The New Wave - Spring 2020

Spring Newsletter

Spring 2020

2019 LakeWatch Reports Now Online!

The 2019 LakeWatch reports can now be found online on our Reports Page.

With the help of past technician Pat Heney and program coordinator Caleb Sinn, 23 reports were produced over the past three months. Of those reports, 10 include long-term trend analyses.

To help you better contextualize your lake's results, we have also produced a LakeWatch Summary report. This report compares and contrasts the results of key parameters from all of our 2019 LakeWatch lakes.

If you would like to be involved in LakeWatch 2020, please contact ALMS at programs@alms.ca.

Winter LakeKeeper Wrap-Up

The Winter LakeKeeper program had incredible uptake this season with 44 samples collected from 22 waterbodies.

Sample collection at Wabamun Lake

Thank you to all of the citizen scientists who participated this winter season - the data is now compiled and a report will be available in the coming months. Data will also be uploaded online to DataStream.

Sample collection at Spring Lake

Respect our Lakes Resources

At our 2019 conference in Chestermere, attendees were asked to provide their feedback on updated Respect our Lakes resources. We are happy to report that the feedback has contributed to updated resources that have been posted on Respect our Lakes:

Additional brochures on shoreline lake legislation and aquatic vegetation removal are still under development. The brochures are available in hard copy to support your outreach and education initiatives. If you are interested in ordering brochures, contact Respect our Lakes at

rol@gov.ab.ca.

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) at Shiningbank Lake

Summer LakeKeepers

The 2019 Summer LakeKeepers report is now available online, here! Data will also be made available via DataStream.

Thank you to the volunteers who have worked with us to test and refine one of ALMS' newest programs. We see many opportunities to further refine and expand this program, and are looking forward to another season in 2020.

If you are interested in participating in Summer LakeKeepers in 2020, please contact ALMS at programs@alms.ca

Staying Safe Amid COVID19

ALMS is working to ensure staff and stakeholders stay safe during these unprecedented times.

If you need to drop samples or equipment off at the office, please arrange a time to do so by contacting ALMS at

780-702-2567.

ALMS will be reaching out to volunteers in the coming days to find out how we can best deliver our programs in a safe manner.

We hope everyone is safe and healthy at this time and we hope to see you all again soon.

Welcome Caleb!

Welcome to Program Coordinator Caleb! Caleb joined the ALMS team in February after working as a LakeWatch Technician in 2019.

Caleb has a strong background in limnology after spending two years working on freshwater ecology projects including cyanobacteria monitoring, algal pigment analysis, and monitoring alpine lakes.

Caleb can be reached at programs@alms.ca

AEPHIN Cyanobacteria Results

Cyanobacteria bloom monitoring results from 2019 are now available on the Alberta Environmental Public Health and Information Network

Alberta Fishing Education Program

The Alberta Hunter Education Instructors Association is offering their Alberta Fishing Education Program free for a limited time!

View the course details, here.

ALMS Guide to Aquatic Plants of Alberta 2nd Edition

With support from Environment Canada through the Invasive Species Centre, ALMS is updating and refreshing our Aquatic Plants of Alberta guide. This new edition will feature four new species and be available online or as a hardcopy.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for updates on this exciting project.

Alberta Wetlands 101

Aquality Environmental Consulting has developed a free educational resourced called Wetlands 101.

This program features 11 short educational videos with the most current information on Alberta's wetlands and policies.

Certificates are available after course complete. Learn more, here.

Postponed: World Water Day

Thank you to everyone who registered, sponsored, and helped to plan World Water Day this year.

A lot of work went into developing an excellent program, including a panel of four speakers, catering, and information displays. While the event has been postponed, we thank the World Water Day planning committee for all of their work!

Stay tuned to ALMS social media and newsletter for updates.