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Science Committee

Responsibilities

  • Evaluate technical and scientific data related to the lake’s water quality.
  • Oversee the collection, analysis, and interpretation of scientific data.
  • Ensure all data is:
    • Accurate
    • Comprehensive
    • Scientifically sound
  •  Coordinate with key stakeholders, including:
    • Environmental experts
    • Government agencies
    • Community members
  • Promote a transparent and inclusive evaluation process by incorporating diverse input.

October Update

HOHL Science Committee
– The Science Subcommittee met on September 10, 2025, and again on September 24. We have worked in collaborative fashion to set our ground rules as well as determining the issues and methods we will study. Thus far we have reached a consensus on every item. Below is a list of our accomplishments:
– Created a repository using the Next Cloud software to submit and store data, studies, and reports related to Higgins Lake Health and other studies which are relevant to Higgins Lake Health.
– Members of the subcommittee have been trained in how to submit reports and studies.
– Over 30 studies have been submitted, more likely be presented.
– Zotero software is being utilized to make the reports searchable. Before the searchability function is operational each report goes through a curation process to make the documents searchable. Most of the documents have been curated.
– The subcommittee’s work has been sorted into eight various “problems” we wish to review. The eight categories are: Near Shore Water Quality, Invasive Species, Groundwater and Drinking Water Contamination, Watershed Quality, Changing Fisheries, Deep Water Quality, Increasing Recreational Activities on the Lake, and Non-nutrient contamination (PFAS, pharmaceuticals, etc.)
– Each “problem” has a list of questions to be reviewed and analyzed. Note, it is a living document and is updated regularly. 3
– A decision has been made to create sub-committees to research and study each “problem”.
– Sub-committee members will be selected by mid-October.
– The process each sub-committee will utilize to address the questions has been established. In its’ simplest form, each sub-committee will:
➢ Study the questions posed for each problem.
➢ Gather data.
➢ Evaluate the data.
➢ Analyze the data.
➢ Draw conclusions and draft a report.
– Each sub-committee report will be submitted to the entire science subcommittee for review and refinement before it is reported to the Steering Committee.