To honour the memory of Deborah Battigelli, her family established The Deborah Battigelli Memorial Fund at the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation.  This Fund honours Deborah’s love of life at the lake and her interest to preserve the lake area for future generations to continue to enjoy what she loved.  The Fund assists the up-and-coming generation of scientists with their research on our lakes with limited travel support to present their research at the Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum.  We are pleased to announce that two deserving graduate students will received Deborah Battigelli Memorial Fund awards to present at the Forum in 2023.

Battigelli Award - 2023 Recipient Kaela Natwora


Kaela on LOWKaela Natwora, PhD. candidate at the University of Minnesota Duluth Large Lakes Observatory, is a recipient of the 2023 Deborah Battigelli Memorial Award. Presented by the Foundation, on behalf of the Battigelli family, this Award provides financial assistance to graduate students to present their research at the annual International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum.

Kaela's research is improving our understanding of how nutrients, specifically atmospheric nitrogen promotes and sustains cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) and potentially fuels toxin production in the south basin of Lake of the Woods.

Kaela will deliver a presentation at the Forum titled "Nitrogen fixation may offset nitrogen demands in Lake of the Woods cHABs, and molecular techniques reveal species responsible for toxin production".


Read more: Battigelli Award - 2023 Recipient Kaela Natwora

Battigelli Award - 2023 Recipient Ben Wood


benwoodJames Benjamin (Ben) Wood, MSc. candidate at Lakehead University, is a recipient of the 2023 Deborah Battigelli Memorial Award. Presented by the Foundation, on behalf of the Battigelli family, this Award provides financial assistance to graduate students to present their research at the annual International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum.

Ben's research is improving our understanding of how the invasive spiny water flea impacts the growth of walleye and also accumulation of mercury in these important fish that we love to eat.  

Ben will deliver a presentation at the Forum titled "Impacts of Invasive Spiny Water Flea (Bythotrephes cederstroemi) on Mercury Accumulation in Northern Ontario Walleye".


Read more: Battigelli Award - 2023 Recipient Ben Wood

 

2023 banner

Registration cutoff deadline is February 24 — a hard-stop as we must have catering numbers locked in by then!
This is a hard-stop as we must have catering numbers locked in by then!
If you've registered for the Forum already — thank you! If not...

Register online at: https://www.lowwsf.com/register

The Forum (March 8-9, 2023) returns to an in-person event at the Minnesota North College - Rainy River campus (formerly known as the Rainy River Community College).  Please note that the Foundation reception and dinner 6 pm on March 8 will be at Thunderbird Lodge on Rainy Lake (about 13 miles east of the College, pdf map here (232 KB) ).

  • Registration fee $100 USD.  Register and pay by January 31 to get the "Early Bird" rate of $90 USD. 
  • Students free with valid student ID - Enter: STUDENT2023 in the coupon field ( choose "Individual Registration" button -- discount coupon is not available as part of group registrations).
  • Registration includes lunch on March 8, the Foundation dinner Reception on the 8th, lunch on the 9th, and refreshment breaks both days.
  • Major credit cards are accepted for online payment and is the preferred option.  If necessary, you may choose an offline "Pay Offline" option for Mail-in cheque.
  • Sorry, but we are currently not able to accept Purchase Orders/Commissioners Warrants etc. but are trying to resolve this.

Register before February 24th at the Foundation's website https://www.lowwsf.com/register


The Foundation reception and dinner March 8 will be at Thunderbird Lodge on Rainy Lake.
Conference details at the Foundation's website www.lowwsf.com/watershed-forum

Forum Registration

teika logoThe Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation is pleased to introduce Teika Newton as the new International Watershed Coordinator.  

Teika is a long-time participant in regional watershed science, policy, and governance activities. She has served as a board member for the International Joint Commission’s International Rainy–Lake of the Woods Watershed Board, and co-chaired the Board’s Community Advisory Group, Engagement Committee, and currently the Adaptive Management Committee. Teika also has been helping to guide the IJC Board’s work on climate adaptation since 2016.

