Little Rock Lake Blog!

I went to the TMDL study on Little Rock Creek and found it very interesting.  They listed a number of items that were causing stress to the brown trout and most are inter-related. I found it interesting that the brown trout and other game fish had been in the creek since l908 and did not appear to have problems until around the last l0 years or less.

    I came away from the meeting with one major thought, and that was that new farming practices have caused a dramatic increase in the use of water for agriculture and that this has had and effect on our rivers going into LRL and probably the lake itself...but this is just my take on the meeting.  They will be looking into this in phase 3 of the TMDL study on the creek.  Once you start talking about governing water flow, you are in for a major political battle with the agricultural community because their survival depends on growing crops and crops take water.  This is going to be one big mess to deal with unless laws support agricultural change, since over 45 % of the land use in the watershed is agricultural.  If we were living in a resort community rather than farm community there would probably be a bigger outcry concerning our impaired waters.  We can only hope that good farming practices will help the problem,  and that farmers will try to use as little ground water as possible to grow crops.  it became evident at the meeting that we are not just talking about the survival of the brown trout.  There is a concern that we are getting more nitrates in our well water and that can even cause damage to young children, so it will be interesting to see WHAT actually will get done to solve the problem in phase 3.  It still sounds like the research is going on and then WE, AS STOCK HOLDERS, have to start an outcry about our waters before change will occur.

      It sounded to me like the hydrologist was saying that the state of MN did not currently have a lot of rules in place that allowed them to regulate flow of irrigation. That may be because they had not seen flow as a problem until some of the studies started to come in concerning water flow and its effect on underground water and streams.  My guess is that as our population grows and there is more demand for water, we are going to see even more impaired lakes, unless we can govern water use.  I imagine that when farmers started producing corn for ethanol, that the water use increased in the agricultural area affecting our water shed.  My personal, unscientific take on this is that once the irrigation systems  start pumping large quantities of water on the fields, the fertilizer spreads even more quickly into run off channels which impair our streams.    If you combine this with the fact that often fertilizer is not plowed under in the fields in a timely manner, you can see where the nitrates are getting into the watershed.

.  They discussed the effect land irrigation was having on ground water and how this was changing the environment for the creek.  They did a projection that showed that if they could  cut back 50 % of the irrigation that was occurring in the farm community watershed they probably would have an increase in brown trout and sustainable rivers coming into the lake. 

They also talked about how the rivers are no longer rocky on the bottom but filled with silt and of course this effects the trout as well.  They mentioned how the land has changed and how smaller culverts can change water flow going into the creek, and in turn effect the water quality.  Naturally buffer strips come into play here, since trees and shrubs planted along our streams, filter out a lot of problems.  With increased use of every inch of soil, farm buffer strips have pretty much disappeared.   Nitrates problems in our waters were mentioned as well and people were encouraged to have their well water checked if they had young children because many wells were over the nitrate limit within the water shed.   

    It was also interesting that they talked about the Dam that had gone in to help with water fowl.  Some residents have complained that the dam has created problems for the river and indirectly for the lakes.  There was one study saying the water was 8 degrees warmer where the dam was.  Since trout can't live in warm water, this also was causing problems for the brown trout.  It also reminded me of the meeting before last when one local resident complained that a lot of the algae coming into the lake, was coming in from the dam area.  It seems that this area heats up, and heat adds algae blooms.

   There were other issues involved too, and I am not going into all of them.   I am sure you will hear more at upcoming meetings.  There is also a l20 page report that Annie Felix has on Benton's web page.

Apparently we are now predominately a northern lake and the northerns eat the fingerling trout. ( This has a lot to do with water temperature).   We have stocked trout in the streams coming into LRL and it looks like we have just been giving the Northerns a tasty snack and that is upsetting the balance in the river.  They have measured the size of the trout tid bits that the Northerns can get into their mouthes and have now decided they must stock the stream with bigger trout that are not as easily swallowed.

