Jointly sponsored by WICOLA and Ely Field  Naturalists
 
Lake water quality management past, present and future will be the focus of a day-long symposium June 23, “Who Speaks for the Lakes? Public/Private Partnerships to Conserve Lake Systems.”
 
The event will be held at the Vermilion Community College theater auditorium at 1900 Camp Street, Ely MN and is sponsored by the White Iron Chain of Lakes Association (WICOLA), the Kawishiwi Watershed Management Project (KWPP), and Ely Field Naturalists.
 
Presentation of the symposium is part of the three-year KWPP, a project primarily funded through Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) grants studying factors affecting water quality in the Kawishiwi Watershed. The project began last year and has included a variety of related activities, from watercraft inspections for fishing opener to researching lake sediment.
 
A major goal of the project is educating and involving the public about project findings and how citizens can work together with government towards their common goal of preserving area lakes.
 
Following introductory talks by Bill Tefft, Ely Field Naturalists and Derrick Passe, project coordinator, Joel Peterson, MPCA  Rainy River Basin project manager, will discuss the present state of information about the Kawishiwi  watershed, potential threats, and funding for future projects.
 
Shoreline management for water quality, fish and wildlife preservation will be the focus of talks by Heather Baird,  Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Habitat Specialist,  and Mary Blickenderfer, University of Minnesota Extension, Association Extension Professor.
 
Afternoon talks focus on how government agencies can assist property owners to improve water quality. Speakers include Nolan Baratano, Rainy River Basin Watershed Ecologist, Marty Rye, Superior National Forest Hydrologist, and Charlene Mason, a past president of WICOLA who led the group to its successful grant applications in 2010.
 
After formal talks have concluded, participants can choose from a variety of field trips, including touring the watershed via home computer;  tours of area lakes to look at actual shoreline planting; learning how to make a rusty crayfish trap; learning how to take water quality measurements.
 
For more information and registration, please go to (http://kawishiwiwatershed.com/symposium).