The Confluence is a monthly electronic
newsletter for members of Minnesota Waters providing up-to-date
information and resources to help citizens protect
In this
issue:
Other Conferences, Confabs and
Conglomerations
Resources for
~
Save the Date for RiverNight 2008!
Minnesota Waters Annual Award Winners
Announced!
Each
year, Minnesota Waters honors individuals and groups who embody our value of
citizen engagement in saving our state’s lakes and rivers.
Please
join us for RiverNight 2008 to celebrate these hard-working
heroes:
Award
sponsored by RMB Environmental Laboratories
Lone
River
Friendly Community
Award
sponsored by Wenck Associates, Inc.
Citizen
Monitoring Program of the Year
Award
sponsored by
Volunteer
of the Year
sponsored
by Barr Engineering
James
Lauer
of
Big
MW Web Site Hosting offered
Find
a safe, inexpensive home for your group’s website!
Minnesota
Waters can host your lake association or river group’s website for only $100 per
year. Over 80 member groups already subscribe to this service, and their web
sites range from one simple page of contact information and meeting dates, to
many levels and pages of information, photos, archives and event data. You are limited to 10 MB total space,
but that is usually plenty if you do not have a lot of
pictures.
Benefits:
Let
your members find out the dates of your next meeting or
event
Publish
a couple of your association newsletters
Let
other citizen-led groups find out what you’re doing
The
“lake and river group” section is the most-often visited page on our
website
Our
user-friendly website development process is easy for those who are familiar
with word processing and graphics software, but may prove limiting for web
wizards who like to use high-end HTML programming. Webmaster
Check
out Minnesota Waters’ hosted member
websites by visiting www.minnesotawaters.org and clicking
on “
If
you’re interested in subscribing to this service, or have further questions,
please send an email to info@minnesotawaters.org .
Workshops for Water
Resource Protection
Minnesota Waters and the Minnehaha
Creek Watershed District, with support from the Bush Foundation, are offering a
series of trainings throughout the summer designed for members of lake, stream
and watershed associations. These workshops aim to provide citizens with the
resources and support to build the internal organizational capacity and overall
knowledge base of their locally-led lake and river groups. Ultimately, these
workshops will assist groups in their effort to become lasting, thriving, and
effective in their water conservation work.
All workshops will be held
August 20: Citizen Water
Monitoring
Coming this fall: Membership Engagement and Board
Leadership
Detailed Workshop Descriptions and
directions to Community Center:
http://www.minnehahacreek.org/documents/WorkshopAnnouncement.pdf
Registration (via email or
mail): http://www.minnehahacreek.org/documents/REGISTRATION.pdf
Clean
Your Boat, Protect Your
Every
day, boaters and anglers unknowingly introduce harmful invasive species into
their favorite lakes. These plants and animals hitch a ride in boat hulls,
propellers, muddy boots, and other equipment.
Because
invasive species such as zebra mussels and round gobies aren't native to our
waters, they are safe from the predators and diseases of their native habitat.
As a result, they reproduce exponentially and outcompete native fish and
wildlife. They can also ruin boat engines, affect human health, and reduce
property values. At least 185 aquatic invasive species are already established
in the
Each
year, the
To
learn how to properly clean your gear, visit www.cleanboats.org. There, you can
enter to win the ultimate $2,500 boater’s shopping spree and other great prizes.
Additional Stream
monitors needed in Duluth Area
Stream macroinvertebrates are a
great biological indicator of stream health. Long-term monitoring of
macroinvertebrate populations may help detect environmental stressors such as
low dissolved oxygen, toxic pollutants, excessive sediment, high temperatures
and other factors affecting streams. Examples of aquatic macroinvertebrates
include insects in their larval or nymph form, crayfish, clams, snails, and
worms.
Do you live in the Hinckley or
If you are interested in
participating, please contact Minnesota Water’s citizen monitoring coordinator,
Erica LeMoine: erical@minnesotawaters.org or
(218)269-5682.
~
Minnesota Waters is once
again offering grants to innovative lake and river groups across the state, with
support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Anheuser-Busch. The
grants are available to fund shoreland habitat improvement and restoration
projects and/or lake and river inventorying and assessment projects. Minnesota
Waters is proud to be able to offer this funding assistance to our states most
effective local water resource stewards—the citizen groups working to protect
The 2008-09 application cycle is
now OPEN. Applications must be postmarked no later than September 26,
2008. Download Conservation Partnership
grant criteria and application at:
www.minnesotawaters.org/index.php?uberKey=300&page=3829
The grants are open to all
Minnesota Waters members and affiliates. Seven $5,000.00 grants will be
awarded. Funded projects will be short-term (12 months) in
duration to demonstrate quick, tangible results for implementation during
2009.
