First Impressions

 My time here in the Midwest has been undoubtedly so great so far! As I arrived in the town of Menomonie, I could not help but think “Aww, I love this small-town USA vibe!” Before this summer, I never genuinely had the opportunity to live in a tight-knit small town that offered so many traditions through its events, activities, and festivities all within walking distance of the town’s neighborhoods. I absolutely loved the fact that I could bike or walk to most of the town’s offerings whenever I wanted to. In three to five minutes, I can be at any of the cute local coffee shops, bakeries, parks, downtown shops, or pubs from my room. This by far has been the greatest pleasure I have been enjoying. With this pleasure, I have been able to enjoy already a great number of things with many others from the program. Specifically, my favorite thing we have all done together so far of enjoying pizza and beer at Lucette Brewing Company. It was the perfect place for all of us to meet each other and share our first meal together. That evening has definitely set the tone for my time here so far.

Furthermore, covering all the knowledge I have learned on watershed concepts is so much more than what I am about to summarize. The interconnected relationships, actions, and history that are all involved in this initiative have been the necessary foundation needed to comprehend the agricultural and scientific concepts being accounted for in our projects. To begin with, one of the most important things to understand about the severe eutrophication of Lake Menomin is that it is not witnessed until after at least four hot dry days have gone by. Without this condition, many people may unreasonably believe there are no severe issues to address in the watershed of Lake Menomin. This however is not the case. Cool breezy days with rainfall in between them, as we have been currently experiencing so far here in Menomonie, will not last for long. After understanding this key fact, then one is ready to understand and resonate with the rest of the environmental and agricultural processes involved. After a big pour, many of the nutrients, mainly phosphorus and nitrogen, from the watershed begin to seep into Lake Menomin as a result of various factors. These nutrients then being to pollute and toxify the surface waters through water runoff. Once these nutrients make it into the water, the cyanobacteria that are already present consume it eventually becoming too big to be eaten by the heterotrophic planktons that manage their population growth. This is when we start to see the cyanobacteria on the surface of Lake Menomin that makes it nasty and toxic, stopping everyone from being able to enjoy it.

Nonetheless, given this unfortunate situation, I hope to do my best to help with my research project by working with farmers from an economic standpoint on how using and implementing best management practices will help with the eutrophication of the lake and also help them increase their profit and spend more time with their family and friends doing enjoyable activities instead of spending their entire week outside.