Lakeside News Winter 1997
Summer 1997
President's Report
Natural History Week
Field of Dreams
Diatoms, Climate and Water Quality
Students Dig Iowa's Past
Waitt Foundation Grant to ILCC
The Wehrspann Report
The Bovbjerg Lab Pledge Card
Summer 1997: Water Quality Laboratory Construction and Natural History Week
Arnold van der Valk, Director
We will have an unusually busy summer at Lakeside. Ground breaking for the Water Quality Laboratory is scheduled for June 21, 1997, with the presidents of all three Iowa regents’ universities and Iowa Lakes Community College expected to participate. The construction of this new building should start shortly after the ceremony.
Although fund raising by the Friends of Iowa Lakeside Lab, Inc. for the water quality laboratory is not yet over (see new President Sue Richter’s report), the Friends are so close to their goal that late last fall they authorized the hiring of an architectural firm to design the building. A number of architectural firms were interviewed, and FEH Associates out of Sioux City were chosen. FEH have had extensive experience designing school facilities, including the recent additions to the Okoboji Middle School and Okoboji High School. Architects and members of the Friends Boards have met several times to discuss the floor plan and "look" of the building. Even though the architects have not yet finished designing the building, initial designs indicate that it will definitely be both a very functional building and a very beautiful building and that it will fit in with the historic CCC buildings at Lakeside.
Judy Thoreson, who recently stepped down as the first president of the Friends of Lakeside Lab, Inc., provided the vision and leadership needed to get this project organized; Lakeside will always be indebted to her. Many thanks are also due to the members of the Fund raising Committee that Judy established (Neal Conover and Sue Richter, Co-Chairs, Jim Billings, Joanne Stockdale, and Ace Cory) and to the rest of the Friends’ Board who worked hard to make this inaugural capital campaign such a phenomenal success. Most of all, we owe an incalculable debt of gratitude to all those who contributed to the water quality laboratory campaign. The strong support from both the Iowa Great Lakes community and our alumni is very heartening and bodes well for the future of Lakeside.
Another major development this summer is the addition of Natural History Week (August 11 to 15, 1997) to our summer program. After the regular three-term summer session is over, this new, five-day term will be held. Courses during Natural History Week are designed to be fun and to appeal to everyone who has an interest in learning more about the natural world around them. Seven courses will be offered this summer. They have no prerequisites and, like all Lakeside courses, will be full immersion and field oriented. I particularly hope that Natural History Week will allow residents and visitors to the Iowa Great Lakes region to participate in Lakeside’s summer program. These courses should also be attractive to students, teachers, and conservationists who would like to fill in some gaps in their educational background.
President’s Report: Water Quality Lab to Become Reality!
By Sue Richter, President
Friends of Lakeside Lab, Inc.
On a picture perfect evening last June, hundreds of Lakeside supporters, Lakeside faculty and students, the president of the Iowa Board of Regents, and senior administrators from Iowa’s universities and colleges gathered to kick off the first capital project of the Friends of Iowa Lakeside Lab, Inc. This project to build a water quality laboratory arose from a shared dream of the Iowa Great Lakes community and the Lakeside faculty and administration to be able to work together to protect the water quality of the Iowa Great Lakes. As the Director of the Laboratory, Arnold van der Valk, emphasized in his speech, the building of this laboratory is the first step in transforming Lakeside into an Iowa Great Lakes institution that will operate year-round.
Our capital campaign had a goal of $710,000. This amount would be enough to build and equip a YEARROUND Water Quality Laboratory. This new facility will monitor our watershed, conduct research, and educate people on environmental issues. It will serve the regents’ institutions, private colleges, community colleges, K-12 schools, and local environmental groups.
The $300,000 challenge grant that the campaign received from the Andrea and Norman Waitt Jr. Foundation has been matched by contributions from the Iowa Great Lakes community and Lakeside alumni. We are currently within an eyelash of raising all the funds needed to build the water quality laboratory. Anyone who wishes to contribute to this vital project is urged to do so as soon as possible. We are grateful to all who have contributed or who will still contribute. Because of their generosity, the water quality lab will soon become a reality.
All contributors will be invited to the groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, June 21, 1997. See YOU there!
