“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 »
Minnesota’s lakeshore communities are acutely aware of the threat aquatic invasive species (AIS) pose to the native ecology and the cultural enjoyment of our lakes and rivers. AIS is a recurring topic at lake association meetings, where members are actively managing infested waters, mobilizing volunteers, and sharing practical prevention strategies to protect their waters from… 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 »
With the increase in the popularity of boating recreation, towed watersports and wake surfing, the need to better understand the impacts of wakes and prop thrust on lake ecology. This is phase one of a three phase study into the issue.
Counties across Minnesota and Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates have come together to produce a unique ‘How Well Do You Know Minnesota?’ series that provides MN fun facts and information about aquatic invasive species. The series launched May 1st and will run through September 30th with a different video showcased each month. This video series… Read more »
The 2024 session was extremely short, mid-February to mid-May. This meant that there was very little time for complex or controversial legislation to work its way through the process. MLR set a more modest legislative agenda this year, focusing on issues on which we had been able to initiate in previous years. The most important of… Read more »
On May 17th, over 100 of the lake leaders from across Minnesota gathered at the Saint Anthony Falls Lab to see some of the latest science on zaqwuatic invas9ve species, algae blooms, shoreline ecology and wake and prop thrust impacts. They also had a chance to connect with eachother, share information and efforts, and build… Read more »
The Problem Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates (MLR) received the first email from a member regarding the impacts of wake surfing in 2019. By the summer of 2020 more members were telling us the large, powerful wakes generated by wake surfing boats were eroding shorelines, knocking people from pontoon or fishing boats, swamping canoes, kayaks… 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 »