Subject:  Morris/Russell Lakes PPC- request for an opportunity to make a semi-scientific presentation
From:  "Shalom M. Mandaville"
Date:  Sun, 11 Jul 2004 13:05:38 -0300

To:  "Phil Elliott PEng (Chair-Morris/Russell Lakes PPC-HRM)" <pelliott@ns.sympatico.ca>

CC:  "Paul Morgan MCIP (P & D-HRM)" <morganp@halifax.ca>, "Tony Blouin PhD (EMS-HRM)" <Blouint@region.halifax.ns.ca>, "Dr. Scott Mawdsley MD (Russell Lake-HRM)" <smawdsley@ns.sympatico.ca>, "Roger Wells MCIP (Regional Plan-HRM)" <wellsr@halifax.ca>, "Kurt Pyle MCIP (P & D-DLAB-HRM)" <pylek@halifax.ca>, "Connie Moore (P & D-HRM)" <moorec@halifax.ca>, "John Sheppard PEng (Manager-ES-EMS-HRM)" <sheppaj@halifax.ca>, "Prof. Hugh A. Millward PhD (DLAB-HRM; PERA)" <hugh.millward@stmarys.ca>

BCC:  "Charles Lloyd PEng (EMS-HRM)" <lloydc@halifax.ca>, "Mark Bernard PEng (EMS-HRM)" <bernarm@halifax.ca>, "Craig Campbell PEng (EMS-HRM)" <campbecr@halifax.ca>, "Don Gordon PhD-Oceanography (DLAB-HRM; BIO-DFO)" <gordond@mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca>, "Pierre Clement (DLAB-HRM)" <clementp@mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca>

To:
Volunteer-Chair Phil Elliott PEng
Morris/Russell Lakes PPC

This will be as pointed as possible but with the necessary rationale and background and I can provide more focused info if my request is accepted by you. This is written informally and kindly pardon any typos/grammar! The `PS' towards the end is of relevance to one of your members, Prof. Dr. Hugh Millward.

My request: I will be greatly obliged if your dedicated but volunteer PPC could arrange a presentation by me on lakes of interest within your committe's mandate; I would prefer the use of a overhead projector as well, if possible.

I am an applied (i.e., practical) limnologist (i.e., freshwater sciences) and I have either spearheaded and/or carried out personally relatively extensive limnological studies of lakes/ponds not only in the Cow Bay River watershed but also all over HRM totaling now to approximately nine hundred and thirty (935) lakes/ponds which, per my national inquiries at conferences/meetings, is among the largest such projects all over our great Nation of Canada!

Further, over the years I and my volunteer team organized several public presentations going as far back as 1990 which were all well advertised as well as promoted in the media; some were well attended with standing room only but some succeeding ones were poorly attended most probably because they were almost repetitive (hahahha)!

For more info on our Accomplishments as well as the major PARTNERSHIPS we provided solicited/unsolicited, see the web page, http://lakes.chebucto.org/accomplishments.html

Re the amount of time needed, I have no preference per se; I can adjust to whatever you deem fit and I will ofcourse answer any kind of questions to any depth!

But to do justice, 1-hour will be preferable but a half-hour will be a strong compromise.

Alternately Mr. Elliott, I could arrange a presentation myself at a public place if I could be assured that all (or most) of your committee's present members would attend.; if not, as you may acquiesce with me, there is little point.

I am indeed aware that in the future there will be public meetings and formal hearings by the HRM, but based on my experience even going as far back as 1987 (before this society), they are of little use to discuss scientific aspects!

HRM is even stricter than previous municipalities and they seem to pooh_pooh public's concerns, i.e., pay perpetual lip_service to even those of very well qualified scientists; one only has to read the media articles to be on top of such sad matters!

In addition, weeks back, the dedicated Ms. Connie Moore of the HRM P&D unit kindly sent me a thick document on your PPC's Plan dated May 17, 2000. I observed that the info of interest to my scientific team was mostly taken from the consultant studies and there are some severe shortcomings which may lead to problems down the road!

I will try to explain below in a general way:--

I am indeed aware of all the consultant studies and I am sorry to state that there have been several serious errors and/or shortcomings; I had mentioned those to various HRM staff on numerous occasions dating as far back as 1999 as well as at presentations I made where some senior staff were present.

==== Whether the errors/shortcomings were as a result of the consultants not being genuine limnologists, especially applied limnologists, I do not know! =====

Some of the consultants have indeed used my archives to which I have Intellectual Property (IP) rights to for their own benefit , and misinterpreted them to my strong annoyance(s)!

And although there were strict "Cautionary Notes" attached to my MS Excel data archives files, obviously some consultants never paid attention, and this is especially true of the Griffiths Muecke Report by one of their university consultants, alas!

Important: Any user of those of my IP data which have "Cautionary Notes" were supposed to get written permission from me but rarely do; indeed the original "Cautionary Notes" were actually dictated to me by a professor in Intellectual Property (IP) Law at the Dalhousie University Law School.

Obviously some of the even so-called professionals (inclusive of local academia) cannot read simple english language, alas!

Ofcourse, I dont mind anyone using any of our published reports and handbooks many of which have no such Cautionary Notes, though I do insist on proper `citation' as any good professor would insist in their classes (shoddy professors may not do that)!

I have myself never broken the IP law in scores of my scientific reports.

In a recent consultant (i.e., paid) report that I did w.r.t. the very important `Chronomid Mentum Deformities', I borrowed extensively from some `original publications' down south (USA) and I got written permission from every one of the experts!

Mr. Elliott, I also believe you are a professional engineer as I recall from my memory and you will understand about Professional Ethics; as a reminder, kindly see the web page I wrote on it (http://lakes.chebucto.org/INFO/PROFESSIONALISM/ethics.html) and it also has the Code of Ethics from the APENS (Association of Professional Engineers) which I really admire, and which all `moonlighting professors' whether PEngs or not should strictly adhere to.

If you are not a member of the APENS, I sincerely apologise Sir; it is just that when I was in the development related industry decade or so ago, I recall dealing with someone with your name at the Nova Scotia Power company! If you are the same person, you may recall we worked together very co-operatively and I recall those days fondly!


PS: By the way, a handful of past students even in the Geography Department where one of your members, Prof. Dr. Hugh Millward, teaches have also used that of our predominantly volunteer research though they only used some very basic info.

They are/were among the approx. two hundred (200) or more undergrad/grad students that have utilised our research over the decades that I am aware of and finding as time passes!

Indeed, one of the founding members of this society in 1989 was the well known Prof. Dr. Gordon Ogden III of Dalhousie University (see his picture in the web page, http://lakes.chebucto.org/PEOPLE/pictures.html) although he was not pragmatically active with us! As you know he was the principal author of the first ever lake studies for the municipalities, i.e., the so-called MAPC report of 1972!

--
Shalom M. Mandaville B.E., Post-Grad Dip., Professional Lake Manage.
Soil & Water Conservation Society of Metro Halifax-SWCSMH (http://lakes.chebucto.org)


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In order to pragmatically protect the chemical/biological water quality and biodiversity of lakes and rivers, it is imperative to include/consult Applied Limnologists in all significant development projects rather than the age-old status quo syndrome of relying totally on professional engineers/planners!
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