Michigan Chapter North American Lake Management Society

The purpose of McNALMS is to promote understanding and comprehensive management of Michigan's inland lake ecosystems
McNalms and MLSA Fund Two Student Projects for 2021
The Michigan Chapter, North American Lake Management Society (McNALMS) and the Michigan Lakes and Streams Association (MLSA) recently announced the recipients of the 2021 Lake Research Student Grant Program. The two students selected were Ellen Foley, a master’s degree student at the Annis Water Resources Institute at Grand Valley State University and Scott Jackson, a doctoral candidate in the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. Ellen’s research titled Lake Responses to Elevated Levels of Chloride and Phosphorus will focus on the impacts of excess chloride and phosphorus on an urban lake located in Grand Rapids, MI. She will address if elevated chloride reduces lake turnover and increases anoxia and accumulation of reduced chemical substances in the lake bottom. She also will investigate internal phosphorus loading and subsequent phosphorus release from the sediments under anoxic conditions and the direct and indirect effects from high chloride concentrations. She hopes that the work offers insight into lakes experiencing both high chloride and phosphorus concentrations due to human inputs and helps strengthen citizen involvement in lake management decisions due to these inputs. Scott’s research focuses on the Impacts of Climate Change on Gene Expression in Stocked Walleye Populations. Walleye’s distribution is limited by temperature, and studies have noted that these fish populations are declining in inland lakes, possibly due to climate change. Scott’s research will investigate how gene expression varies among walleye populations and link their differences in traits to walleye growth and survivorship. He will also measure acclimated responses to increases in temperature to determine impacts from both short and long-term exposure, the latter being associated with climate change. He hopes his research will benefit walleye stocking and management in inland lakes in Michigan. His approach will also provide methods for assessing other fish species’ response to climate change. McNALMS and MLSA congratulate these two students and look forward to their research results over the next year.
******************************************************************** If you missed any of the presentations from the 2021 Shoreline and Shallows Conference: A New Wave of Thinking, both the videos and presentations are now posted on the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership website.

NALMS Conference to be held Online

The national North American Lake Management Society will be holding its 2021 annual conference in a virtual format on November 15-19, 2021. Registration is open and will include workshops and interactive sessions. Further details will be announced as they become available.

2021 MGLP Lake Conservation Webinars

  • The Michigan Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) announces its 2021 Lake Conservation Webinars. These free webinars address a diversity of lake and fish habitat management issues from wakeboats to watersheds, from Ogaa (Walleye) management to social marketing, and from algae research to limnology from space. You can see the full lineup as well as archives of past webinars at the MGLP Lake Conservation Webinars webpage. Upcoming webinars for fall are listed below. All webinars begin at 2:00pm Eastern (1:00pm Central).
  • October 5, Fishing for Food: Quantifying Recreational Fisheries Harvest in Wisconsin Lakes - Holly Embke, PhD Candidate & USGS Pathways Research Fish Biologist, University of Wisconsin Madison & USGS National Climate Adaptation Science Center
  • October 19, Understanding patterns of fish kill events in Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes - Dr. Nick Phelps, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota
  • November 9, Structured Decision Making for Lake Habitat Restoration - Dr. Jessica Collier, Fish & Wildlife Biologist, USFWS Green Bay Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office

