Our scenic Loop the Lake Bike Ride around Lake Monona features five fun stops along the way. After all, we are riding for our five favorite lakes! Join us Saturday, June 15th at Olbrich Park. Your registration will help support important lake improvement projects, water quality monitoring, and educational programs.
We are more than a quarter of the way through 2019, and the days are starting to warm as we head deeper into the spring season. As the lake season approaches, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved with our lakes.
With more than 6,000 visitors joining us at The Edgewater and on Lake Mendota, Frozen Assets raised more than $127,000 net for our lakes this year. THANK YOU to all of our sponsors, guests, volunteers, and event partners who made the festival and fundraiser a huge success!
Thank you to our presenting sponsor Lands’ End and to our platinum sponsor The Edgewater. Lands’ End provides critical funding and apparel to keep our staff and volunteers warm. The Edgewater and its staff were incredible hosts of the festival and fundraiser for the FIFTH year in a row!
Funds raised will be used to purchase easements for three miles of buffer strips, which help capture nutrient-rich runoff from farm fields before it enters our lakes. See some of the other projects we’ve been up to since our founding in 2010.
Keep reading for a recap of the event and respond to our survey below to give us feedback about how we can make next year even better!
From May to September of 2018, water quality monitoring took place at piers and beaches around the five Yahara lakes. Volunteers measured near-shore water clarity, air and water temperature, and noted several visual observations. Visual observations included presence of algal blooms (green/blue-green), floating plant debris, swimmers, waterfowl, wave intensity, and general water appearance. Volunteers report conditions on our website, Lakeforecast.org. The website displays updated data in real time.
At Clean Lakes Alliance, we work for our lakes all year long. Keep reading to learn five great ways YOU can get involved with the watershed this winter and support cleaner, healthier lakes!
Join us for Yahara Lakes 101 to learn about the issues that impact our lakes!
Our Yahara Lakes are part of a dynamic and interconnected ecosystem. As a result, the pressures that impact water quality also affect our lands, wildlife, and even insects!
At this month’s Yahara Lakes 101 talk, Karen Oberhauser of the University of Wisconsin-Madison will discuss declining Monarch butterfly populations and the “all hands on deck” approach needed for conservation. Through intentional habitat restoration, we can help increase the number of Monarchs and improve water quality in our lakes. Join us to learn how life in flight and life on the lakes are intrinsically connected!
Karen Oberhauser is the Director of the UW-Madison Arboretum. She and her students have conducted research on several aspects of monarch butterfly ecology. Her research depends on traditional lab and field techniques, as well as the contributions of a variety of audiences through citizen science. Her strong interest in promoting a citizenry with a high degree of scientific and environmental literacy led to the development of a science education program that involves courses for teachers, and opportunities for youth, to engage in research and share their findings with broad audiences.
In 1996, she started a nationwide Citizen Science project called the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, which continues to engage hundreds of volunteers throughout North America. Oberhauser has authored over 90 papers on her research on monarchs, insect conservation, and citizen science. Her new job at the Arboretum blends her work on habitat conservation, public outreach, and citizen science research.
Oberhauser is passionate about the conservation of the world’s biodiversity, and believes that the connections her projects promote between monarchs, humans, and the natural world promote meaningful conservation action. She is the chair of the Monarch Joint Venture, and a founding officer of the Monarch Butterfly Fund. In 2013, Oberhauser received a White House Champion of Change award for her work with Citizen Science.
The event is held at The Edgewater. Come at 7:30 a.m. for a meet-and-greet and to enjoy coffee, pastries, and fruit. The program begins at 8 a.m., and class is dismissed by 9 a.m. Complimentary event parking will be available at The Edgewater.
Admission is FREE for Friends of Clean Lakes. If you are not a Friend, admission is $10 per event. Registration for each event is requested for all attendees.
Yahara Lakes 101 is a series of educational events open to the public and a great chance for residents to learn more about the science behind the issues that affect our lakes. Each month we feature a different expert to make the science accessible and interesting to non-technical audiences.
