The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership starts their spring webinar series this month. You will find the presentations scheduled for this month, please check out all eight offerings on their website:
http://midwestglaciallakes.org/resources/webinars/
Common Carp Management and
the Lost Island Lake Restoration
With Mike Hawkins on February 14, 1:00 P.M., Register here
Efforts to reduce Common Carp abundance to improve water quality, fisheries, and aquatic habitat are seldom successful or tend to provide only short-term improvements. However, we were able to achieve long-term (greater than 10 year) improvements through the use of a subsidized commercial fishing technique and limiting spawning areas within the lake’s watershed. In 2010, the Common carp biomass was reduced from 320 lbs/acre to less than 50 lbs/acre. This biomass reduction has been maintained for over eleven years. Meanwhile, improvements to the fishery, water quality, and aquatic plant community were documented. Restricting the movement of common carp in the watershed also allowed for improved habitat and water quality in a number of large wetlands. In 2018, the lake was removed from Iowa’s impaired waters list. This project has had broad community support and involvement and has provided Iowa’s Lake Restoration Program with an alternative to whole-lake fisheries renovations.
Tools for Building Resilience in
Midwest Lake Organizations
With Eve Whittaker & Chris Solomon on February 28, 1:00 P.M., Register here
Introducing the Lake Resilience and Systems Thinking Hub. Whether you are a lake organization member, environmental educator, or you have an interest in protecting lakes—we are excited to share our resources with you. This webinar introduces resources that were developed and tested alongside lake and watershed conservation groups. These materials are designed to facilitate discussions around long-term changes and planning that lake social-ecological systems may experience. We encourage you to come learn how to use these resources to facilitate discussions with your organization members, your partners, and your leadership team. These tools may guide discussions that focus on a specific, existing issue, or they could be used to direct preemptive planning.