Register now for the North American Lake Management Society Symposium
2023-10-22 - 2023-10-26
October 22–26, 2023 in Erie, Pennsylvania:
It’s pricey and requires travel, but this a big, important conference for lake managers and concerned citizens.
The North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) and Pennsylvania Lake Management Society invites you to attend the 43rd International Symposium
At a time when climate change, invasive species risks, and cultural pressures threaten the natural environment and biodiversity of our fragile ecosystem, the opportunity to highlight and mesh the State of Pennsylvania and its rich diversity of aquatic habitats is long overdue.
NALMS’ Symposium typically attracts an international collection of 500–600 lake management professionals, academia, and citizen attendees. The Symposium promotes the exchange of lake and reservoir management science, produces material for NALMS’ high-quality publications, provides a rare opportunity for networking, as well as an opportunity to recognize excellence in the field of lake and reservoir management.
Registration: https://nalms.wildapricot.org/event-5312182
Program info: https://www.nalms.org/nalms2023/preliminary-program/
Conference Home page: https://www.nalms.org/nalms2023/

Michigan hosts a virtual Summit on Great Lakes PFAS - December 5 - 7
2023-12-05 - 2023-12-07
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continue to present some of the biggest challenges in chemical contamination across the world. States throughout the nation, including the Great Lakes region, are finding PFAS contamination in a growing number of locations where these persistent chemicals pose a threat to human health and the environment.
The Great Lakes PFAS Summit will bring together environmental program managers, policy experts, researchers, and contractors from around the Great Lakes region to share new methods of addressing this contamination and present innovative technical solutions developed to address these “forever” chemicals.
The Summit is hosted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).
Admission is $35, but is waived for government, non-profits, and students. The registration deadline is December 1.

MN COLA Membership Meeting
2023-12-05 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Chicago)
Check your calendars! Following MN COLA’s successful September meeting, our next membership meeting is Tuesday, December 5th at 9am-11am and it will be online. Details will follow as we get closer, but for now save the date!

Webinar on the unique pathways of invasive mussel spread – December 13
2023-12-13
Register for this free webinar on December 13 from 1:00 – 2:30 ET to hear 3 presentations on unique pathways of invasive mussel spread. The webinar is hosted by the Invasive Mussel Collaborative. Presentations include:
More than we bargained for: Zebra mussels transported amongst European native freshwater snails by James Dickey with Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
Assessing Dreissena spread in Lake Superior through traditional and eDNA surveys by Courtney Larson with the US EPA Office of Research and Development, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, Duluth, MN
Chemical drivers of Dreissenid habitat: Moving beyond calcium and temperature by Daniel Sandborn with the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Harmful Algal Bloom Virtual Research Symposium in early January
2024-01-04 00:00 - 2024-01-05 23:59
The Algal Bloom Action Team of the North Central Region Water Network is once again hosting their Virtual Harmful Algal Bloom Research Symposium on January 4th and 5th.
This free, virtual event brings together over 800 water professionals from across the North Central Region to hear about the latest harmful algal bloom (HAB) research, discuss examples of effective bloom management, and learn about the latest technologies being used to tackle this global issue.
The North Central Region Water Network is comprised of 12 Land-grant colleges and universities, including the U of MN Extension, U of WI Extension, and the MSU Extension.
The Algal Bloom Action Team offers a series of Educational Resources on their webpage that you may find valuable, including HAB FAQs, factsheets, prevention and treatment options, and more

Webinar: Charting the Course for a Comprehensive Point-Intercept Database
2024-01-25 13:00 - 14:00
Imagine that hundreds of comprehensive aquatic plant surveys were conducted on Minnesota lakes every year, representing hundreds of hours worked and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent. Now imagine that these incredibly valuable data sets were held by not one but rather dozens of different groups throughout the state, deeply embedded within the unique file and reporting systems of each. Then, even if you could find them, imagine no two of these files looked alike, such that it took hours just to combine even two of them into a single unified data set. Then, imagine that more or less these same circumstances existed in Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Ontario, and elsewhere.
It would all seem like a missed opportunity, wouldn’t it? And yet, this is the reality. Or, rather, it was–in February 2023, MAISRC launched Version 1 of PI Charter, an R Shiny app designed to 1) receive submissions of PI survey data sheets (no matter what they look like!) from anyone who may possess them, 2) process them automatically so they can be combined, and 3) allow anyone to explore the processed data to better understand the health and plant composition of our state’s lakes. Already, we have added several million point-level observations into our database, and we’re just getting started!
Come and hear how we plan to chart PI Charter’s next course!