Natural History Week
Arnold van der Valk
Since 1909, Iowa Lakeside Laboratory has been offering university courses on all aspects of the natural history of the Upper Midwest. These courses, however, have been primarily aimed at undergraduates and graduate students at Iowa regents’ universities. We have never offered any courses that would be suitable for residents of or visitors to the Iowa Great Lakes region. In 1997, this will change. We are expanding our summer program by adding an additional term, Natural History Week – August 11-15, 1997. The courses being offered during this term are designed for everyone who is interested in learning more about Iowa’s natural history and resources. Seven sections of our Natural History Workshop course will be offered by some of the leading ecologists and environmental educators in the Midwest:
B. Birds and Birding (Lee and Nancy Schoenewe, Iowa Lakes Community College) – An introduction to one of the most enjoyable and rewarding of all hobbies and one that will enable you to explore the diverse natural areas of the Iowa Great Lakes year-round.
C. Nature Photography (Tom Rosburg, Drake University) – Bring your camera and learn nature photography from a pro.
F. Fish Biology (Mike Lannoo, Ball State University) – This course will not necessarily make you a better fisherman, but you will learn a lot about the fish of northwest Iowa. Mike Lannoo is the author of the book Okoboji Wetlands (University of Iowa Press).
G. Prairies and Prairie Restoration (Paul Christiansen, Cornell College) – An introduction to the prairies of northwest Iowa by the dean of the state’s prairie ecologists.
J. Aquatic Plants (Dean Roosa, Iowa State Ecologist (retired)) – Impress your friends by identifying the "sea weeds" on their propellers and find out why these plants are so important to the ecology of the lakes. Learn to identify Eurasian Water Milfoil. Dean Roosa is the co-author of a new book on aquatic and wetland plants that is being published by ISU Press.
L. Life in Lakes (John Schalles, Creighton University) – Dr. Schalles and his students have been studying lakes in northwest Iowa for many years. If you have ever wondered about the creatures with whom you are sharing the lakes, this is your opportunity to find out what they are and what they do.
N. Natural History of the Iowa Great Lakes region (Gary Phillips, Iowa Lakes Community College) – This course is an introduction to the ecology of the lakes, prairies, and wetlands for both residents and visitors. It is an ideal way to become familiar with and to learn to enjoy the natural areas of the Iowa Great Lakes region.
In all Lakeside courses you learn by doing. Consequently, participants will spend all or most of each day in the field. Enrollments are limited to 10 to 12 students per course. One credit can be obtained by registering for the appropriate section of our Natural History Workshop course either through one of the regents’ universities or Iowa Lakes Community College. Room and board will be available at Lakeside during Natural History Week at normal student rates. It is also possible to take these courses on a non-credit basis.
During the 1997 summer season, Lakeside will also offer two other short sections of the Natural History Workshop course besides those being offered during Natural History Week: B. Birds and Birding with Dr. Jim Dinsmore (June 29 to July 3, 1997) and P. Field Archaeology (June 2 to 6, 1997) with Dr. John Doershuk. The latter will enable participants with no previous experience to take part in an ongoing archaeological dig at an Oneota site in northwest Iowa.
As usual, there will be 15 university courses offered during the 1997 summer session. First Term (June 2 to 20): Archaeology, Ecology, Environmental Geology, Freshwater Algae, Ornithology. Second Term (June 23 to July 18): Aquatic Biology, Diatoms, Evolution, Plant Taxonomy, and Prairie Ecology. Third Term: (July 21 to August 8, 1997): Aquatic Plants, Insect Ecology, Plant Ecology, Restoration Ecology, and Environmental Analysis of Watersheds. These are all three or four credit courses which run 3 or 4 weeks and for which credit can be obtained through all three regents’ universities.
To find out more about Lakeside’s Natural History Week courses or obtain a registration/housing form, please contact the Lakeside Administrative Office (131 Bessey Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1020; phone 515-294-2488; email lakeside@iastate.edu) or log onto our World Wide Web site (http://www.public.iastate.edu/~Lakeside). The WWW site has the complete 1997 Iowa Lakeside Laboratory Bulletin including an on-line Registration/Housing Form.
