Provincial grant supports lake monitoring

VICTORIA – The BC Lake Stewardship Society (BCLSS) has been awarded a one-time $75,000 provincial grant to support its lake monitoring program, which contributes to the effective environmental stewardship of B.C.’s water resources and ensures the collection of high-quality lake-monitoring data.

The BCLSS, with the support of the Ministry of Environment, has designed “The BC Lake Stewardship and Monitoring Program” to help educate the public on lake protection and provide communities with information on their local lakes. Program activities include water sampling, training, education and technical support.

Through regular water sampling, local communities can better understand a lake’s current water quality, identify impacts of human activities and monitor water-quality changes resulting from land development within watersheds. The lake-monitoring program also can assist with early detection of invasive species, such as the American bullfrog and zebra mussel that threaten B.C.’s aquatic ecosystems.

The BCLSS has provided leadership on volunteer lake monitoring since 2003, has trained over 100 volunteer groups in proper lake-monitoring techniques and has completed 70 lake assessment reports. Through the training opportunities and information resources that the BCLSS provides, a strong volunteer-based water stewardship program has developed in B.C.

In its role as a provincewide resource for stewardship groups, the BCLSS helps British Columbians understand the effect of their actions on the environment and connect with their lake ecosystems and providing lake reports and informative newsletters. The BCLSS also provides information-sharing and networking opportunities at annual conferences and workshops and reader-friendly lake reports.