Surface water management projects, both research and practice, are crucial for the future of rivers, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater, and a core interest of ASLO members. This poster session will provide a setting for presentation and discussion of ongoing applied research projects and recent findings. Resource managers from national, state, and local governments will share examples of how academic and research work is translated into changed and improved practices to enhance and protect water resources. This approach reflects the Wisconsin Idea, the notion that the fruits of university-based research must be widely shared and applied to affect people’s lives beyond the campus.
Lead Organizer: Eric Olson, Extension Lakes (eolson@uwsp.edu)
Co-organizers:
Catherine Hein, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (Catherine.Hein@wisconsin.gov)
Jake Vander Zanden, University of Wisconsin - Madison (mjvanderzand@wisc.edu)
Presentations
05:30 PM
Clean Boats, Clean Waters: Working Together to Preserve Wisconsin's Waters (7934)
Primary Presenter: Erin McFarlane, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point (erin.mcfarlane@uwsp.edu)
Educating boaters and anglers at boat landings through watercraft inspection has been a vital part of Wisconsin’s aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention efforts since 2004. Watercraft inspection is a cost-effective prevention strategy (Leueng et al. 2002), and boaters and anglers report understanding and following the AIS prevention steps in areas where inspections are conducted (Connelly et al. 2014, Hammond et al. 2019, Rothlisberger et al. 2010). With so many waterbodies and so few state resources, the success and continuation of our watercraft inspection program has been very reliant upon our enthusiastic, highly motivated inspectors. Since the creation of the Clean Boats, Clean Waters program in 2004, thousands of people have been trained on how to initiate boater education efforts at their local boat landings. Multiple studies have shown how effective trained, experienced inspectors can be at removing AIS from watercraft (Rothlisberger et al. 2010, Campbell et al. 2020). These inspectors have educational conversations with boaters and anglers about how to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species and assist them in taking AIS prevention measures, while also collecting valuable data. By engaging communities and local governments, providing education to boaters and anglers, and accumulating valuable data, watercraft inspections are a beneficial tool in preventing and containing the spread of aquatic invasives.
05:30 PM
LAKE ORGANIZATION CAPACITY BUILDING (7976)
Primary Presenter: Sara Windjue, Extension Lakes (swindjue@uwsp.edu)
Wisconsin has over 500 lake associations and over 250 lake districts working for Wisconsin’s lakes. Thousands of individuals across the state are contributing their time and skills as board members to protect and/or restore our lakes. To be effective, these individuals must work collaboratively with others in their organizations to ensure they have strong membership bases, successful internal processes, and strong external relationships, which in turn, provide the organization with the programmatic capacity and ability to get things done. Our model of Organizational Capacity includes these four distinct facets of capacity. To establish a baseline of organizational capacity for lake organizations in Wisconsin, Extension Lakes, a program of the College of Natural Resources at UW-Stevens Point, conducted a capacity survey in 2020 that collected information on what lake organizations think they do well regarding lake protection and management as well as what areas they need support and training. Based on the initial information collected, Extension Lakes is providing the tools and resources for Wisconsin’s lake organizations to climb the capacity ladder.
05:30 PM
2,000 Helping Hands: Wisconsin's Volunteer-based Citizen Lake Monitoring Network (7983)
Primary Presenter: Paul Skawinski, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point (pskawins@uwsp.edu)
Wisconsin has one of the largest and longest-running volunteer lake monitoring programs in the United States. With over 15,000 lakes in the state, there is a lot of water to be monitored, and not nearly enough professional staff to handle that workload. The Wisconsin Citizen Lake Monitoring Network is a collaboration between the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Extension Lakes at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, and approximately 1,000 volunteers per year. Volunteers assist with monitoring the condition of lakes across the state, contributing data on water clarity, water chemistry, ice cover, aquatic invasive species, and more. Volunteers primarily input data themselves through an online database, and support staff are located throughout the staff to assist with trainings, volunteer questions, data entry issues, and more. Data are reported back to the volunteers in a variety of ways, including summary reports generated through an online, interactive data viewer.
