In The News

Guest Post: Be Selfish, Save Your Lake

Guest blog by Dr. John Richard Saylor – Author of “Lakes: Their Birth, Life, and Death,” (https://johnrichardsaylor.com/index.html). The environmental segment of a typical popular science magazine or news show can be prettygloomy. Stories on global warming, as just one example, point toward a future of rising sealevels, torrential floods, and searing droughts. While these stories… Read more »

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Copper Treatment Shows Promise to Control Zebra Mussel Density in Lakes

By Jeff Forester The most cost effective strategy to deal with AIS is to prevent them from spreading. This is the only solution that is 100% effective.  But while prevention strategies are being deployed, lake associations benefit both in terms of cost savings and good outcomes if they also focus on early detection and makingRead More

Tired of algae in the lake? Then lower the phosphorus levels with Lake Steward

These hot and muggy dog days are perfect lake weather, perfect for swimming in the lake, waterskiing and other water sports. Unfortunately, it  is also becoming primetime for the algae blooms that can spread across the lakes we love and make swimming, skiing and watersports impossible. There are many different types of algae, from the… Read more »

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MLR Bids Farewell to Senate Champions – Work begins to educate candidates on the importance of lake issues

Water management is highly political, but MLR has always been completely non-partisan. What I mean by highly political is that protecting water is the work of citizens. The alphabet soup of agencies, MN DNR, SWCDs, WDs are simply not equipped nor do they have the budget to take the actions required to protect pristine waters… Read more »

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Lake Associations Protect Loons with Get the Lead Out

Get the Lead Out is a program at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Our mission is to educate about the dangers of lead fishing tackle to Minnesota’s loons and wildlife. Impacts of lead on loons: Lead poisoning from ingesting lead tackle is a leading… Read more »

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Minnesota Property Tax – A Primer

Why Minnesota Property Taxes Go Up or Down At the most basic level, property taxes are levied by Local Government Units, (LGUs) against the assessed value of the property in that district to pay for local services. The costs of government are tallied up and then spread against the dollar value of all of the… Read more »

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Healthy Shoreline

A guide to the tried and true workhorse native plants for shoreline restoration and protection. Examples from Big Sandy Lake and Crow Wing county.

The best plants to protect your shore – A Case Study By Jeff Forester On June 19, 2012 it began to rain in northern Minnesota. It poured actually. Over ten inches fell on ground that was already saturated from rainfalls the week before.  The damage was incredible, with over 250 families displaced, zoo animals drowned,… Read more »

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Calling Lake Association Members – Webinar Launch for an Updated Lake Steward Program

Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates invites Lake Association members to attend our Lake Steward Webinar Launch 2022, taking place on March 29th from 7:30-8:30PM via Zoom.  Register HERE. Previously, Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates’ Lake Steward Program has operated under the guidance of individual volunteers through inspired lake associations.  After receiving feedback from our volunteers,… Read more »

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Civic Partnerships Key to Lake Preservation Center Lakes – A Case Study

By Jeff Forester, Executive Director, Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates Last year the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, MPCA released a list of impaired waters; 56% of Minnesota’s surface waters are impaired to the point that the water quality limits fishing and swimming. There was a silver lining in this dark cloud, however, North Center andRead More