MSU again offers Introduction to Lakes Online course
2024-01-29 - 2024-03-30
Registration for the award-winning Michigan State University Extension Introduction to Lakes Online course is now open! Our own Jim Kutzner took this on-line course 2 years ago and thought it was highly valuable and completely relevant to Minnesota Lakes.
This introductory six-week online course kicks off January 30th and is designed for anyone interested in inland lakes including concerned residents, decision makers, local leaders, and lakefront property owners. Course instructors include faculty from MSU Extension and state agency personnel.
Course topics include lake ecology, watershed management, shoreline protection, aquatic plants, Michigan water law, and community engagement. These six topics are explored online through video lectures, interactive activities, and discussion forums. Additional resources are also provided for those looking to dive deeper into a topic. Participants communicate with each other and instructors through lively discussion forums and biweekly Ask-an-Expert webinars which include guests from organizations such as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
The course price is $115.00. The deadline to register is January 28, 2024.
If the cost of the course is a burden to your participation, please email Paige Filice at filicepa@msu.edu. Financial assistance is available.

U of MN AIS Detectors will offer AIS Management 101 in February
2024-02-01 - 2024-03-31
If you would like to be a more informed consumer about what’s happening on your nearby lake, have a better understanding of what lake management professionals are doing, or are considering new AIS control efforts, this class is for you!
Sign up to get an email when the course registration opens. You can also sign up for emails about other AIS Detector news, events, and courses.
This is a 6 week, fully online, self-paced course. The course offers information presented in a variety of formats. Instructors are available through discussion forums embedded in the course and via email to answer any questions you may have along the way. Course participants engage with multimedia learning materials detailing a range of topics including aquatic invasive species regulations, target species, management options, monitoring strategies, and more. To date, 185 participants have completed AIS Management 101.
You will gain:
• An introduction to AIS control and aquatic plant management
• A better understanding of pesticides, how they work, and the regulations around their use
• Insight on non-chemical treatment options
• A better ability to evaluate and understand management effectiveness and take a longer-term view of management.
This course is offered by the AIS Detectors program at the University of Minnesota which is jointly supported by the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center and University of Minnesota Extension. It is open to anyone, including residents of other states, though certain portions of the course, such as permitting regulations, will include information specific to Minnesota.
For more information…

Invasive European Frog-bit – a case study from Michigan February 7, 8 am CT
2024-02-07 08:00 - 10:00
European frog-bit is defined as an invasive species in Minnesota, but infestations have not yet been found in the state.
It was first detected in Michigan in 1996 and has since spread along the coastal areas of lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan and to some inland lakes. Kevin Kapuscinski, associate professor and assistant director of research at Lake Superior State University’s Center for Freshwater Research and Education, has been studying the aquatic invasive plant and its effects on native ecosystems and water quality since 2019. He will share what’s been learned about plant reproduction, removal efforts and impacts based on research in the St. Mary’s River in the Upper Peninsula.
This free Zoom session is part of the Not MI Species series hosted by Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).
Register here.
Here is Michigan’s information sheet on European frog-bit.

Can underwater jets help prevent AIS spread? ﻿March 13, 1 pm CT
2024-03-13 13:00 - 14:00
This is a free Zoom session hosted by the AIS Detectors program at the University of Minnesota. The speakers are Andy Erickson (St. Anthony Falls Laboratory) and Tony Brough (Hennepin County).
Join the webinar to hear about the results, observations and recommendations for how submersed jets could be deployed at boat ramps to help minimize the spread of aquatic invasive species.
Registration link for the webinar.
More information

MN COLA Membership meeting – March 19
2024-03-19 09:00 - 11:00
The March Membership meeting will be held virtually on Zoom from 9 – 11 CT on March 19th. Preregistration using this link is required.
The meeting will include an important update from our MN COLA Legislative team as we will be in the middle of the MN Legislative session. We will have a timely topic on the impacts of the short ice season. And we will talk about establishing a Lake Improvement District (LID) as another way of funding important lake efforts.

