August 2014 - Freshwater Society

FACETS of Freshwater
Green Heron By Don Specht
August 2014
Weather Facts and Photo from MN Weatherguide Environment Calendar
August Monthly Normals: Temp. Max: 80.5 F Min: 61.8 F Precip: 4.3 in.
In This Issue
Doubleheaders
Ernie Banks is a Baseball Hall of Famer who famously said: “It’s a beautiful day for a ball
game; let’s play two!”
Freshwater Society Welcomes
New Staff............................................. 2
It is in this spirit we announce that this year’s line-up of Moos Speakers will deliver doubleheaders in an effort to open their incredible intellects and perspectives to an even wider
audience.
Moos Lectures...................................... 3
Upcoming Events.................................. 3
Opportunity for West Central Minnesota
Lakes and Rivers.................................. 4
Gedney Tuttle Memorials...................... 4
Is One of Your Favorite Lakes being
Celebrated?.......................................... 4
Join the Society – Get the
Weatherguide....................................... 4
Ernie Banks
The lead-off hitter is Dr. Jay Famiglietti (UC-Irvine) on September 18. He is a leading researcher in worldwide aquifer depletion using satellite data. The 7 p.m. presentation is once again at the Student
Center on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus.
Dr. Famiglietti is giving a shorter “doubleheader” version of his lecture at the Gray Freshwater Center in Orono
earlier in the day. This matinee will start at 10:30 a.m. and be limited to approximately 60 attendees. More on
our lead-off speaker is included in a separate story in this edition.
Batting second in our lineup is Dr. Peter Wilcock (Utah State University). He is speaking on January 20 in St. Paul
and January 21 in Mankato. His area of expertise, sediment transport in river systems, is particularly important
in Minnesota. He is well into a project to study the Minnesota River system dynamics and has been asked to
explain how the systems are changing, and, what to do about it.
Our third speaker is Dr. Robert Sterner (University of Minnesota-Duluth) who recently relocated to Duluth to lead
the Large Lakes Observatory. His background is in limnology and nutrient dynamics. He will give an overview
Doubleheaders… (continues on page 3)
Freshwater Society Welcomes New Staff
The Freshwater Society is a non-profit
organization dedicated to educating and
inspiring people to value, conserve and
protect water resources.
Board of Directors
Stuart E. Grubb, Chair
Rick Bateson, Vice Chair
Lisa Whalen, Secretary
Corrine Ricard, Treasurer
Julie Blackburn
Todd Bolin, Honorary Director
Blyth Berg Brookman
Richard S. Caldecott, PhD, Emeritus Director
Robert Elde, PhD, Emeritus Director
JoEllen L. Hurr, Emeritus Director
Barbara Luikens, MD, Emeritus Director
Jim Manolis, PhD
Lili Tod McMillan
Darby Nelson, PhD
Tom Skramstad
Paige Winebarger
Staff
Steve Woods, Executive Director
Joan Nephew, Operations Director
Scott Branch, Operations Assistant
Deirdre Coleman, Program Coordinator
Julie Fliflet, Director of Finance and
Administration
Alex Gehrig, Program Manager
Darrell Gerber, Research and Policy Director
Peggy Knapp, Director of Programs
Chris Prok, Operations Manager
Jeanne Prok, Program Manager
Patrick Sweeney, Comm./Research Director
Laura West, Administrative Assistant
Facets of Freshwater is published by
the Freshwater Society.
For permission to reprint, contact us at:
2500 Shadywood Road, Excelsior, MN
55331, 952-471-9773 or at
[email protected].
Visit the Freshwater Society web site
at www.freshwater.org.
2 FACETS OF FRESHWATER | www.freshwater.org
The Freshwater Society offices are now home to two new smiling faces… Julie Fliflet and Darrell Gerber
recently joined our staff. They both have extensive interviews on our website, here is just a bit to help us get
acquainted with them.
Julie Fliflet, Freshwater
Society’s new Director of
Finance and Administration, has over 20 years of
experience working with
nonprofit organizations
and has specialized in the
nonprofit sector for her entire
Julie Fliflet
career. She is a CPA, and
started her career in public accounting working as an
auditor in the nonprofit division for a large CPA firm,
then subsequently held positions directing the finance
and administration activities for several nonprofits
in the Twin Cities metro area before coming to the
Freshwater Society.
