Wilson Stewardship Award

Nominations are now open for the 2025 Wilson Stewardship Award. Nominations will be accepted until December 13, 2024.
To nominate an individual, group, or projects, please use the online Wilson Award Nomination Form

Education, outreach, civic engagement and participation in stewardship initiatives or program development.
Projects or programs focused on protection, restoration, preservation or reduction of environmental impact and development of sustainable practices.

This award is named in honour of its first recipient, Gerry Wilson, in recognition of her contributions to lake stewardship including development of volunteer monitoring programs, civic engagement and education and cooperative approaches between the public, universities and government agencies.

The Award will be presented at the International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum (March 6-7, 2024) when there’s a deserving recipient as determined by the selection committee.

The selection committee for the Wilson Award consists of water stewardship community leaders from both Canada and the United States. At the recommendation of the selection committee, the Foundation presents the Wilson Award annually at the International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum.

Previous Wilson Award recipients:

Paul Anderson, Rainy Lake Conservancy, Voyageurs Conservancy and Community Advisory Group of the IJC International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board
2022 - Not presented
2021 – Not presented; virtual Forum due to COVID pandemic
2021 – Not presented; virtual Forum due to COVID pandemic
2020 – Pauline Gerrard, IISD-Experimental Lakes Area
2019 – Two awards: Vermilion Lake Associaton & Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association
2018 – White Iron Chain of Lakes Association (WICOLA)
2017 – Not awarded
2016 – Todd Sellers, LOWWSF
2015 – Dale & Phyllis Callaghan, Rainy Lake Conservancy
2014 – Dyke Williams, MN and Lake of the Woods Canada
2013 – Kelli Saunders, LOWWSF / K. Saunders Environmental Management
2012 – Gerry Wilson, Lake of the Woods District Property Owners Association

April 22, 2024

2024 Watershed Forum Proceedings Report - Get Your Copy Now!

The Proceedings Report of the 2024 International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum is available for download at the Foundation’s website: lowwsf.com/forum-proceedings. Held March 6-7 in International Falls Minnesota, 142 researchers, resource managers, policy makers, and members of the public put Lake of the Woods and its watershed under the microscope.

The Forum featured a moderated panel discussion on "From Science to Action" and 26 presentations in themes of: watershed governance, ecosystem modeling, contaminants and mining, ecological interactions, nutrient dynamics as drivers of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxin production, nutrient and sediment load tracing, and updates on the major monitoring programs of the MPCA and ECCC.

Fred Desjarlait, spiritual advisor from Miskwaagamiiwi – Zaagaiganing (Red Lake Nation), joined by Métis Senator Karen Cederwall, helped open the Forum, followed by addresses from Terry Duguid, Parliamentary Secretary and Special Advisor on Water to the Prime Minister and by US Consul Marilyn Gayton.

Please pdf download your copy of the report now (14.26 MB) .

Read more …

March 7, 2024

2024 Kallemeyn Award - Caren Binding

Dr. Caren Binding, research scientist in aquatic optics and remote sensing at Environment and Climate Change Canada, is the 2024 recipient of the Larry Kallemeyn Award. The Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation presented the award on behalf of the community of scientists and resource managers from the United States and Canada working in our watershed.

Massive algae bloom covers nearly 70% of Lake of the Woods, September 30, 2023. Panels (left to right) show sentinel satellite image, derived chlorophyll-a, and derived annual Bloom Severity index, Environment and Climate Change Canada (2023). EOLakeWatch 2023 Algal Bloom Report - Lake of the WoodsThe Kallemeyn Award recognizes Dr. Bindings outstanding scientific contributions to the watershed, including leading her team that developed the EOLakeWatch tool that uses satellite imagery to track algae blooms in Lake of the Woods (and other "Great Lakes") and derives indices of bloom extent, intensity and severity that will likely be foundational to long term monitoring for progress assessment as plans are implemented to cut phosphorus loads to the lake.

A heartfelt thanks and congratulations to Caren from the Foundation and the researchers gathered at the Forum for a well-deserved accolade!

Read more …

March 7, 2024

2024 Wilson Stewardship Award - Paul Anderson

Paul Anderson is the 2024 recipient of the Gerry Wilson Stewardship Award. Paul was honored with this international award in recognition of his lifetime of environmental advocacy work on behalf of the Rainy Lake Conservancy, Voyageurs National Park and Voyageurs Conservancy and his service on the Community Advisory Group of the IJC International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board.

The Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation presented the award to Paul on behalf of the community of scientists, resource managers and water stewards from the United States and Canada at the 2024 International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum in International Falls, Minnesota.

Paul personifies the best of citizen engagement in conservation and protection. A life-long lover of Rainy Lake and the Rainy Lake watershed, Paul has been an active leader and contributor to initiatives to protect the watershed, including participating in oversight of hydropower and mining projects, advocating for emergency preparedness and response planning, reviewing the past two State of the Basin Reports, and advocating for improved land use and development planning.

Congratulations to Paul on this well-deserved recognition of his volunteer contributions to our waters!

The Foundation presents the Wilson Stewardship Award annually to recognize individuals, groups, or projects that are making significant contributions to environmental stewardship in the Rainy-Lake of the Woods watershed. For more information about the Wilson Stewardship Award see: www.lowwsf.com/wilson-award.