The Confluence is a monthly electronic
newsletter for members of Minnesota Waters providing up-to-date
information and resources to help citizens protect
In this
issue:
From the Board of
Directors
Other Conferences, Confabs and
Conglomerations
The Bucks Start Here - Funding
Resources
Lake/River news - Local, National,
International
~
Supporters Celebrate
RiverNight 2008
170 Minnesota Waters supporters
celebrated RiverNight 2008 on Wednesday, August 13. The event honored the
winners of the 2008 Minnesota Waters Awards, and raised funds to support MN
Waters’ work statewide. The awards ceremony took place aboard the historic river
showboat Centennial, docked at
Next, all guests boarded the
historic paddle wheeler Betsey
Northrup for a three-hour cruise down the scenic
Make your plans to join us next
August for RiverNight 2009!
MN Waters 2008 Award Winners:
Award sponsored by RMB
Environmental Laboratories
Lone
River Friendly Community
Award sponsored by Wenck
Associates, Inc.
Citizen Monitoring Program of the
Year
Award sponsored by
HDR
Volunteer of the
Year
Award sponsored by
Barr Engineering
James Lauer of Big
Minnesota
Waters welcomes
Carrie
Maurer-Ackerman joined Minnesota Waters as a Program Coordinator in August 2008.
With an educational background in natural resource management, Carrie gained
experience in natural resource conservation work while working for the U.S.
Forest Service as a forest technician and while working for the Crow Wing Soil
and Water Conservation District (SWCD) as the Water Planner. While working as the Water Planner for
the Crow Wing SWCD, Carrie has gained experience in organizing surface water
monitoring programs, providing trainings and presentations to citizen groups,
and coordinating the administration of the County’s Comprehensive Local Water
Management Plan. Carrie is glad to
be part of the Minnesota Waters team and looks forward to working with the
organization and citizens to help protect and restore water quality in
Carrie Maurer-Ackerman carriea@minnesotawaters.org
Wanted: Your Success
Stories!
Has your citizen group celebrated a
major milestone or specific success lately? Share it with other lake associations and
river groups across the state!
Minnesota Waters will be adding a
“Citizen Success Stories” section to our website to celebrate and share examples
of significant achievements made by citizen groups on behalf of their lake or
river. These success stories will be shared on our website, and some will be
published in our printed newsletter.
Possible categories include:
To participate, please send a brief
description of your success story to our communications intern, Jamison Reginek
at reja0501@stcloudstate.edu,
or give him a call at (320) 248-8777. Jamison will then provide story criteria
such as word count, required elements, etc. We look forward to hearing from
you!
Membership Engagement and Board Leadership Workshop
We know the story well – it’s
always the same five people working hard to make your citizen-led lake, stream
or watershed group successful.
The workshop will help you identify
new ways to recruit members and fresh volunteers, and ways to build new leaders
using your organization’s existing projects and campaigns.
You will leave the workshop with an action plan designed to increase your group’s membership and elevate new leaders. This workshop is a joint effort by Minnesota Waters and the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, with support from the Bush Foundation.
September
15
Detailed Workshop Descriptions and
directions to Community Center: http://www.minnehahacreek.org/documents/WorkshopAnnouncement.pdf
Registration
Deadline
Thursday September 11
email: elic@minnesotawaters.org
Macroinvertebrate
Monitoring Workshops Offered
This fall marks a change of temperature, leaf color, and increased size of aquatic macroinvertebrates. This makes fall an ideal time to sample benthic macroinvertebrates - those creatures supporting the bottom of the food chain, also located in the bottom of our streams, lakes and wetlands. Volunteers interested in monitoring macroinvertebrates will participate in two workshops. Participants will learn how to sample macroinvertebrates in the field training workshop, and how to identify the macroinvertebrates in the second workshop.
September
6
St. Louis River Citizens Action
Committee Macroinvertebrate Field Training Workshop,
September
20
Hinckley-Finlayson High School
Macroinvertebrate Field Training Workshop,
October 2
St Louis River Citizens Action
Committee Macroinvertebrate Lab Identification Workshop,
October 4
Rice Creek Macroinvertebrate Field
Training Workshop,
October
15
Rice Creek Macroinvertebrate Field
Training Workshop,
October
22
MW Web Site Hosting offered
Find
a safe, inexpensive home for your group’s website!