Q: How do you say your last name?
It sounds exactly like “leaflet”, with an F (I’m told it is
Norwegian). When I got married I gave up my maiden
name, Julie Peterson, and am now dealing with Fliflet.
Not sure yet if that was the best decision I’ve ever
made.
Q: What do you do at the Freshwater Society?
My position includes managing the administrative and
financial areas of the organization including finance,
IT, human resources, and facilities. Included in these
areas is accounting, audit, budgeting, legal, tax, insurance, risk management, internal controls, contracts,
and compliance.
Q: What interested you in the position with the
Freshwater Society?
I am very excited to join the Freshwater Society, and
hope that my experience and expertise can make a
positive impact. I am very impressed with the work the
organization does, and felt that the position and culture
of the organization was a perfect fit for me.
Q: What challenges are most nonprofits
encountering these days?
I think accountability is a big one, and also revenue.
Nonprofit organizations were greatly affected by the
recession and as a result must work harder than ever
to ensure diversity within their sources of revenue so
they do not rely too heavily on revenue from any one
particular source. Competition for charitable funds
is definitely more challenging today so organizations
must be able to show they are accountable and good
financial stewards of their funds. Learn more
about Julie.
Darrell Gerber is Freshwater Society’s new Research
and Policy Director. He
studied Aerospace and
Mechanical Engineering at
Colorado State University,
North Carolina State University and Georgia Institute of
Darrell Gerber
Technology and attended
the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota
to study Science, Technology and Environmental Policy
in 2005 and 2006. He was at Clean Water Action from
2007 to 2014 as the Water Program Coordinator working on a variety of issues including the Great Lakes,
agricultural water pollution, drinking water, invasive
species, and budget issues.
Q: Our members and supporters are interested in you
and your relationship to water. What’s your story?
When I was a teenager my parents stocked rainbow
trout in a small stock pond near the house. I read
up on what to do to manage a stocked pond and it
was the first time I was drawn to the importance of
water and all the factors necessary to sustain life. I
started fly-fishing at the same time and the 2-3 pound
Rainbows made really good eating and a lot of fun on
the line.
Q: What brings you from the arid West to the Land
of 10,000 Lakes?
That’s a longer story but after growing up in Northwest
Colorado, a high, cold desert, I lived in the Southeastern US for several years going to school. My wife got
a job in Minnesota after grad school so we moved up
here. We’ve fallen in love with Minnesota and don’t
plan to leave.
Q: How does one go from Aerospace Engineering
to working on water?
Another long story but it came down to a decision to
make a career move from making better widgets to
working on higher level issues that cut across our society. At the time I was doing a lot of volunteer work in
environmental justice and politics and decided I wanted
to make a career of environmental work. I went to the
Humphrey School to get the policy chops and went on
to work at Clean Water Action for seven years.
Q: What do you see as the biggest challenge to our
water resources?
Silos, turf and denial. Learn more about Darrell.
Moos Lectures
Doubleheaders (con‘t from pg 1)
“Groundwater in most of the world’s major aquifers – in India, the Middle East,
China and even in the High Plains and Central Valley aquifers of the United
States – is being rapidly depleted, likely never to be replaced,” says Dr. Jay
Famiglietti. Technological challenges to measuring the water contained in these
underground reserves are in part to blame: it is difficult to manage what cannot
be easily measured.
of the Great Lakes system, the challenges it faces,
and what needs to be done. This is timely given
the water quality problems on the Great Lakes this
year. We are still finalizing an exact date for these
lectures in St. Paul and Duluth, most likely in
early April.
New satellite technologies now have the potential to revolutionize groundwater management. Dr.
Famiglietti, a hydrologist at the University of California, Irvine and senior water scientist at the NASA/
Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will present “Dwindling Groundwater Reserves as Viewed from Space.”
Input Opportunities
Did you know the Clean Water Council is in the
middle of assembling its recommendations for
Clean Water Fund spending for the next biennium?
