Center For Lakes & Streams Discuses Future Projects, Goals
During a social event hosted by Al Campbell, Vawter Park, Syracuse, on Saturday evening, Dr. Nate Bosch with the Center for Lakes & Streams, talked about the future of the center.
Looking forward, Bosch noted an endowment project to ensure the center is always there, looking out after the lakes. The initial goal is raising $50,000 in operating support yearly. He stated the annual operating budget is about $400,000.
While questions ranged from affects of sea walls versus rocks, mute swans to Asian carp and zebra mussels, Bosch was asked what he would do with endowment funds and the one project he would do if possible.
Bosch noted there is always way more that can be done, than funding allows. “I would love to do research to start looking at different scenarios of changing land use practices in the drainage areas coming into the lake, to see what changes it would make.” He added he would also like to do a boating study on the amount of sediment stirred up by newer boats. “That sediment has a lot of nutrients from many, many years,” said Bosch. He estimates approximately 40-50 feet of sediment at the lake bottom, based on a 1930 study. Various aspects could go into the study including use of underwater photography, taking water samples behind boats and calculating how many pounds of weed and algae would be generated by that action in shallow water.
He concluded by stating if one single priority research could be done in next decade to hone in all his efforts, it would be nutrients. “Nutrients are the problem source of all the issues we have. Nutrients are the source of all evils on the two lakes, feeding weeds and algae … more going to the bottom which uses oxygen where fish live. The bottom water has no oxygen.” Last week tests showed at 25 feet there was less than 2 milligrams of oxygen per litter. “Over half the lake is uninhabitable for fish now, due to to many nutrients using that oxygen. This would be the number one concern for the center to be laser focused on.”
Prior to Bosch’s presentation Bill Katip, president at Grace College provided a history of the college and how the Center for Lakes and Streams fit in with it’s faith based philosophy. “We’re to have dominion over creation … it actually means responsibility, protecting, caring for it … natural outgrowth to have a center like Center for Lakes & Streams.” He also expounded on the fortune of Grace to have Bosch, a man of integrity who took the original $250,000 grant for the center and has raised nearly $1 million additional funds, and who is the only person in the country to have received the Chandler Meisner Award twice, a coveted award by many scientists.
Katip recalled the start of the center. shortly after he was named provost. He was informed someone had given the county a foundation grant of $250,000 to start a center to care for and study, do research on the lake. He met Bosch who had jut completed his PhD at the University of Michigan and was a post doctorate scholarship.
The limnologist — lake specialist of inward body lakes – was hired, while still completing his post doctorate work. “He was worth waiting for,” said Katip “A small college like Grace is fortunate.”
Related: Update Of Lakes & Streams Activities