WALPA Accepting Nominations for Board in 2016

WALPA is accepting nominations for new Board members to start in October 2016!

Positions to fill include:
President Elect
Treasurer
Board Directors (multiple positions)

Terms are 2 years (except President Elect). We would love to have you join us! To nominate someone or to self-nominate, please email Randy Hadland (rhadland@ysi.com) by Sept 16th!

WALPA’s 29^th Annual Lakes Conference scheduled for October 5-7, 2016 in Bellingham

WALPA heads north to Bellingham this year to host its 29^th annual conference. This year’s theme is “Lakes – Reflections of Change.” Please join your fellow lake lovers at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center to share the latest in lake research and science and lake management topics through talks and poster sessions. While the conference focuses on change, we invite you to submit abstracts on a wide variety of lake-related topics. Submit online at 2016 WALPA Abstract Submittal.

Whether you plan to present at the conference or not, make sure to sign up to attend when we open online registration in the next few weeks at http://www.walpa.org/annual-conference/.  We are finalizing the details, but there will be workshops for brushing up on technical skills and field trips to showcase local lake issues.

You can book your rooms now for the conference rate of $89.00 per night (plus tax) for single and double occupancy rooms. Reserve online at WA State Lake Protection to get the special rate or call Four Points reservations at 360-671-1011 and request the WALPA conference rate.

New Zealand Mudsnails

New Zealand mudsnails, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, are freshwater invaders from New Zealand. They were first found in the United States in southern Idaho in 1987. Closer to home, they were found in the Columbia River estuary in 1996, the mainstem Columbia River in 2002, and in Olympia’s Capitol Lake in 2009. New Zealand mudsnails have been in King County since at least 2009. They were identified in Seattle’s Thornton Creek in 2011 from a 2009 sediment sample and subsequent surveys confirmed their presence along the Lake Washington shoreline near the mouth of Thornton Creek. In 2012, they were discovered in another Lake Washington tributary – Bellevue’s Kelsey Creek. Most recently, they were found in McAleer Creek in July 2013.  Read more…

King County

Invasive Threats

City of Bellevue

http://www.ci.bellevue.wa.us/10430.htm

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

http://wdfw.wa.gov/ais/potamopyrgus_antipodarum/

Green Shorelines Resources

WRIA 8 has created a collection of green shorelines resources and we need your help spreading the word about them. We want to get the various pieces — factsheets, videos, blog, website and printed handbook — into the hands of those who would find them most useful. These could be homeowners contemplating changes to their waterfront, permit staff, shoreline planners, practitioners, contractors, and others.  Please take a look below to learn what’s available. Then let us know if you can use them and whether you would like hard copies of the factsheets or booklet.

If you have ideas about additional people we should contact about these resources and/or meetings/events/audiences we should be reaching out to, please let us know that too.

The materials are:

• Two attached fact sheets-one on bulkheads and one on docks. The idea is to give people the “why” along with the requirements.

Dock Factsheet

Bulkhead Factsheet

• Three short (3-4 minute) videos: one with fish scientist Roger Tabor explaining how young salmon use the shoreline, and two featuring shoreline homeowners talking about their green shorelines.  Please link to them from your website or blog:

Roger Tabor, US FWS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vkj3rUPSJQ&feature=plcp

Terri Olson Miller, Lake Washington property owner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZWrSB32_ps&feature=plcp

Joanna Buehler, Lake Sammamish property owner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5bn15_jt5U&feature=plcp

• A green shorelines blog , especially useful for practitioners, that provides answers to frequently asked questions, technical details about shoreline projects and more. Find it at:  http://greenshorelines.wordpress.com/
• Copies of the comprehensive Green Shorelines guidebook on bulkhead alternatives if you need more. Contact Linda Grob at linda.grob@kingcounty.gov<mailto:linda.grob@kingcounty.gov> for copies.
• The Green Shorelines website.  Find it all here. Link to it from your website or blog: http://www.govlink.org/watersheds/8/action/GreenShorelines/default.aspx

Please let us know your thoughts on making the best use of these resources and help us get the word out to others who could use them. Thanks!

For more information email us here!