Council members are sincere in wanting stakeholder input and have even released their draft thoughts
and remaining questions on how to allocate close to
$200 million. Did you know the Board of Water and
Soil Resources just approved a Nonpoint Priority
Funding Plan for spending dollars that may be allocated based on those recommendations? Did you
know the MN Department of Agriculture is finalizing
its Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan and is
about to start a formal rule-making process?
Dr. Jay Famiglietti
Dr. Famiglietti will discuss results from over a decade of measurements from
a novel NASA satellite mission known as the Gravity Recovery and Climate
Experiment (GRACE). Results point to the harsh reality that groundwater in most
of the world’s major aquifers is being rapidly depleted. The global pattern of
groundwater depletion also raises important concerns about the potential for
heightened conflict, and climate, water, food and economic security. He will
conclude the presentation by discussing the urgent need for new management
and adaptation strategies, as well as our own efforts with global water diplomacy.
The lecture is free and open to the public. It will be delivered at 7 p.m., Thursday, September 18 in the
Student Center of the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus.
Learn more about Dr. Jay Famiglietti or register to attend the lecture.
The Freshwater Society will also host a short briefing and discussion with Dr. Famiglietti at 10:30 a.m.,
September 18 at the Gray Freshwater Center. Contact the Freshwater Society for more information.
Dr. Famiglietti will be the 15th lecturer in a speaker series sponsored by the Freshwater Society and the
University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences. Barr Engineering and the Capitol Region Watershed
District’s Citizen Advisory Committee are providing special support for Famiglietti’s lectures.
Citizen Advisory Committee
UPCOMING EVENTS
SEPTEMBER 7: 2014 Creek Cleanup, *RESCHEDULED* Minnehaha Creek Watershed
District, Minnehaha Creek
SEPTEMBER 11: Clean Water Summit 2014, Green Infrastructure for Clean Water: Cost
and Benefits to Our Communities, U of MN Water Resources, MN Landscape Arboretum,
Chaska
Most people find it hard to track all these things as
they pop up, stall, and resume over the course of a
year. We are in the process of making it easier to
track the big things that can influence water policy.
Some of you have complimented us on the new
look of our homepage. We’re tinkering with it
using the capable pro bono assistance of Woychick
Design. We’re moving the most active portions of
our web content to the front to ease navigation
and make the information you want pop up a little
quicker. Still in the works is the lower left corner
(working name: The Hub) where we intend to feature easily accessible information “water people”
look for- such as upcoming input opportunities.
We’re taking our time to get it right and improve
smartphone navigation along the way. We decided
not to go for an all-at-once redesign, because we’re
realists, and we know how well those go…
Keep those comments coming.
SEPTEMBER 18: Freshwater Society’s Moos Family Lecture: Dwindling Groundwater
Reserves as Viewed from Space, Jay Famiglietti, U of Mn St. Paul Student Center
SEPTEMBER 28-30: 2014 BWSR Academy, MN Board of Water and Soil Resources, Breezy
Point Convention Center, Pequot Lakes
OCTOBER 14-15: Water Resources Conference, U of MN Water Resources, St. Paul River
Centre
OCTOBER 20-22: Upper Midwest Invasive Species Conference, Duluth Entertainment and
Convention Center
Steve Woods
Executive Director
www.freshwater.org | FACETS OF FRESHWATER 3
Opportunity for West Central Minnesota Lakes and Rivers
The Healthy Lakes and Rivers Partnership is looking for
a few good lake or river associations in the Ottertail area
– 8 to be exact. Working with the Initiative Foundation,
the Freshwater Society received a grant through the
Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (often
known as the Lottery Funds) to hold a round of this unique
program in West Central Minnesota. Groups that are
selected will participate in a comprehensive training on
lake management planning that includes everything from
reading lake data to non-profit planning. Participants are
also eligible to receive up to $5,000 each in grant awards
from the West Central Initiative for implementing a priority
action for their local lake or river. Contact the Freshwater Society and visit our webpage for more information.
Gedney Tuttle Memorials
Gedney Tuttle passed away this past March, at the age of 87. He was a tireless
advocate for water resources and Lake Minnetonka, specifically. Gedney served
on the Board of the Lake Minnetonka Association for ten years, until his death. His
wife, Emily Ann, was on the Board of the Freshwater Society for four years. Thank
you to all who generously donated to the Freshwater Society in memory of Gedney.
