Nor

       Upcoming Events

• "Climate Warming: Less Water, Cooked Fish"

  On June 20^th – 22^nd this year, the BCLSS is taking on a prevalent theme for its 11^th annual conference at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan (UBC-O) campus in Kelowna.

   

  Located within Canada’s only desert, the Okanagan Valley will likely be dramatically impacted by climate change.  The conference will bring together presenters with expertise on various aspects of climate change and its effect on lakes, fish and, of course, people. 

   

  The weekend begins with a Friday social wine & cheese hosted by the BCLSS.  Saturday is a full day of presentations, networking opportunities, displays & discussions.  Saturday evening will consist of dinner followed by a keynote presentation and an informal social.  Sunday morning will involve a LakeKeepers course teaser to be held at a local lake (more information will be available soon). 

   

  The BCLSS would like to thank the BC Ministry of Environment, Water Stewardship Division for its generous grant.  This year’s event is also being sponsored by the Okanagan Basin Water Board. 

          A block of rooms have been set aside at a reduced price at the UBC-O for

          attendees.  For more information or to reserve your room, please click the following

          link: UBC-O reservation for BCLSS conference or call 1.877.589.6073.  Reduced

          room rates are available until May 20, 2008.

 

          Further information:

• 2008 conference agenda (DRAFT)

• Registration form

• Accommodation information and maps

• Volunteer Award nomination information

 

• The Great North American Secchi Dip-In 2008 runs from June 28^th to July 20^th.   For more information, click here (Secchi info).  To record your Secchi Dip-In results and submit them to the BCLSS office, click here (Dip-In Form).

 

• International Symposium for the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) will be held November 11-14, 2008 in Lake Louise. The theme of the Symposium is "Lake Management in a Changing Environment". It will deal with the management of our lakes when faced with unprecedented developmental pressures, climate change and water scarcity. Abstracts due by June 1, 2008. http://www.nalms.org

---

Recent Events:

 

BCLSS Annual Conference 2007

 

"On the Beach - A Skinny Dip into Sustainable Lake and Watershed Development"

 

The BC Lake Stewardship Society 10^th Annual Conference & General Meeting was held in the Kootenays in Wasa Lake, June 22^nd to 24^th.  Saturday’s presentations discussed a variety of issues surrounding development pressures and stewardship initiatives.  The keynote speaker, Rick Kool, gave a compelling and thought-provoking presentation on the history of stewardship.  Sunday’s events included a guided walk around Wasa Lake followed by a presentation on boating safety and regulations. 

 

As always, the dedication and hard work of the BCLSS board members and the local organizing committee made this conference a success.  Special thanks are extended to Lisa Torunski, Susanne Ashmore, and Brian Nickurak for their hard work!

 

This year's conference was generously funded by the Columbia Basin Trust, BC Ministry of the Environment, Regional District of the East Kootenay, the District of Invermere, and the Wasa Lake Land Improvement District (WLLID).  Thank you to our sponsors!!!

 

DVDs of the presentations at the 2007 Conference are available to borrow from the BCLSS office.  Please contact Kristi or Carolyn if you are interested in obtaining a copy.

 

Click here for 2006 Conference Proceedings (file is zipped to download due to size)

 

New Office Address

 

Please note, the BCLSS office will be relocating on February 22^nd, 2008.  If you are in Kelowna, please stop in and visit us at our new location:

 

#203 - 1889 Springfield Rd.

Kelowna, BC

V1Y 5V5

 

Please send all mail to this new address starting February 15^th.

 

2006/07 Funding Announcements
 

Funding was once again received from the BC Gaming Commission to assist the BCLSS with daily operating and office expenses. 

 

 2005 marked the end of the original 3 year BC Lake Stewardship and Monitoring Program (BCLSMP).  To date there have been 58 lakes trained and 45 lakes actively monitoring under the BCLSMP.  The success of the original program has resulted in the Ministry of Environment generously funding the program for an additional 3 years.  The BCLSS Board of Directors and staff would like to thank the Ministry for this opportunity to continue with a program we believe to be invaluable and necessary in promoting stewardship of BC’s lakes. 

 

The BCLSS has received support from Canada’s largest community foundation for additions to the BCLSMP.  Faye Wightman, President and CEO of Vancouver Foundation, recently announced that the Vancouver Foundation’s Environment Advisory Committee approved a $25 000 grant for the Society to develop more in-depth LakeKeepers training program(s) as well as an aquatic plant mapping and identification program.  Development of the programs will begin in 2006 and the BCLSS Board of Directors is hopeful that implementation will occur in spring of 2007.

 

BCLSS Volunteer of the Year Award Recipients From Previous Years

(click links below for further info)

• Volunteer Award 2001

• Volunteer Award 2002

• Volunteer Award 2003

• Volunteer Award 2004

• Volunteer Awards 2005

• Volunteer Awards 2006

• Volunteer Awards 2007

Mayor’s Environmental Achievement Award

In May 2004, BCLSS proudly accepted the Mayor’s Environmental Achievement Award for Most Dedicated Group. Citizens of Kelowna made nominations, and winners from previous years selected BCLSS as this year’s recipient.

BCLSS was recognized for their role as an education and information resource for individuals and groups across BC, for the work on the Okanagan Foreshore Restoration Project, and for the restoration work recently completed in Bertram Creek Park. The Bertram Creek Park restoration was done in partnership with the Central Okanagan Regional District, and included a viewing platform and interpretive signage created with funding from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.

Ecostar Award for Conservation and Restoration

On December 3, 2004, the Highlands Stewardship Foundation received the EcoStar Award for Conservation and Restoration.  BCLSS Director Eric Bonham is the chair for the Highland Stewardship Foundation and was able to attend the banquet and accept the award on behalf of the Foundation. Congratulations!

As noted by the EcoStar Awards Program: “The Highlands Stewardship Foundation is a non-profit society formed in 1996 to promote environmental stewardship. Its efforts were initially focused on conserving and restoring the natural habitat around Fork Lake. The group's interests have since expanded to include seven of the ten lakes in the Highlands.”

The group has now expanded its work further to include both land and water stewardship and its most recent initiative is a proposal to develop a water conservation plan for the District of Highlands that addresses water conservation/energy conservation at the individual household level. Given that all households in the District are on individual wells and sewage disposal systems and that the water source is groundwater there is good reason to encourage conservation.

For more information on this and other EcoStar Awards, visit: http://www.crd.bc.ca/ecostar/index.htm

Ice-On / Ice-Off Data

Why monitor ice?  Climate change is affecting ecosystems globally.  But we don’t know enough about how the climate will change in different regions of Canada or how ecosystems will react in the future.  Accurate recording and analysis of ice-on and ice-off events offers one easy way to learn how climate change is affecting our environment. 

 

Nature Watch (2004) IceWatch.  Retrieved September 15, 2005 from http://www.attentionnature.ca/english/icewatch/intro.html

 

Collection of this valuable data is easy.  Sampling protocol and a data recording sheet are available by clicking on the link below.   

• Ice-on / Ice-off Data Collection Sheet & Sampling Protocol

Lake Level Gauges
In order to better understand climate change, BCLSS would like to collect information on lake level changes. Please let us know whether your lake is equipped with a lake level gauge, and if so, who maintains it and collects the data.