Jeff Forester from MN Lakes and Rivers Advocates will provide us with an update on the very short 2024 Minnesota Legislative Session that began on February 12th and ends on May 20.
Also very short is this winter’s ice season. Many of you are wondering about the impacts this will have on your lakes and we are excited to have 2 great speakers address the topic. Paul Radomski of the MN DNR will address impacts to the fishery and Steve McComas of Blue Water Science will address overall impacts to the lake ecology.
And continuing our discussion on mechanisms for funding your lake activities, we will have an overview session on the use of Lake Improvement Districts (LIDs). LIDs are a special purpose type of government formed to pursue and fund programs or projects to address lake health problems, restore native habitat, or otherwise improve a lake. We are excited to have Mike Raiche, from Maple Lake in Wright County, provide some interesting insights into the process of getting one established and how they work in practice.

As always, everyone welcome to attend, so feel free to forward this meeting information.

DNR AIS Advisory Committee (SAISAC) - Public Event
2024-03-21 09:30 - 12:00
The DNR is hosting the last of four off-season workshops for the Statewide DNR AIS Advisory Committee (SAISAC) on Thursday, March 21st at 9:30 am to 12:00 noon CT. The event includes a presentation by ACCL (Association of Cass County Lakes) on their low-cost AIS Cleaning Station & Tools.
Click here to joint the meeting.
Here is the agenda:
AIS Detectors + Starry Trek

Megan Weber, UMN-Extension

Panel: Hosting a Local Starry Trek Training Site

Dan Cibulka, Sherburne County
Justin Townsend, Ramsey County
Karl Koenig, Becker County
Bill Grantges, Itasca County

Zebra Mussel Monitoring

Jessica Leverty, Anoka County
Camden Droppo, Chisago County

Adopt a Habitattitude

Doug Jensen, DNR AIS Prevention Planner

AIS Videos

Erika Gilsdorf, Leighton Broadcasting
Holly Lee, Leighton Engage

Minnesota Traditions

Tim Terrill, Mississippi Headwaters Board

AIS Cleaning Stations & Tools

Nick Bluhm, Association of Cass County Lakes (ACCL)
Steve Henry, Cass County

Head to Stevens Point for the 2024 Wisconsin Water Week convention
2024-04-10 - 2024-04-12
April 10-12, 2024, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin
This is a well-done annual conference that is put on by a well-established partnership of government, higher education, and lake groups. While some sessions will pertain to Wisconsin’s specific governance, most of the sessions will be highly relevant to Minnesota’s lakes and rivers.
This statewide convention brings together professionals, students, community members, and businesses who love water. The 2024 event will feature plenary speakers, as well as interactive workshops and content-rich concurrent sessions with time for speakers to address participants’ questions.
This event is a collaboration of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Extension Lakes Program within the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, and the statewide organization of lake groups, Wisconsin Lakes. They are a partnership of people caring for our legacy of lakes, rivers, and watersheds through science, education, and citizen involvement.
Official Convention registration will be available in mid-late January 2024. Check their conference website for more details. And if you have the interest, submit a proposal for presentation at the conference (see More information for details).

What is the Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention?
This statewide convention brings together professionals, students, community members, and businesses who love water. We have been meeting annually for over 40 years and hope that you can continue to contribute to this legacy. The 2024 event will feature plenary speakers, as well as interactive workshops and content-rich concurrent sessions with time for speakers to address participants’ questions.
Wednesday, April 10 will include interactive half- and full-day workshops. Wednesday evening will feature the Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Partnership Welcome Reception where appetizers and beverages will be served in a relaxed environment ideal for networking.
Thursday, April 11 will feature a welcome session and kickoff keynote event, multiple concurrent sessions, educational and business exhibits, a round of lightning talks, and a poster session. On Thursday evening, we’ll be celebrating award winners at the Wisconsin Lake Stewardship and Volunteer Stream Monitoring Awards Ceremony and Banquet.
Friday, April 12 will consist of multiple concurrent sessions, educational and business exhibits, and a keynote speaker and closing luncheon. Friday afternoon will include interactive mini-workshops.
We invite you to attend and build new and enhance past relationships so we can better collaborate and cooperate around our lakes, rivers, watersheds, and across Wisconsin. With over 100 presenters, 18 workshops, keynotes, exhibits, and over 70 concurrent sessions, you won’t want to miss it! Keep an eye on the Lakes and Rivers Convention – Wisconsin Water Week website for additional information as it is released.