    Anyway,  it was interesting.  Hopefully we will hear more in the future and they will be able to get a handle on some of the problems in the creek because I am sure that whatever they find in the creek will have a direct influence on what they find in the lake.   Other than that, this has been a good year on LRL.  Our water is clear and we are starting to see a lot of beautiful color on the far shore.  I can hardly wait to take the pontoon down the channel and out on the Miss. R to see the seasonal color changes. PJ 

We have a new president of the lake association!  Congratulations to Guy Spence.  Also special thanks to Bruce for all the work he has done as well as to all the lake association directors.  We are  getting more members.  If you have not joined and you join now, you will receive free tickets to the snow baron raffle.  Our membership keeps climbing, but it needs to be at least 70 % in order to qualify for grants to clean up the lake once the TMDL study is complete.  We are working hard and now have about120 members, which is up from the 30 we had at the start of the year!  Great Job!  

    There is money available through the state of Mn in the form of grants, so if we can continue to get our membership up, we will certainly qualify for state funds.  This is really important for your property values and the improvement of LRL.

    We bought a pop up tent, created a banner and we are going to try to get memberships at the  Rice Fun days on the l5th.  The lake has been better this year, but we are now faced with some warm days and some low water levels so our algae problem will be coming to the front burner.  Get your neighbor's involved and get some memberships.  You could win a snowmobile for winter fun.  Many of the Lake association members have been going door to door talking about our membership drive.  It is not something they always enjoy doing but most of the responses by cabin owners are very positive.  Occasionally you get the old, " "Hell, No, I won't be a member." The association hasn't done anything since l960 when they put dye in the water," but usually we have a lot better response and the directors were very happy with the new memberships that came in.  

    We talked about and reviewed the annual picnic and parade and the upcoming Rice Fun Days Participation by the lake association. We had 20 pontoons, l jet ski and l power boat participating in the event. Decorations were great. We also talked about contacting professional carp fishermen  to net the laket.  Bruce C was going to call the DNR and find out more about this option.  WE discussed informing lake members Not to cut lily pads since their presence in the lake shows improvements in the lake's health.  Note:  I have a lot of new blooming lily pads in front of our place and they are really pretty!

The board granted 20.00 to be paid to Rice Fun Days so that we could set up a booth and explain what is happening on the lake and attempt to get new members.  Board members volunteered to man the booth at Fun Days so drop by and chat a bit with your LRLA members.  Bob and Dolly Rahn created a wonderful sign that we can use to promote the lake association and the work it is doing.

We also discussed MN Waters and River night being held August 9th in St. Paul as well as a MN Waters workshop in Hackensack MN.  There was a brief discussion of changing the meeting times but since it would involve changing the bi-laws, it was tabled for now. 

     At the last lake association meeting we had a full progress report on the work being done on buffer zones around the lake.  Many of our Lake association members have gone to workshops and helped build a buffer zone at Benton Beach as well as  helped other lake members.  They all felt it was very informative and they were glad they participated.  Special mention was made by all members about the fabulous materials they had been given at the workshops for identifying plants and helping with weed control in buffer zones. Great Job people. 

We also discussed the need for Benton County and the lake association to work together to inform any new owners of cabins the importance of keeping any existing buffer zones on their properties, rather than mowing their lawns right down to the water.  Patty Johnson suggested that we work to come up with a pamphlet of practical information that could be given to new cabin owners that would help them understand the lake.  It could even give them a map of how to navigate the channel.

    Benton Soil and water is doing Great things!  On August 20th the USDA Service center is extending a welcome to interested lake members to come out and join their tour of farms in the area that are helping to clean up the watershed.  If you are interested you can call Benton County and reserve a spot on the tour, but you need to make the reservation by the l7th.  They will also be giving out information on the latest TMDL study findings.  There is no cost for this tour and I think it would make us all feel better knowing that the agricultural community is starting to recognize their part in the problem our watershed faces.  Call 320-968-5300 to reserve your spot.  A meal is provided. 

    Our New President made the following comments:

l ) He thanked Bruce and the Lake Association for the hard work they have done to help clean up Little Rock Lake.  

2) He said we would continue to stress Lake Shore management practices and improve buffer zones to keep run off from entering our lake.

3) He stated he would strongly work to  increase membership to a 70% level where we can qualify for the new funding that is available.  He said it is in everyone's interest to get off the list of impaired waters so that our property values are improved.

4)  He mentioned the availability of Grants and funding for people around the lake who needed help with aging sewer systems.  

     In general it was a very positive meeting.  We are feeling good about what is happening on the lake.  The Sechi disk read out is much better this year , and the lake association feels that our message is starting to be heard.  We can hardly wait to find out what the TMDL study will suggest and we are ready to take on the challenge.  Little Rock Lake is on the mend and soon will be the lake we all know it can be.   