Minnesota
Waters can host your lake association or river group’s website for only $100 per
year. Over 80 member groups already subscribe to this service, and their web
sites range from one simple page of contact information and meeting dates, to
many levels and pages of information, photos, archives and event data. You are limited to 10 MB total space,
but that is usually plenty if you do not have a lot of
pictures.
Benefits:
Let
your members find out the dates of your next meeting or
event
Publish
a couple of your association newsletters
Let
other citizen-led groups find out what you’re doing
The
“lake and river group” section is the most-often visited page on our
website
(Our
user-friendly website development process is easy for those who are familiar
with word processing and graphics software, but may prove limiting for web
wizards who like to use high-end HTML programming. Dick Lacher is happy to bring anyone up
to speed fairly quickly if you change your web master)
Check
out Minnesota Waters’ hosted member websites by visiting www.minnesotawaters.org and clicking
on “
If
you’re interested in subscribing to this service, or have further questions,
please send an email to info@minnesotawaters.org .
More Money for
Associations and MN Waters – Gambling Program Seeks More Sites
Minnesota Waters would like to offer our
~ From the Board of Directors ~
From New Board Member Stacia Smith
As
a new board member I would like to applaud the staff and fellow board members at
Minnesota Waters who made RiverNight such a fun experience. Somehow amidst Kerry Miller, great food,
and taking the picture, I found myself meeting the many friends of our
organization. It is clear that our
members are committed to water protection and to the efforts by Minnesota Waters
to encourage responsible stewardship of our water resources. Given their common interest, I was
amazed to find such a diverse group – ranging from self proclaimed tree huggers
to self identified conservatives.
It takes a special issue and unique organization to bring together such a
broad array of people.
In talking with our guests at RiverNight, I heard about their reasons for participating in our organization which led me to think of how I can contribute to meeting member’s need and expectations. Based on these conversations, I hope to help build and expand relationships with local communities so that we can align our efforts with local advocates around the state. In addition, I hope to contribute my perspective on public policy and assist in drafting policy positions which will compliment past advocacy and local education initiatives. When I was invited to join the board, I knew little about the issues pertinent to the organization and even less about the members and staff that make Minnesota Waters such a great organization. After the RiverNight celebration I know much more about both and am confident that our influence and our circle of friends will continue to grow at an impressive rate.
From New Board Member Eric Lindberg
I’m
excited and proud to be a newly elected board member of Minnesota Waters whose
goals of promoting lake and river stewardship and protection are one of the most
important legacies we can pass on.
As a long time lake resident, I’ve learned over time that our positive
and negative actions on the lake can have profound impacts for years to
come. My experience with seeing
Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) infest a number of lakes including both Lake
Minnetonka in 1987 and the Minong Flowage in Northern Wisconsin years later,
propelled me to start a company (Environmental Sentry Protection, LLC) to
develop education and monitoring tools to prevent boaters from spreading AIS to
new lakes. I have attended
workshops focused on lake stewardship for 3 years at Wisconsin Association of
Lakes conferences; Minnesota Waters sponsored events, and exhibited at the North
American Lake Management Society.
Dick Osgood and I published a paper on how our companies automated
inspection system has been used to reduce the risk of AIS spread which was
published in the North American Lake Management Society magazine. I have served as a volunteer lobbyist
for Minnesota Waters at the capital with Terrie Christian and Dick Osgood where
we testified on behalf of Minnesota Waters supporting the
I
would like to contribute to Minnesota Waters by providing the benefit of what I
have learned about the threat that AIS poses to our lakes and rivers. I want to support the organizations
efforts to build and integrate its constituency so that key lake stewardship
messages can effectively reach a broader and active audience. I think that my perspective as a
longtime lake resident fighting to preserve what we have will provide unique
insight and hopefully fuel more associations to become active supporters and
participants in stewardship responsibilities for our lakes and
rivers.
Red
Raft
by
Kenzie Phelps
Vice
Chair, MN Waters Board of Directors
It
seems that swimming, or just playing in the water, now requires some sort of
motorized water toy like a jet ski, or a power boat and wake board, tube or
skis. From our little view of the
world it appears that people have forgotten how much fun swimming can be,
especially when you have an old fashioned raft.
When
we bought this lake property on
You
don’t see many authentic, old time floating rafts anymore, with dual pontoons,
non skid deck and ladder.
