided by Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society staff, clean up the mess left by others. Last year over 600kgs of garbage was removed. The SMWS hopes to double this effort this year. To register, visit their website here.  Stewardship Centre for BC Green Shores Survey Take the quick survey organized by the Stewardship Centre for BC and TransCoastal Adaptations #GreenShores and nature-based solutions for shoreline management. Visit this link to complete the survey and leave your email to be entered into a draw for a chance to win a compostable Pela Case for your phone. This survey runs all through September. A winner will be announced on October 1st!  NSWA Watershed Wednesdays Join the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance for Watershed Wednesdays this fall - an online speaker series the first Wednesday of each month (noon to 1 pm) on a variety of watershed topics including wetlands, whirling disease, and water quality. To register, click here.  Watersheds Canada September Webinars Shoreline Assessment Webinar: Sept 22. Have you ever wondered how to naturalize your shoreline? What should you and your family be looking for on your property that might impact water quality and wildlife habitat availability? Chloe and Monica from Watersheds Canada will walk you through a property assessment to show you what our staff look for on a property that can help protect freshwater health and provide crucial habitat for wildlife. Click here to register. Invasive Species in Your Watershed: Sept 29. This webinar will touch on what makes a species invasive, pathways of spread, call to actions, and how to report sightings of invasive species. Click here to register.

News and Information Why the North Saskatchewan River has gone from brown to blue 5 mistakes you could be making with your cottage septic system Lots of beer cans and sunglasses — cleaning up B.C. lakes is a labour of love for these divers Switch-to-cold laundry campaign set for launch in Metro Vancouver to fight microplastics pollution The World's Two Oldest Common Loons Are a Couple—and Amazing Parents 6 tiny turtles released into mud of Grindstone Creek — the last from 59 nests rescued this year Nitrate levels climbing in P.E.I. rivers Should you be removing the weeds from your lake? Australian bush fires belched out immense quantity of carbon EcoSuperior rain garden in Thunder Bay to help reduce water flowing to city storm sewer ‘A lot of salmon died’: Ahousaht Guardians look to watershed restoration amid B.C.’s dangerously dry summer Not a member of the BCLSS yet? Please consider joining our network of lake stewards! For more information on the benefits of membership, please visit our website. Thank you to LUSH for funding the BC Lake Stewardship Engagement Initiative.  The BCLSS gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Government of British Columbia through the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.