05:30 PM
Building Connections: Putting Water Research into Practice for Communities within Southeastern Wisconsin (8029)
Primary Presenter: Thomas Slawski, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (tslawski@sewrpc.org)
The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) is a regional planning organization as defined by the US Federal Clean Water Act and, as such, is tasked with developing lake and watershed management plans in the most densely populated area of Wisconsin. SEWRPC is one of nine such commissions within Wisconsin and has a 60+ year long history of providing services to the public. Development and infrastructure problems often transcend the political boundaries and fiscal capabilities of individual communities; hence, a regional approach provides an efficient, cost-effective systems approach to address issues such as water quality impairment, flooding, air pollution, changing land use, and preserving natural and agricultural resources. Our inclusive and open public review process combined with a watershed- (clearly defined study area) and science-based data driven approach has set the standard for exceptional water resources planning in Southeastern Wisconsin and the State. The process involves compiling comprehensive data sets, developing management recommendations, developing concepts , and working collaboratively with local units of government, non-governmental organizations, and private industry to implement management recommendations. This approach has effectively incorporated multiple dimensions and needs of our community and environment before making costly economic or environmental decisions, and to help avoid conflict. Select examples of how we use academic research to protect water resources within Southeastern Wisconsin are summarized.
05:30 PM
AN ONLINE PLATFORM FOR SHARING TRENDS IN LAKE WATER QUALITY TO THE PUBLIC (8030)
Primary Presenter: Justin Chenevert, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (justin.chenevert@wisconsin.gov)
Through the efforts of citizen volunteers, staff, and partners, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has amassed more than 700,000 measurements of Secchi depth, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a on several thousand lakes. Patterns and trends in these key trophic status indicators are of great interest to citizens and lake managers, however visualizing and interpreting these results is time-consuming and requires some familiarity with statistics. We present an R Shiny data visualization tool (the Wisconsin Water Explorer; WEx) that automates data curation, conducts trend analyses, and gathers critical supplemental information such as watershed landcover. We use non-parametric seasonal Kendall trend tests and Theil-Sen slope estimates to characterize trends for any lake in the state with sufficient data. WEx delivers the trend estimates in a user-friendly format with appropriate context and can help quantify the success of watershed management activities and spur further action from stakeholders and managers.
05:30 PM
PHOSPHORUS INTERCEPTION FOR EFFECTIVE WATERSHED MANAGEMENT: A BROADENED APPROACH FOR GREEN LAKE, WISCONSIN (8046)
Primary Presenter: Stephanie Prellwitz, Green Lake Association (stephanie@greenlakeassociation.org)
In 2014, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources classified Green Lake (2,948 ha) as an impaired waterbody for a worsening metalimnetic oxygen minimum. Subsequently, the Green Lake Association (GLA), a nonprofit organization committed to safeguarding Wisconsin’s deepest natural inland lake, initiated extensive research to comprehensively understand the issues and propose viable solutions to measurably improve the water quality of this 72-m-deep, mesotrophic drainage lake. The findings of these studies—facilitated by the GLA and completed in collaboration with universities, government entities, and consultants—revealed that the lake's primary challenge is excessive phosphorus loading. To remove the lake's impairment listing, the baseline phosphorus load would need to be reduced from 8,440 to 4,060 kg/yr (approximately a 60% reduction). These studies further identified that approximately 80% of the lake’s annual tributary-based phosphorus load—stemming from its 277 km2, agriculturally-dominated watershed—enters the take from two primary inlets. Recognizing the inadequacy of solely relying on the voluntary adoption of best management practices to achieve these substantial phosphorus reductions, the GLA is exploring additional strategies and technologies to manage phosphorus loading at these crucial inlets. Concurrently, efforts are underway to test a pilot project to intercept dissolved phosphorus from an agricultural retention pond outlet. This proactive approach attempts to prevent Green Lake’s transition from mesotrophic to eutrophic status. Through the integration of innovative techniques and collaborative partnerships, the GLA aims to improve the water quality of this unique ecological resource.
