JUNE 12, 2026
University of Maine Orono

LAKE RESILIENCE IN
THE FACE OF CHANGE

Registration is Closed

2026 Lake Conference News + Updates

Registration

Registration for the conference is now closed. We are at capacity. Thanks so much to everyone coming to the conference! We will post recordings of all of the talks on this website by the end of June.

Please see the updated schedule and FAQ section below for the most current information.

Sponsor our Conference

Thank you to this year’s sponsors! The conference relies on business sponsors who help us keep registration costs down and support the staff who make the conference a success! If you would like to sponsor a future lake conference, please email lakeconferencemaine@gmail.com.

Donate to the Conference Fundraiser

Donate to the Conference Fundraiser! We rely on both a silent auction and a raffle to raise funds to cover conference expenses and are grateful to the many individuals and businesses who have contributed to our fundraisers in the past. If you have a donation, please fill our short donation form HERE and we’ll be in touch!

Table at the Conference

Our vendor tables are at capacity. If you would like to table at a future lake conference, please fill out our vendor/exhibitor form HERE.

Sign Up for Conference News

Click here to subscribe to our Lake Conference Newsletter to find out more about next year’s conference and registration information.

Hosted By Maine Lakes & Lake Stewards of Maine

Guest Speakers & Panel

Keith Carson, Keynote Speaker

Former meteorologist for NewsCenter Maine and The Weather Channel and now the Director of Environmental and Science Communications at Maine Conservation Voters, Keith is on a mission to share the science of climate change and motivate people to make positive changes for the earth. Keith will share his expertise on ways to communicate effectively and take action, framed in the future of lakes in the face of change.

Climate change is one of the most important issues in the world; but there’s a problem- messaging around the topic has turned many people away. Drawing on almost 20 years of statewide feedback communicating about climate and the environment, Keith Carson will explain which words, phrases, and messages spur action and which send people into their political bunkers. He will cite specific campaigns that worked and others that backfired, while offering advice each audience member can apply to their role in the fight for the environment and against climate change. There will also be a Question and Answer portion to explore topics that aren’t covered in the talk.

Sabrina Koetter, Plenary Speaker

Currently wrapping up her Master’s thesis work at the University of Vermont, Sabrina will share results from her research into pathways of information sharing and outcomes for participants in volunteer water monitoring programs. Some of you may have interacted with Sabrina over the last year, or filled out her survey. She will share lessons learned and ways to help us all engage more people in action for healthy lakes as they face a changing future.

Previous research on water monitoring volunteers commonly focuses on data collection, learning outcomes, or motivations, while less is known about how lake monitors interpret their positions as participatory scientists. Drawing on role theories to understand how volunteers in long-term lake monitoring programs define and enact their unique roles within their lake communities, this research explores factors that influence communication behaviors. Using surveys followed by focus groups, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from lake monitors in four long-term monitoring programs in the United States (ME, MN, NY, VT). Exploring the relationship between roles and communication provides insight into social ties, community outreach, the organizational role of lake associations, and recommendations for lake monitoring program engagement. Additionally, recommendations from this research will be provided to volunteer lake monitors and program coordinators to promote a comprehensive understanding of the monitors’ contributions and challenges regarding monitoring and communication.

Toni Pied

Toni works with the Aquatic Invasive Species Unit at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Toni has been working to protect Maine’s natural resources for over twenty years, and has dedicated much of that time to protecting one of Maine’s most treasured resources, our lakes. Toni grew up in Massachusetts and was fortunate to spend much of her childhood exploring Maine’s lakes, forests and mountains.

After earning a degree in Environmental Science and Biology from the University of Maine Farmington, Toni moved to Gardiner, where she lives with her family, and works to protect the place that fostered her love of the outdoors. In her spare time, she loves exploring Maine’s lakes, forests and coast; hiking and kayaking.

Maine’s inland waters are integral to residents’ and visitors’ quality of life and to the State’s economy. These waters provide habitat for aquatic plants and animals. While some of Maine’s waters have been negatively impacted by AIS (Aquatic Invasive Species), Maine still has much to protect. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) addresses AIS (primarily aquatic invasive plants) – in three ways: prevention, early detection, and control. Currently, Maine DEP’s efforts to reduce the spread of AIS include the Courtesy Boat Inspection (CBI) Program, early detection and control programs to reduce current infestations. These efforts and promoting Clean, Drain, Dry practices along with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, lake organizations, and municipalities throughout the State are what has helped limit the number of AIS infestations in Maine.

This project uses community-based social marketing (CBSM), a data-driven approach that leverages behavioral science, to develop a public engagement campaign to foster cleaning behaviors that benefit Maine’s inland waterbodies and prevent the spread of AIS.

Sally Stockwell

Sally Stockwell, Director of Conservation at Maine Audubon, is a wildlife ecologist with over 40 years of experience conserving wildlife and wildlife habitat across the state of Maine.  Since 2013 Sally has been promoting wildlife-friendly forest habitat management through the Forestry for Maine Birds program.  More recently, Sally worked with numerous partners including Maine Lakes to draft a Forests for Maine Fish guide on managing shoreland areas and surrounding woodlands to enhance fish and other riparian wildlife.  This is the first time Sally has shared this information at a Maine Lakes Conference.

