Natural resource seminars

Central Lakes College has announced a free series of three Friday afternoon natural resource seminars on the Brainerd campus. “Minnesota Lakes” will feature area resource professionals sharing research efforts and findings. Each seminar will be held in Room E354 (Lecture Hall) from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. “Serpent Lake Watershed Research and Monitoring” is the Sept. 30 seminar, presented by Melissa Barrick of the Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District. Serpent Lake has shown recent declines in water quality. The lake and its inflows and outflows were monitored for nutrients to develop a model showing nutrient transport and identifying priority areas and actions. “Building Resilience in Deep Lakes Using a Landscape Approach” is the Oct. 7 seminar by Peter Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Cold water fish that are sensitive to stresses, such as cisco, are threatened by climate warming and eutrophication. To protect these and other fish, water quality models were used to develop landscape approaches for watershed protection. “Sensitive Shoreline Analyses in Area Lakes” is the Oct. 14 seminar, presented by Paul Radomski, MN DNR Fisheries. All lakeshore is not created equal. Small sections of shoreline may be responsible for much of the lake’s biodiversity. This research is helping identify and protect these critical areas.