      Our Treasury now contains l8,865.82 as of the August 8th meeting.  

       Benton County continues to work on the water shed problems.   

The weed committee report was discussed. Jeff Solderholm discussed the benefit of selling snowmobile raffle tickets to our organization.  Tickets will be bought and distributed to members who hopefully will go door to door and attempt to get new members into the lake association by giving out ten free tickets if you become a member of LRLA.  We are also taking memberships from people who live close to the lake and our concerned about it's improvement.   Tickets will be placed at local businesses.

Benton County Water Resource Advisory board was represented by Duane Cekalla.  He said that the board of commissioners had recommended that Benton County become a delegated feed lot county and would then be subject to regulation.  That would help us all out!

August 8th:  Take a day off on the Mississippi River

All people were invited to enjoy the festivities on the Miss. River and learn about the river and tributaries.  It will be held at the Stern's county Miss. R. park and there will be good food and fun activities for families as well as information.  LRLA members volunteered to use their pontoons to demonstrate electofishing.  Talk to Chuck Rau if you would like to help.

Membership Committee:  It was agreed that we should allow non lake members to have associate member status for businesses that donated to the picnic and silent auction.  Jim will be making associate membership certificates for those who gave so willingly to our picnic and events over the years.  Phyllis Post and Judy C will send out letters of thanks you.  

Newsletter:  We continue to dedicate the September newsletter to help with recruitment. Mailing will be September lst. We will add dates of membership on the enrollment form so that people know the dates when their membership is due.   We also decided to make a Lake association booth and print banners to inform people of what LRLA is doing these days to help promote and make our lake healthy.  Banner will read, "LRLA improvement Fund and the booth will be used at Rice Fun Days on the l5th of August.

Shoreline buffer update:  20 or more members of the LRLA helped plant a buffer zone test strip at Benton beach in June.  There will be another follow up maintenence class offered on July 29th.  Expect good things to come out of this workshop, including a lot of helpful hints you can use in more areas than just the buffer zone.  You can register with Annie Felix at Benton Soil and water if you are interested.   The LRLA continues to be dedicated to the goal of making people aware that if you mow your lawn right down to the edge of the lake you are creating  a giant water highway for all the watershed run off from the agricultural community in two two counties to access our lake.  Every plant, tree or shrub you plant as a buffer zone  helps purify the water.  Benton County is also attempting to get farmers living near the 4 rivers that empty into the lake to leave land strips that also will serve as a buffer zone to the creeks coming into the lake.  Right now the DNR is doing some fantastic work on the agricultural watersheds in Southern Minnesota and a lot of this research should be applicable to LRL.

I just got back from the July llth Lake association meeting where a lot of interesting topics were discussed, but the main trend of the conversation was trying to figure out how we can get you involved and get more memberships.  Here is the reason we need you!  When William Walker concludes his study, we are going to need big bucks to fix the lake.  Naturally we can't pay for it with our $25.00 memberships.  However if we can show that we are an active lake association with over 75% membership we can qualify for grants to pay for improvements.  Remember how many lakes in MN are damaged and are competing for the same funding. The money is there but we have to prove we need it more than another lake.  The government looks at membership numbers as a way to prove the lake members are committed to lake improvement.  We need YOU!  You can stay home, never volunteer, skip meetings etc and you can still have an important part in improving the lake.  Just send us your membership so we can count you on our paperwork.  Talk your neighbor's into joining!  We need all the bodies we can get.

 Here were some ideas suggested to help get members:  We will be selling Snow mobile raffle tickets again this year.  Jeff suggested giving potential new members lO free tickets for getting a membership...Now for heaven's sake, don't start whining if you didn't get free tickets and signed up at the picnic.  You have to look at the big picture and that means getting people to join by whatever method we can come up with.  We also decided to give out honorary memberships ( no money involved) to businesses in Rice etc that donated to our silent auction.  If you have any ideas on how to get membership up and put a positive spin on our lake so that we are first when the government decides to hand out money, share your ideas. It is brainstorming that helps us all become more creative and do a better job solving problems.

    On the bright side, the lake is cleaner this year than it has been in 2 years.  We have a committed Lake Association and many dedicated people who are working hard to improve Little Rock Lake.  We are thinking of having a booth at the Benton County Fair as well as Rice Fun days, to let people know what we are doing and hopefully increase our membership.   

