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May 26, 2021

State of the Basin Report Update Underway

It seems just like yesterday, but it’s been seven years since the last Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report (SOBR) was published. Since 2014, we have learned a lot about our lake, its watershed and the priority concerns about water quality, invasive species, nutrients and toxic algae, and much, much more.

In June, we launched a major project to update the State of the Basin Report to 2021, in a multi-jurisdictional collaboration led by the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation, with the Territorial Planning Unit of Grand Council Treaty #3, members of the International Multi-Agency Arrangement (government agencies, U.S. Tribal, non-governmental organizations), and the International Joint Commission watershed Board.

Publication of the SOBR 2021 Edition is planned for March 2022.

ECCC Phosphorus Consultations – What We Heard

Hundreds provided feedback to Environment and Climate Change Canada on its proposed ecosystem objectives and potential phosphorus reduction targets to tackle the algae bloom problem on Lake of the Woods, via ECCC Lake of the Woods website and during town-hall webinars organized by our Foundation.

Public sentiment expressed strong desire for Canada to “get on with it” and take steps to reduce phosphorus loads, and to do this in congjunction with Minnesota, that has already finalized phosphours cut targets — the two countries should not have separate targets or approaches.

Here are some more of the main points that we heard you say...

Phosphorus Concentrations and Phosphorus Loads – What’s the Difference?

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

If you are concerned about algal blooms in Lake of the Woods or algal blooms anywhere for that matter, then you will hear a great deal about phosphorus concentrations and phosphorus loads. The difference is almost straightforward.

In this article, Bev demystifies the talk about phosphorus and its relationship to algae and how it relates to the types of lakes in our region, ranging from the ultra-clear waters of Lake 224 pictured here to the algae laden green waters of the south end of Lake of the Woods

(Lake 224 photo courtesy of the IISD Experimental Lakes Area)