BCLSS Loonie News - August 2021

BCLSS Newsletter August 2021 *Reposted with permission*

The Importance of Measuring Dissolved Oxygen and Temperature in Lakes Oxygen is essential to nearly all organisms on earth including life in lakes. Given that fish breathe oxygen dissolved in water (referred to as dissolved oxygen or DO), the sport fisheries and healthy aquatic ecosystems that many of us enjoy, are absolutely dependent on water having an adequate supply of DO. Its concentration also has a great effect on the biochemical nature of a lake. Long-term changes in oxygen concentration, especially at the lake bottom, can markedly affect nutrient availability and alter the productivity of the entire lake. As such, oxygen is one of the most important resources influencing lake management and its measurement should be part of any lake sampling program.  What is Dissolved Oxygen? Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is the amount of oxygen (O2 ) molecules that are dissolved into the water. The amount of O2 that is dissolved in a lake depends on several factors including the mixing that occurs during the overturn of a lake, the amount of wind action a lake experiences, the temperature of the lake, the number of plants that photosynthesize in the lake, and daily fluctuation patterns.  The transfer of oxygen from the air to the lake is facilitated by increasing the surface area exposed to the atmosphere. The surface area of a water body in contact with the atmosphere is increased by wind-driven waves and ripples, as well as by forcing water into droplets by splashing over obstacles or forcing through a fountain, for example.  While O2 transfer to a water body is primarily through the atmosphere, photosynthesis by aquatic plants also plays a role in the amount of DO in a lake. The net effect on DO concentration is usually very small or neutral since comparable amounts of DO are consumed by these same organisms at night through respiration, when photosynthesis is not actively occurring. In addition to the respiration needs of photosynthetic organisms during darkness, oxygen within the system is also consumed through aerobic respiration by other organisms including: aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates, and bacterial and fungal communities involved in degrading dead plants and animals.  How do DO and temperature change throughout a lake? Oxygen concentrations and cycling are mainly dependent on the lake thermal stratification patterns which are seasonally variable. Thermal stratification is a physical response to the effect of solar heating to water’s properties of temperature and density. Generally, water density decreases as temperature increases. Warm water is less dense than cold water so it will be found towards the surface and cold water will be found near the bottom of the lake. If this held true for the winter, ice would form on the bottom of lakes. Ice, floats due to the expanded volume of water molecules when in the solid, crystal phase. Because water expands as it freezes, ice is slightly less dense and a bit lighter than water. Therefore, water is most dense at 4°C – not at 0°C when it freezes.  During the spring and fall, lakes become completely mixed when temperatures are similar top to bottom, and wind energy overcomes the reduced temperature and density differences between surface and bottom waters. Water temperature and density are similar throughout the lake depth and a complete mixing of water, oxygen, and nutrients can occur. This is called turnover. With the onset of summer, the lake’s vertical oxygen profile will begin to change as the lake warms and separates into layers controlled by temperature and thus water density (Figure 1). The upper layer of water will have contact with atmospheric oxygen and light allowing for diffusion of oxygen into the water and oxygen production by photosynthetic action of rooted aquatic plants and algae. This oxygen will not, however, be available to underlying waters. Waters of the lower layers in the lake have no contact with oxygen during the summer and are too dark to support most photosynthetic plants. The thermocline is found in the middle of the lake and is defined by a temperature change of at least 1°C per vertical meter and marks the transition between the top and bottom layers. This temperature/density gradient can be very sharp and can effectively prevent the mixing of the top and bottom layers.  Figure 1. Lake stratification in the summer The depth of the thermocline and overall lake stratification depends on factors including the local climate and the size and depth of a lake. In order to capture changes in the water column, DO and temperature should be measured every 1 meter from the surface to the lake bottom at regular intervals throughout the ice-free portion of the year.   Why take dissolved oxygen and temperature profiles? A profile is done by measuring DO and T at regular intervals (e.g., every meter from the lake surface to 1 m above the lake bottom). By developing an understanding of what DO and temperature look like from the surface to the bottom of the lake, more insight can be gained concerning the health of the lake. With climate warming, it is becoming increasingly important to document DO and T profiles for lakes in order to better predict locations and time periods that may experience increased or decreased DO concentrations in relation to changing temperatures.  How to take DO and temperature profiles? The best way to measure DO and temperature in a water column is to use an oxygen meter which measures the amount of dissolved oxygen in an aqueous solution and has a built-in thermometer so that temperature can be recorded with every DO reading. There are other methods available to measure DO such as the Winkler method, however, these methods are more cumbersome, time consuming, and more prone to user error, making it challenging to obtain an accurate profile of a lake. DO instruments can be purchased at a reasonable cost and are relatively easy to use by lake stewards, requiring  only a short training session. Conclusion When assessing water quality and the health of a lake, dissolved oxygen is one of the most important parameters as it is essential for the survival of aquatic organisms. When oxygen becomes too low, fish and other aquatic organisms become stressed and may die. Nutrient availability and productivity of the entire lake rely on the concentration of DO in a lake, so it is important to monitor for changes in order to implement best management practices.  