Location:  Minnesota North College - Rainy River campus, International Falls, MN.

Date: March 12–13, 2025

Overview: Professional symposium for research and resource managers, policy makers and the public interested in the Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed.

Themes: Climate change, nutrients and algae; paeleolimnology, aquatic invasive species; sediment studies; hydrology, fisheries, emerging technologies and more...

Abstract Deadline: December 16, 2024. See Call for Abstracts for submissions details.

Registration will open January 6, 2025 —  But for now, save the date and get your abstracts in early!

Conference details: more details will be coming soon this fall at the Foundation's website www.lowwsf.com/watershed-forum.

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2025 International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum

Abstract Deadline: December 16, 2024. Please get your abstracts in early!

Please submit the following to Todd Sellers, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• Presenter Information:  Name, Research Organization or Agency, Mailing Address, Telephone, Email, Brief Bio.
• Submittal Information:  Title, Author(s), Author(s) agency affiliaion, Abstract, Location of study (i.e., lake name, river name, or GPS coordinate etc.).

Two days of presentations will be organized into themed sessions.  We encourage submissions on any aspect of research and management related to the Rainy-Lake of the Woods watershed ecosystem, but especially invite valuable inisghts on the following;

AmericInn Inn
2500 Keenan Drive, International Falls MN (just 1 block west of the Minnesota North College — site of the Forum)

We have a group block reserved for arrival March 10, 2025 with departure March 14, 2025 (you can book one or more nights as you wish).

Group rate:  $110.00 USD per night plus taxes.

Group cutoff: February 10, 2025 rooms not reserved by then will fall out of the block and will no longer be available for the discounted rate.

Reservations:  I recommend booking by phone direct to the property front desk 1-218-598-8510 and quote the group code Water Conference 2025. 

(Web booking is also possible at https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/ but to get the group rate you must use the web-specific group code 031025WAT)

• Group blook rooms are held for arrival March 10 with departure March 14.  These rooms are able to be booked for one or more nights as you wish.
• Cancellation policy for AmericInn:  Requires cancellation 24 hours prior to 3 pm of the booked date of arrival.  Any cancellations after this time will be charged for one night, room and tax charge.

The AmericInn has a limited number of rooms set aside at this rate for our Forum.  So...book early to ensure you get a room!

Reservations: 1-218-598-8510 (front desk).  

A big "thank you" to our 2025 sponsors. Hosting the Forum each year would not be possible without the support of many organizations, including:

• Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation
• Grand Council Treaty #3
• Consulate General of Canada in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Global Affairs Canada
• Minnesota North College - Rainy River campus
• St. Cloud State University
• International Joint Commission
• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
• Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association
• Rainy Lake Conservancy
• Rainy Lake Property Owners Association
• Voyageurs Conservancy

To become a sponsor of the 2025 International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum, please contact either:
Todd Sellers, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or
Teika Newton, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Nominations are now open for the 2025 Kallemeyn Award.  Nominations will be accepted until December 16, 2024.

To nominate someone, please use the online Kallemeyn Award Nomination Form

The Kallemeyn Award is presented annually by the Foundation to an individual who has demonstrated in the Rainy-Lake of the Woods watershed:

• Outstanding professional achievement in scientific research or resource management.
• Significant contributions to collaborative and cooperative approaches to research or resource management internationally.

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

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Nominations are now open for the 2025 Wilson Stewardship Award.  Nominations will be accepted until December 16, 2024.

To nominate an  individual, group, or projects, please use the online Wilson Award Nomination Form 

The Wilson Stewardship Award is presented by the Foundation to individuals, groups, or projects that have made significant contributions to environmental stewardship in the Rainy-Lake of the Woods watershed through:

• 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.

The Award will be presented at the International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum (March, 2025) when there’s a deserving recipient as determined by the selection committee.

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Organizing the Forum is a collaborative effort of many individuals and agencies, lead by the Foundation.  Many thanks to the 2025 Forum Organizing Committee, all of whom have helped organize and run this annual "meeting of the minds" in our watershed for many years.  

• Todd Sellers, Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation
• Jesse Anderson, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
• Mike Kennedy, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
• Andrew Paterson, Ontario Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks
• Lucas King, Territorial Planning Unit, Grand Council Treaty 3
• Kayla Bowe, Red Lake Department of Natural Resources
• Ryan Maki, Voyageurs National Park
• Kelly Sjerven, Minnesota North College - Rainy River campus
• Diana Fred, Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Matt Julius, Minnesota St. Cloud State University
• Teika Newton, Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation

Limited travel support may be available to assist postgraduate students to present their research at the Forum, from the Deborah Battigelli Memorial Fund at the Foundation.  Support is typically offered for up to one student per year.  To receive support through the fund, a candidate's research abstracts must be accepted for presentation at the Forum.  To apply, contact Todd Sellers, Executive Director, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Battigelli family established the Deborah Battigelli Memorial Fund at LOWWSF to honour 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.

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Proceedings Reports of the annual International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum are available from 2006 onward, here:  Forum Proceedings

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) .

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