The series is produced in partnership with the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, with presenting sponsors First Weber Foundation and Johnson Financial Group, hosting sponsor The Edgewater Madison, supporting sponsor National Guardian Life Insurance Company, and media partner the Isthmus.
Clean Lakes Alliance was pleased to hold its first ever Clean Lakes Community Awards presented by Town Bank on Tuesday, November 27th, 2019. In light of significant challenges facing our lakes, we have been overwhelmed by the community’s response. The awards program recognized outstanding businesses, organizations, and individuals who have made our lakes a top priority.
“I can honestly say, over the last few years, I have seen a big shift towards greater community involvement in lake health,” said Clean Lakes Alliance board chair Lloyd Eagan in address to the audience and awardees.
Record rainfall hit Greater Madison this month, and its impacts are far-reaching. Ten to fifteen inches of rain fell across western Dane County in less than 24 hours. The high volume of water is now making its way downstream through the Yahara Watershed, with our lakes reaching historic high levels. See real-time lake levels here.
Lake Wingra is a small, shallow lake located in the City of Madison, and is connected to Lake Monona via Wingra (Murphy) Creek. The watershed is mostly urban but also includes the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum.
Because of its urban environment, the lake faces many challenges, including excess nutrients and road salt (chloride) from urban runoff. The Lake Wingra Watershed Management Plan, adopted by partners in 2015, seeks to address these and other watershed issues.
Lake water quality continues to benefit from a carp- removal project in 2008. Reducing carp numbers in small shallow lakes can be an effective strategy to improve water quality because non-native carp uproot submerged aquatic plants and stir up lake bottom sediment when foraging for food.
2019 average (July – August) water clarity and phosphorus concentrations both ranked “good,” according to Wisconsin DNR criteria for shallow lakes.
The following groups work on water quality issues in the Wingra watershed. Consider contacting an organization near you to get involved!
City of Madison
Dane County
Friends of Lake Wingra
Madison Water Utility
Public Health Madison & Dane County
Yahara Watershed Improvement Network
In 2018, total phosphorus levels were “good” and clarity conditions were on the border between “fair” and “good,” according to Wisconsin DNR criteria.
According to data collected by Public Health Madison & Dane County, Lake Wingra’s beach was closed 11 times in 2018, primarily due to high E. coli levels. After August 20th, all the beaches were closed for the remainder of the season (August 21 – Labor Day) due to flood conditions.
Summer water quality conditions are linked to the success of the March 2008 carp removal from the lake. Prior to the carp removal, during 1996-2007, median summer phosphorus was 0.056 mg/L and clarity transparency was 2.0 ft. After the carp removal, during 2008-2017, median phosphorus and clarity were 0.034 mg/L and 3.7 feet, respectively. This is a major improvement for the shallow lake.
Prior to the carp removal, during 1996-2007, median summer phosphorus in Lake Wingra was 0.056 mg/L and water clarity was 2.0 feet. After the carp removal, during 2008-2011, median phosphorus and clarity were 0.034 mg/L and 3.4 feet, respectively - a major improvement for the shallow lake.
In 2017, both total phosphorus levels and clarity conditions were fair, according to DNR criteria for shallow lakes. After years of good water quality conditions, this is an unwelcome change, and may be an indication that carp populations are rebounding.
Support clean, healthy lakes with Clean Lakes Alliance’s 12th Annual Loop the Lake Bike Ride, presented by Lake Ridge Bank. Loop the Lake is an at-your-own-pace bike ride around Lake Monona on Saturday, June 15th that raises funds to protect and preserve Greater Madison’s lakes. Make a day of it while you enjoy entertaining and educational activities at many parks along the route.
Registration includes:
Fun and educational stops (see information below)
Super soft t-shirt, compliments of Lands’ End
Food cart item
Free beer or seltzer, courtesy of Bell’s Brewery (21+)