The memorials will be used to continue protecting the water resources that
Gedney loved.
Gedney Tuttle
2015
MIN NESOTA
WEATHERGUIDE
CALENDAR
ENVIRONMENT
J
t
anuary is the coldes
in
month of the year
for the
Minnesota, and
is the
Twin Cities area,
after
est
second snowi
r is full
December. Winte
l at
of wonders. Marve
land
the ability of north
e, catch
animals to surviv
akes
intricate snowfl
are
two
no
that
noting
alike, hear the song
pine,
of a wind-blown
cold
and know that the
ing the
winds are cleans
landscape.
2015 Minnesota
Weatherguide
Environment Calendar
Snowy Owl
8:15
8:10
8:05
8:00
7:55
7:50
7:45
7:40
7:35
7:30
4
Sun R/S
7:51 am
4:45 pm
red
Brown-colored
on
oak leaves fall
the snow cover.
Moon R/S
4:49 pm
7:00 am
Normals
Max / Min
pm
24/8
Full Moon - 10:53
Records
Earth at perihelion
1898
12:36 am
High: 41/2007,
Low: -32/1884
Earth-Sun distance
Pcpn: 0.57/1997
91,302,426 miles
Snow: 3.2/1910
Sun R/S
7:45 am
5:01 pm
Honey bees
leave hives
on cleansing
flights during
a thaw.
18
Moon R/S
5:41 am
3:27 pm
Normals
Max / Min
23/7
Records
High: 48/1891
Low: -36/1887
Pcpn: 0.31/1895
Snow: 4.5/2014
Sun R/S
7:40 am
5:11 pm
Below zero
temperatures
help create
elegant frost
patterns.
25
Moon R/S
10:31 am
11:54 pm
Normals
Max / Min
24/7
Records
High: 58/1944
Low: -31/1904
Pcpn: 0.50/1950
Snow: 7.5/1950
Normals
Max / Min
23/7
Records
High: 48/1987
Low: -30/1916
Pcpn: 0.37/1887
Snow: 6.0/1967
Deer yard-up
when deep
snows limit
their travel.
Jr.’s
Martin Luther King,
birthday observed
Sun R/S
7:39 am
5:12 pm
26
Moon R/S
11:05 am
None
Normals
Max / Min
24/8
Records
High: 52/1931
Moon
Low: -26/1897
, 1910 First Quarter
Pcpn: 0.37/1916
10:48 pm
Snow: 7.4/2004
www.freshwater.org
Last Quarter
Moon
3:46 am
Spica 2.3 degrees
- 5:43 am
south of Moon
Sun R/S
7:48 am
4:57 pm
Normals
Max / Min
23/7
Records
High: 49/1944
1963
Low: -26/1972,
Pcpn: 0.34/2001
Snow: 4.4/1999
Normals
Max / Min
24/7
Records
High: 52/1908
Low: -32/1888
Pcpn: 0.80/1982
Snow: 17.1/1982
20
Sun R/S
7:38 am
5:14 pm
Moon R/S
11:41 am
1:03 am
Normals
Max / Min
24/8
Records
High: 47/1934
Low: -23/1950
Pcpn: 0.49/2013
Snow: 3.8/1916
am
New Moon - 7:14
Deep Snow
(Ojibwe)
27
Sun R/S
7:43 am
5:05 pm
Moon R/S
8:08 am
7:01 pm
Normals
Max / Min
24/7
Records
High: 48/1900
Low: -41/1888
Pcpn: 0.81/1917
Snow: 15.8/1917
Sun R/S
7:37 am
5:15 pm
14
Rochester
High: 44/1915
Low: -26/1979
9 Hours
9 Minutes Daylight
15
Moon at perigee
2:18 pm
223,477 miles
St. Cloud
High: 48/1981
Low: -37/1936
9 Hours
22 Minutes Daylight
28
International Falls
High: 38/1922
Low: -43/1966
9 Hours
ylight
38 Minutes Da
22
Sun R/S
7:36 am
5:17 pm
Moon R/S
1:04 pm
3:09 am
Normals
Max / Min
25/8
Records
High: 49/1931
Low: -29/1951
Pcpn: 0.52/2001
Snow: 5.3/1967
St. Paul Winter
Carnival
1/22 - 2/1
29
Sun R/S
7:46 am
5:00 pm
17
Moon R/S
4:41 am
2:28 pm
Normals
Max / Min
23/7
Records
High: 44/1894
Low: -26/1967
Pcpn: 0.90/1996
Snow: 5.1/1932
23
Sun R/S
7:41 am
5:10 pm
Help us protect freshwater resources and you’ll enjoy amazing
regional photos – like a snowy owl skimming the snow – Nature
Notes, weather history, meteorological information, gardening tips and
much more.
