• Home
  • News
    • Blog
    • News Archive
    • Videos
  • About
    • About Us
    • Lake Conditions
      • Algae Levels
      • Clark County Test Results
      • WA Dept. of Ecology Interactive Map
      • Tides & Currents
      • Weather
      • Lake Advisory Newsletter
    • Explore Vancouver Lake
    • Vancouver Lake History
    • Photo Gallery
    • Economic Impact
  • Calendar
  • Donate
  • Contact
Friends of Vancouver LakeFriends of Vancouver Lake
  • Home
  • News
    • Blog
    • News Archive
    • Videos
  • About
    • About Us
    • Lake Conditions
      • Algae Levels
      • Clark County Test Results
      • WA Dept. of Ecology Interactive Map
      • Tides & Currents
      • Weather
      • Lake Advisory Newsletter
    • Explore Vancouver Lake
    • Vancouver Lake History
    • Photo Gallery
    • Economic Impact
  • Calendar
  • Donate
  • Contact
Columbian: Group reflects on Vancouver Lake

Columbian: Group reflects on Vancouver Lake

February 12, 2014

Article from The Columbian

If there’s one thing a decade of studying the ailing health of Vancouver Lake has revealed, it’s this: Fixing it won’t come easy.

“There’s no silver bullet,” said Patty Boyden, environmental services director at the Port of Vancouver.

Ten years after its formation, the group that has spearheaded extensive research and advocacy for the lake now faces a crossroads. The Vancouver Lake Watershed Partnership and its members say they’ve greatly improved the community’s understanding of a complex ecosystem. They’ve laid out several possible actions that could improve Vancouver Lake, still plagued by toxic algae blooms, pollution and other problems. But the group also faces an uncertain path forward with local agreements set to expire and future funding up in the air.

Now the question is: What happens next?

Conversations in the coming year could include what form the partnership takes in the future, Boyden said, whether it’s the same partnership, a nonprofit, a watershed council or something else. The group is financially backed now by the port, Clark County and the city of Vancouver. Those three agencies have jointly contributed almost all of the $1.3 million that the partnership has worked with during the past 10 years.

But that arrangement was never meant to be permanent, according to those involved. An intergovernmental agreement among the city, county and port will end no later than 2016. And any new funding plan will likely depend on what the partnership becomes.

A report published by the partnership in December offered a detailed summary of all the research the group has helped facilitate during the past 10 years. The document was intended to recap what the community has learned about the lake since the partnership was formed, said Ron Wierenga, a program manager in Clark County’s Environmental Services department. It’s also a way to show people what has been accomplished with all of the time and money that has been directed toward Vancouver Lake, he said.

“It’s a good idea to just sort of stop and assess where you are and look at what you know,” Wierenga said. “Doing that through this type of a report … it’s a good way to wrap all that up and give us a tool to communicate to people.”

Partnership beginnings

The partnership formed in 2004, largely in response to blue-green algae blooms that routinely closed the lake to the public and created a health hazard. Leaders hoped to gain a better understanding of Vancouver Lake’s problems, and what was causing them.

Among their findings: Those toxic blooms can occur naturally even in pristine lakes far from human influence. But blooms at Vancouver Lake are also fueled by nutrients that enter the lake from a variety of sources.

Studies also found the primary source of some of the lake’s pollutants is its connection to Lake River — not the troubled Burnt Bridge Creek, which also connects to the lake. The lake also struggles with turbidity and sediment buildup.

Share

You also might be interested in

Berm Construction Nearing Completion

Berm Construction Nearing Completion

Jun 22, 2021

Many lake users testified in opposition to the construction of[...]

Get Your Fishing Rods Out, It’s Carp Season!

Get Your Fishing Rods Out, It’s Carp Season!

Apr 30, 2021

By Naithan Kain It is spawning season for Vancouver Lake’s[...]

Friends of Vancouver Lake announces date change for treatment for Eurasian milfoil weed

Friends of Vancouver Lake announces date change for treatment for Eurasian milfoil weed

Aug 5, 2019

Vancouver, WA – Treatment of the Eurasian milfoil weed infestation[...]

Recent Posts

  • CCT: FOVL looking for ways to improve water quality
  • Educational Workshop on Phosphorus Filtration: Burnt Bridge Creek
  • Columbian: Invasive weed at Mineral Lake to be eradicated this summer
  • Clark County Today: FOVL Plan to Kill Off Curly-Leaf Pondweed
  • Lake Passes Test, Remains Open
Your support helps us ensure Vancouver Lake remains Vancouver's most expressive feature Donate Now!

Contact Us:

  • Friends of Vancouver Lake
  • 800 NE Tenney Rd. Ste. 110-531 Vancouver, WA 98685
  • info@vancouverlake.org
  • VancouverLake.org

© 2022 · Friends of Vancouver Lake · Website Design by Valo Consulting.

Next