We are excited to have out first in-person MN COLA meeting since December 2019 (pre-COVID)! The meeting is from 10 am to 3 pm in Little Falls, MN at the offices of the Initiative Foundation. A box lunch will be provided for $10. We ask that you register for the meeting so that we can plan the room seating and to get a count on lunches needed.
Click on More information below for the agenda and information about our speakers.
Our Annual Member Meeting promises to be content rich and an exciting opportunity to meet in person.
The agenda includes the all-important Legislative Update. Jeff Forester of Minnesota Lakes and River’s Advocates will be there to share details of what happened and what it means for protecting Minnesota’s public waters. Three important items on the MN COLA Legislative Agenda were being addressed this session:
- Stable funding for MAISRC (the AIS Research Center at the University of Minnesota);
- Watercraft Operator’s License;
- Improved funding for AIS treatments.
We are thrilled to have author Ted Rulseh as our lunch speaker. His most recent book, Ripple Effects: How we’re loving our lakes to death, will be featured. It provides a history of how our lifestyle changes and upward mobility have increased the demands we place on our lakes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Rulseh addresses the reasons behind our vanishing natural shorelines and other impacts to lake life.
After lunch, Greg Berg, from the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District will continue our focus on shoreline management with “boots on the ground” experiences that can help guide shoreline property owners and associations. Greg has been actively involved with the collaborative work (with MN COLA, MLR, the DNR, BWSR, the U of MN, and other organizations) on natural shorelines that Paul Radomski presented to MN COLA last summer. His talks are always informative!
To round out the agenda, we will end with our signature Round Robin session where you can share what’s happening on your lake or river, in your association, or in your COLA or LARA.
Registration is free; and there is an option to have a box lunch for $10. We hope to see you there and please register today!