    Remember, the next meeting is in August and we elect officers.  It is really important that we continue to get dedicated, hard working people. 

Spring has appeared at Little Rock Lake.  The Pelicans are back and dropping fish on my point which I am then hitting with the lawn mower.  The dog is splashing in the lake and bringing back bullheads and dead sticks.  A fabulous new home is being built on Sharon Point.  It looks great and I am envious of the wonderful view they will have with their picture windows.  William Walker is continuing to look at his findings concerning the lake and hopefully Annie Felix will be able to share a lot of information about the TMDL study at our annual picnic.  Many lake owners have looked at the DVD's concerning buffer zones and have realized we need to have something planted to stop run off into the lake.  Tiffany is handing out grants to people who want to plant buffer zones, and Benton Beach will soon have a demonstration pond where people can view native plants that will work on our shorelines.    Our lake association is active in recruiting new members so that we can continue to qualify for grant money.  People are fishing the creeks and the  lake.  Good things are  happening on Little Rock Lake.  We are on a roll!Let's continue the positive spirit and make our lake the best it can be.  It's a win, win situation for everyone.

i noticed that solar bee now has a product that will get water moving and covers up to 3 acres which would work good in bays.  The cost is about 5,000 dollars.  I still think we need more water in the lake, plus we need to keep the water moving so algae masses do not form causing poor air quality.  I also noticed that Fleet farm is selling an attachment that goes on a windmill to keep water moving.  It is supposed to bring oxygen into the water creating a better environment for healthy bacteria that eat up algae.  Some of you who already have windmills around the lake might want to look into it.  Here is the information I received from Solarbee.  I'm not recommending any product on this web blog, but some of you have asked about various types of gadgets to get water moving.  This is just one of many

Hi,  It's Wednesday, March 25th and there is a lot of standing water around the lake.  My husband went out and our pontoon lift tires were completely under water on our spare lot.  We also discovered the sump pump was out and there was too much water under the cabin to do a lot about it.  It might be a good idea to call some of your neighbor's and have them check on your place. Patty

      Happy New Year, 2009

With the Economy in the dumps it is often hard to bring a bright spot to our Minnesota winters.  This year we all need to be encouraged about the changes that hopefully will occur to Little Rock Lake and be reminded about why we love Little Rock Lake.  People who have not spent time on Little Rock, enjoyed the sunsets or spent the day boating down the channel and traveling 22 miles up the Miss. River just do not understand what a fabulous life style we have on Little Rock Lake.  We are truly blessed.  It is like owning property that allows you to travel down the St. Croix river except that you do not have to dodge all the boats, or pay the expensive cost of living along the St. Croix.  Little Rock lake has the most beautiful horizon and the air is continually filled with eagles and sea gulls.  The lake is large, so if you take your pontoon out, you are  not simply going around the same circle.  You can take a simple pontoon ride that lasts an hour and you never have to repeat your course. If you get the chance to go down the channel, you feel like you have traveled back in time as you watch the herons and mud turtles along the tree lined banks.  Once out on the Mississippi, you can people watch, enjoy a secluded island dip, or simply look at all the nice homes along the water.  Many times during the week your boat may be the only boat on the water.  Where else can you do such a thing?  I remember going to Wisconsin and renting a cabin where we were told we could pontoon down  6 rivers.  It wasn't even close to our experiences living on Little Rock Lake.  I also remember going to the White Fish Chain near Brainerd, and  while I enjoyed it, I still like Little Rock Lake more.  It's the combination of Lake, channel and Mighty Miss. River that make living on Little Rock Lake such a fun experience. 

     Yes, we have algae, but our lake is at the head of the lake studies to receive help.   I have faith that Little Rock can be fixed.  It will never have the clarity of a northern Minnesota Lake, but it can once more become the lake that many of us remember.  We will see children swimming at Benton Beach and we will see families returning to the lake.  I have a feeling that even with the down economy, cabin prices on Little Rock will go up.  There just isn't that much lake shore available for sale any more in Minnesota , and Little Rock Lake is the largest lake in Benton County and it has access to the Mississippi River.   It also is within close driving distance of the Twin Cities and of course, St. Cloud.   

