Limnological Assistance for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Meeting the Challenge of the Water 2025 Initiative: Annual Report, Period Ending May 31, 2008

Hiring: Limnologist Dr. Wai Hing (David) Wong was hired and officially reported to work on 5/15/2008. Project 1 and Project 2: Dr. Wong has commenced work on Projects 1 and 2. Project 3: Dr. Wong has commenced work on Project 3. A comprehensive zebra/quagga mussel bibliography has been completed and published to the 100th Meridian Web site. Six interagency, multi-disciplinary quagga mussel meetings have been held. A quagga mussel substrate project has been initiated and, through the coordination efforts of this project, two other studies have been selected and refined to help determine the ecological impacts of quagga mussel infestation at Lake Mead. Project 4: A comprehensive Lake Mead literature search has been conducted. The results of the search have been organized within 73 subject areas within an Access database containing 1,136 bibliographical records. Rare documents uncovered during the search will be stored and made accessible through UNLV Libraries; an MOU is under development to describe this process and the roles of the participating entities. A pilot data-digitizing effort is underway for benthic data collecting in the 1980s. Project 5: A Lake Mead Science Symposium is scheduled for January 13 through 15, 2008 with 200-300 participants expected to attend. A symposium Web site has been created, which has received almost 3,000 hits as of May 31, 2008. Symposium proceedings will be published in a special issue of Journal of Lake and Reservoir Management. Technical and program committees have been established and are working according to schedule. Project 6: In year 1, six interagency meetings have been held resulting in draft topic areas for the ecological monitoring plan for Lakes Mead and Mohave. Planning is underway to organize information about existing monitoring projects (relevant to the plan) on special pages of the Lake Mead NRA Web site. The interagency meeting participants have agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (or similar document), which states their goals and objectives in working together. This document will be signed at the Lake Mead Science Symposium (Project 5)