The
Confluence
September 2008
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
~
By Ken Korczak, kenneth.korczak@pequotlakesecho.com
An impressive array of
Billed as the Healthy
Lakes Legislative Forum, the event was designed to create an opportunity for key
state lawmakers to hear direct testimony from scientists, local lake association
workers and citizens involved in efforts to protect
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, contact Phil Hunsicker at phunsicker@1000fom.org.
Protect the
This November 4th, you have a
chance to invest in the
Learn more at www.yesformn.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!
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 . You can also contact Dick Lacher at rglacher@paulbunyan.net
.
MN Waters Gambling
Program Seeks More Sites
Minnesota Waters is looking for additional sites for our charitable
gambling program. If you know of any restaurant, bar, convenience store, etc.
that sells pulltabs and would like to help protect and restore our lakes and
rivers by having Minnesota Waters as their designated charity, please contact
our Gambling Manager,
David Bachman, at 218-245-1356. The funds raised will help us provide more support and
benefits to citizens working for cleaner, better water in
~
Fall Workshop
Opportunities
Summer has ended too soon and many
of us are getting our first taste of fall weather. As we get back to the regular
routine of work and school it is also a time to learn new water quality
monitoring skills as well as an opportunity to become better stewards of our
lakes and rivers. Consider joining us at one of our monitoring focused workshops
offered this fall.
October 2
October 4
Rice Creek Macroinvertebrate Field
Training Workshop,
October
15
Rice Creek Macroinvertebrate Field
Training Workshop,
October
18
Crow River
Watershed Data
Interpretation Training for Citizen Volunteer Monitoring Program, Hutchinson, MN
October
22
November
19
Crow Wing County Design Your
Monitoring Plan workshop,
~ From the Board of
Directors ~
Winter Slumber?
The colors of fall are upon us
which can only mean that nature’s deep slumber of winter can not be far
behind. Even though winter can mean
a rest period for plants and critters, it is one of the best times for lake and
river groups to become active. This fall and winter it may be even more
important than ever to organize, reach out to local decision makers, state
legislators or stakeholders in your watershed and communicate the importance of
lake, river and watershed protection.
The overwhelming news of difficult financial times throughout the state
and nation means that the November election and upcoming legislative session
will focus on where decision makers will allocate monies with a reduced
budget. There will be stiff
competition for each dollar and the needs to protect the environment will be
stacked up against building safe roads, providing health care, improving
education, supporting veterans among others. All are extraordinarily important and
need to be done. But we need to
make sure that decision makers, locally and statewide, understand the importance
of protecting our natural resources as well.
So this fall as you enjoy the
colorful changing of the season and reflect on your summer’s fun in our lakes
and rivers, please take the time to organize as a lake or river group to
communicate in a meaningful way about how essential clean lakes and rivers are
to the economy and livelihood of the state. Counties have restricted budgets. Schedule some time with a local
commissioner to discuss what your association is doing to help them in their
goal of preserving water quality.
Send a note to a locally elected official, or someone who is running for
office, to let them know that you are counting on them to work for water
quality. It is up to all of us to
make sure lakes and rivers do not get left out as a budget priority.
Starting
up the Star Lakes Program
New
legislation passed in late May 2008 called for the establishment of a non-profit
organization to develop, facilitate and manage a state-wide
The
new non-profit organization and board will have many details to develop
including how they will function as an organization as well as how they will
implement the
The
first organizational meeting of the appointees is in October, with the selection
of the remaining five members to take place within 30 days of the first
meeting. Stay tuned for more
information as this program is developed.
Minnesota Waters will continue to provide updates through the
Confluence. For more information
visit the Board of Water and
~ Other Conferences, Confabs and
Conglomerations ~
Acting Locally to Protect Our
Legendary Lands and Waters
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.
Candidates Forum on
Environmental Issues
October 22,
The Forum will feature panels with
candidates running for elected office –State Representative for 4B, 12A and 12B;
Crow Wing County Commissioners District 1 and 5; and Soil & Water
Conservation Supervisors for Districts 1, 4 and 5.
This is your opportunity to meet
the local candidates who will be influencing the environmental decisions made
for the lakes areas over the next few years. Are you concerned about
environmental issues? What do the candidates have to say about various
issues such as energy, lakeshore development, recreational conflicts and water
quality? Bring your questions and be ready to meet the candidates running
for elected office to the state House of Representatives, Crow Wing County
Board, and Soil and Water District Supervisors. This forum is sponsored by
the Brainerd Lakes Area Audubon Society, 1000 Friends of Minnesota, Lakes and
Rivers Alliance, and Minnesota Waters. Refreshments will be available.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact
Pam Perry, BLAAS Program Chair at pkperry@brainerd.net or 828-4718.
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.
Midwest Big Money for Small
Organizations
Monday
October 27th-Neighborhood House(Paul and
OR South Dakota Big Money for Small Organizations
Tuesday
October 28th-
Participants will learn: How to raise major gifts through the mail; How to identify prospective donors; Why people give away their money; "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
To
Register: Visit
~ Resources for
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
Support
for Local Watershed Organizations
Center for Watershed Protection: Technical Capacity Mini-Grant Program http://www.cwp.org/Calendar/index.htm
The
Center for Watershed Protection (
~ 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 ~
For more on the following stories, go to our web site: Minnesota
Waters: Minnesota Waters
Publications
The
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, and as amended in 1972, included the
With
over twelve agencies now represented, the Basin Team has been active since its
inception, leveraging funding for water quality studies and providing guidance
and support for water quality protection initiatives at the federal, state, and
local levels. In 1999, six of the
agencies participated in a season-long biweekly monitoring program at 27
main-stem and tributary sites.
Based on the results of this and other research, an agreement was signed
in 2006 by the leaders of the Minnesota PCA and Wisconsin
The
2008 303(d) list includes 39 lakes, and 34 individual streams or stream segments
with impaired uses due to non-compliance with
For
more information see: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/basins/stcroix/index.html
Milfoil
Update – What Next?
The
Lake Minnetonka Association, along with several local and state partners, has
completed the first year of what we have called the Three Bay Project. This project is a five year program to
control Eurasian watermilfoil in three bays of
TALISAY
and MATAAS NA KAHOY, Batangas, Phillippines: Looking down from the wind-swept
resorts and hotels of
Ballina
Shire Council is moving to combat the infestation of aquatic weeds at
Fish
in trouble,
Fish
die-off near
Killer
virus threatens commercial and sport fishing in
Invasive
snakehead fish found in Wawayanda
Zebra
mussel fragment found in Lakes area
Lake
Zumbro dredging plans raise cost, ecology questions
County
board bans transport of aquatic weeds
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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