By Sami Selter Assoc. Exec. Director, MN Lakes & Rivers Curbs are the shorelines of the city. This past summer, Minnesota Lakes & Rivers, with funding from the Minneapolis Foundation, piloted the Minneapolis Lake Steward program. The initiative encouraged both homeowners and renters to take simple, positive steps to protect our lakes—planting native gardens, picking… Read more »
It’s SHORE important For many Minnesotans, owning a lake home is a dream fulfilled—a place for family, reflection, and connection to nature. But the strip of land between home and water plays a vital role in protecting the lake itself. Common landscaping choices like lawns to the water’s edge and riprap, often promoted as the… Read more »
By Lily Carr, Civic Leader and Program Coordinator, MLR In the midst of ever complex and contentious mining debates, the Emily Mine Information Group (EMIG) is making a case for the effectiveness of Civic Organizing as a method by which to inform and organize community members in a completely new way- not against mining, but… Read more »
In October 2024, we hosted a milestone celebration for our Lake Steward program, marking five years of exceptional contributions from dedicated Lake Stewards across Minnesota. If you missed the live session, now is your chance to catch up on the impactful work being done to protect our precious lakes and learn how you can play… Read more »
“The (Lake Steward) program has spread to dozens more lakes across Minnesota. Supporters view it as part of a strategy to help change societal norms and expectations around lakeshore development, and help slow the loss of natural shoreline that protects lakes from pollution.” – Kirsti Marohn, MPR Minnesota’s lakeshores are disappearing at an alarming rate—over… Read more »
by Judi Lee At the swim camp for nine kids recently housed at the Lakes Crisis and Resource Center, our focus was not only on the improvement of their swimming skills but also on the development of an environmentally conscious mindset. Those three weeks were jam-packed with art projects, field trips, and outdoor adventures, many… Read more »
Lake Steward and Natural Shoreline Break Out Session Highlights On Friday, January 19th, more than 400 people, 75 of them DNR personnel, gathered at the DNR Roundtable to have conversations with other leaders in conservation, strengthen partnerships, and define challenges and opportunities in conservation efforts in fisheries, wildlife, and ecological and water resources in Minnesota.… Read more »
By Jeff Forester, Executive Director of Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Lake and river associations and their members are the unsung heroes of water resource protection in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Lake association volunteers statewide spend over 1.2 million hours working at boat ramps as Aquatic Invasive Species, AIS ambassadors and inspectors, monitoring water quality,… Read more »
In late August of 2015 the invasive algae, Starry Stonewort (Nitellopsis obtusa) was confirmed in Lake Koronis at the Highway 55 public boat access. It was the first time that this Aquatic Invasive Species was confirmed in Minnesota. Starry stonewort is a stringy algae that can grow from two to twenty-five feet deep, can overwhelm… Read more »
by Robyn Dwight, Upper Red lake Association Up at Lake of the Woods, straddling the Minnesota-Canadian border, concerned local residents have spent over a decade looking for sustainable solutions to a human waste problem that occurs every winter because of leftovers of human activity. More recently, advocates from Upper Red Lake and Mille Lacs Lake… Read more »