24
Moon R/S
9:57 am
10:44 pm
Normals
Max / Min
24/7
Records
High: 57/1981
Low: -33/1904
Pcpn: 1.21/1967
Snow: 6.0/1972
Normals
Max / Min
24/7
Records
High: 53/1942
Low: -34/1886
Pcpn: 0.85/1871
Snow: 5.7/1949
30
Sun R/S
7:35 am
5:19 pm
Moon R/S
1:52 pm
4:06 am
Normals
Max / Min
25/8
Records
1879
High: 48/1989,
Low: -30/1887
Pcpn: 0.49/1878
Snow: 6.4/2014
t ice build-up. Use
and often to preven
sq. ft.
water. Shovel early
one cup per 1000
lawns, and our
salt, apply less than
Salt damages cars,
If you must use
dly alternatives.
environment-frien
4 FACETS OF FRESHWATER | www.freshwater.org
16
Sun R/S
7:42 am
5:09 pm
Moon R/S
9:23 am
9:31 pm
Become a member or renew your Freshwater Society membership and
you’ll receive the 2015 Minnesota Weatherguide Environment Calendar.
It’s a win-win!
10
Normals
Max / Min
23/7
Records
High: 52/2012
Mercury 0.6 degreesLow: -30/1886
east of Venus
6:54 pm
Pcpn: 1.13/1975
1975
Snow: 4.0/1976,
Moon R/S
3:39 am
1:37 pm
Moon R/S
8:47 am
8:16 pm
Normals
Max / Min
24/7
Records
High: 51/1942
Low: -34/1936
Pcpn: 0.89/1982
Snow: 17.2/1982
Moon at apogee
11:41 am
251,914 miles
Sun R/S
7:47 am
4:59 pm
Quadrantid Meteor
8:00 pm
Shower peak -
Sun R/S
7:50 am
4:52 pm
Moon R/S
10:36 pm
10:22 am
Normals
Max / Min
23/7
Records
High: 46/1961
Low: -29/1888
Saturn 1.2 degrees
Pcpn: 1.05/1887
- 5:08 am
south of Moon
Snow: 11.3/1887
Normals
Max / Min
23/7
Records
High: 43/1990
Low: -37/1888
Pcpn: 0.45/1969
Snow: 3.2/1953
Sun R/S
7:43 am
5:07 pm
9
Moon R/S
9:38 pm
9:55 am
Moon R/S
2:37 am
12:54 pm
21
Normals
Max / Min
24/8
Records
High: 46/1880
Low: -26/1887
Pcpn: 0.76/1906
Snow: 9.0/1906
Sun R/S
7:50 am
4:51 pm
Normals
Max / Min
23/7
Records
2002
High: 49/2012,
Low: -32/1977
Pcpn: 0.31/1924
Snow: 3.8/1924
Normals
Max / Min
23/8
Records
High: 54/2003
Low: -30/1875
Pcpn: 0.33/1875
Snow: 2.5/1909
Moon R/S
12:21 pm
2:08 am
Normals
Max / Min
25/8
Records
High: 47/1892
Low: -29/1873
Pcpn: 0.56/1909
Snow: 4.0/1912
8
Join the Society – Get the Weatherguide!