Inflatable “diving” or “jumping” super tubes have taken their place. For the first few years our raft served
primarily as a boundary marker between us and the ski jumpers next door. Then we rediscovered the pleasure of
simple, clean fun. Our
antique floating raft has provided summer swimming pleasure for many years now,
in addition to some challenges: we
have lost at least 5 anchors, it floats off occasionally in high winds, it froze
in the ice one year before we cut it out with chain saws and hoisted it ashore,
the pontoons once sprung hundreds of small pinpoint leaks, and gulls have
claimed squatter rights.
Oh,
but the fun we have on this floating raft!
With a new deck, newly painted red tubes and a purple ladder, it is the
destination for the younger [and some older] members of our extended family and
venturesome guests. Going out to
the floating raft is cool, non-motorized fun. For the younger grandchildren, it means
life jackets and being escorted to the purple ladder and up to the deck. From there, “cannon balling” anybody who
comes near the ladder becomes the activity du jour. For the older grandchildren, going
to the raft without a life jacket is a status thing, a symbol of growing
independence: I am a strong enough
swimmer now to do the raft without a life jacket! Sometimes we sit on the deck and
catch a few rays; most often it is into the water, back onto the raft, back into
the water, back on the raft…..then repeat it, until lips turn blue and shivering
young bodies signal “enough.” When
we feel adventurous we hide out under the raft, listening to the waves echo
against the tubes, trying not to disturb the spiders who make the underside of
the raft their home.
Not
all is idyllic, however. Because it
is there bobbing quietly in the summer breeze, the raft is an attraction for
Larus delawarensis, or ring bill gulls.
Their squawking reminds us of
Passersby
on pontoons often slow down and gawk as they cruise by on their way around the
lakes. We like to think they are
jealously considering how much fun they would be having if they had a red
floating raft, and actually got in the water. Yeah, sometimes we are a bit smug. But who cares: we’re having some simple, clean
fun.
~ Other Conferences, Confabs and
Conglomerations ~
2008 Lake-Friendly Development Awards
October 16,
The Brainerd Lakes Area
Lake-Friendly Development Awards will be announced at the Brainerd Area
Environmental Learning Network (BAELN) October gathering. Several Brainerd Lakes Area and
statewide environmental organizations, including Minnesota Waters, along with
the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are combining efforts to publicly
recognize homeowners, contractors and local units of government that have
chosen, instead, to develop or redevelop their lakeshore or riverfront
properties in full compliance with shoreland zoning ordinances and ecologically
sustainable and sensitive principles.
The hope is that through these awards, ecologically sensitive development
along lakeshore and river shore will become the fashionable trend. The future health of the region's lakes
and rivers depends on it. For more
information or to obtain an application for the 2008 Brainerd Lakes Region
Lake-Friendly Development Awards, contact Phil Hunsicker at phunsicker@1000fom.org.
Entries will be accepted until
The
Task Force of local lake associations, the MnDNR and Minnesota Waters offered a
series of three AIS training seminars for lake-service professionals this
summer. The Seminar was developed
in response to the ever-increasing presence of aquatic invasive species in the
Brainerd Lakes Area. Task Force
member, Clyde Clement, explained, “We now live in one of the few regions in the
state infested by the zebra mussel, curly-leaf pondweed and Eurasian
watermilfoil! While many of the
infested lakes have been identified, it’s very unlikely we know of all the
presently infested waters. And a
key step to preventing the spread includes careful monitoring and reporting of
infested waters, taking action to prevent the spread, as well as collaboration
among all lake service professionals and lake users.” The Seminars aimed to provide Brainerd
Lakes Area service professionals the opportunity to learn more about how we can
all help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species through monitoring the
lakes, taking simple actions and working together. The Task Force and Seminar sponsors look
forward to working with Seminar attendees and other lake service professionals
to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species in the Brainerd Lakes
Area. To learn more about the Task
Force projects, contact Molly Zins at mollyz@minnesotawaters.org.
Acting Locally to Protect Our
Legendary Lands and Waters
October 26 – 29, 2008
This first annual statewide
conference on invasive species is hosted by the Minnesota Invasive Species
Advisory Council, and co-hosted by the Minnesota Chapter of the Soil and Water
Conservation Society and the
Several technical and educational
opportunities will be offered – workshops, plenary session, concurrent sessions,
and technical tours – as well as a trade show of business products and services,
educational exhibits, and posters.
There will also be ample opportunity for
networking.
Offered as part of this conference
are several levels of sponsorship, all of which include a complimentary exhibit
booth or display table along with signage at the event, listing on the
conference web site and in the conference program.
