Wednesday Afternoon Workshops
April 10, 2019 ~ 1:00-4:00 pm
Pre-registration required to attend.
Agenda subject to change.
This advanced course will provide an overview of legal and procedural issues that any lake district needs to consider before embarking on a major project. Districts are increasingly considering significant investments of time and money on lake-related projects. These can include dam repairs, dredging, land acquisition, and purchasing and operating aquatic plant harvesters. Wisconsin’s lake district law allows districts to take on such endeavors, but commissioners need to be aware of a broader set of laws that govern permitting, liability and public debt to carry out these major projects. Attorneys from Wheeler Van Sickle & Anderson, S.C. will provide an overview of the most important legal and procedural questions you will likely face. Time will be allotted to tackle your questions related to specific projects in your lake district.
Presenters: William O'Connor and Mary Beth Peranteau, Attorneys, Wheeler Van Sickle & Anderson, S.C.
In this workshop, Heidi Natura, a nationally recognized landscape architect with the distinguished Chicago-based firm “Living Habitats” will share her experiences and approaches to creating resilient and ecologically functional landscapes for assorted habitats. She will provide different strategies for assessing and designing lakeshore, pond, and river sites, as well as examples from her projects of successful work. After an introductory presentation on design and project planning, the workshop will split attendees into small groups and give them example waterfront sites to work on together. Heidi will be joined by Patrick Goggin, from UW-Extension Lakes, and together they will help coach you through site assessment approaches, best practice idea generation, installation questions, design considerations, and other project variables that arise.
Presenters:
Heidi Natura, Founder and Partner, Living Habitats
Patrick Goggin, Lakes Specialist, UW-Extension Lakes
PRESENTATION: Living Habitats (PDF)
This workshop is designed specifically for Lake District Treasurers. Managing a lake district budget is not the same as working with finances for a lake association or other type of organization. This workshop will provide you with the tools and knowledge needed to create and manage your lake district’s budget. We will cover specific compliance rules that lake districts need to follow.
Presenters:
Eric Olson, Director, UW-Extension Lakes
Tom German, Deputy Secretary, Board of Commissioners of Public Lands
Lake eutrophication modeling uses characteristics of the lake and its watershed to explain the trophic condition of a lake or evaluate how that has changed or could change in the future. This workshop will examine some of the history, principals and applications of lake eutrophication modeling and then introduce attendees to the Wisconsin Lake Modeling Suite (WiLMS) for lake water quality evaluation and planning. This workshop is geared towards individuals interested in performing simple lake eutrophication modeling or hoping to understand modeling results for their lake. The workshop walks through and discusses several lake modeling examples. If workshop participants wish to get hands-on experience in the modeling examples, they should bring their own laptop computer.
Presenter: Paul McGinley, Water Quality Specialist, Extension
This workshop has been designed for a hands-on experience with DNR’s Surface Water Integrated Monitoring Systems (SWIMS) Database, Viewers and Webpages. Through this workshop we will provide: the SWIMS data download information, advanced uses of DNR’s Viewers – Surface Water Data Viewer (SWDV), Lakes & AIS Mapping Tool, a brief overview of the Lakes webpages and much more. This is a great opportunity for experienced users to learn more about SWIMS and get some great hands-on experience with it.
Presenters: SWIMS Help Team, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Jake Dickmann, Ben Kort, and Dennis Wiese
Strong communications are a key to meeting an organization’s mission and goals. This workshop will assist lake associations with developing an effective communications strategy, covering topics such as: knowing your audience, crafting your message, and using electronic communications and social media effectively. You’ll even have the opportunity to practice what you learn and create some of your own communications. Join us, and get the message out!
Tim Campbell, AIS Communication Specialist, Extension and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - PRESENTATION: Social Media (PDF) Mike Engelson, Executive Director, Wisconsin Lakes
In this introduction to identifying cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), learn what field characteristics you can use to distinguish cyanobacteria from other common algae in lakes. We will review the environmental conditions that cause cyanobacteria to grow to nuisance levels known as blooms, and discuss the health impacts of the toxins made by some cyanobacteria on animals and people who ingest, inhale, or have skin contact with cyanobacteria. We will cover recreational guidelines for cyanobacterial toxins, and how to determine the safest recreational levels of cyanobacteria in Wisconsin’s lakes. We will also review new tools you can use to track and report cyanobacteria blooms, including a remote sensing app.
Please bring a hand lens or magnifying glass for hands-on identification practice. This workshop is intended for water professionals and field staff.
Presenter: Gina LaLiberte, Statewide Blue-green Algae Coordinator, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
In this aquatic plant workshop, we will focus on aquatic plant ecology and identification. Participants will learn to identify aquatic plants using freshly defrosted plant specimens and a variety of plant keys and other resources. We will focus on distinguishing plants with similar growth forms and habitats and distinguishing among species in the larger genera. If possible, participants should bring a hand lens although there will some hand lenses and microscopes available. There will be a packet of materials for each participant to keep including “Through the Looking Glass” and “Aquatic Plants of the Upper Midwest” (two identification books about aquatic plants) and keys to guide you through plant identification.
Presenters:
Susan Knight, Interim Director, Trout Lake Station
Paul Skawinski, Statewide Citizen Lake Monitoring Network Educator, Extension Lakes
Michelle Nault, Statewide Lakes & Reservoir Ecologist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
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