Submit a Presentation Proposal
Open call for presentations includes:

Concurrent Sessions (deadline: Oct. 1, 2023) – There will be 5 rooms with sessions occurring simultaneously. Presentations can be as short as 20 minutes in length or up to 60 minutes. We encourage presenters to build in time for Q&A at the end of their presentation.
Workshops (deadline: Oct. 1, 2023) – We plan to schedule half-day workshops (2-3 hours) on Wednesday morning, Wednesday afternoon, and Friday afternoon. Full-day workshops (6 hours) are also possible on Wednesday. Workshops are more interactive and/or hands-on and are meant to engage participants in in-depth conversations, problem solving, planning, and exploring.
Lightning Talks (deadline: March 1, 2024) – These quick, 5-minute (or less) presentations are meant to introduce a topic/share a success, with the goal of exposing attendees to multiple topics in a short amount of time. There will not be time for Q&A after lightning talks; however, we encourage Lightning Talk presenters to also present a Poster, which is where further conversations can take place.
Posters (deadline: April 1, 2024) – Posters will be on display all day Thursday through Friday at 2:00 p.m. Poster presenters are required to be with their poster during the Poster Session on Thursday from 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Submit a Presentation Proposal

This event is a collaboration of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Extension Lakes Program within the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, and the statewide organization of lake groups, Wisconsin Lakes. We are a partnership of people caring for our legacy of lakes, rivers, and watersheds through science, education, and citizen involvement.
Official Convention registration will be available in mid-late January, 2024.

Climate change effects on fisheries - April 23
2024-04-23 13:00 - 15:00
Researchers from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Missouri talk about their work in quantifying the impacts of climate change on fish growth and production using the largest-ever database of Midwest glacial lakes fisheries surveys to enable sustainable management.
Climate change is causing inland lake water temperatures to rise, ice durations to shorten, and stratification regimes to shift. These habitat changes are creating novel challenges for freshwater fish and the productive fisheries they have long supported. We assessed shifts in habitat availability, bioenergetic needs and capacity, fish growth, and fishery productivity using simulated water temperature data and fisheries monitoring data compiled from across the Midwest.
Major findings include:

On average, species preferring colder temperatures lost more preferred habitat than was gained by species favoring warmer temperatures between 1980-2021.
While warm-water species’ productivity has generally benefited from warming, cooler-water species have generally lost productivity. These losses in productivity can be exacerbated by fishing in exploited populations.
Many cool- and coldwater fish will experience increasing energetic challenges as the climate warms, but thermal refuges will likely persist in larger and deeper lakes.
The growth patterns of fish can be influenced by temperature–and theory allows us to predict what these patterns look like, but do fish actually follow these predictions? We explore this as a product of methodological and ecological mechanisms.
The effects of temperature on fish growth differ depending on fish size and age. Rising temperatures may accelerate early life growth for some species, but slow growth and increase mortality for older life stages.

Collectively, this can result in complicated responses of fish growth across the diverse landscape of Midwestern lakes. Together, these projects provide an actionable set of findings for managing fisheries under climate change.

Containing Michigan’s first hydrilla infestation – May 21
2024-05-21 08:00 - 09:00
The mythic Hydra was a water serpent that sprouted two heads for every one cut off. In a similar fashion, hydrilla – said to be the most invasive aquatic plant in the world – can grow new plants from stem fragments, making it a formidable challenge to control. That challenge now faces Michigan, where hydrilla was recently detected for the first time. Learn why hydrilla is such a threat, how the Michigan Invasive Species Program is working to eradicate it, and what you can do to help identify and report it.
The webinar starts at 8 am CT and is free, but registration is required
After registering, you will receive an email from “EGLE Outreach” with a link for you to use to join the webinar.