        Benton County has hired the leading expert on water cleanup and William Walker and his team, can do the job.  We have hard working members of the lake association doing their best to protect our waters.  The DNR as well as Benton Soil and Water continually monitor and do studies to clean up the lakes and streams feeding into Little Rock Lake.   Our lake association membership is growing, and it is filled with really nice people.   The lake neighborhoods are great and they look out for each other, by sharing docks, pontoon trailers, or simply helping watch out for their neighbor's cabin.  The Benton County Sheriff's department, along with local groups , monitor our homes when we are away.  Annie Felix is dedicated to helping us clean up the lake as are so many  other state and county officials.  Minnesota recently passed a clean water amendment.  That money is earmarked for lake clean up and Little Rock will receive help.   We have had a few dark years, but hopefully in 2009, Little Rock lake will once more come out into the sunlight and be the gem that those of us know it has potential to be.  With the heavy snow fall, we should not have a lot of curly leaf in the lakes, so that too is a good thing.  Keep up the good thoughts and let's make 2009 the best year ever on Little Rock Lake.

 Merry Christmas everyone!

    The first thing I need to mention is that there will be no formal LRLA meetings in January or February.  We may need to call a special meeting if grant monies are available but that meeting will be for officers on a needs basis.  Our next public meeting will be the second Saturday in March and it will be held at Rumors.  During this meeting we will get updates on important issues on the lake, plus find out more about Grants for buffer strips.

l.  LRLA passed a resolution supporting Annie Felix's new newspaper to the tune of  $2000.  As a non profit organization we need to spend X amount of dollars on eduction. Newsletters, speakers etc. qualify as education for the organization.  Your next official Little Rock Newsletter should be in your mailboxes sometime in the middle of January.  

   2.  LRLA borad members  talked about the problems with people paying memberships at different times of the year. Our August lst membership comes at an odd time, but it is because most people pay their dues at the July picnic.  Board members want someone to be in charge of getting memberships and someone else to be in charge of finance. Vic and  J. Rau will work together to coordinate this problem. There was talk of sending out postcards to those who have not paid as a reminder.  We do not like to harp about membership, but that is how we get grants.  Grants=money for the lake and cleaner water, which in turn allows us to  breathe better, make the fish happier, and makes our lake property more valuable.

    3.  D. Cekalla reported that The Water Resource Board approved our plan for Benton County and that Annie Felix has copies of the plan for those interested. This plan has been two years in the making.  This means we can now qualify for grants that we could not get before.  Thanks to D. Cekalla and others for all the work they have done. I(t's his birthday today as well.)

    4.  M. Graber spoke about coming grants for lake restoration and buffer strips.  Two buffer strip meetings will be announced on the web page later in the year.  It appears we will have quite a bit of funding for people interested in starting a buffer strip along their lake shore. At the present time, Tiffany Diederman has l0 people from Little Rock Lake that are interested in putting in a buffer zone and we hope this number continues to grow.  It seems that it costs about l dollar per square foot to put in native plants etc. For those of you who are older and have bad backs, there may be physical help available for planting the buffer zones.  Preferential treatment will be given to LRLA members for these grants. This is preliminary but it appears Annie will get between l0,000 and 20,000 for buffer zone work.  The lake association gets 2,000 from Watab for the program and we may get some 5,000 grants.  Comment was made that they "will be thrilled to see some serious grant requests for lake restoration come from our group."   Maureen handed out an interesting DVD called Minnesota's Lakes at Risk, to all board members, which was created by Minnesota Waters.  It shows graphically just how much difference we can make by planting buffer zones.  The council was so impressed that they decided to buy enough DVD's that we could send everyone around the lake one.  These will be mailed out later in the year.  Please take the time to look at them and not throw them away!  We know that some of you are not thrilled with the idea of grass growing along your shore and blocking your view, but hopefully these DVD's may help change your minds about buffer strips. Maureen also mentioned that we have Septic System ownership guides available for anyone interested. You can contact Maureen or the Dept of Development.  The board said that the septic meeting was very informative and they would like to have the speaker back at a later time.  They were upset that there were so few lake association members in attendance.  Charlene Moran sent along a newspaper article from Wadena stating how their  lake association had received grants for sewer compliance issues, and how they had implemented a program that helped improve the lake.  Board members looked at Charlene's memo.  Apparently a number of lakes with issues are moving in this direction, when voluntary methods do not work.

    5.  There was more talk of finding a LRLA member who will be interested in becoming active on a board which helps regulated how the tax innitiative money will be spent.  Chuck or J. Rau may consider this position.

