Tag: AIS

Updates from MN COLA’s Annual Meeting

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Our Annual Meeting in Little Falls last week was a great success with terrific speakers and insightful discussions! Over 30 people joined us for our first in-person meeting since late 2019.

As a follow-up to the meeting, we have attached two items for your use:

  • Draft minutes from the meeting (these will be approved at our September meeting)
  • An update on the 2023 Legislative Session from Jeff Forester of Minnesota Lakes and River’s Advocates

At the meeting we unanimously elected 7 new members to the MN COLA Board for 3-year terms, and we are excited to have a full complement of 15 Directors! Our Board Members and their term are listed here. Note that terms end in June of the noted year.

  • Blaine Barkley – 2024
  • Jan Believeau – 2024
  • Biz Clark – 2026
  • Kevin Farnum – 2024
  • Jeff Forester – 2026
  • Steve Frawley – 2026
  • Lynn Goodrich – 2025
  • Jim Gray – 2026
  • David Helgerson – 2024
  • Kathy Jonsrud – 2025
  • Jim Kutzner – 2025
  • Tom Nelson – 2025
  • Ruth Schaefer – 2025
  • Joe Shneider – 2024
  • Tom Watson – 2026

We noted we were doing a “last call” for the 2023 Communications Survey. If you haven’t yet taken the survey, it would be great if you could carve out a few minutes to do it.

AIS continues to spread in Minnesota

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tiny-zebra-mussels-on-the-back-of a-hand
Zebra mussels can clog water supply inputs creating problems for homeowners and municipalities

It’s still early in season for AIS detection, but zebra mussels continue their march through Minnesota. As of June 29, 11 new zebra mussel infested water bodies were added to the MN DNR’s Infested Waters List: 6 in Wright County, 2 in Otter Tail County, and 1 each in Hubbard, Kandiyohi, and Stearns Counties.

In addition to these new zebra mussel infestations, Eurasian watermilfoil was confirmed in 1 lake in Le Sueur County and starry stonewort was confirmed in 1 lake in Kandiyohi County.

Mercury rising in zebra mussel infested lakes

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Clearer water from zebra mussels? Yes. Healthier water? NO! But do zebra mussels impact the fish we eat? YES!!!

In their 2022 Annual Report, the University of MN AIS Research Lab (MAISRC) reported some startling findings about “how zebra mussels influence food webs supporting walleye and yellow perch, and how food web changes influence mercury concentrations in fish tissue.”

“Mercury in fish tissue was, on average, 66% higher for adult walleye and 91% higher for adult yellow perch in lakes containing zebra mussels compared to those in uninvaded lakes.

On average, mercury concentrations in 16-inch walleye from lakes containing zebra mussels were 0.28 pm, above the 0.2 ppm threshold triggering human consumption advisories by the Minnesota Department of Health.”

This is really a significant finding, and the MN Health Department advisor should be heeded.

For more information, check out this MAISRC project online at z.umn.edu/AIS-walleye

Joining MN COLA brings big benefits!

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We believe these benefits bring “real value” to MN COLA members and friends. And we can provide even more value when we grow of membership. We don’t say this because we are hungry for your money, although that’s always welcome. But we say this because MN COLA grows more relevant on important issues when we represent more people and more organizations.

So become a member!  Join MN COLA today!