Field of Dreams: A New Outdoor Classroom for Lakeside
Erin Walter
As part of their dream to educate young people about nature, a LeMars couple, Delores and Al Maser, have generously opened their 220-acre nature preserve, Wildwood Farm, west of Spirit Lake, to classes from Iowa Lakeside Laboratory. Long before Al and Delores Maser planted 22 acres of their preserve to wildflowers in 1994, Delores had had a dream of inviting children to pick flowers in the field and to enjoy the wildlife on their preserve.
"They (Lakeside Lab faculty) were looking for areas they could use for educational purposes," Delores Maser said about the reason she and her husband volunteered their preserve for study. "We’re just giving them use for whatever purpose they could use it for."
"We’re very interested in the Lab because we think it is a very important facility, especially here with the great natural resources we have in the area," Delores said.
After the Masers approached Lab director Arnold van der Valk at a Friends’ fundraiser about using the property, a group of Lab faculty members went out to survey their preserve the next day. "For the first visit, five faculty members went out to get acquainted," van der Valk said. "By the next day, one of the classes had been out there. It didn’t take long to realize it was a real gold mine." With a small lake as well as marshes, woods, prairies and Conservation Reserve Program land, van der Valk feels the Maser Wildwood Farm is an excellent field site for many different Lakeside classes.
While Lab students and faculty are benefiting from using the Maser Wildwood Farm, Delores said she has learned a great deal from Lab faculty about restoring and maintaining the property. According to van der Valk, a rare example of Oak savanna that is found on the property is particularly exciting. "It has all the characteristics of Oak savanna, a combination of prairie and a scattered over-story of bur-oaks." Shrubs, which have flourished since the suppression of fire, however, have obliterated most of the prairie. Savannas, once present in abundance in this area, are now one of the rarest systems found in Iowa. "Savanna was probably one of the first areas cleared by settlers because it had wood. All original settlements were established near rivers or in areas like this," van der Valk said.
Although the wildflower garden is only three years old, the nature-loving Masers have owned the 100 acres of native woods, 100 acres of CRP land, and the 22-acre plot now sustaining the flowers for almost 20 years. "A great deal of time and money has gone into restoring the land which was originally a production farm," Al said. For Delores’ 60th birthday, he established the wildflower garden for her. "It takes thought to develop this land. Everything is costly in time, money and labor, but it’s fulfilling," Delores said. "It’s our own way of conservation and reservation and providing a wildlife refuge."
Diatoms, Global Climate Change and Water Quality
Erin Walter
The study of microscopic single-celled algae found in the Iowa Great Lakes could be a key to predicting world-wide global warming trends as well as the future water quality of Okoboji lakes. These microscopic single-celled algae, called diatoms, are found in almost all lakes, ponds, soils, streams and oceans, but researchers from across the continent come to the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory on West Lake Okoboji to study these unique algae.
Because diatoms form their cell walls of a glass-like material that is nearly indestructible, scientists are able to study the past by examining the glassy skeletons that are deposited in the bottoms of current and drained lakes. These preserved algae have become a hot topic for scientists and environmentalists because they tell the tale of past climatic changes and can be used to study the potential effects of global warming.
Diatoms are also a good indicator of the water quality of a lake, said Dr. Gene Stoermer, who teaches Lakeside’s course, "Ecology and Systematics of Diatoms." Changes in water quality are quickly reflected in the makeup of the diatom community in the lake. The muddy bottom of West Lake Okoboji is about 60 percent diatom cell walls, or frustules, by weight, Stoermer said "Property values on West Lake Okoboji are dependent on the quality of water. A study like this can give us a handle on water quality," Stoermer said.
Stoermer’s four-week course, one of the few diatom classes taught in North America, brings students from all over the country and from many other countries. Stoermer, a self-described "old farm boy" from Gillett Grove, was a student at the Lakeside Lab in 1957. For his Ph.D. dissertation, Stoermer took a 10-meter core of the bottom of the West Lake Okoboji to study diatoms. "At the time, there was hardly any work on diatoms. My major professor, John Dodd, encouraged me to start a class because there was no class on this continent," Stoermer said. Stoermer took up the challenge. He developed and taught the diatom course.
