A Sustainability Plan

Put a plan in place — A sustainability plan for the Rainy-Lake of the Woods Basin.  A plan with internationally-agreed objectives, targets and actions needed.  An international framework to oversee the plan.  Sounds reasonable, right? 

Key elements of a plan are:

  • Nutrient management to combat harmful algal blooms
  • Aquatic Invasive Species prevention and response
  • Surface and Groundwater contamination risk mitigation
  • Systematic monitoring across the basin

We been working towards this goal and many of the pieces are being put in place, with nutrient plans being developed by Minnesota and Canada, invasive species risk assessment underway, and the IJC watershed Board established as the international watershed governance framework in our basin, with participation of government agencies, First Nations, Métis, US Tribes and the public.

Consultations on Canadian Phosphorus Targets

In early 2021,  Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) launched a Lake of the Woods public engagement "portal" website and LOWWSF held a series of public webinars with the ECCC Lake of the Woods Team, to seek public input on the development of Lake Ecosystem Objectives and potential phosphorus reduction targets for Lake of the Woods.  

Although the public comment period is now over, the ECCC Lake of the Woods site is still a central location for information on ECCC's development of proposed Lake Ecosystem Objectives and potential measures to control phosphorus for Lake of the Woods to address harmful and nuisance algae blooms, and improve the health of the lake.

A summary factsheet on the proposals and a more detailed supplementary factsheet, and other resources are available at the ECCC Lake of the  Woods engagement site.

Domestic Phosphorus Management Planning

Persistent algal blooms in Lake of the Woods and elsewhere in its watershed underscore the importance of developing a Phosphorus Management Plan (PMP) for the Rainy-Lake of the Woods basin.

Phosphorus (P) is the nutrient that controls the growth of algae in lakes within the basin.