Northeast Regional Director represented Governor Edward Rendell and presented the proclamation to organizations active in lake monitoring, sampling and protection July 8 at Lake Wallenpaupack in Pike County. The annual lake awareness activities are coordinated by DEP, DCNR and the Pennsylvania Lake Management Society (PALMS). The group is shown prior to going out on Lake Wallenpaupack to conduct the routine lake monitoring sampling. In the first photo, from the left, are: Regional Director Mike Bedrin; Kerilynn Frey, PALMS Executive Director; Jason Smith of Hanover Engineering and past PALMS president; Karen Mandeville, administrator of the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District, which coordinates the lake sampling and monitoring program; Pete Snyder, Board of Directors Chairperson for the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District; and Brian Oram, the laboratory manager for The Center for Environmental Quality at Wilkes University and also provides technical assistance and grant administration through the Pocono Northeast Resource, Conservation & Development Council. The PALMS group and the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District conduct periodic sampling of the lake for a variety of water quality and chemical parameters, including phosphorus, nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, pH, and plankton. The watershed management district has been conducting this type of sampling for over 20 years. Regional biologist Sherry Leap is the department liaison for PALMS