Laurel Beager

The Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation reports the cyanobacterial bloom, or blue-green algae, on Lake of the Woods is tracking toward being one of the most severe since 2002.The foundation reports the view of the bloom from space is compelling and confirms firsthand accounts on Lake of the Woods at the end of September.The foundation is gearing up for its 2024 International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum, an annual gathering of professional researchers and resource managers, policy makers and the public interested in the Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed.The forum, March 6-7 at Minnesota North College Rainy River Campus, will discuss climate change, nutrients and algae; paleolimnology, aquatic invasive species; sediment studies; hydrology, fisheries, emerging technologies and more.The foundation is a registered Canadian charity based in Kenora, Ontario, working binationally to develop a sustainability plan for the Lake of the Woods Basin, based on sound science and international cooperation and collaboration.The foundation reported that by late September a massive bloom extended across 73 percent of the lake’s surface.