By taking profiles of a lake, it may be possible to detect changes to the depth of the thermocline, or changes in the time of lake turnover, which can have marked effects on DO and nutrient cycling. Due to the sensitivity of lakes and lake ecosystems to climate change, it is important that proactive measures be taken to better predict how lakes throughout BC will respond. The more lakes that provide temperature and DO profiles, the more data points there will be for different regions and lake characteristics so that steps can be taken to mitigate impacts or provide information in advance of an extreme shift.   If you would like to learn more about monitoring dissolved oxygen and temperature changes in your lake, contact the BCLSS for information. References British Columbia Lake Stewardship Society (2021). Chapter Three: An Introduction to Lakes, LakeKeepers Manual 2021 Edition, accessed May 2021.  Wilson, P. C. (2010). Water Quality Notes: Dissolved Oxygen. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension (IFAS). University of Florida. EDIS, 2010(2), retrieved May 2021 from https://bit.ly/3yfBW1E YSI Inc. (2021). Dissolved Oxygen Measurement in Water with Oxygen Meters, retrieved May 2021 from https://bit.ly/3uQ5i4i Volunteer on the BCLSS Board of Directors  Would you like to work towards preserving and protecting lakes while gaining valuable leadership skills and learning more about environmental non-profits and stewardship groups? If so, volunteering on the BCLSS Board of Directors could be a great opportunity for you. Please see here for more information and requirements. Letters of intent and nominations are due by September 17, 2021. There will be no nominations from the floor at the AGM, which will be held on September 29 from 12 pm - 1 pm PDT via Zoom. Please register for the AGM here. Call for Secchi Dip-In Data Did you participate in Secchi Dip-In this year? If so, please submit your completed forms on our website or send to marie@bclss.org. If you took Secchi readings as part of the BC Lake Stewardship and Monitoring Program during the month of July, you can use that data to participate in the Secchi Dip-In, just fill out this form and submit. The Secchi Dip-In provides a snapshot of lake water quality throughout the province as well as the rest of the world. Scientists and volunteers can get a sense of how transparency varies according to water type, regional geology, and land use. Thank you to those who have already sent in their forms! So far we have received data from over 30 lakes across BC. Lake Blitz Update The Lake Blitz has been active since the May long weekend, the project kicked off with the launch of the Lake Biodiversity Photo Challenge. Since then, we have met with stewardship groups in Ontario and BC, and have developed Lake Blitz hubs with the regional BC Parks, Wildsight Revelstoke, Bay Area Restoration Council, and the BC Lake Stewardship Society. We currently have 50 active monitoring volunteers who are gathering temperature and photo data on their local lakes. The majority of the participants are from BC and Ontario, although we have lakes being monitored in Yukon, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. The photo challenge has been a huge success with over 200 photos entered from lakes across Canada. Winners will be announced at the end of August so stay tuned! Our social media team has been sharing details about the Secchi Dip-In event as well. Even the Friends of Kootenay Lake offered to lend Secchi discs for local stewards to take part. Although there has been no uptake for this offer, it will stand for next year's event as well. In year 2 of the Lake Blitz, we expect to increase participation by engaging Lake Blitz Hubs earlier, before their capacity is maxed out and more can plan to integrate the Blitz into their summer monitoring programs. We are also lookin forward to developing monitoring kits specific for the Blitz and, if possible, meet the needs of BCLSS citizen science programs. Submitted by Georgia Peck, Program Coordinator Living Lakes Canada Announcements and Reminders Watersheds Canada's Freshwater Stewardship Community This is a free online space for passionate individuals and community groups to connect, share, and learn more about protecting and enhancing their local freshwater areas. Over 700 individuals across Canada have already signed up for the monthly webinars, education resources, and networking opportunities. Join today! https://watersheds.ca/freshwater-stewardship. River Clinic 2021 The Rivershed Society of BC is hosting River Clinic sessions from Aug 15 to Sept 12, 2021. Geared toward university students and early career conservation professionals, River Clinics offer an opportunity to explore career paths, network, and learn about Watershed CPR (Connect, Protect, Restore) from professionals working in this field. Click here for more information! Call for Abstracts Valuing Water: Economics, Ecology, & Culture. 41st International Symposium of the North American Lake Management Society. November 15-18, 2021 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NALMS encourages you to submit abstracts for their international symposium. Visit the symposium website, www.nalms.org/nalms2021, to view the Call for Abstracts. Webinar Series: Indigenous-led Water Relationships within the Columbia Basin POSTPONED Living Lakes Canada is now looking at potentially hosting the event in mid-October. Once new dates are finalized, details will be made available to those who have already registered and on the Living Lakes Canada website. This webinar series has been organized to create space, time and place for a Knowledge Holder and a technician from each of the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Okanagan Indigenous Peoples to present on their values, how they relate to water and the future of water in the Columbia Basin. Click here to register and learn more about the series. The Stewardship Solution to Polystyrene Foam Pollution The Lake Windermere Ambassadors are taking action against polystyrene foam pollution at Lake Windermere. They have developed an incentive program to connect those who have harmful docks or unnatural shorelines made with unencapsulated polystyrene with some resources to rebuild in a way that is better for everyone who relies on and enjoys Lake Windermere. They are offering a rebate of 50% up to $500 for any individual who takes action to improve their shoreline or water based infrastructures. To get involved by donating or or applying for a rebate, click here.  Call for Proposals The 2022 Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (JASM) will be held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, May 14-20, 2022. The JASM Program Committee invites proposals for symposia, pre-conference workshops/professional development courses, and integrated events which support the conference theme: Rapid Changes ~ Collaborative Solutions. Visit the JASM 2022 website to learn more about the Call for Proposals.