Check out the Lake journal. Chuck and Jim received letters discussing the need for a representative to be on a board that would help determine how the clean water amendment's money is spent.  Think of what that could mean to Little Rock.  Is anyone interested?  If you know anyone that would be good please convince them to apply.  Talk to Annie Felix, Chuck or Jim Rau for more information.

The lake continues to be crystal clear on Nov. l8th.  Today I saw a small bit of ice forming, for those of you who think ice fishing!   Some neighbor's are heading towards Arizona or Florida.  We're going to miss you, but I envy you the nice weather. 

Happy Halloween everyone.  I was at the lake the other day and it was fabulous.  We sat out on our spare lot and once more complained that we really wish we could build a permanent home on the point.  The water was crystal clear and even my buffer zone was  in its best array of colors.  Across the horizon you could see the yellow and burnt orange oaks reflected against the lake.  Geese were swimming and occasionally a lone mallard or two made its appearance.  The eagle dipped over Neil's house and flew across the point, hoping for a fish or two.  I have a bone to pick with that guy.  He occasionally drops his prey and then the fish rot, making a lovely bath tonic for my golden retriever to roll in.  Anyway, it was one of the nicest days of the year.

    Minnesotan's need to be able to appreciate days like this and in order to do so, we need to get out and vote for the clean water amendment.  I know raising taxes right now is the last thing most people want to do, but it amounts to a really tiny amount of money and it will do a ton of good.  I watched Minnesota Bound with Ron Shara last week and he did a fabulous job explaining why we need the money for our Lakes and streams.  The DNR is the least funded organization in state government.  Education and Health take up over 70 $ of the funding, leaving slightly over l % for the DNR to spend on lakes and rivers.  Without money appropriated, they are stuck.  We have the opportunity to pass the Clean water act and in doing so we can preserve our lakes, rivers and parks for future generations.   Let's get Minnesota back to where it belongs, with clean streams and sky blue waters that we can enjoy for generations to come.

.Little Rock Lake Association had another interesting meeting today.  Everyone  at the meeting seemed so upbeat about what is happening on the lake; and we are starting to get more people who are volunteering to help.  We have 3 more members since the newspaper came out on the 5th.   That was exciting as we learned today that sometimes we need at least 50% membership to qualify for grants.  We have a long way to go, since we currently have about 87 members but  have over 350 people living on the lake.  Our new vice president once more stated that we must shoot for a minimum of 75% if we expect generous funding to help clean up our lake.    Jeff Solderholm also gave me his recipe for cooking Canada Goose. It sounds good and you can find it on the recipe page. 

    Much of the meeting was spent discussing ways to attract membership and get our percents up so that we will qualify for various help.  If you haven't joined, there are going to be some fabulous incentives coming up.  Our fiscal year runs from August to August and you do not need to be a lake shore owner to join.  We welcome any interested parties who want to help with lake cleanup.  So if you know anyone interested in lake conservation, tell them about our group and lets get more memberships!    Jeff Soderholm also mentioned that he had sold over 400 snowmobile tickets by going door to door.  Way to go, Jeff!  He said that people in Rice were very happy to support the lake and asked many questions concerning lake cleanup.  Joe Wollak stated that there had been a problem with an Insurance policy for William Walker and without the policy payment, Mr. Walker's reseach would have been postponed almost a year.  Joe and Annie Felix managed to convince Benton county to kick in the necessary amount of money So thanks Benton County.  You guys are really stepping up to the plate and this is another positive step for our lake.  We also learned that Annie will complete her water samples in October and that we should learn more about the results of the water testing by next years' picnic.  So that is right on track!  Good Job everyone!

    There was so much good discussion going on around me that I did not write down super  notes.  The lake association is even starting to get worried that we will not be able to get all the people into Rumors for meetings.  Right now, we are having meetings in the back room of Rumors unless we have too large a turnout and then we can move to Watab.  We did hear that a few people were  concerned that we are meeting in a bar.  We actually are in the meeting room behind the bar and you can enter through the back door.   We have been so grateful for all the help and support Rumors has given us over the years, that we would hate to leave....and besides we like their hamburgers!  