Stories of Progress in Invasive Phragmites Management in Minnesota – May 22
2024-05-22 09:00 - 10:00
Did you know there has been a landscape-scale effort to prevent invasive Phragmites from becoming a major threat to Minnesota habitats for the past four years? Invasive Phragmites (Phragmites australis subsp. australis) is a tall, non-native grass that can dominate wetlands and lakeshores, displace native flora and fauna, and harm recreation, infrastructure, and ecological functioning. Starting in 2017, crowd-sourced reporting and dedicated surveillance revealed a manageable invasion that, with adequate effort, could be reversed.
We partnered with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and many local managers to confront the problem. Now, four years into a carefully coordinated, statewide control effort, partners have largely succeeded in preventing the sprawling invasive Phragmites stands seen in other states. Ongoing efforts have continued to raise awareness and identify new populations. A substantial number of previously treated populations are no longer detectable.
We will also discuss progress toward finding alternatives for wastewater treatment facilities that use invasive Phragmites in their operations, as well as hybridization with native Phragmites.
Concerned individuals can help by learning to identify the plant, avoiding actions that could contribute to its spread, and reporting suspected new populations. With collaboration, attention to detail, and persistence, we can prevent invasive Phragmites from transforming Minnesota lakeshores, wetlands, and other habitats.
The webinar starts at 9 am CT on May 22 and is free, but registration is required.
About the speakers:
Chelsey Blanke is a U of M researcher focused on invasive species and ecological restoration. She and Julia Bohnen work closely with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and many local managers to coordinate the statewide invasive Phragmites control effort. She is driven by a passion for wildlife and a desire to help people help the environment.
Julia Bohnen is involved in research and outreach related to ecological restoration and invasive species management. Her current work involves coordinating with multiple partners in a statewide invasive Phragmites control effort and consulting with wastewater treatment facility operators to transition from using invasive Phragmites for biosolids dewatering. She also co-facilitates a series of five online Ecological Restoration Extension courses.
Dan Larkin is a MAISRC Research Fellow and Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He and his research team work on applied challenges in invasive species management and ecological restoration in lakes, wetlands, and terrestrial habitats. Through his extension program, he trains volunteers and professionals to support invasive species response and ecological restoration efforts.

WAPOA hosts AIS Roundtable - June 1
2024-06-01 08:30 - 12:00
The Whitefish Area Property Owner’s Association and the Crow Wing LARA are hosting the 8th Annual AIS Roundtable featuring speakers from the University of Minnesota AIS Research Center. The event provides a great opportunity to hear from the Center’s Director, Dr. Nick Phelps, as well as from several researchers with projects underway.
The event runs from 8:30 to noon CT in Crosslake, MN. Register here to attend the event in person or on-line.

Which Plants Should I Plant? – June 13, or repeated on June 20
2024-06-13 08:00 - 17:00
The 1-hour webinar is free and starts at noon CT on June 13. The session will be repeated on June 20 at 6 pm CT.
Grow your knowledge of native Minnesotan plants as you prepare your own gardens with MN Sea Grant’s Jessy Carlson and John Bly of Metro Blooms for a free webinar hosted by Cook County Higher Education. This event is part of MN Sea Grant’s project on Partnering with Local Governments for Climate Adaptation.
More information and the registration link are available for the specific session you want to attend: June 13 session or June 20 session (these are different links).

MN COLA Annual Membership Meeting - June 18th
2024-06-18 09:00 - 11:00
Our Annual meeting of 2024 will be held on June 18th at 9-11 am cdt.
Meeting topics and speakers:

Election of Directors for the MN COLA Board. Director terms are 3 years and we have several seats to fill. Note: if you have interest in joining the MN COLA Board, please contact Kevin Farum to register your interest.
Kathryn Hoffman, CEO of the non-profit Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), will brief us on the efforts they have underway to protect Minnesota’s public waters. MCEA’s lawyers and scientists are directly involved with environmental legislation in St. Paul and in every major legal fight to protect our water. Kathryn last joined us in December 2020 and she was very well received.
Jeff Forester from MN Lakes and Rivers Advocates will provide us with an update on the short 2024 Minnesota Legislative Session that ends on May 20.
Hilarie Sorenson is the newly appointed Water Resources Extension Educator for MN Sea Grant. She is charged with helping to address complex water quality issues through resources and programs. We offered her the opportunity to explain her new role and also to hear from you, our caring lake and river volunteers about your priorities and needs. So besides getting to know Hilarie, you can help her help us with a few polling questions during her presentation.
John Rodgers from Clemson University will talk to us about hydrilla, one of the most concerning AIS that has not yet reached Minnesota. He will follow the infestation spread from Florida up the east coast and now in Michigan, the impact on lakes, and what to expect. Many of you became familiar with Dr. Rodgers when starry stonewort was found in Minnesota in 2015. We are so pleased that he will spend some time with MN COLA.