News and Information Canadian Lakes Loon Survey: New Report Helps Explain Mysterious Declines "Forever chemicals" in make-up showing up in lakes and drinking water. Drought: Impact of Freshwater Fish, and How Anglers Can Help Teaching citizen scientists to hunt for ‘canary in the coal mine’ in Alberta’s rivers Connecting people to connect wildlife  Video shows salmon injured by unlivable water temperatures after heatwave  Water conservation is everyone's responsibility  Good news: Some climate change impacts are 'reversible.' Here's what that means From Delta to Hope, 85% of B.C.’s lower Fraser salmon habitat no longer accessible to declining fish populations The controversy over the term 'citizen science' Protecting Canada's Freshwater ‘It’s pretty dire’: Vancouver Island salmon under threat from climate change-induced droughts Not a member of the BCLSS yet? Please consider joining our network of lake stewards! For more information on the benefits of membership, please visit our website. Thank you to LUSH for funding the BC Lake Stewardship Engagement Initiative.  The BCLSS gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Government of British Columbia through the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.

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BCLSS Loonie News - March 2021

 

BCLSS Loonie News March 2021   *reposted with permission*

Online Forum: Boating on BC Lakes - A Diverse Future Join the BCLSS, Lake Windermere Ambassadors (LWA), and Living Lakes Canada (LLC) as we host an online forum on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 from 9:30-11:30 am PDT. We will be examining the environmental impacts of boating, discussing regulatory issues, and identifying potential solutions. Presentations: Heather Larratt, Larratt Aquatic Consulting Ltd. Impacts of Wake Boats. Darryl Arsenault, Arsenault Environmental Consulting Ltd. Restoring and Protecting Shorelines the Natural Way. Alan Drinkwater, Decibel Coalition. Working to Create Boating Decibel Limits. Shannon McGinty, Lake Windermere Ambassadors. Management Lessons from Lake Windermere. Heather Leschied, Living Lakes Canada. Foreshore Integrated Management Planning. Mark Fry, Templar Marine Group Ltd.. Electric Boats.   Please register here. Wake Boats on Small Interior Lakes and Rivers by Jim Davies The continuing development and popularity of wake boats has resulted in more and more of these types of watercraft impacting interior lakes and rivers. While many groups have expressed concern over the new introduction of waves big enough to free surf on, requests to Transport Canada to regulate these types of watercraft were met with little response: mainly  due to no scientific documentation to legitimize the issue. A cohesive effort is required to convince Transport Canada of the need to allow Local Authorities the ability to regulate the operation of wake boats on small interior lakes and rivers. Wake boat manufacturers continue to develop boats that can create bigger and better shaped waves to free surf on. This is done by installing ballast tanks, trim tabs, and more powerful engines. The shoreline impacts of these waves are evident. Erosion, sediment, wildlife nesting, habitat and property damage from far larger than natural occurring waves. Independent scientific studies were conducted by Laval University in Quebec and Larratt Consulting in Kalamalka Lake (2019) in B.C. These studies show that the required distance to dissipate wake boat  waves is 300 metres. Traditional recreational watercraft are designed to plane quickly and dissipate waves in approx. 30 metres. These studies also looked at the depth of disturbance. Wake boats create disturbance to a depth of 6 – 8 m. Aquatic plant and sediment re-suspension releases phosphorus and toxins from the lake bottom contributing to a reduction in aquatic insects and water quality. Traditional recreational boats create disturbance of 1.5 – 2 m depth. Most salmon bearing rivers are 6 m or less in depth and less than 600 m wide. The impact on fry and spawning is a concern. There are fortunately many larger Interior lakes where wake boats can be safely and environmentally operated on. Present Transport Canada Boating Regulations would require a restriction on all types of powered watercraft in order to restrict wake boats. This blanket restriction would restrict traditional users from their recreational opportunities and affecting property values. There is an extensive process using the Local Authorities Guide in order to apply for a Boating Restriction. Consultation with Indigenous Peoples, business, public, and property owners is required. This process insures that any lake where wake boats can be operated on without negatively impacting the environment and the safety and enjoyment of all other lake users would not be restricted. Interior lakes are the nesting sites of 1.5 million ducks and loons (Ducks Unlimited). The Heffley Lake Community Association (HLCA) has established a point of contact with the Provincial Boating Safety Officer to receive requests for Transport Canada to change the present regulation and to permit Local Authorities to apply for a specific Ballasted Wake boat restriction, without restricting other types of powered watercraft. Contact Jim Davies (Vice-President HLCA) for further information at heffleyjimme@gmail.com. Remembering David Schindler by Rick Nordin (BCLSS Vice President) David Schindler was the most well known and respected freshwater ecologist in the world. He passed away March 4th 2021. His early career was spent doing research on eutrophication and acid rain at the Experimental Lakes Area in North-Western Ontario near where I grew up. Much of his later career was spent at the University of Alberta where he was involved with research on a number of scientific issues like the oil sands and climate change. He published many important papers but was also an environmental activist, lobbying and speaking on environmental issues. He believed that it was essential for scientists to communicate science to the public and to policy makers.   