Lake Monitoring Conference

2012 VLMP Lake Monitoring Conference

SAVE THE DATE!  This year’s annual lake monitoring conference is scheduled for Saturday, July 21, and will again be held at The Great Outdoors in Turner, Maine.  More information will be posted as it becomes available.  We hope to see you there!

The conference is free to all certified volunteers.  Pre-registration is required. To register please contact the VLMP office at 207-783-7733 or vlmp@mainevlmp.org.

2011 Conference Highlights

On July 30, 2011, the VLMP celebrated 40 years of successfully monitoring Maine’s lakes at our Annual Lake Monitoring Conference. This event focused on the history of the VLMP, the thousands of individuals who have made a commitment to helping us learn more about Maine lakes, it included a discussion about what we have learned during the past four decades, and an opportunity to socialize with people who have truly made a difference through their efforts to understand and protect Maine’s clear, clean lakes!

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2011 Conference Agenda:

8:00-9:00 Registration, Refreshments & Mingling
9:00-9:15 Welcome & Opening Remarks:  Scott Williams, Executive Director
9:15 A Brief Video Documentation of an Extraordinary Volunteer Lake Monitor by Steve Underwood    (to see video, click here)
9:15-10:00 A Historical Retrospective of the Maine VLMP; Q&A:  Matt Scott, VLMP’s  “Founding Father”, and former Director of the Maine DEP Lakes Program (to view presentation, click here)
10:00-10:15 Audience Participation: Share your historical perspective and experiences with us!
10:15-10:30 Maine Legislative Representative Dennis Keschl on the VLMP’s 40th Anniversary
10:30-11:00 Extended Break – Meet and Mingle
11:00-11:30 “Oops Award”  Coveted prize will be awarded for the most humorous, most adventurous, most surprising, or most utterly disastrous lake monitoring experience.     Winner will be determined by audience vote
11:30-12:15 Recognizing Maine’s Exceptional Lake Monitors
12:15 Closing remarks:  Scott Williams
12:30 Lunch!
1:30 Plant Paddle in Pleasant Pond;  Re-certification workshops

Please click here for a PDF presentation on The Story of The VLMP.  This presentation was created by VLMP’s Scott Williams and Roberta Hill, and it provides a photographic, behind-the-scenes glimpse of one of the nation’s most successful citizen science endeavors.  File size is 12MB and may take a moment to load.

2010 Conference Highlights 2010 Presentation Slides
Presented by David Littell, Commissioner, Maine DEP	Presented by Don Hayes, VLMP Plant Patroller & Branch Lake Milfoil Rangers Team Leader
Ann Speers & Bessie Wright, University of Maine Sustainability Science Initiative, with Roberta Hill, Program Director, VLMP’s Center for Invasive Aquatic Plants	Maine and the National Lakes Assessment Roy Bouchard, Biologist, Maine DEP

2009 Conference Highlights

 Thanks to all who participated in the Conference! We had a great turn out, great presentations and the sun actually shined!

We had many requests for copies of the presentations and will be posting them here as they become available.

2009 Presentation Slides
Presented by Kathleen P. Bell and Jessica E. Leahy	Presented by Roberta Hill

2008 Conference Highlights

At the 2008 Conference we had a panel discussion, including state and local agencies, sharing perspectives on the value of volunteer lake monitors and their data.

2008 Video Highlights

2008 Video Table Of Contents select a chapter to view 1 – Introduction By Video Producer Peter Sirois 4 – Maine DEP Staff Perspective By Roy Bouchard & John McPhedran 2 – VLMP Receives Award from Maine Lakes Conservancy Institute By Shippen Bright 5 – Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District Perspective By Jami Fitch 3 – Overview of the VLMP With Scott Williams, Roberta Hill & Jim Entwood 6 – Cobbossee Watershed District Perspective By Wendy Dennis