Freshwater Ecosystems Revitalizing Educational Programs in Limnology (1996) / Chapter Skim
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5 Future of Limnology: Linking Education and Water Resource Management
5 Future of Limnology: Linking Education and Water Resource Management
Pages 154-180
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From page 154... ...
Regulators who oversee the implementation of environmental laws, scientists and engineers in environmental consulting firms, managers of industrial facilities located on lakes and rivers, operators of water and wastewater treatment plants, urban planners, and policymakers in legislative bodies all make decisions that affect freshwater ecosystems. Limnology programs can serve not just to educate people who will pursue careers specifically in limnology but also to educate people whose work might someday influence the longterm, sustained use of freshwater ecosystems.
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From page 155... ...
Watershed managers for such conservancies must develop, implement, and monitor natural resource management plans that integrate activities on conservancy lands, consider industrial activities within the watershed, and seek to improve water and wetland quality of the mainstream and tributaries. As with the hydroelectric facility operator, the conservancy watershed manager must be able to consult with science experts from disparate fields and evaluate their advice when confronting complex restoration
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From page 156... ...
In addition to direct opportunities in water management, the private sector offers limnologists opportunities to conduct in-depth studies of challenging practical questions. Examples of private-sector questions that limnologists can address include the following: .
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From page 157... ...
Employment opportunities exist within its fisheries management, water resource management, wastewater management, water supply, water regulation and zoning, and water resource research bureaus. In 1994, the DNR filled approximately 35 such positions, mostly with individuals who
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From page 158... ...
degrees in a field of aquatic science. Thus, numerous employment opportunities exist for limnologists in public-sector water management.
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. Centers that also have responsibility for managing land or water resources (such as the Flathead Lake Biological Station in Poison, Niontana)
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From page 160... ...
COLLABORATION AMONG UNIVERSITIES, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR In preparing this report, the Committee on Inland Aquatic Ecosystems met with water resource managers from around the United States to discuss their perspectives on education in limnology. Perhaps the most emphatic message delivered by the resource managers was that "universities must provide the broad training necessary for solving practical management problems." This clear statement is fundamental to delivering a successful education to limnologists who hope to practice their discipline in realworld settings.
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From page 161... ...
In addition to collaboration through appointment of government scientists and managers as adjunct professors, universities and agencies may conduct joint research projects. Some of the most effective collaboration can occur at field research stations, where agency and university scientists can work together on real-world problems (see the background paper "The Role of Major Research Centers in the Study of Inland Aquatic
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From page 162... ...
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From page 163... ...
Examples of research stations, of which government and academy b~nologi~s work in tandem include ~ Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest gee Box 5-27 which was founded by s~enbs~ Cow Dar~ou~ CoNege and ~ now supported by the Oh. Forest Service and the National Science Foundadon; ~ We Ontario Ministry of We Environment and Energy research station at Dorset Ontario, which ~ supported by the Canadian government but drams scientists Cow We Oniversibes of Toronto/ Trent, Waterloo, and York; ~ We Colette Hydrologic Laboratory in North Carolina, where Oniversity of Ceorgia and Virginia Tech scientists work closely gin the O.S.
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From page 165... ...
Such research partnerships could be adopted by other universities and government agencies. Student Internships Internships with government agencies and private companies constitute one of the best mechanisms for providing students with exposure to practical problems in water resource management.
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From page 166... ...
Most of the interns are undergraduates, but a few are master's students. Interns work within a variety of department programs, including fisheries management, water resources, water supply, water regulation and zoning, wastewater management, and water resource research.
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From page 167... ...
recently developed an indirect mechanism to support interns via a program operated by the universitybased Water Resources Research Institutes (WRRI) program, which the USGS administers for the federal government.
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From page 168... ...
The University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Bureau of Research at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources have established a formal program for graduate-level continuing education of DNR scientists that could serve as a model for other agencies or companies and universities. Under this program, several DNR employees have pursued advanced degrees in the University of Wisconsin's Oceanography and Limnology Program, working primarily with faculty at the university's Center for Limnology.
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From page 169... ...
A variety of steps can be taken to enhance the visibility of limnology and increase the involvement of limnologists in important water resource management decisions. First, professional societies involving limnologists can coordinate programs for certifying limnologists and can consider whether it is desirable to establish minimum competence levels across the broad spectrum of ecosystem types (lakes, streams, wetlands)
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From page 170... ...
A pragmatic evaluation or certification system for aquatic ecosystem scientists and water resource professionals might be valuable for a variety of positions in the public and private sectors, especially in consulting firms, state and federal resource and regulatory agencies, and private industry. Examples of specific positions for which certification might be useful include state water quality managers, federal agency water quality regulators, aquatic science and engineering consultants, hydroelectric facility environmental supervisors, and paper mill aquatic environmental supervisors.
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From page 171... ...
Certification candidates may apply for either "provisional" certification, which is based on college course work and requires no experience, or "professional" certification, which requires five years of professional lake management experience if the academic degree is not related to aquatic sciences or a minimum of two years of lake management experience if the B.S. degree is in one of the environmental fields (such as zoology, botany, or environmental
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From page 172... ...
In reviewing certification programs, the societies should consider whether there is a need for limnologists who are certified as competent across the spectrum of aquatic ecosystem types (lakes, flowing waters, various types of wetlands) that are within the purviews of modern limnology, and if so, what level of education (B.S., M.S., Ph.D.)
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From page 173... ...
Federal agencies would benefit similarly from establishment of a limnologist category in the federal job register. Such a listing would be especially valuable for hiring staff for the USGS's National Water Quality Assessment Program and for a variety of positions in the Environmental Protection Agency, National Biological Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service, Forest Service, Soil Conservation Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Army Corps of Engineers.
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From page 174... ...
Public Education As emphasized in this report, academic limnologists need to train not only their successors in science but also broad-minded citizens who are aware of the many ways in which human activities affect aquatic ecosystems. Limnologists must reach beyond university students whose focus is aquatic science to help educate the broader public.
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From page 175... ...
Limnologists should increase their efforts to participate in such public outreach programs to increase general citizen awareness of the importance of inland aquatic ecosystems. Outreach activities traditionally have been an important function of land-grant universities.
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From page 176... ...
· Scientists and water resource managers in universities, government agencies, and the private sector should seek opportunities for collaborative research. · Government agencies and universities should expand opportunities for faculty to take leave from their normal academic responsibilities to work on solving practical aquatic resource problems in agencies.
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From page 177... ...
1994. Publications of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study.
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