Click on this Registration Link anytime before the meeting. The Zoom link for the meeting itself will be provided following registration. You will also receive an email from Zoom with the meeting link and more details.

Getting AIS into the classrooms – June 25
2024-06-25 08:00 - 09:00
Getting students aware of AIS is a good thing and it will also foster behavior change in adults. Lake Superior State University brings together students, teachers, natural resource mentors, and staff from LSSU’s Center for Freshwater Research and Education to conduct hands-on research into local invasive species issues. Learn how this collaboration has fostered local, student-led stewardship projects to raise awareness and inspire action in communities across Northern Michigan. Then let’s do more of this in Minnesota!
The webinar starts at 8 am CT and is free, but registration is required.
After registering, you will receive an email from “EGLE Outreach” with a link for you to use to join the webinar.

An Underwater Tour through a North Country Lake! – June 28
2024-06-28 09:30 - 11:30
This in-person session is June 28 from 9:30-11:00 am at the Cass County Land Office, 218 Washburn Avenue E, Backus, MN 56435
Dr. Bruce R. Carlson, a retired professor from the University of Michigan Medical School, will lead the session addressing:

An overview of how a typical area lake is put together and how it functions
Numerous underwater videos that paint a vivid picture of the fascinating activities of many of the aquatic inhabitants of the lake
How zebra mussels and Eurasian water milfoil affect the ecology of a lake.

Dr. Carlson has written two books on lakes and a new one on aquatic invasive species. An avid fisherman, for 25 years, he wrote articles for In-Fisherman magazine.

Native & Natural: A Shoreland Preservation and Restoration Tour
2024-07-25 08:00 - 12:30
Register:
$20 per person — reserve now! Seating limited to 54
Use the QR code or go to https://nativenaturalshorelandtour.evenbrite.com

Gather at 8:00 am at Sunshine’s Summerhouse at 2008 Hill Drive SW, Fairview Township
Bus departs at 8:30 am and returns at 12:30 pm
Questions? Call Sheila at (612) 226-6571

Starry Trek 2024
2024-08-10 08:30 - 13:00
Join us at locations across Minnesota for a day of searching for starry stonewort, mystery snails, and other aquatic invasive species!

Changing Water Quality in Itasca County Lakes - September 5
2024-09-05 12:00 - 13:00
The September session of Itasca Waters’ Water Wisdom focuses on “Changing water quality in Itasca County lakes.” The webinar is from noon – 1 CT on September 5.
The northeast region of Minnesota, and Minnesota overall, are well-known for iconic, high-quality waters. Some people have reported seeing decreases in water quality and unwelcome changes in algae and plants in lakes.
This presentation explores these concerns and the data that help understand how lakes might be changing. An exploration of the factors that might lead to changes in our lakes is also discussed.
The webinar is free, but registration is required. Click here to register.

MN COLA Membership Meeting - September 17th
2024-09-17 09:00 - 11:00
We have three important topics on the docket:

Concerns from the rise of vacation home rentals in lake country
Septic systems and their impact to water quality
The upcoming statewide elections and how that may influence the 2025 Legislative session in St. Paul.

Register anytime before the meeting. The Zoom link for the meeting itself will be provided following registration. You will also receive an email from Zoom with the meeting link and more details.
Our meeting will start with Chris LeClair, the Director of Otter Tail County’s Land and Resource department. Otter Tail County is a leader in establishing an ordinance regarding vacation home rentals. The county’s ordinance went into effect on July 1 of this year.

Vacation home rentals can impact public health, safety, quality of life, as well as water and environmental quality. Many of your lakes, towns and counties are wrestling with vacation home rentals and their impacts, so looking into Otter Tail County’s new ordinance will make us all smarter.

