Thank you to everyone that attended the 35th Annual Indiana Lakes Management Conference on March 21st and 22nd at Potawatomi Inn at Pokagon State Park in Angola, IN.  One of the highlights of the conference is handing out our annual awards.

Congratulations to Volunteer of the Year Ronald Vaughn of the Pretty Lake Conservation Club in Lagrange County for his multi-year volunteer efforts to improve the water quality of Pretty Lake.

The Outstanding Project Award was given to LaGrange County Strategic Water Quality Monitoring Program for their coordination with multiple lake associations, local government, and nonprofits to develop a county-wide strategic water quality monitoring program.

And congratulations to Outstanding Lake Association Steuben County Lakes Council for their lake testing efforts as well as their multiple efforts and collaborations with the community at large including Trine University, the Steuben County Community Foundation, and the Angola library.

Other conference highlights include plenary speakers Matt Meersman of St. Joesph River Basin Commission and Dr. Indra Frank of Hoosier Environmental Council.  We also had the opportunity to wish Indra a happy retirement.  She will be missed!

It was great to see people mingle with the exhibitors and learn about topics such as mute swan management, various case studies around our great state, how water quality effects our herpetofauna, and many other great presentations surrounding our Indiana waters. On Friday, attendees partook in a Limnology 101 workshop with opportunities to learn more about aquatic plant ID, algal and macroinvertebrate ID, and how to use various forms of water sampling equipment.

Thank you to everyone that participated in the conference and we are looking forward to seeing you next year in Indianapolis!