By Jeff Forester, MN Lakes and Rivers Advocates Executive Director What a summer! MLR staff and I have attended dozens of lake association meetings and lake events across the state. It has been a real pleasure to get to meet with you, attend your lake association meeting, learn first hand the challenges you face on… Read more »
Water Connect Us All is the Minnesota Lakes & Rivers newsletter, sharing updates on statewide water protection efforts, legislative advocacy, aquatic invasive species prevention, natural shoreline stewardship, and lake association leadership. Explore the latest news, program updates, upcoming events, and opportunities to get involved in protecting Minnesota’s lakes and rivers.
By Sami Selter, Associate Executive Director, MN Lakes & Rivers The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Roundtable is where the state agency reports on progress for key projects and programs and facilitates discussions among leaders in Minnesota’s natural resources fields. Minnesota Lakes and Rivers (MLR) has represented lake groups at this event for years,… Read more »
Hello neighbors, If you’ve noticed murky water, algae blooms, or fewer fish in your lake or pond, you’re not alone. These issues are often caused by fertilizer runoff and low oxygen levels—but the good news is, we now have a natural, effective solution that starts right at our shorelines. Let’s dive into the plan to… 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 Tom Hubbnard, President, Big Pine Lake Property Owners Association After several years of working with Jeff Forester at MLR, and seeing the amazing work his group has undertaken, the Big Pine Lake Property Owners Association (BPLPOA) board decided to modestly increase their annual contribution level and buy a membership for 100 of our members.… Read more »
Lake advocates working with resorts to prevent starry stonewort spread. An important aspect of dealing with aquatic invasive species is monitoring their prevalence or absence in as many lakes and streams as possible. In the summer of 2022 two volunteers and the Cass County AIS technician took on that task: sampling nearly 40 resort harbors… Read more »
by John James, former Commissioner of MN Department of Revenue A concern has arisen about whether joining and contributing to Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates would put a lake association which is a tax exempt charitable organization under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) at risk of losing its tax exemption because MLR engages in lobbying.… Read more »
Guest Blog By Michael Blehert, Big Marine Lake It’s your choice. You can break your back and/or your wallet to have rip rock, sea walls and other barriers installed on your eroding shoreline or choose an alternative. I chose the latter. I own 100 feet of lakeshore on Big Marine Lake in NE Washington… Read more »
As we move through the 3rd summer of the Lake Stewardship program we want to acknowledge the work that has been done and celebrate the progress that has been made. We now have a total of 23 Lake Associations that have adopted the program through MLR, with two more joining just this week. Each Lake… Read more »