Exhibit space is also available at
two levels – non-profit organizations and associations, and for- profit business
and organizations. The for-profit
fee includes two complimentary conference registrations. All exhibitors will be listed in the
conference program.
Visit www.minnesotaswcs.org
for conference information, or contact conference administrator Nancy Herselius
at info@mnisc.org or 515.480.2420.
NOTE: MN Waters will have an
exhibit at this conference, and board and staff members will be attending. MN Waters Public Policy volunteer Terrie
Christian will be speaking during the plenary session.
CLIMATE CHANGE, SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE, AND BIORESOURCES:
A Public
Forum
Presented by The Horst M.
Rechelbacher Foundation and
The Center for Austrian Studies at
the
September 24-26,
2008
Ted Mann Concert Hall and Radisson
University Hotel, University Ballroom
Special events
include:
Keynote speaker: Michael Braungart,
coauthor of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make
Things
Special guest speaker: Will Steger,
polar explorer and environmentalist
Roundtable discussion: “The Past,
Present, and Future of Organic Farming in
Minnesota Waters’ Executive
Director,
of Global Climate Change on
Lifestyle and Recreation in the Land of 10,000 Lakes."
For further information:
www.cas.umn.edu
Fundraising workshop
The
Institute
for Conservation Leadership's popular one-day fundraising workshop
is coming to
Big Money
for Small Organizations
If your organization relies
heavily on foundation grants, and you want to diversify your income by
increasing individual gifts, this workshop is for you! Through engaging
activities, small group work, role-playing, and action planning, participants
will gain skills and tools to implement new individual giving strategies into
their fundraising efforts.
Participants
will learn: Why people
give away their money, how to raise major gifts through the mail, how to
identify prospective donors and “The ask" - face-to-face
solicitation.
Organizations are encouraged to send teams of two or more staff and board members, so they can work together and support one another in implementing changes after the workshop.
Dates and Locations:
Facilitator: Andy Robinson, a member of
Cost: $120 for the first person; $70 for
each additional person from the same organization. This fee includes the one-day
workshop, all materials, and lunch.
These workshops are made possible by generous support from the Bush Foundation and the McKnight Foundation which allows us to offer them at a rate significantly below the estimated value of $250 per person.
For
more information:
Visit
About
the Institute:
Since
1990, the Institute for
Conservation Leadership has
worked to strengthen leaders, organizations, networks and coalitions that
protect our Earth.
Structure
Surveys in Public Waters
The
Minnesota Legislature has required the Department of Natural Resources
(
As
we go into rulemaking, the Department would like to gather more information
about the structures on
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/input/issues/docks/index.html
If
anyone is interested in helping out with this project, please contact Tom Hovey
at tom.hovey@dnr.state.mn.us. It may be a good opportunity to get
around the lake for other types of monitoring you’ve been meaning to do. We’re looking for information on all
size lakes and rivers, and from all areas of the State. Any time before Labor Day would be a
good time.
Contact: Tom Hovey, 651.259.5654 or tom.hovey@dnr.state.mn.us
Charlie
Silver with
~ Resources for
Native
Shoreland Buffer Incentives Program
New
Grant Program.
The
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (
Grant
Purpose and Outcomes.
This
grant program is being provided to help LGUs (and the
Availability
of Funds.
Two
grants, $75,000 each, will be available to LGUs by
If you love a lake, please vote yes on tax amendment
By Nancy Jo Tubbs, Ely Timberjay
Newspaper
The
environmental world is going to heck in a hurricane, but here we sit, safe in
the land of 10,000 lakes, without so much as a melting ice cap or a disappearing
rainforest. But, what’s that? Our
state is at risk for shrinking wildlife habitat and deteriorating water quality?
Like a whining mosquito in
paradise, the reality of these problems may well reduce our enjoyment of play,
work and tourism opportunities, unless we stand up and swat that bug. In fact, Minnesotans now have a chance to
do something about environmental problems in our little corner of the world.
The Clean Water, Land and Legacy
Amendment is coming to a ballot near you on November 4th. A ballot initiative will ask us to
amend the
It’s important for voters to know
that on this amendment proposal, every non-vote, along with every no-vote, is
counted as “no”. That’s why the
statewide campaign for the amendment emphasizes “VOTE YES.” Endorsements for the campaign
number more than 200 allied organizations. Sports men’s and women’s groups voting
yes include Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Women Anglers of Minnesota,
Minnesota Sportsmen’s Club and, at last count, 44 others. Trappers, dogsledders,
firearms instructors, bow hunters, dove, swan, bear and muskie enthusiasts are
represented. Click here to read the
article in its entirety.