When Stoermer left Iowa State University to do research at the University of Michigan, Dodd convinced Dr. Charles W. Reimer from the Academy of Natural Science in Philadelphia to teach Lakeside’s diatom course for "just one summer." One summer turned into 30, as Reimer "fell in love with the place, like almost everybody does," Stoermer said.
The 1996 diatom class presented Reimer, who retired in 1993, but returns for the class each summer, with a bottle of vodka and a Zippo lighter for 30 years of diatom research. Stoermer took over the diatoms course when Reimer retired.
Students Dig Iowa’s Past
Erin Walter
With sunburned backs and muddy boots, eight college students and their teacher, Dr. John Doershuk, last summer excavated part of a 20-acre piece of land near Gillett Grove which was once the home of a pre-historic Oneota culture. This excavation by Lakeside’s Field Archaeology course was begun in 1995 by Dr. Michael Shott of The University of Northern Iowa.
According to Doershuk, archaeologists know relatively little about the Oneota. The Oneota culture is classified into two "horizons"--the classic horizon (A.D. 1300-1650) and the historic horizon (post A.D. 1650). From excavated Oneota sites, archaeologists have determined the tribe moved up the Sioux River; in early years settling at the waters’ edge, but later moving to the surrounding hills. Based on the hillside position of the Gillett Grove site, Doershuk has dated the site to the late 1650s.
The archaeologist’s job of searching through layers of dirt and clay in the hot sun can be painstaking. After arriving at the dig site around 8:30 a.m., the class splits into teams of two, with each team assigned to a one meter-by-one-meter plot. After sharpening their tools, each team goes to work. "In a brand new plot, the team must strip the sod. They dig in a controlled fashion, trying to excavate the floor of the unit in layers 10 cm. thick," he said. As artifacts were found, diggers carefully recorded the layers where the items were uncovered. Names of crew members, land coordinates and sample descriptions were also recorded. "The hardest part is keeping track of where things are from. As soon as they’re removed from the dirt, they become useless artifacts," Doershuk said.
In their three weeks at the dig site, Doershuk’s class found charcoal, bone, tiny arrowheads and chert. The class also found small samples of Oneota pottery that can be identified by the pieces of shell temper used to keep the earthen-ware pots from cracking when fired. "I enjoy watching people learn the skills. At first they’re very clumsy, awkward, but they get very comfortable," Doershuk said. "The excitement when you find something is contagious."
"Our one main goal was to discover a feature like a trash pit or a hearth as the focal point of our excavations," Doershuk said. Because these features were focal points of activity in a pre-historic dwelling, a great deal can be learned about the people who lived there. Unfortunately, the 1996 did not unearth a trash pit. Maybe the 1997 class will have more luck.
Teacher and students were not the only ones fascinated by the artifacts unearthed. The site had many visitors, including relatives of students, other Lakeside faculty and students, and members of the Iowa Archaeological Society. "It’s amazing how interested people are with this. They’re really intrigued," Doershuk said. "It is really fun to have people come visit and to show off what you’ve found," said student Kat Brecheisen. "The best thing is when you find things yourself, like when you’re digging and see a piece of chert that’s a different color or something,"
Student Elizabeth Andre said "the best part is seeing what others dig up and comparing different plots." While Andre took pleasure in finding small artifacts, "our goal was to find a brass idol," she joked.
Waitt Foundation Gives Grant to ILCC to Bring High School Teachers and Students to Lakeside
Three faculty at Iowa Lakes Community College, Robert Boes, Mary Larscheid, and Gary Phillips, have been awarded a grant for nearly $25,000 to develop an environmental education program, for high school teachers and their classes. This new initiative goes under the acronym SEED, Secondary Environmental Education Development.
The Waitt Foundation grant will fund an annual conference of high school biology and environmental science teachers in northwest Iowa counties; the development and implement of a short course to train high school teachers to conduct field days for their classes; and the establishment of field days at Lakeside for high school classes.
The field-day program that is being developed will emphasize aquatic ecology and prairie ecology. Class exercises during field days will be activity and field oriented. During their one-week training course, teachers will be introduced to and prepared to conduct a series of field exercises that are suitable for high school classes. Altogether about 2,000 high school students will come to Lakeside during the next two year due to this project.
