2009 RLAA General Activities

December 4, 2009 - Q3 Newsletter now available on website Media page at http://ricelake.homestead.com/RLAAMediaPage.html

November 30, 2009 - Next Board Meeting on Monday, December 7. See agenda details on the 'Next Meeting' button on the left.

October 18, 2009 - Navigation buoy on Stonehenge Island removed for the season.

September 21, 2009 - Board Meeting Meetings now posted for 9/15/09 Directors meeting. Go to 'RLAA Agendas and Meetings page' for details.

September 16, 2009 - RLAA Newsletter (found on the 'Rice Lake Media Page') has gone completely "electronic" and will no longer be printed and mailed to members who hvaen't provided their e-mail addresses. This will save the association almost $1,000 per year in production/shipping costs!

September 14, 2009 - Received final 2009 Aquatic Plant Survey report from FSS. Click here for report details.

August 28, 2009 - Elm Creek Watershed Project Plan for TMDL released to Rice Lake - Received formal Project Plan to address TMDL due to high nutrients within the Elm Creek Watershed, including Rice Lake. Click here for details of the 5-year plan.

August 27, 2009 - Lake Susan (Chanhassen) Carp Removal efforts results in Algae problems - After removing almost 80% of the carp population in the winter of 2008-2009, the lake water clarity improved dramatically until this August, when algae blooms clouded up the water. Click here for details.

August 23, 2009 - Sonic Solutions algae treatment units demonstration concludes - After running the 3 algae treatment units for a 3 month rental term, it was decided to return the units to the manufacturer without purchasing them. If any results were achieved, they were not found to be substantial enough to purchase the units to use full time.

August 20, 2009 - Trial with the 3 Sonic Solutions units to reduce algae levels has been determined to be unsuccessful. A survey conducted among RLAA members did not show enough support to warrant purchase. The RLAA Board of Directors has agreed to return the units to the local rep under the terms of the 3 month rental agreement and not exercise the option to purchase them. (Click here for survey details.)

August 1, 2009 - RLAA members were e-mailed survey link for opinions on Sonic Solutions algae treatment units. Survey ends by 8/9/09.

July 28, 2009 - RLAA Board meets with Commercial Fisherman for Rough Fish removal discussion - We are actively pursuing a possible contract with a commercial fisherman to remove as many of the Carp on lake as possible. Consensus is that if the Carp are removed, the water quality (clarity) will improve.

As we all know, the recent years algae blooms make the water less desireable for recreational use.

July 22, 2009 - Maple Grove Police had a local resident remove their Personal Watercrafts (PWC), which were anchored offshore in the NW corner of the lake across park trail property. Please remember that only those with lakeshore property are entitled to anchor their watercraft on the shoreline.

July 18, 2009 - 2 work crews of volunteers from RLAA conducted a weed cutting of excessive vegetation on the West Bay today. A main channel was cut from the bridge towards the creek entrance and a second set of paths were cut from homeowners property out to the main channel.

May 30, 2009 - Sonic Solutions algae reduction units installed at 3 locations on a 3-month rental basis to track if water clarity can be improved by reducing algae in the 3 locations. See if you can ID these locations in a couple of weeks (yes, this is a quiz!).

May 18, 2009 - Welcome to newest board members Bill Kidder, Joy & Scott Roeglin!

May 14, 2009 - Thanks to "creekers" Jim Kridel and Rick Stulac for removing a tree just north of the Arboretum footbridge which blocked navigation on the creek!

May 5, 2009 - RLAA Annual Meeting held at Sundance Golf & Bowl. Meeting minutes will be completed and posted within 2 weeks.

May 4, 2009 - Newsletter for Q1 2009 now available for viewing. Go to the 'Rice Lake Media Page' via the button on the left.

May 3, 2009 - Navigation Bouy placed on 'Stonehenge Island'. Water depth about 2 feet at this time.

April 4, 2009 - Final 2008 Fish Survey and Graphs updated for Rice Lake. Click here to view data.

May 30 (Saturday) will be our first annual Rice Lake Spring Cleanup event. Stay tuned for details as we organize our forces to clean up the lake!

March 30, 2009 - Ice goes out on Rice Lake. This is about 1 week earlier than last spring.

March 6, 2009 - RLAA Annual Meeting will be held at Sundance Golf & Bowl on Tuesday, May 5th. Details will be coming out soon. Click here for the meeting notice.

February 12, 2009 - The Spring Cleanup scheduled for Saturday, February 21st has been cancelled due to recent poor ice conditions. Stay tuned for a Spring Cleanup event once the ice is out and boats are on the water.

February 21, 2009 - An early "Spring Cleanup" will take place on and around Rice Lake on this date. Details will be coming shortly.

February 1, 2009 - Q4 Newsletter posted to this site. Go to the 'Rice Lake Media Page' button on the left to view this latest edition.

January 23, 2009 - Board meeting held to discuss past projects completed and planning for 2009 Annual Meeting (Annual Meeting will be held the 1st week of May. More details coming soon.)

Go to the 'RLAA Agendas and Meetings page' button on the left for meeting details.

January 13, 2009 - Lake Susan (Chanhassen) efforts to remove carp - More than 3,000 common carp were pulled out with a seine net through a hole cut in the frozen lake as researches continued their efforts to improve water quality on this shallow lake. For details of this event, click this link for the article and links to the video and photos.