Shoreland Protection Presentation Available
Interested in learning more about
shoreland protection standards and how greater shoreland conservation today can
benefit your local water resources for years to come? Doug Rhode, with the Pine River
Watershed Alliance, offers an informative presentation on shoreland protection
for any interested group. The
presentation includes information on the Alternative Shoreland Standards
developed in the North Central Pilot Project, and how lake associations in the
project area *can* work to get communities to adopt these new and more
protective standards for long term water resource protection. If your lake, stream or watershed
association is interested in having Doug speak with you about shoreland
protection and what you can do for your local waters, please contact Doug
at: rhodex2@emily.net.
From the MPCA: Avoid Fuel and Chemical Spills
You play an important role in
keeping
If you fuel your boat near
lakeshore, be careful not to spill any fuel. Spills over five gallons of petroleum
product (and any amount of any other substance) must be reported to the
Minnesota Duty Officer, 1-800-422-0798. If in doubt, report your spill. Painting, maintenance, and cleaning of
docks and boats should not be done in the water, as it is easy for chemicals,
soaps and greases to drip.
Certain water transportation
industries, such as marinas and passenger ferries, are required to obtain an
Industrial Stormwater Permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Industries can find out if they need a
permit by visiting: www.pca.state.mn.us/stormwater
and click on the word “Industrial.”
From Melissa Wenzel, Industrial
Stormwater Outreach, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
~ The Bucks Start Here -
Funding Resources ~
Minnesota Waters' Lake and Stream Conservation Partnership Grant Program has been funded for a second year with support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Michelob Golden Draft Light. The Conservation Partnership program aims to further opportunities for Minnesota's most effective local water resource mangers – the citizens working together to protect Minnesota's lakes and streams.
The 2008-09 application cycle is now OPEN. Applications must be postmarked no later than September 26, 2008. Download Conservation Partnership grant criteria and application at: www.minnesotawaters.org/index.php?uberKey=300&page=3829
The Conservation Partnership grant program provides funding assistance for innovative lake and river groups across the state carrying out shoreland habitat improvement and restoration projects, and/or lake and river inventorying and assessment projects to guide water resource improvement, restoration and protection.
The grants are open to all
Minnesota Waters members and affiliates. Seven $5,000.00 grants will be
awarded. Funded projects will be short-term (12 months) in duration to
demonstrate quick, tangible results for implementation during
2009.
~
Lake/River
News ~
From the
The
An
opportunity to unite people to improve water quality in the
In early 2007, 200 people representing a spectrum of interests met in New
Ulm to discuss how to accelerate progress on cleaning up the
Extensive interviews were conducted with people committed to environmental improvement. Documents and reports, both societal and scientific, were analyzed. These interviews and literature identified the communication issues and expectations of people in the valley. This led to the conclusion that four agendas have the greatest potential impact toward improving communication: Creating a shared understanding, building trusting relationships, leveraging communication resources and education. These strategies and ideas were then elaborated into fifteen implementation options from which people, businesses, non-profit groups, and others could develop their plans to take action.
Two of the implementation options include creating a magazine and building a visually enhanced website. The magazine can highlight the environmental needs, tourism, history, and news taking place in the watershed. Volunteer opportunities, bike trails, scenic routes, clean up efforts, events, and looking at the lives of famous authors that have lived in the valley, are just a few ideas.
These ideas can coincide with building a website. But the site would also be a place for ongoing conversations, visual representations of problems facing the river, and user-submitted stories. Daily updates and news stories bring users back everyday.
The final document is a strategy from which people in the watershed can gain insight and understanding into the communication problems. A unique characteristic about the project is that it is driven by people in the valley. Residents and advocates helped refine the document, and citizen groups, it is hoped, will carry out the identified options.
Currently,
as the strategic plan document is completed, is to introduce the strategy to
organizations that are likely agents to make the ideas come alive. In the near future, the plan will be
more widely publicized, and available on the MPCA website.
Telephone: 800-515-5253 320-257-6630
For questions regarding the Web site or Hosted Web sites please contact:
Dick Lacher, Telephone: 218-659-4511 or rglacher@paulbunyan.net
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