Your LOWWSF team may be a bit biased, but we think summer 2026 was pretty incredible. In addition to launching our freshly revamped website (big thanks to the team at Wake Marketing for updating our look and improving overall functionality!), our team celebrated some major milestones in what felt like a true season of abundance. The weather was mostly lovely, the wild berries were plentiful, and in spite of ongoing drought, fires were scant in our watershed (whew!). The lake also saw very little algae bloom activity until just recently.
As you settle back into the regular rhythms of school, back-to-work, or whatever else marks the transition from long, languid days at the lake to the crisp routines of autumn, we’d love to share some highlights from this summer with you.
First, some celebrations are in order!
- Our Comms Specialist, Julianna, successfully defended her Masters thesis on August 18 and graduated as a new scientist emerging from the IISD-Experimental Lakes Area. Hooray! You can read about her grad school experience here.
- LOWWSF welcomed a new director to our board at our June meeting.
Jim Ferguson, K.C., is a long-time resident of Clearwater Bay. A retired corporate lawyer, Jim specialized in sophisticated mergers and acquisitions, with experience in wind powered renewable energy. He is also a very active volunteer and philanthropist, chairing the Pan Am Clinic Foundation in Winnipeg, and he is past chair of the Health Sciences Centre Foundation. As a champion for environmental protections for the lake, in 2021, Jim founded a stewardship organization for Clearwater Bay that successfully campaigned for forest management reforms offering protection to shoreline forests through a ten-year logging exemption. LOWWSF warmly welcomes Jim’s professional expertise, personal interests and community connections to our team.
Donor Engagement
This summer, our fabulous – and growing – Board of Directors and Executive Director had opportunities to (re)connect with many of our longest supporters and champions. For Teika, as a relatively new ED, it was wonderful to put faces to names and to begin to build real relationships with people who have been such stalwarts in championing the lake.
LOWWSF is deeply dependent on, and grateful for, the generous and ongoing support of our community of donors. Community support is what fuels our organization, providing the income necessary for us to do most of our work, from running our annual Ask an Expert webinar series, to hosting the annual International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum, and our production of important technical reports such as the State of the Basin Reports.
Want to become a donor? You can make single or recurring donations through our website: https://lowwsf.com/donate/ or by mail:
LOWWSF
P.O. Box 112
Kenora, ON P9N 3X1
Canada Revenue Agency tax receipts will be issued for all personal donations.
Project Work Continues
- Read all the latest updates on the project to develop a Canadian phosphorus management plan for Rainy-Lake of the Woods Meg, our International Watershed Coordinator and project lead made good headway over the summer, meeting with lots of community members, especially in Rainy River district First Nations.
IJC Commissioners and Rainy-Lake of the Woods Board members joined in Fort Frances for summer meetings in August. L-R: Commissoner Robert Gioia (USA), Board co-chair Megan Garner (CAN), Commissioner Gerry Acker (USA), Commissioner Pierre Baril (CAN), Chief Shane Whitecrow (newest member of IRLWWB), Commissioner Lance Yohe (USA), Commissioner Merrell-Ann Phare (CAN), Commissioner Sue Chiblow (CAN), Board co-chair Karl Jansen (USA) - The International Joint Commission visited the watershed – several for the first time – in August. We had a fantastic meeting of the Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board, and in Teika’s role as the Canadian co-chair of the Aquatic Ecosystem Health Committee, she shared with the Commissioners the AEHC’s proposal to enhance and coordinate international, inter-agency watershed monitoring. The pitch was met with hearty enthusiasm and encouragement. Next, our committee will work out the details to ensure that all water experts in the watershed can help in gathering the information we need to be able to understand where and why changes are happening to our lakes and streams, and to address risks and problems when (and ideally, before) they arise.
- Next up: prep for next spring’s 24th annual Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum, and starting production on the 2027 State of the Basin Report.
Connect with us!
As always, if you have questions, comments or ideas you’d like to share with any member of our team, please reach out! The best way to connect is by email (reply to this newsletter) or send us a comment through our online contact form: https://lowwsf.com/contact/
We can also be found on several social media platforms. Links to all our online profiles can be found here: https://linktr.ee/lowwsf