Past Research Projects Funded in 2020

The Michigan Chapter North American Lake Management Society (McNALMS) and the Michigan Lakes and Streams Association (MLSA) announce two recipients of the 2020 Lake Research Student Grants Program. They are Emily Neuman from Grand Valley State University and Emmet Smrcka from Central Michigan University. Each will receive $2000 toward their research project.The student grants program is a joint collaboration between McNALMS and MLSA. The purpose of the program is to promote student efforts to work with lakes and lake communities to enhance lake management. The program seeks projects that increase the understanding of lake ecology, strengthen collaborative lake management, address inland lakes fisheries, build lake partnerships and/or expand citizen involvement in lake management.Neuman’s project will deal with Starry Stonewort (Nitellopsis obtusa), a macroalgae that has invaded many of Michigan lakes. Its excessive growth is thought to interfere with fish spawning habitats and change microbial communities.
Chinese Mystery Snails. Photo by D. Spalsbury, Kansas Dept. Wildlife and Parks, Bugwood.org
Starry Stonewort with bulbils. Photo by Pam Tyning
Her research, titled, Star Wars: Phenology of Nitellopsis obtusa in Pentwater Lake, Michigan will help to determine when peak biomass of the species occurs and how changes in climate might affect plant growth from fragments. She will also utilize databases and herbarium records to look at which physical, chemical, and biological parameters may be important in the supporting the successful establishment of starry stonewort in lakes. She hopes that the results of this research will help inform management plans for Pentwater lake and other lakes in the region.Smrcka’s research will focus on three invasive snails that have invaded some Michigan lakes: Chinese, Japanese and Banded Mystery snails(Cipangopaludina chinensis, Cipangopaludina japonica, and Vivaparus georgianus, respectively). These snails have been found to alter lake ecosystems, feed on fish embryos, and possibly transmit parasites that can kill waterfowl. They could also clog water intake pipe screens. The extent of these snail populations are not well known. By sampling a subset of lakes, Smrcka hopes to determine which lakes have one or more of these species. He also hopes to provide key lake characteristics that could be used in predicting whether other lakes could support the snails if they are introduced and which lakes may be at a higher risk for invasion.Both McNALMS and MLSA congratulate these two grant recipients.

Lunch and Learn Program Presentations

Harmful Algal Blooms: Ecology, Impacts and Management

FEATURED PRESENTATIONS
Dr. Ann St. Amand, President, PhycoTech, MI on Lake Level Identification of Harmful Algal Blooms and Their Ecology Part 1 and Part 2 Dr. West Bishop, SePRO Corp., NC on Combating Toxic Cyanobacteria

Managing Fish Habitat in a Changing Climate

FEATURED PRESENTATIONS Kevin Wehrly, Fisheries Division, Michigan Department of Natural Resources Inland Lake Climate Change Science and Information
Pete Jacobson, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Protecting Coldwater Fish from Climate Change
Shoreland Stewards Program Releases Videos
Five videos have been released by the the Shoreland Stewards Program, a part of the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership. The videos explore the four zones of lakefront property and teach lakefront property residents how to be a "Shoreland Steward." The Shoreland Stewards program was created to recognize inland lake property owners who are maintaining their property in a way that reduces negative impacts that development can have on inland lakes to ensure healthy lakes for future generations for both people and fish and wildlife. The videos can be accessed on The Partnership's YouTube channel. Find out more information at: www.mishorelandstewards.org
Conservation Planner Tool Provides Lake Data for Great Lakes Region
The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP) has released its new MGLP Conservation Planner, which provides lake data to inform communicators, managers, and researchers about lakes throughout the Great Lakes region. Specifically, the MGLP Conservation Planner provides data on likely suitability for fishes, land cover along the shoreline and in the lake’s watershed, and conservation recommendations to supplement existing information for each lake. Its recommended uses include provision of data to inform single-lake management, establishment of a framework for conservation strategies in each lake, identification of patterns in fish habitat due to climate and land use change, and as a supplement during potential prioritization of limited resources among lakes.
Great Lakes Conference 2020 Presentations Available
The Great Lakes are one of Michigan’s greatest resources, providing recreational opportunities, a premier fisheries resource, water for agriculture, manufacturing, and other industries and multiple other uses. They are also subject to major problems such as invasive species, climate change, and harmful algal blooms. The 30th annual Great Lakes Conference, The Great Lakes: Tackling Challenges Today and Beyone was held Tuesday, March 3 in East Lansing. Topics included legislative developments with ballast water and invasive species, fish diseases and their impacts on the Great Lakes, reclaiming Detroit’s industrial waterfront, forecasting harmful algal blooms (HABs), a sneak preview of a new PBS production on HABs and the fisheries of the Great Lakes. Visit the conference website to obtain copies of the presentations.

McNALMS Corporate Sponsors:

Upcoming Board Meetings - 2021

  • Wednesday, November 3 (Zoom)

  • All meetings are open to members. Please RSVP to wandellhoward@gmail.com if you plan to attend and you will be sent a link to the Zoom meeting room. Meetings begin at 10:00 am
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