3
Moon R/S
3:55 pm
6:11 am
Normals
Max / Min
24/8
Records
1897
High: 45/1998,
Low: -36/1885
Pcpn: 0.46/1999
Snow: 6.1/1999
Moon R/S
8:40 pm
9:27 am
Sun R/S
7:47 am
4:58 pm
Sun R/S
7:51 am
4:44 pm
2
Moon R/S
3:05 pm
5:15 am
New Year’s Day
Sun R/S
7:50 am
4:49 pm
Moon R/S
1:35 am
12:17 pm
Moon R/S
7:25 am
5:45 pm
Moon R/S
6:36 am
4:33 pm
Normals
Max / Min
24/7
Records
High: 49/1921
Low: -34/1970
Pcpn: 0.57/1988
Snow: 7.5/1988
13
Sun R/S
7:44 am
5:04 pm
19
Sun R/S
7:45 am
5:03 pm
Moon R/S
7:41 pm
8:57 am
Moon R/S
12:34 am
11:45 am
Normals
Max / Min
23/7
Records
High: 48/1987
Low: -31/1912
Pcpn: 0.70/1935
Snow: 8.7/2000
7
Sun R/S
7:50 am
4:48 pm
Normals
Jupiter 5.3 degrees
Max / Min
- 10:23 pm
north of Moon
23/8
Duluth
Records
High: 46/2003
High: 52/2003
Low: -36/1912
8 Hours
Low: -34/1887
Pcpn: 0.30/1989
58 Minutes Daylight
Snow: 3.6/1989
Sun R/S
7:48 am
4:55 pm
Moon R/S
None
11:16 am
Moon R/S
11:35 pm
10:49 am
Normals
Max / Min
24/8
Records
High: 48/1897
Low: -30/1974
Pcpn: 0.47/1891
Snow: 4.0/1914
Saturday
Friday
Sun R/S
7:51 am
4:43 pm
1
Moon R/S
2:20 pm
4:15 am
T F S
S M T W
5 6 7
1 2 3 4
13 14
8 9 10 11 12
19 20 21
15 16 17 18
26 27 28
22 23 24 25
Moon R/S
6:43 pm
8:23 am
12
Sun R/S
7:51 am
4:42 pm
FEBRUARY
6
Sun R/S
7:50 am
4:47 pm
Thursday
Wednesday
Normals
Max / Min
23/8
Records
High: 49/1900
Low: -27/1912
Pcpn: 0.40/1967
Snow: 5.2/1932
Normals
Max / Min
24/8
Records
High: 47/1885
1912, 1884
Low: -28/1924,
Pcpn: 0.63/1932
Snow: 4.7/1994
Sun R/S
7:49 am
4:53 pm
Normals
Max / Min
23/7
Records
High: 44/1986
Low: -31/1977
Pcpn: 0.47/1930
Snow: 6.0/1905
5
Sun R/S
7:50 am
4:46 pm
Moon R/S
5:45 pm
7:44 am
Sun R/S
7:49 am
4:54 pm
ON .9 in.
PRECI PITATI
• 23.7° F
R E MAXIMUM
T E M P E R AT U
7.5° F
MINIM UM •
0
4:4
5
4:4
0
4:5
5
4:5
0
5:0
5
5:0
0
5:1
5
5:1
0
5:2
DECEMBER
- 12.1 in.)
(SNOWFA LL
1981-2010
Sunset 20th
Sunrise 20th
T F S
S M T W
5 6
1 2 3 4
12 13
7 8 9 10 11
18 19 20
14 15 16 17
25 26 27
21 22 23 24
31
30
29
28
Dominique Braud
S
MAL
THLYSt.NOR
al Airport
MON
Paul Internation
Minneapolis -
Tuesday
Monday
The Freshwater Society is partnering
with Michelob Golden Light to
Celebrate Your Lake! 30 lakes from
around Minnesota have been
competing on Facebook for the last
month, and the winner will receive a
$50,000 conservation grant. You can
vote for your favorite lake up to once a
day and voting will go through the end
of September. Don’t have a Facebook
account? You can check out the list of
competing lakes on our webpage.
Dakota County
anuary
Sunday
Is One of Your
Favorite Lakes
being Celebrated?
Sun R/S
7:34 am
5:20 pm
31
Moon R/S
2:44 pm
4:57 am
Normals
Max / Min
25/8
Records
1995
High: 46/2009,
Low: -27/1887
Pcpn: 1.16/1881
Snow: 6.2/1908
January 2015
3
Become a member!