Meeting Summary
Tuesday, October 28, 2014, 7:00-9:00 PM
The Hearthstone, 6720 East Green Lake Way N
Board Room
Recorder: Gayle Garman
Attendees:
Sally Abella, King County Water & Land Resources Division; evening’s speaker
Andrea WattsEllen HewittRichard FlemingMarcia NormanGayle GarmanRob ZisetteBen HallLinda Noble
Introductions
Fish Planting Discussion
The Seattle Times and the Green Laker blog reported that Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife had planted over 70,000 fish into the Lake over the last few weeks. Rob Zisette distributed a graph showing that nearly 100,000 fish had been planted in the Lake this year, more than 3X any previous year. His graph indicates these fish also produce a 3X increased input of phosphorus.
Sally wondered if these were the fish rejected by one of the tribes because they were infected with Australian mud snail. She described the danger of the tiny snails being transported between water bodies in the crevices of shoes and boots. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife does not seem to contact anyone at the City or Parks Department before making these fish plants.
The group would like to discuss this issue with representatives of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Parks Department. Rob suggested we talk with Chris Donnelly at the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Presentation: The puzzle of managing lakes when algae blooms are both toxic and patchy: Green Lake as a case study in difficult choices – Sally Abella, King County Water & Land Resources Division
Sally shared a Power Point presentation she made at the recent Washington Lakes Protection Association (WALPA) meeting. She began by describing all the many ways Green Lake is used by the public and how busy it is in the summer. Using the 2004 alum treatment as a starting point, and the samples collected by FOGL volunteers over the last 10 years, she could show that summer average phosphorus concentrations had remained about level until three years ago, and then began to increase, and summer average Phosphorus:Nitrogen ratios had consistently increased starting about seven years ago. A high P:N ratio is a good predictor of bluegreen algae blooms. She also graphed summer average chlorophyll and Secchi depth, but they did not appear to be as good predictors of bluegreen blooms.
She also described the difficulties of warning the public about toxicity associated with algae scums because the scums form in response to wind and are at different locations at different times, and because the toxin’s effects are chronic, including liver damage and liver cancer. We discussed how the warning signs might be improved. She indicated she would provide us with a file of her presentation to put on the FOGL website and that we could use for educational purposes with the community and City Council/ Dept of Parks. Sally answered many questions, and departed after receiving much appreciation from the group.
Restoration Work Party Report – Andrea Watts
Andrea reported on the recent work party, removing blackberry vines along the western shoreline. Andrea said the participants enjoyed contributing to the Park and that there was a father daughter pair volunteering because the daughter needed to fulfill community service hours for school. She, Maureen and Garret are planning another work party for Nov.8. They want to work with Parks to develop a long-term plan for future restoration projects.
Election of Officers
The next item was the election of officers, in accordance with the Bylaws. Ellen Hewitt seconded a motion by Gayle Garman that we cast a ballot by acclamation for Richard Fleming, President, and Andrea Watts, Vice-President. The vote was unanimous. The office of Recording Secretary is still open. Ellen is continuing as Corresponding Secretary/Webmaster and Gayle Garman as Treasurer.
The meeting adjourned at 9:05. The next meeting is November 25.