Canceled - Fall Forum - Connecticut Federation of Lakes

Dear CFL Members, 

Due to the low registration, we are cancelling our Fall Forum scheduled for October 22nd.  We did hear from several members that there is still concern regarding public events and COVID.  We understand that concern. 

We will be asking our scheduled speakers if they would be willing to participate in the virtual Zoom seminars, similiar to those we have held over the last several years.   We will keep you informed of those events as they are scheduled. 

Please accept our apologies for any inconveniences we have caused. 

  

Sincerely, 

The Connecticut Federation of Lakes

We have scheduled four speakers to present on topics specific to Connecticut lakes. The topics include boating trends, invasive aquatic plants, cyanotoxins, and the origin and ontogeny of our lakes. We are offering this event free of charge to members and organizations that have made a 2022 membership donation. We are suggesting a $10 donation if you or your organization have not made a 2022 membership donation. The event will be held at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven. We welcome you as early as 8:30am for breakfast snacks and to connect/reconnnect with other lake shareholders. We will start the presentations at 9am. Below are detailed biographies of the speakers and presentation abstracts. We look forward to seeing you!

Speaker Biographies and Presentation Abstracts

Peter Francis, Director CT DEEP Boating Division - Boating Trends in Connecticut

Bio: Peter Francis is a Connecticut native whose many summers on the beaches and waters of Long Island Sound led him to a career at the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. After a stint as an observer on the Alaskan fishing boats, Peter joined DEEP’s coastal zone management program where he led a number of projects including regulatory process improvement, multi-agency aquaculture permitting, development of a living shoreline program, and seafloor mapping. He joined the Boating Division in DEEP’s Bureau of Outdoor Recreation as Division Director and the state’s Boating Law Administrator in 2019. He is passionate about protecting Connecticut’s waters and those citizens who are lucky enough to enjoy them.

Abstract: Peter Francis will take a deep dive into recent trends in Connecticut’s on-water recreation. He will review the state’s most recent boating data regarding registrations, waterway conflicts, and boating accidents. Peter will also highlight some national trends in watersports and how they may affect our waterbodies. Finally, he will discuss aquatic invasive species management in Connecticut and what DEEP is doing to address these nuisance species.

Dr. Greg Bugbee and Summer Stebbins, CAES Invasive Aquatic Plant Program - CAES - Invasive Aquatic Plant Update

 Bio: Summer Stebbins has been an Aquatic Biologist/GIS Analyst at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station since 2015. She is the lead surveyor for the Invasive Aquatic Plant Program, having performed over 100 aquatic plant surveys of Connecticut’s lakes, ponds, and rivers. Her most recent work includes documenting the extensive infestation of a genetically distinct strain of hydrilla in the Connecticut River and the development of an online app showing the hydrilla locations.

Abstract: Connecticut’s lakes and ponds are among the State’s most important natural resources. They face an ever-increasing threat from invasive aquatic plants. Since 2004, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Invasive Aquatic Plant Program (CAES IAPP) has assessed the severity of this problem through detailed vegetation surveys of nearly 400 waterbodies, multifaceted research on invasive aquatic plant management, and public education through workshops and other forms of outreach. We have documented over 100 native and 14 invasive plant species. Approximately two-thirds of the lakes and ponds contained one or more invasive species including Eurasian watermilfoil, variable watermilfoil, fanwort, curlyleaf pondweed, and minor naiad. New arrivals to the State include hydrilla, water chestnut and Brazilian waterweed. CAES IAPP has recently documented a novel strain of hydrilla throughout the Connecticut River. This presentation will provide an update on these subjects as well as recent findings on the effects of grass carp on vegetation in Connecticut lakes, proposed collaborative efforts to test management options on the Connecticut River hydrilla, control of variable watermilfoil in Bashan Lake with ProcellaCOR, new legislation regarding prenotification for aquatic herbicide applications, and last but not least the formation of an Office of Aquatic Invasive Species at CAES.

André Selino, Western Connecticut State University - Preliminary Assessment of Saxitoxins in CT Lakes - The Other Cyanotoxin!

Bio: André Selino is a graduate student currently enrolled at Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) in the Integrated Biological Diversity program. His background is primarily in watershed sciences, focusing on cyanobacteria and their impact on public health. André received his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Purchase where he worked with Dr. Ryan Taylor. There he studied cyanobacteria and underlying factors in freshwater lakes that influence the distribution and abundance of cyanobacterial populations. André currently works with Dr. Ed Wong on the WCSU Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program, analyzing weekly water samples from recreational beaches on several freshwater lakes in CT, including Candlewood Lake, Lake Waramaug, and Lake Zoar. The water samples are screened for the cyanotoxin Microcystin using an ELISA test, and microcystin concentrations are reported to municipal health officials, the CT DEEP, and the US EPA.

Abstract: Cyanobacteria (Harmful Algal Blooms) can produce several types of toxins (cyanotoxins) known to have a negative impact on animals and humans. However, there are currently no recreational threshold advisories implemented by the US EPA nor the Connecticut Department of Public Health for several cyanotoxins, including saxitoxin. Saxitoxin is a neurotoxin produced by marine dinoflagellates and freshwater cyanobacteria. At high concentrations saxitoxin causes severe illness and even death. Saxitoxin poisoning is typically associated with paralytic shellfish poisoning but severe illness and death have also occurred when animals and humans are exposed to freshwater sources. Over the past two years, cyanobacterial populations have shifted over time in multiple freshwater lakes in Connecticut, becoming dominated by cyanobacteria genera that can produce saxitoxin, such as Dolichospermum & Lyngbya. No prior concerted effort to screen for saxitoxin in Connecticut freshwater lakes had occurred until this past summer in 2022, when samples were collected from several bodies of water in Western CT and were tested for saxitoxin concentrations using an ELISA test. Although low concentrations of saxitoxin were detected throughout most of the season, Ball Pond (New Fairfield, CT) & Beseck Lake (Middlefield, CT) showed concentrations of saxitoxin exceeding Ohio’s DPH saxitoxin threshold advisory in recreational waters (0.80 ppb). Further research and testing are needed to determine if saxitoxin in Connecticut freshwater lakes will become an ongoing and increasing threat to public health. 

Dr. Robert “Thor” Thorson, University of Connecticut - Origin and Ontogeny of Connecticut Lakes

Bio: Robert M. Thorson is a Midwestern native, turned Northwestern geologist, turned Northeastern academic. He is currently Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Connecticut in Storrs where he has lived and worked since 1984. He is also a journalist, writer, speaker, and consultant. His book on kettle lakes --Beyond Walden, Bloomsbury, 2009-- was nationally featured at NALMS, EPA, and state conferences and on NPR from Boston to Minneapolis

Abstract: A deeper appreciation of every attendee at this conference emerges from knowing the circumstances of their birth (origin) and their individual life history (ontogeny). The same is true for each of Connecticut's > 2000 lakes and ponds. Before focusing on Connecticut, geologist Robert M. Thorson will review the global fundamentals of why lakes exist and how they change. He will then examine the range of time scales and spatial scales involved, from the deep and monsoon-driven rift lakes of Jurassic Connecticut, to the glacial lakes of the Pleistocene, to the myriad of clear lakes of the early Holocene, to the impoundment of multi-purpose reservoirs in the historic period. The general story will be highlighted with specific examples including Long Island Sound, Bantam Lake in Litchfield, Alexander Lake in Killingly, Cedar Swamp in Ledyard, Lake Wangumbaug in Coventry, and Linsley Pond in Branford. He will end his talk with the implications of climate change on Connecticut Lakes.