Each spring and fall for about one week, field days will be held at Lakeside. Two high school classes and their teachers will come to Lakeside on each field day. About 20 classes will be able to participate in these field days each year.
While at Lakeside, classes will be engaged nearly full-time in field work. Follow-up activities will be conducted back at their own schools.
This project is another major step in the development of joint programs between Lakeside and Iowa Lakes Community College that will greatly benefit the people of northwest Iowa.
The Wehrspann Report
Mark and Judy Wehrspann
What a winter we are experiencing in the Iowa Great Lakes. Lakeside is accumulating snow; and as we gaze at the drifts and the snow piles, we anticipate a very wet spring. As a frame of reference, from the office we cannot see the highway for the drifts! And the temperatures have been downright intimidating.
The dishwasher in the dining hall is being replaced with a newer, more efficient model. As we reminisced, we thought it only yesterday that we received "that" particular machine. It was, in fact, the first winter we were at the Lab, 18 years ago. The dishwasher was already 10 years old when it arrived at Lakeside. After the old machine was removed and before the new machine was installed, new white fiberglass paneling was put behind and around the work areas in the dish-washing room, just as was installed in the kitchen last winter. It will brighten and improve the appearance of that area and make cleanup easier and less hazardous.
Last fall the remainder of the volleyball court was removed and the entire area in front of the motel unit was landscaped and seeded. Yes! Grass was growing. Now with all the snow, it is hard to imagine green. The painting of the porches was completed and walkways firmed up. We think this summer’s inhabitants will enjoy their new view.
The sewer project down by the south ravine is almost complete. The old sewer pipe across the ravine is gone, and a new pipe buried under the ravine. The contractors worked hard under adverse conditions, but now, with all the snow and frigid temperatures, their progress has been stopped. But only a few days work by the electricians and the contractor are needed to complete this project.
Footings and foundations have been dug and poured for a new storage and laundry facility in the corner between the motel units, but once again the snow and extreme cold has stopped construction. We have no laundry facilities on the Lab, so this unit has been eagerly anticipated. We plan to move the linens and blankets and cleaning supplies from the room beside the office. This eventually will free up the space next to the office which we would like to convert into an office for our faculty.
The Mahan Hall now sports dimmer switches on the lights and fans. It is amazing how small improvements such as the above make for more pleasant presentations in the summer. (Summer is coming, isn’t it?)
The telephone system at the Lab has become hi-tech. There are now phones in the Limno Lab, King Lab, library, kitchen, Mahan Hall, Main Cottage, Faculty Cottage, and two student phones on the dining hall porch. Faculty, students and visitors will no longer be standing in line slapping mosquitoes or trying to stay dry while waiting to make a phone call.
As has been reported elsewhere, plans are almost complete for the new water quality lab and how exciting this is. It is also possible that a new dormitory may soon be built on the campus. For those of you who have been with us in the past decade, is it not almost incomprehensible that five years ago Mark and Judy were actively looking for other employment as Lakeside was about to become defunct?
Only through the dedicated patience and support of the "old," the newly realized support of the "present," the promise of new directions in the "future" both by present and former staff and students, and the welcome addition of community outpouring of time and treasure has Lakeside found a new direction for the future. We are thrilled to be a part of this venture. And we thank all of you for your support and participation.
The Richard Bovbjerg Laboratory Fund
I would hereby like to pledge to the Richard Bovbjerg Fund whose sole purpose is to raise $50,000 so that a research laboratory in the water quality laboratory can be named after Dick Bovbjerg. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed under IRS section 501(c)(3).
You may either print this form and fill it out or use a facsimile.
NAME: _________________________________________________________
TOTAL GIFT: ________PAYMENT BALANCE:________PLEDGED:_______
My gift will be pledged over ____ years. (Please complete payments
by December 31, 1998)
Please bill me (circle one): Annually Semi-Annually Quarterly
Signature: _____________________________________Date: _____________
Street Address: ___________________________________________________
City, State, Zip Code: ______________________________________________
Telephone: ______________________________________________________
Please make checks payable to:
FRIENDS OF LAKESIDE LAB, INC.
and mail to
Friends of lakeside Lab, Inc.
1838 Highway 86
Milford, IA 51351
