by Bob Frye, MWA President
Michigan Waterfront Alliance is pleased to have been a major contributor to the unqualified success of the very well attended 2020 Michigan Inland Lakes Convention. Featuring three days of inland lake focused keynote speakers, workshops, presentations, and networking opportunities, this year’s lakes convention convened on the morning of Wednesday, September 16th, and ran through the late afternoon of Friday, September18th. Recognized as Michigan’s premier opportunity to learn about, and/or share the latest innovations, ideas, and methods associated with lake science, management, and stewardship, the theme of the 2020 virtual lakes convention was “Conserving Lakes in a Changing Environment”. We are also proud of the fact, that in addition to being a Platinum-level sponsor of the biennial event, members of the Michigan Waterfront Alliance Board of Directors made substantive contributions to the overall success of the convention.
Representing one of the best attended sessions of the 2020 Michigan Inland Lakes Convention, the presentation entitled “Legal aspects of the public trust doctrine as it pertains to Michigan’s lakes and streams”, conducted by attorney William Carey of the Grayling-based law firm Carey and Jaskowski PLLC, and attorney Dane Carey of the Traverse City-based law firm Kuhn Rogers PLC, both long standing Michigan Waterfront Alliance Board members, provided attendees with an overview of their legal rights under the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, and the Public Trust Doctrine. Moreover, attendees were also apprised of the legal remedies that can be used to compel appropriate government agency response to combat negative environmental impacts on Michigan waterways. To view the recorded session entitled Public Trust Doctrine, click here.
We are also pleased to recognize the contribution of Michigan Waterfront Alliance Board member Scott Brown, who organized a lakes convention workshop entitled “An update on critical aspects of the forty-year starry stonewort bio-invasion”. The opening session was dedicated to providing viewers with an overview of the natural history, biology, morphology, reproductive capacity, and eco-physiological prerequisites of starry stonewort; the second session of the workshop was dedicated to exploring research conducted by Wesley Glisson of the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center focused on discovering and developing effective, eco-friendly herbicide application-based alternatives for controlling exotic invasive starry stonewort. The concluding session of the three-hour workshop was conducted by David Carr, manager of the Hobart and William Smith College Finger Lakes Institute’s Starry Stonewort Collaborative, who discussed the mission, goals, and status of an on-going United States Environmental Protection Agency grant enabled project that was launched in order to enhance the capacity of lake managers and scientists within the Great Lakes region to manage exotic invasive starry stonewort. To view the recorded starry stonewort focused presentations, click here.
On behalf of the Michigan Waterfront Alliance Board of Directors,, we would like to extend a Happy Thanksgiving to our members, and to all who work hard throughout the year to help preserve and protect Michigan’s vast wealth of high quality inland lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands!