Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report Released

Date

Kenora, ON, and Washington, D.C./Ottawa, ON, July 8, 2014 --- The Lake Woods Water Sustainability Foundation (LOWWSF) and the International Joint Commission (IJC) are pleased to announce the release of the Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report, Second Edition. The report is a comprehensive synthesis of what is known about the aquatic ecology in the binational Rainy-Lake of the Woods basin. It provides details on a wide range of topics, including: drainage basin characteristics, water chemistry, nutrients and harmful algal blooms, biotic communities, aquatic invasive species, emerging threats and an overview of the information gaps and monitoring needs.

"The State of the Basin Report provides a wealth of information that residents can use to help shape the future, including the development of a water quality plan of study for the Lake of the Woods Basin that the Commission has undertaken" noted U.S. IJC Commissioner Rich Moy.

"The IJC commends the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation for this report and would like to encourage people who are interested in the future of water quality in the Lake of the Woods Basin to review the report and comment on the Commission’s draft plan of study once it is released later this month" stated Acting Canadian Chair Gordon Walker.

"The public will see in the report that an impressive amount of research and monitoring has been conducted since the first edition in 2009. This updated report focuses on the new science and provides a wealth of information for next steps toward long-term sustainability of the waters of the basin" stated Todd Sellers, LOWWSF Executive Director.

Development of the Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report was a collaborative effort, funded by the International Watershed Initiative of the IJC. Funding support was also provided by the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation, with in-kind editorial and data support from universities and the state, provincial and federal agencies in the watershed. The LOWWSF and the IJC would like to thank all of those who contributed to the report. Please see the backgrounder for more information.

The report is available in two versions: a detailed report of 238 pages, written for a technical audience and a summary report of 22 pages, highlighting key findings and written for a general audience.

Both versions of the report are available at the Foundation's website: lowwsf.com/sobr-download or at the IJC website: ijc.org.

For more information:

IJC:                 Frank Bevacqua 202-736-9024  bevacquaf@washington.ijc.org

                        Nick Heisler 613-992-8367  heislern@ottawa.ijc.org

 

LOWWSF:      Todd Sellers 866-370-8891  tsellers@lowwsf.com

 

Backgrounder:

The Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report, Second Edition contains information compiled by the Editors and the Editorial Committee from information in the original 2009 report and from published and unpublished research that has become available since 2009. Many of the information gaps identified in 2009 have been filled in the past five years and this new science is the focus of the 2nd Edition.

In addition to updating all information, the Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report, Second Edition has an expanded scope with more information about the entire basin. The 2009 report focused on Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River and their direct tributaries. Coverage now includes areas upstream of the Rainy River, with inclusion of a great deal of data for Rainy Lake, Namakan Reservoir and other lakes in Voyageurs National Park, as well as information in the headwaters region.

The Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report is published by the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation. Preparation of the report was a collaborative effort, led by the Editors and Editorial Advisory Committee, and its completion would not have been possible without the contributions of numerous researchers, resource managers and agencies in the basin.