With Teika joining our team, the Foundation is doubling down to move projects forward that are central to a sustainability plan, including defining recommendations for international water quality objectives and a multi-nationally coordinated monitoring program, in collaboration with the IJC, Nations, and agencies in the basin.

sobrintroThe Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation is pleased to announce the release of the 2022 Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report (SOBR)  lowwsf.com/sobr.

The report outlines changes that have occurred since the last report in 2014, focusing on the primary areas of concern in the watershed of nutrients and algae, contaminants, climate change, aquatic invasive species, and erosion/water levels.  The report also highlights concerns about the health of the walleye fishery in the north end of Lake of the Woods and includes a new chapter on human health concerns in the watershed.

The 2022 SOBR is available in two versions: a detailed technical report of 148 pages, and an overview report of 32 pages, highlighting key findings and written for a general audience. We encourage you to read the overview version and to explore additional details in the full 148-page version, both of which are available for download at the Foundation’s website, lowwsf.com/sobr.

2022ForumCvrThe Proceedings Report of the 2022 International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum is available for download at the Foundation’s website:  lowwsf.com/forum-proceedings. Held March 9-10 as a virtual online event, 144 researchers, resource managers, policy makers, and members of the public put Lake of the Woods and its watershed under the microscope. The report covers a wide range of subjects: including: water governance and Indegenous perspectives, the State of the Basin Report, nutrients & algae, invasive species, and emerging issues and technologies. 

Most presentations were recorded and are available for viewing for a limited time at lowwsf.com/watershed-forum.

Please download a copy of the report or go to the website to view any presentation recordings that are of interest to you.

budget2022logo


Great news!  Canada's Budget 2022, released today, includes funding that should help kickstart actions to restore the waters of Lake of the Woods.  Specifically as it relates to Lake fo the Woods, Budget 2022 proposes:
  • $43.5 million over five years, starting in 2022, to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to create the new Canada Water Agency, which is to have a madate for the large rivers and lakes in Canada such Lake of the Woods. 

  • $19.6 million in 2022-23 to ECCC to a Freshwater Action Plan (the future after 2023 of this initiative will be announced later) -- This funding will support clean up efforts in our major waters - specifically including Lake of the Woods, along with the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, Lake Winnipeg, the Fraser River, the Saint John River, the Mackenzie River, and Lake Simcoe.

In 2019, the Canadian government committed to establish a federal Canada Water Agency to work with provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, and other stakeholders in order to find the best ways to keep Canada’s water safe, clean, and well-managed.  Budget 2022, committs that the CWA will be up an running this year (2022).  We expect that this will move our objectives of developing an plan for Lake of the Woods forward, with phosphorus pollution reduction targets to address toxic algae in the lake. 

Heartfelt thank you to a true Lake of the Woods ambassador, Art McKenzie

artmckenzieA huge “thank you” to Art McKenzie for his decades of volunteer service to Lake of the Woods, as a founding Director and Treasurer of the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation, and before then, a long time Director and President of the Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association.

Last fall, LOWWSF Directors met with Art to thank him in person — a ceremony delayed by COVID restrictions since Art’s retirement from the Foundation Board in June 2020. Tony Stephens, President of the Foundation, presented Art with a retirement gift honouring his contribution to our international lake and its watershed – a wood-cut map of the entire Lake of the Woods watershed.

From all of us at LOWWSF, a giant “thank you” to Art and best wishes for life in retirement at the lake!

By Bev Clark, for the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation

Fig1In this article, Bev Clark, takes a look at the tremendous variation in total phosphorus (TP), as a measure of water quality, across the vast expanse and five distinctly different areas of Lake of the Woods. Phosphorus is the primary nutrient that supports the growth of algae, and in excess can lead to sever blooms, widespread across much of the lake.  Bev graphically presents average and ranges in TP for each lake area and discusses reasons for the diffenences and relatioship to the risks of developing algae blooms.

Bev Clark is one of the co-editors of the recently-released 2022 Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report, and this article summarizes a small aspect of the information from it.

  1. Fall Algae Bloom Continues to Develop
  2. 2021 Ask An Expert Series
  3. A framework for a phosphorus management plan - First steps underway
  4. 2022 Forum Save The Date and Call for Abstracts

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