Our meeting is being held during the EPA’s SepticSmart Week 2024 (purely coincidence), and since many our lake and river properties use septic systems or holding tanks, we thought that would be a great tie in to our collective interest in water quality. And it also ties into our meeting’s first speaker, as septic system are one of the vacation home rental concerns.
We are very fortunate to have Sara Heger, from the U of MN’s Onsite Sewage Treatment Program setting the stage at our MN COLA meeting to talk about the connection of septic system and water quality. Sara is also leading the webinar on “Being Septic Smart” at 7 pm CT on the same day as our meeting. She is the go-to person for all things septic! You’ll hear Sara at our meeting and you’ll probably want to register for that webinar

Last, but certainly not least, Jeff Forester of MN Lakes and Rivers Advocates will brief us on November’s statewide elections, where you may want to get involved, what the elections that might mean for the 2025 Legislative session, and what MLR is thinking about their Legislative priorities for 2025.

Register anytime before the meeting.

Being Septic Smart – September 17
2024-09-17 19:00 - 21:00
Septic systems are a key element to keeping our lakes and rivers healthy. Waterfront property owners need to be aware of maintenance needs of septic systems and the University of Minnesota’s Onsite Sewage Treatment Program has your back.
As part of the EPA’s SepticSmart Week (September 16-20) the Onsite Sewage Treatment Program is offering a free online training opportunity on ‘Being Septic Smart’ on Tuesday, September 17, from 7 to 9 p.m.
The ‘Being Septic Smart’ webinar teaches property owners the basics about how their septic systems work, including how to care for and maintain a septic system so it can function during or beyond its design lifetime. The webinar is free, but you need to register. Click here for more information and registration.

MAISRC 2024 Showcase – in person! - September 25
2024-09-25 08:30 - 17:30
Photo, University of Minnesota, MAISRC
This event is in-person and gives you a great opportunity to see what’s happening at MAISRC, meet the researchers, and connect with other water stewards in Minnesota. This is in our backyard and we are privileged to have these kinds of opportunities. The event is from 8:30 to 5:30 at the St. Paul Student Center.
Click here for more information and registration.

PFAS in Water: How did they get there and why are they so challenging to address? – October 3
2024-10-03 12:00 - 13:00
The October session of Itasca Waters’ Water Wisdom focuses on “PFAS in Water: How did they get there and why are they so challenging to address?” The webinar is from noon – 1 CT on October 3.
PFAS, often referred to as “forever chemicals,” are unlike any other harmful environmental contaminants that we have faced before. Once they enter the environment they don’t fully degrade, and they spread quickly through water and air. This has allowed them to contaminate pristine waters in remote regions, including the middle of Lake Superior. And to add to the challenge, PFAS are more than just PFOS and PFOA – there are thousands of PFAS, including “precursors” that can transform into PFOS or PFOA once they enter the environment.
This presentation will highlight recent work evaluating PFAS in Lake Superior, challenges and emerging solutions for PFAS monitoring and treatment, and a perspective on what people and agencies can do to help address the problem.
The webinar is free, but registration is required. Click here for further information and registration.

Learning from the past to manage inland lake fisheries for the future – October 8
2024-10-08 13:00 - 14:00
This free webinar is on October 8 at 1pm CT. It is put on by the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP). Registration is required.
The seminar will highlight research that has used data from a collaborative project digitizing over a century of historical lake survey records from the Michigan DNR Institute for Fisheries Research. We are using these records to examine changes in fish growth and abundance, and the timing of mass mortality events. The presenter will show examples that empirically test several predicted impacts of climate change across Michigan lakes.
The list of upcoming lake conservation webinars and all previous MGLP webinar recordings are available online.

Inland lake shoreline assessment and best management practices in Michigan – October 15
2024-10-15 13:00 - 14:00
This free webinar is on October 15 at 1pm CT. It is put on by the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership (MGLP). Registration is required.
This presentation will review the Inland Lake Shoreline Energy Assessment Tool. The goal of this new tool is to educate the user on important inland lake shoreline characteristics and to provide a standardized approach for Michigan users to evaluate the erosive potential of an inland lake shoreline. Assessing an inland lake shoreline is important for selecting an appropriate shoreline protection design that minimizes impacts to inland lake resources. Some example best practices for shoreline protection will be highlighted. Although the webinar is focused on Michigan, it is just as applicable in Minnesota.
The list of upcoming lake conservation webinars and all previous MGLP webinar recordings are available online.