05:30 PM
SITE INVESTIGATIONS OF PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES (PFAS) BY THE WI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES (DNR). (8355)
Primary Presenter: Patrick Gorski, WI Dept. of Natural Resources (patrick.gorski@wisconsin.gov)
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are anthropogenic organic compounds first manufactured in the 1940’s. Due to their widespread use in industry, PFAS are now ubiquitous in the environment and at high concentrations have been associated with deleterious health effects. The Wisconsin DNR has been collecting and analyzing samples in drinking water, ground water, surface water and wildlife (mainly fish) samples statewide to quantify their concentrations, and investigate sites of potential contamination when higher concentrations are found. Since PFAS are found in all environmental matrixes, the WI DNR utilizes a cross-programmatic approach (in these examples, Drinking Water and Groundwater, Water Quality and Fisheries Management programs) to share results when a potential site is identified, and then implement follow-up sampling by collecting PFAS in the corresponding matrix (e.g., drinking water, surface water, fish tissue). Here we present WI sites from a surface water perspective that have been characterized. In some instances, PFAS remain confined to certain matrices or areas, in others, PFAS is pervasive. These results can then be used to quantify the risk to the environment or human health.
05:30 PM
MONITORING BACKWATERS OF THE LOWER WISCONSIN RIVER (8382)
Primary Presenter: Kimberly Kuber, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (Kimberly.Kuber@wisconsin.gov)
The lower Wisconsin Riverway is comprised of 148 kilometers of free-flowing river, 182 square kilometers of publicly owned land, and is designated as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. There are numerous sloughs, backwaters, and floodplain lakes within the riverway that serve as important habitat for a number of Wisconsin’s rare and threatened plants and animals. Due to their unique characteristics, these waterbodies do not fit into standard river or lake assessment protocols and lack data. We developed a monitoring strategy to better understand the fish and plant communities and water quality within these waterbodies on a gradient of backwaters that differ in size, orientation, and connectivity to the lower Wisconsin River. We investigated temporal trends by monitoring Long Lake, Bakkens Pond, and Helena Lake every year since 2021. We also investigated spatial heterogeneity between backwaters by monitoring three additional waterbodies in each of 2022 and 2023. Water quality differed over time and by location, particularly by orientation. Fish assemblages depend on connectivity to the river; Starhead Topminnow (Fundulus dispar), a state threatened species, and Lake Chubsucker (Erimyzon sucetta) a state special concern species, were identified at a majority of the waterbodies monitored. In most cases, the timed meander survey was the best method to assess the quality of these shallow open water wetlands. This baseline information will be used to identify future monitoring and management priorities within the riverway.
05:30 PM
WATER QUALITY DATA TO HELP DEFINE CAUSES AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO CYANOBACTERIAL BLOOMS IN TUG LAKE (8442)
Primary Presenter: Scott Van Egeren, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (scott.vanegeren@wi.gov)
Tug Lake is a small, stained, lowland drainage lake in north central Wisconsin. Although the water quality has met state water quality standards for phosphorus and chlorophyll, cyanobacterial blooms of varying intensity take place in some years. Shoreline property owners formed a Lake District in 2021 and worked with Wisconsin DNR and partners to collect water quality data and create a nutrient budget for the lake in 2022. A stage discharge relationship was developed for the inlet stream. Bimonthly nutrient samples were collected at the inlet, outlet, and in the lake to quantify nutrient loading. Temperature and dissolved oxygen profiles were collected to understand lake stratification dynamics. Sediment cores were collected from the anoxic hypolimnion and phosphorus release rates were quantified. Phytoplankton samples were identified to genus and counted. Nutrients were highest during spring and fall overturn and declined in the epilimnion over the summer months. Early summer algal blooms did not appear to be related to lake mixing and the phytoplankton species differed from previous blooms in the lake that were associated with turnover events. Most of the external nutrient load to the lake came in the spring and there appeared to be a moderate amount of internal loading in the summer months. The results will be used by the Tug Lake District and DNR to design management strategies to reduce nutrient loading to the lake and the likelihood of blue-green algae blooms.
SS18 - The Wisconsin Idea and Lakes: Putting Water Research Into Practice for Wide Public Benefit
Description
Time: 5:30 PM
Date: 6/6/2024
Room: Madison Ballroom D