Thank you to everyone who came out to the Clean Lakes Festival, including the nearly 300 riders who looped Lake Monona by bike! The weather was perfect for recreation, relaxation, and exploration of all that our lakes have to offer. The photos speak for themselves: take a look at festival highlights here.

Consider joining us for a Yahara Lakes 101 presentation on “Blue-green algae in Lake Mendota: the mystery of the missing nitrogen” with Dr. McMahon on Thursday, August 14^th, and a volunteer day at Olbrich Park on Thursday, August 21^st. Also, we encourage you to support our lake education programs by becoming a lake buddy.

In the meantime, keep getting out on the lakes, and don’t forget to send us pictures. We’ll keep you up-to-date on our adventures.

In Partnership,

The Clean Lakes Alliance team

Table of Contents
Lake Explorer Camp
Yahara Lakes 101 with Dr. McMahon
Olbrich Park volunteer day
Clean Lakes Festival recap
Loop the Lake recap
“We need to redefine our allies” – TEDxMadison
Community Events and Opportunities

Lake Explorer Camp – Celebratory Field Day

On Wednesday, August 6^th, 180 Boys & Girls Club of Dane County students will arrive at Wingra Park for a lake-centered field day. The students will paddle around Lake Wingra, explore lake history on a pontoon boat, learn to net and identify fish, and try their luck at fishing.

The field day will celebrate the completion of the first annual Lake Explorer Camp. This pilot program was designed to increase understanding and appreciation of our lakes, and teach valuable lake recreation and investigation skills. As part of the camp, Boys and Girls Club students learned about and played on Lake Wingra with trained staff, including a bilingual instructor. Students investigated fish biology, read topography maps, identified lake macroinvertebrates with a microscope, and gained paddling, boating, and fishing skills.

The camp is the result of a partnership between the Clean Lakes Alliance, Wingra Boats, the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County, and the generous support of Downtown Madison Rotary and the Wingra Boats Duck Dash.

To support the Clean Lakes Alliance’s lake education programs, donate to become a lake buddy. Through our lake education programs, we seek to take advantage of the strengths of our partners and make connections to help foster the next generation of lake advocates.

Yahara Lakes 101 with Dr. McMahon

Join us on Thursday, August 14^th for Yahara Lakes 101 – this month, we will learn all about cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), with Dr. Katherine (Trina) McMahon. The presentation topic will be “Blue-green algae in Lake Mendota: the mystery of the missing nitrogen.”

The element nitrogen seems to affect how blue-green algae forms and produces toxins in unexpected ways. Dr. McMahon will give us insight into the research on cyanobacteria that is currently underway at UW-Madison and through the North Temperate Lakes Long Term Ecological Research program. Dr. McMahon will also explain the role of water quality buoys in monitoring blooms, and give a preview of some exciting new genomics-enabled insight into Mendota’s blue-green algae.

Please register online (required).

Dr. McMahon is a Professor at UW-Madison with joint appointments in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Bacteriology. She has been studying the Madison-area lakes since she arrived here in 2003. Her research focuses on the role of microorganisms in determining water quality, in both lakes and wastewater treatment plants. She is also currently a citizen member of the Dane County Lakes and Watershed Commission.

Come volunteer with us at Olbrich Park! (Thurs., Aug. 21)

Here’s your chance to meet some CLA staff members and other lake lovers while volunteering on the lakeshore of the beautiful Olbrich Park. Tools and supplies will be provided… all we need is your presence and enthusiasm! Sign-up to join us on August 21^st from 6 – 8 p.m. for beach maintenance and lakeshore cleanup at Olbrich Park.

What a day! Clean Lakes Festival 2014 recap

We are proud to announce that the 2014 Clean Lakes Festival raised $X for our lakes. We were happy to see people of all ages having fun in and out of the water, enjoying great food, good company, stellar views, and plenty of lake education and recreation.

The CLA lake exploration booth was a special hit with young scientists. Thanks to our great staff and equipment on loan from the UW-Madison Center for Limnology and Zoology Department, festival attendees of all ages got to observe first-hand what lives in our lakes.

And of course, thank you to the sponsors that helped make the day free and low-cost for all: Alliant Energy Foundation, Betty Lou Cruises, The Burish Group – UBS Financial Services, Ho-Chunk Gaming – Madison, InterCon Construction and Energy Services, Lands’ End, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Spectrum Brands, and Wickcraft Company, Inc.

