Special “feet”ure on American coots
By Dominick Leskiw
Photo by “Mike” Michael L. Baird
If you live on a lake in Snohomish County, chances are you’ve seen an American Coot (Fulica americana). These chicken-sized black waterbirds, white-billed with red eyes, can often be found munching on vegetation near lake edges. While at some times of the year they hang out alone or in small groups, in winter you might see a raft of hundreds or even thousands of coots mixed with other waterfowl out in the middle of your lake!
Evaluating the impact of Washington’s phosphorus ban on lakes
By Pilar Deniston, for work done at the College of the Environment, Western Washington University
Have you ever noticed a lake with bright green algae or a weird-looking scum? These issues could be linked to phosphorus. This nutrient naturally originates from rocks and soil and enters our waterways via erosion. However, phosphorus is also introduced by humans living near waterbodies, since human and animal waste, as well as many fertilizers, contain phosphorus. While a small amount of phosphorus is necessary for plants, too much can be an issue.
Riding the waves of engagement: 2025 Western Washington Lakes Workshop
The 2025 Western Washington Lakes Workshop “Waves to Engage” was a great success, with nearly 50 attendees across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and beyond, joining virtually for an evening of learning, connection, and meaningful discussion. Attendees brought great energy — asking thoughtful questions and sharing valuable resources throughout the event.
Save the date for the WALPA 2025 Conference! And submit abstracts now!
October 8-10, 2025, Moses Lake
The Washington State Lake Protection Association (WALPA) is planning our next conference at the Best Western Plus Lake Front Hotel in Moses Lake, Washington Wednesday through Friday, October 8-10, 2025. This year’s theme is “Scabland Lakes of Eastern Washington”, but presentations on a variety of other topics are also welcome. Come learn about the geological history of the area and many interesting lakes formed by or associated with the Missoula Floods (e.g., Soap, Moses, and Coeur d’Alene lakes).
Make a difference – Join the WALPA Board or a WALPA committee!
Have some ideas about activities that WALPA should lead? Or ways to engage our members? Or even what snacks we should have at the conference? Consider joining the WALPA Board of Directors or a WALPA committee! WALPA is 100% run by volunteers and we need support from our members to be successful.
Help support WALPA! We need your fundraising skills!
WALPA is a non-profit organization and relies on its members and sponsors for financial support. As we navigate our current financial situation, one approach we are pursuing is fundraising. Fundraising will help put us on a more secure financial footing for our operations, and for supporting student scholarships. Have you attended a fundraiser or helped support other non-profits? We’d love to hear your ideas!
WALPA scholarship winners announced for 2025!
Congratulations to this year’s scholarship winners.
Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship Winner ($1000)
Ty Stephenson, Master’s student, Western Washington University
Spatial and temporal trends in macroinvertebrate communities and water quality in aquatic ecosystems of the North Cascades, Mount Rainier, and Olympic National Park
WALPA Graduate Scholarship ($500)
Brianna Decora, Master’s student, University of Idaho
The development of a rapid assessment methodology for zooplankton assemblages in Idaho
New mapping tool available in Aquatechnex toolkit to help measure lake fisheries
WATERLINE SPONSORED CONTENT
We have long understood that geography plays an important role in lake management. The ability to locate, measure, and count things like water volume, aquatic plant acreage, and location of invasive species is critical to developing plans to improve water quality. For a number of years, Aquatechnex has used the BioBase Mapping Platform to help us understand the lakes we work on. This cloud-based system uses hydroacoustic data collected during boat surveys to develop bathymetry maps, aquatic plant biovolume maps, and sediment composition maps.
Novel large-scale phosphorus mitigation on Moses Lake, WA
WATERLINE SPONSORED CONTENT
by Ryan van goethem, CLM (EUTROPHIX)
Moses Lake is a 6,800-acre lake that has experienced poor water quality and harmful algae blooms (HABs) dating back to the 1960s. Previous efforts to improve water quality included diverting wastewater in the 1980s and decades of routing low-phosphorus Columbia River Water through the lake to dilute excess nutrients (Welch & Brattebo 2024). Yet in recent years HABs continue to occur across the lake.
Harmful algal blooms – protecting and restoring our water resources
WATERLINE SPONSORED CONTENT
By: Shannon Brattebo and Dr. Kateri Salk, Tetra Tech, Inc.
For more than 40 years, Tetra Tech has been a trusted partner for agencies, municipalities, utilities, and associations across the United States, specializing in lake and reservoir management. Our team of limnologists, scientists, and engineers is at the forefront of water quality, criteria development, and lake restoration, earning national recognition for innovative approaches to cyanobacteria control. Our extensive experience spans both large and small waterbodies, planning and implementing in-lake restoration and management strategies.
Estimating breakdown rates of water stargrass (Heteranthera dubia), a potential N sink in a lowland agricultural river
By John Buster, Aaron Pelly, and Sarah Roley, Washington State University, Richland, WA
Excessive nutrient inputs to waterbodies commonly lead to water quality issues, such as the formation of benthic and planktonic harmful algal blooms (HABs). External nutrient loading often occurs because of agricultural fertilizer runoff, poor wastewater treatment, and atmospheric deposition. Disproportionate concentrations of nutrients are sometimes biochemically converted to other forms, such as the transformation of nitrate (NO3–) to chemically inert dinitrogen gas (N2) via denitrification. Excess nutrients can also be assimilated by organisms, which results in the incorporation of nutrients into the tissues of algae, microbes, and plants.
Impacts of stand age on nitrogen retention in restored riparian buffers
By Cara Gutenberg, MS candidate, Western Washington University Biology Department (College of Science and Engineering) and David U. Hooper, Professor, WWU Biology Dept.
Riparian buffers can reduce the amount of nitrogen that reaches streams from upland sources, which mitigates the effects of nitrogen pollution on drinking water quality and habitats in lakes, streams, and connected nearshore marine ecosystems. Excess nutrients from human activities can reduce water quality in streams and downstream areas through eutrophication, harmful algal blooms (HABs), and pollution of drinking water. Eutrophication causes an overgrowth in algae, which creates a hypoxic (low oxygen) environment unfit to support diverse life. In lakes, HABs result from overgrowths of cyanobacteria, some of which produce toxins dangerous to humans and animals, both from contact and in drinking water.
