Lake Steward, Dr Jim Phillips
Jim has been a professor of biology at WSC for 38 years; he served as the chairman of the biology department for 9 years and will be retiring at the end of the 2005 spring semester (May). Though this will be a great loss to the faculty and students at WSC, his decision to accept the Lake Steward position is a tremendous gain for LAPA-West and all our members. Jim received his PhD in Fishery Management from the University of Massachusetts, and during his tenure at WSC he specialized in aquatic and marine biology. The very successful and popular Aquatic Biology course he taught was his own creation and one of only a handful of such programs in the country. He brings with him extensive knowledge of aquatic and marine environments and considerable experience in aquatic plant identification. Jim’s education, field experience, and background as an educator make him the perfect candidate for the Lake Steward Position.
What does the Lake Steward do ?
The Lake Steward is intended to be an educator and a guide in setting up, running, and interpreting the results of an associations monitoring program. The steward provides training in the use of the LAPA-West loaner equipment and sampling techniques and assists with plant identification and data interpretation. The actual sampling, getting samples to and from a testing lab, if needed (and paying any associated lab fees), picking up equipment from a custodian or another association, and the tracking and recording of data is the responsibility of the individual lake associations.