Loop the Lake – recap

Thank you to the near-300 riders who looped Lake Monona with us on Saturday – it was the biggest ride yet, and raised $X for our lakes!

Energy was high throughout the ride and we are proud to say that even the littlest of us made it back to the finish line at the Clean Lakes Festival. Good thing the Madison Water Utility water wagon was on hand for refreshment and rehydration, and the Kiwanis Club of Downtown Madison was ready with a freshly grilled lunch.

Thanks to the sponsors that helped make the day run smoothly: American Transmission Company (ATC), Dentistry for Madison, Hooper Foundation, Lands’ End, Plastic Ingenuity, Schwinn Bicycle Company, Spectrum Brands, and Woodman’s Markets.

“We need to redefine our allies” – TEDxMadison

Back in June, CLA’s Director of Policy & Communications Elizabeth Katt-Reinders presented her “idea worth sharing” at TEDx Madison, an independently-organized TED event. Elizabeth was one of nine speakers from the community, and their videos are now online for viewing and sharing. Elizabeth spoke about “redefining our allies”, and she shared stories that illustrate how CLA strives to find opportunities for connection and collaboration rather than see competing interests. Check out her TEDx talk here.

Community Events and Opportunities

Yahara in situ – Water Sustainability and Climate blog:

We’re in love with the new “Yahara in situ” blog, courtesy of the UW-Madison Water Sustainability and Climate project. The posts are chock-full of insight into local water quality research, full of photos, and very reader-friendly. Check out two of our favorite recent posts:

“New program, old tricks for eliminating phosphorus”

“Geoengineering: Parallels between the Global Climate and the Madison Lakes”

About the blog:

Yahara in situ is a new blog about the Yahara Watershed and, more specifically, about how social and environmental change might affect the region’s water and the many benefits its residents get from nature. Run by the UW-Madison’s Water Sustainability and Climate (WSC) project, the blog is a collection of research updates, reflections, and images from the project’s diverse team of scientists. Since their research is place-based, they are doing things “in situ.” Learn more about the WSC project at https://wsc.limnology.wisc.edu/.

MSCR Pontoon Boat Program (until lake September)

Have you ever looked at the beautiful lakes in Madison and wanted to get out on the water? The MSCR Pontoon Boat Program was created just for you! MSCR offers drop-in boat rides, boat rentals and specialty trips and events. For pricing and to reserve a ride, please visit the MSCR website and fill out the Pontoon Rental Request Form. The program begins in May and continues on until late September, and trips begin at Tenney Boat Pier at 1615 Sherman Avenue. 

Brittingham Boats SUP Cup (summer Thursdays)

Get out on the lakes with the SUP Cup! On Thursday nights this summer at Brittingham Boats, check out the Stand Up Paddleboard race series for the recreational and competitive paddlers among you! We’re happy to see CLA Community Board member and owner of Brittingham and Wingra Boats, Tyler Leeper, getting more people out on the lakes.

IRONMAN Wisconsin (Sunday, September 7)

The IRONMAN Wisconsin is looking for boat and personal water craft volunteers. Please mention that you are volunteering on behalf of the Clean Lakes Alliance when you sign up. Register to volunteer online!

Call for Badger Bioneer Nominations

Each year, Sustain Dane honors three Badger Bioneers, local champions working to move the Madison Region toward a more sustainable future, at their annual Badger Bioneers Conference, to be held on November 18, 2014. Click here to nominate someone for this distinguished title.

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Lake-O-Gram

Volume IV, Issue 6

August, 2014

Healthy Lakes, Healthy Community.

Volume IV, Issue 5

What better time than summer to relax and play with family and friends! See below for opportunities to bike, paddle, swim, ski or chill by and on our lakes. Also, Also, show your love for the lakes by volunteering with the Clean Lakes Alliance (CLA). (Psst – most of our volunteer needs are great excuses to be outdoors and around other lake lovers!)

Amidst all the fun on the lakes, remember that the CLA is still hard at work to protect them. Donate today and start receiving Waves in the Watershed, our bimonthly report on phosphorus-reducing projects and progress.