He had a strong British Columbia connection. In his retirement he lived at Brisco near Invermere. A very memorable remembrance for me was at a BCLSS LakeKeepers workshop organized by the Columbia Lake Stewardship Society in 2016. In a conversation with Kat Hartwig, she mentioned that David Schindler was interested in what we were doing and asked if he could attend and perhaps give a short talk on the importance of phosphorus in lake ecology. I enthusiastically said yes and he participated in the workshop and contributed information and comments from his huge base of knowledge and experience and was especially pleased to go out on the lake in the boats that had been arranged for the workshop field session and comment on the sampling we did and his observations of the lake.    His wisdom, energy, and insight will be greatly missed. David Schindler and Rick Nordin at a BCLSS LakeKeepers workshop on Columbia Lake. Announcements and Reminders   Inspect aquariums to help prevent spread of invasive mussels From the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy: Anyone that has a moss ball (marimo moss ball) in their aquarium is being asked to inspect it for invasive zebra mussels now that the highly invasive species has been found in a number of locations throughout the province. Anyone who finds zebra mussels can call the Report All Poachers and Polluters hotline at 1-877-952-7277 to report their find. Moss balls can safely be deposed of by 1) placing them in a sealed plastic bag and putting them in a freezer for at least 24 hours, or 2) placing them in boiling water for at least one full minute and then let cool. After this, place the moss ball and any of its packaging in a sealed plastic bag and dispose in the trash. Do not flush moss balls down the toilet or put them in the compost. Once the moss balls have been removed from the aquarium, do not dispose of untreated water down the drain or into any residential water system or waterway. More information on how to treat aquarium contents can be found at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/invasive-mussels/moss-balls-disposal. More information on zebra mussels can be found here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/invasive-mussels Calling all BC Lake Stewardship and Monitoring Program Volunteers It is time to dust off your sampling equipment! The BCLSS will be contacting Level 1 (Secchi and temp) volunteers to ensure you have everything you need for this monitoring season, which runs from April to September (or later for some lakes). Remember when planning your monitoring that we require at least 12 evenly spaced readings throughout the season and that these observations should be taken between 10 am and 2 pm. The BCLSS and the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy work in partnership on volunteer lake monitoring programs to ensure high quality data is collected from lakes in BC. This promotes community-based involvement and means healthier, better manage lakes in the province. Ice On/Off Data Ice events - the freeze and thaw dates of waterbodies - are easily recorded changes that, with the help of volunteer observers, can help us monitor the effects of climate change on our lakes. The BCLSS submits ice on and ice off data to IceWatch, part of the NatureWatch suite of national volunteer monitoring programs designed to help identify ecological changes that may be affecting our environment. Please submit the ice on and ice off dates of your lake to the BCLSS. A data form can be found here. Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation PCAF Grants The Public Conservation Assistance Fund provides small grants to organizations and individuals who need financial help to implement a conservation project. Approximately $150,000 is provided each year to help implement on-the-ground conservation work, with a particular focus on hands-on, community-based, and public awareness initiatives. Grants will be due in Spring 2021 - now is a good time to start thinking about projects. More information can be found on the HCTF website. The BCLSS is available to help our members with applying for grants of all types. Please contact the office for assistance.   News and Information Giant ice circles appear on Canadian lake, but where did they come from? After more than 2 decades of searching, scientists finger cause of mass eagle deaths Volunteer scuba divers clean up Metro Vancouver's lakes

Not a member of the BCLSS yet? Please consider joining our network of lake stewards! For more information on the benefits of membership, please visit our website. Thank you to LUSH for funding the BC Lake Stewardship Engagement Initiative.  The BCLSS gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Government of British Columbia through the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

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