Forests for Maine Fish is a new program highlighting the important connection between Maine’s forests and fish. This presentation will showcase why shoreland areas are important for high quality fish habitat and how to manage the areas around and behind your home in a fish and wildlife-friendly way to benefit both fish and the many other aquatic and terrestrial animals that depend on our forests.

Mary Szatkowski

Mary Szatkowski is a hydrogeologist for the Maine Geological Survey. Prior to joining MGS, she worked in Arctic Alaska evaluating impacts to lakes and streams from infrastructure development and climate change. Mary’s most recent projects have focused on water usage, drought, and the Maine Cooperative Snow Survey.

Maine’s annual precipitation is generally increasing, yet parts of the state have experienced “extreme drought”, as defined by the U.S. Drought Monitor, in three of the last ten years. These droughts represent extreme hydrologic conditions which have wide ranging impacts, from industry to public health. Stakeholders work together to respond to current drought impacts and build resilience for future droughts. Lake water storage is of specific concern because of the reliance of public water systems on surficial water sources. Furthermore, drought conditions influence lake water quality and, in cases, have been associated with algal blooms. This presentation will discuss the hydrologic conditions which define Maine’s droughts, the hydrologic connectivity between lakes and groundwater, and drought impacts to lake water quality, namely how drought can promote the mobilization of phosphorus from soils into surface waters.

Ivonne Vazquez

Ivonne Vazquez is passionate about native plants, herbs, pollinators, DIY, sustainability, the environment, and sharing gardening knowledge. She is most often found outdoors using her skills as a former Master Gardener Volunteer, Licensed Registered Maine Guide/Recreation, Basic Gardening Instructor at Bangor (Maine) Adult Community Education, and native plant nursery owner at Bas Rouge Farm & Forge, Orono, Maine.

In addition to growing and selling native plants, she has been a freelance writer on a variety of gardening topics and articles for the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners magazine, published by MOFGA; and an avid photographer whose main subjects are native plants and pollinators. She travels throughout Maine speaking and presenting workshops to a variety of audiences. Ivonne holds certificates in Sustainable Landscapes & Garden Management, Permaculture Design and, in 2025, she obtained credentials from the ANSI Accredited National Green Infrastructure Certification Program (NGICP) as a Green Infrastructure Practitioner.

Ivonne sits on the Boards of the Maine School Garden Network, Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (MOFGA) & Fedco Seeds.

In this presentation, we learn how the wellbeing of our lakes encompasses understanding the health of the soil and the benefits of native plants as allies. Key takeaways will include exploring the inherent functions of native vegetation (from keystone species to groundcovers) within our ecosystems and examples of practical solutions for a buffer to build sustainable resilience with native plant allies for land and lake.

Conference Schedule

MORNING SESSION
8:00 AMRegistration Opens, Coffee and breakfast snacks available. Raffle and Silent Auction Open
9:00 – 9:30 AMAlison Cooney and Susan GalloOpening Remarks:
9:30 – 10:30 AMKeith Carson, Maine Conservation VotersKeynote Talk: How to Win the Messaging Battle on Climate Change: Our Lakes Need Your Help!
10:30 – 10:50 AMBreak
10:50 – 11:45
Sabrina Koetter,
University of Vermont		Plenary Talk: Connecting Lakes and Communities: Understanding the Roles and Communication Practices of Volunteer Lake Monitors
11:45 – 1:15Lunch
AFTERNOON SESSIONS

ROOMS 1 & 2

1:15 – 1:55Mary Szatkowski, Maine Geologic SurveyImpacts of Maine’s Drought Conditions on Lake Storage and Water Quality
2:00 – 2:40Ivonne Vazquez, Bas Rouge Farm & ForgeNative Plant Allies for Land and Lakes

ROOM 3

1:15 – 1:55Sally. Stockwell,
Maine Audubon		Forests for Maine Fish
2:00 – 2:40Toni Pied, Maine Department of Environmental ProtectionSocial Marketing to Prevent the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species
2:40 – 3:00 PMBreak
3:00 – 3:50 PMLake Association Panel
3:50 – 4:00 PMClosing Remarks and Door Prize, Raffle/Silent Auction Check Out
SCHEDULE PDFs (for print)

Conference Schedule
Bios and Abstracts

Our Sponsors

FAQs

What should I bring?

Tickets! For faster check in, please bring your ticket (with the QR code) either on your phone or printed out. Your ticket is a PDF attached to the email confirmation you received after you registered. The email has as its subject “Your ticket from Lake Conference Maine” or “Your receipt from Lake Conference Maine” and comes from ‘Lake Conference Maine ‘. Note the confirmation email may be in your spam folder.

Parking Pass – Print the parking pass that was emailed to you (message subject was ‘Lake Conference Updates’ and leave it on your dashboard.

Reusable water bottle and coffee tumbler  – Let’s save some trees!
Lead Tackle – Turn in your lead tackle to the Maine Audubon table, where they will get it recycled to keep our loons safe.

Where can I stay?

UMO has a hotel just minutes from the conference venue. While the discount rates are no longer available, there is still space at this hotel for last minute accommodations. Click HERE for room rates and reservations.

Will there be a silent auction and raffle?

Yes. There will be both a silent auction and a raffle held as part of the conference. Proceeds from these fundraisers will help support the conference and offset event costs.  

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