What is the Lake-O-Gram? The Lake-O-Gram is a monthly digest distributed through our website and e-mailed out to the surrounding communities to keep citizens up-to-date on the latest events and efforts taking place to protect and preserve the water quality of the Yahara watershed. Subscribe to get the Lake-O-Gram in your inbox!

Mallards and loons and paddlers, oh my! As the weather warms up and the skies clear, there are plenty of opportunities for lake-lovers (like us!) to get outside.

Please read below for a brief digest of our upcoming programs & events, including a recap of the 3^rd annual Save Our Lakes Community Breakfast and a link to the 2013 State of the Lakes report.

P.S. Be sure to watch the three new videos premiered at the Breakfast: The State of the Lakes; Schooling for Cleaner Lakes; Projects & Progress in the Watershed

Welcome to the first Lake-o-Gram of 2014!

Snowmelt season is upon us, and spring is right around the corner! As we wrap up a [very long] season of enjoying our frozen lakes with cross country skiing, ice skating and ice fishing, we’re excited to look ahead to the thaw. Here at Clean Lakes Alliance (CLA), we’re gearing up for spring programming and projects, and we hope you get involved. Read on for more on these opportunities.

In Partnership,

The Clean Lakes Alliance Team

The seasons are changing, and so is the focus of the Clean Lakes Alliance! For our first two and half years as an organization, we have focused on building an alliance of community partners and strategically planning and prioritizing the work of lake improvement and protection. Three years in, we are now transitioning from the planning phase to implementation and community engagement.

While we continue to expand our educational and fundraising events, we’ve been hard at work behind the scenes, collaborating with our partners at the County, the University, the farming community, and many others across the watershed to lay the foundation for practices and projects that will reduce phosphorus loading to the lakes. We will continue to move these projects forward and share the good news as progress unfolds.

Please visit our website to view our 2012 Annual Report, which features details on the progress we’ve made and what lies ahead in the year to come. Read on below for this month’s updates.

612699 is the grand prize winner of the raffle for Loop the Lake participants.  See below for details.

Even though it was one of the coldest summer days on record, we had a huge crowd at the Clean Lakes Festival this past Saturday! We want to extend a big thank you to all who attended the Festival and our Loop the Lake ride. 

We had a great turnout for our inaugural community bike ride, Loop the Lake, around Lake Monona with over 150 riders crossing the finish line. Along the ride, participants learned about local lake ecology and tried their hands at citizen water quality monitoring while staying hydrated.

Did you see these two paddle boarders on Lake Mendota this week?

Summer’s off to a big start.  We’ve had a lot of rain recently.  If you want more information on lake levels, click here.

Our pilot programs in beach and citizen water quality monitoring continue to be successful.  We are testing James Madison Beach Monday through Friday and we have citizen volunteers testing on the four major lakes.  If you are interested in participating in this program, please contact us.

For you app-lovers out there, we suggest you get the free Lake Mendota Buoy app.  It provides live data on wind speed and direction, water temperature, and other factors to consider when going out on the lakes.  Available for iPhone and Android.

The Yahara Pride Farms certification program also continues to move forward.  We are out on the farms working to prevent runoff to our lakes.

This Lake-O-Gram focuses on ways for you to get out on the lakes this summer.

Happy Start-of-Summer from the Clean Lakes Alliance! We are geared up and ready for a busy summer packed full with opportunities for you to engage with the lakes and Clean Lakes Alliance.

Yahara Lakes 101

Citizen Water Quality Monitoring Pilot Program

Renew the Blue Volunteer Days

More Cow Power = Cleaner Lakes

Volunteer of the Year

Clean Lakes Alliance’s New Policy & Program Director

Upcoming Events

Last month, Clean Lakes Alliance kicked off our brand new Yahara Lakes 101 speaker series with a fantastic program on the relationship between lawn care and water quality by UW Madison Department of Soil Science professor, Dr. Doug Soldat. Our kickoff event was a great success with a full house and an abundance of positive feedback, and we thank our Monthly Sponsor Weed Man Lawn Care. We have a line-up of stellar scientists scheduled well into the fall to speak to us all about the science behind the issues that affect our beloved lakes. Come for a coffee and light breakfast on the beautiful lake patio here at the Verex Plaza, and learn about your lakes with Mendota as our backdrop.