~ Other Conferences, Confabs and
Conglomerations ~
2008
Lead Tackle Exchange Events
August 2,
August 7,
August 9,
August 9, 11-4,
Mille Lacs/Isle,
August 15,
August 16,
August 21,
August 23, 11-4,
Wadena, Conservation and Wildlife Expo, Wadena
For more information about lead-free fishing tackle
visit: www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/reduce/sinkers.cfm
From
August 1 – 3, the
The
Judge and the General
Directed by Elizabeth Farnsworth and
Patricio Lanfranco
Thursday, July 24,
Flow: For Love of Water
Directed by Irena
Salina
August 1, 7:30 pm, August 2, 4 pm, August 2, 7:30
pm, August 3, 2 pm
Secrecy
Directed by Peter Galison and Robb
Moss
August 15, 7:30 pm, August 16, 2 pm, August 16, 7:30
pm, August 17, 2 pm
The
Listening Project
Introduced by directors Dominic Howes and Joel
Weber
Thursday, August 28,
Institute for
Conservation Leadership 2008 Fall Fest
Benefit Celebration
Thursday,
September 25th
(1st floor conference room)
Honoree:
DIANNE
RUSSELL
Executive
Director, Institute for Conservation Leadership
Celebrating
20 years of blooming and growing with the Institute
We look forward to
your participation as we honor Dianne for her dedication and
leadership!
Be a
sponsor, donate now! https://www.icl.org/give/donate.php
Sponsorship
levels
Leadership:
$2,000 and above
Networking:
$1,000 - $1,999
Strategic:
$500 - $999
Guiding:
$250 - $499
Sponsor:
$100 - $249
For more information,
contact Margaret Bond at margaret@icl.org or by calling 301 270
1548
Acting Locally to Protect Our
Legendary Lands and Waters
This first annual statewide
conference on invasive species is hosted by the Minnesota Invasive Species
Advisory Council, and co-hosted by the Minnesota Chapter of the Soil and Water
Conservation Society and the
Several technical and educational
opportunities will be offered – workshops, plenary session, concurrent sessions,
and technical tours – as well as a trade show of business products and services,
educational exhibits, and posters.
There will also be ample opportunity for
networking.
Offered as part of this conference
are several levels of sponsorship, all of which include a complimentary exhibit
booth or display table along with signage at the event and listing on the
conference web site and in the conference program.
Exhibit space is also available at
two levels – non-profit organizations and associations, and for- profit business
and organizations. The for-profit
fee includes two complimentary conference registrations. All exhibitors will be listed in the
conference program.
Visit www.minnesotaswcs.org
for conference information, or contact conference administrator Nancy Herselius
at info@mnisc.org or 515.480.2420.
Sustainable
Organizations: Building Shared Leadership for
Change
A Signature Program from the
Institute for Conservation Leadership:
This program helps leadership teams proactively manage change, engage
people with diverse perspectives, and create strategic impact. Teams of
three organizational leaders will strengthen their ability to lead, assess
and plan for successful organizational growth and
transition.
Effective organizational systems
and practices
Increased memberships and stronger
partnerships
A sound resource base
Clear board roles and commitment
A dynamic vision and
direction
WHEN
Maumee Bay Resort and Conference
Center in
Applications
are due
Apply early and receive
http://icl.org/programs/SustainableOrganizations.php
FOR MORE
INFORMATION:
Please
contact:
Barbara Rusmore
(406)582-1838x2
or email barbara@icl.or
or Bonnie Haigh
(406)582-1838x1
or email bonnie@icl.org
~ Resources for
As a
reader of The Confluence, I am certain you appreciate the value of quality water
resources and the challenges in keeping them that way. You are not alone by any means. The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership
(www.midwestglaciallakes.org)
was formed to address the changes we are seeing in and around our lakes, changes
that are negatively affecting fish habitats and water quality. This partnership provides a forum to
coordinate strategies that can be implemented locally or across a region the
size of the upper
Our
partnership, while unique to
By
working together, the collective experiences and strategies for delivering
meaningful conservation are available to everyone, eliminating the need to
reinvent the (fish habitat) wheel.
A good example of such a benefit can be seen in one of our recently
awarded grants. Using funds from
the grant, we will distribute copies of 1) Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality
and 2) Restore Your Shore
CD ROM—products developed and used in Minnesota—to lake associations in
Indiana through their Lake and River Enhancement Program.
Working
as a partnership also enhances our ability to leverage funding for
projects. The ability to work on a
collective resource allows us to approach lake habitat conservation on a
regional scale. Yet it still comes down to the grass roots, local efforts you
are all involved in. We are excited
about working together with Minnesota Waters to implement a conservation plan
for our glacial lakes.
For
more information, please contact me at pat.rivers@dnr.state.mn.us or
218-821-2384.
Pat
Rivers Project Manager,
Telephone: 800-515-5253 320-257-6630
For questions regarding the Web site or Hosted Web sites please contact:
Dick Lacher, Telephone: 218-659-4511 or rglacher@paulbunyan.net
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