Slick roads and salty streams
by Tim Clark, King County
adapted from the King County Streams Monitor, a monthly newsletter about stream water quality and hydrology in King County
As the Puget Sound region prepared for the “snowmageddon” of February 2019, stores were emptied of snow shovels and salt. Deicers, like road salt and certain chemicals, allow for safer travel and continued emergency vehicle access. Road salt came into widespread use in the 1960s, and today more than 22 million tons are applied to U.S. roadways each year.
Unfortunately, there is a salty side to this story…
WALPA Board news from the President
by Sally Abella, Board President
With this issue of Waterline, we will begin a regular column describing current Board activities and issues under consideration. It’s our hope that these reports will stimulate our general membership and lead to a free exchange of ideas that will grow a more robust organization dedicated to protecting our local and regional lakes.
There were several topics of discussion at the first two Board meetings of the year, including our financial stability and the organization’s long-term trajectory, which committees would be needed for our work in 2020, and the location and theme of the 2020 annual conference slated for October.
Apply for 2020 student scholarships this spring!
by Jenifer Parsons, Chair, Scholarship Committee
In 2020, the Washington Lakes Protection Association (WALPA) will once again offer three student scholarships:
- The Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship for a Ph.D. graduate student (for $1,250).
- The Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship for an M.Sc. graduate student (for $1,000).
- The WALPA scholarship to for an undergraduate student (for $500).
All three scholarships will also provide funds to cover registration and two nights’ accommodation for each recipient at WALPA’s annual conference.
NALMS annual meeting attended by hundreds in Vermont last November amid wintry weather
39th International Symposium of the North American Lake Management Society
by Harry Gibbons
The 2019 North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) annual meeting was held in Burlington, Vermont, from November 11-15, with the theme: Watershed Moments: Harnessing Data, Science, and Local Knowledge to Protect Lakes. Approximately 600 attendees registered for the meeting, up from recent conference numbers. In the spirit of the theme, the conference hosts (the New England chapter of NALMS) reached out to local lake users specifically to help them participate with lake professionals through the week. Monday’s workshops, for example, were held at the University of Vermont (UVM) allowing participants to connect with university students and faculty.
