As we embark on 2018, I'd like to express a big "thank you" to all who have invested in the future of Lake of the Woods by donating to the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation or by helping us at public meetings. Your gifts and support are helping to develop a sustainability plan for our lake. A key element will be standards and reduction targets for phosphorus, responsible for the algae blooms.
Support of lake families and firms has been instrumental to success for Lake of the Woods – it has really made a difference. Lake of the Woods is now an international priority and the building blocks of a sustainability plan are being put in place with:
- An international water quality board established through the International Joint Commission
- Research nearing completion required to solve the phosphorus and algae problems
- An action plan to address phosphorus loading to combat algae blooms coming this spring from Minnesota.
As science nears completion, it is time to put a plan in place to move from science to action. Over the coming year, we will continue efforts to ensure that scientific knowledge leads to binationally coordinated policy and management actions, including international water quality objectives and nutrient targets and an ongoing oversight role for the International Joint Commission.
Todd Sellers
Executive Director
866-370-8891