   There was a lot of discussion on shore restoration.  Director Grabor is going to check into the grant funding for shoreline work that must be in by Sept 26th.    Nancy Carver  mentioned that 3 of her neighbors recently have decided to let their shores go natural as part of a shoreline restoration project.  Joan has taken wonderful pictures of their shorelines and they are on the www.littlerocklake.org web site so check them out!  Great Job, Nancy's neighbors for doing what you can to make a difference! More discussion concerned a pontoon parade to visit different shorelines etc.  We also learned that the web has been updated in the last few days and that Joan has added more valuable information so follow the links.  You'll be surprised what you find there.

W e had so much to talk about that we never got around to discussion of more ways to get LRL in front of the public.  We tabled that until next month.   See you at Rumors. PJ

Dear Lake and River Friends,

 The deadline is fast approaching to apply for a grant to improve your lake or river!

Citizen-led lake and river groups have until September 26, 2008 to apply for up to $5,000 for water quality improvement projects from Minnesota Waters’ Conservation Partnership Grant program.
The 2008-09 application cycle is now OPEN. Applications must be postmarked no later than September 26, 2008. Click on the below address to Download Conservation Partnership grant criteria and application at: www.minnesotawaters.org/index.php?uberKey=300&page=3829

The Conservation Partnership grant program provides funding for innovative lake and river groups across the state carrying out

• shoreland habitat improvement and restoration projects
• lake and river inventorying and assessment projects

The grants are open to all Minnesota Waters members and affiliates. (if you’re not currently a member, sign up online at www.minnesotawaters.org, or call 800-515-5253)
Seven $5,000.00 grants will be awarded in early 2009, for project implementation during 2009.

In my section called links, I have bookmarked various lake organizations and local newsgroups, sporting groups etc.  You can easily become a member of Minnesotawaters.  It's free and they send you some good information.   

I found some interesting information on what another lake did that suffered from horrible algae blooms.  They used alum  as a temporary fix, but they also had a massive amount of money put into treating the lake by state officials. They too are earning money by having a festival to help finance lake improvement.  You can read about it in the Lake Journal.  I also am finding a ton of information on how they are trying to use algae as a bio fuel and how companies are now starting algae ponds.  We may be smelling "Green Gold, Texas Tea....Oil."

The next lake association meeting will be held at Rumors the second Week in Sept. >I believe LRLA is looking for ideas that will put Little Rock Lake out in front of the public.   If you have any great ideas, share them in the journal and show up at the  meeting in September at Rumors.  We need publicity and we will probably need to make some money. Read the article below on Carp day and Mull it over.  The September and October Meetings at Rumors will be to generate ideas on how to get Little Rock out in front of the public and the direction the Lake Association should take for next year.

November 4th we need to pass the Clean water Bill.  Now 40 % of MN waters tested are polluted and fail to meet health standards. It would cost the average MN about $5.00 a year to support this bill and it would mean millions to help clean up our lakes.

> The November LRLA meeting will be held at the Watab Twnshp Hall. on Saturday, Nov. 8th. We will be hosting a guest speaker ,Valerie Prax with the UofM Extension/Education Office. She will be conducting a seminar on the do's and dont's of managing a private septic/sewer system. She will also be offering some trouble shooting hints, as well and will have a question and answer period. Maybe she can tell us about the latest septic systems available to be used around lakes.  I know some of you are pumping almost weekly and that is unacceptable to me. Our neighbor's Bonnie and Gopher have a neat system that was approved for high water /wetland areas so this might be something you would want to question her about. I know when we tried to build on our lot we were not told about this system by Benton County or that it had been approved. This meeting is available to the public, not just LRLA members since it will affect the watershed. Also check the journal for reaction to the Nov.4th clean water bill.
>
> Saturday, November 8, 2008
> Watab Township Hall
> Time = 11:00am

It might be a good idea to write to your local editor page and ask people to vote for the clean water act on Nov. 4th.  If they do not check this area it counts as  a "No" vote. If we could get all lake associations behind this bill and get some media publicity for the bill, it would make a lot of difference to our cabin and lake values.

At the last meeting it was mentioned that we should come up with some type of an idea to get Little Rock Lake noticed.  I may have an idea that will get us noticed more than some of y ou like, but remember it is just an idea and you can come to the meeting and have a much better one. People mentioned a pontoon ride to various homes that had restoration shore line plantings.  That sounded interesting but I think it would only draw in the lake people who are not saying, "Over my dead body will I let weeds grow along my shore."   I think what Bruce wanted was a way that we can make certain Little Rock Lake stays in the public eye until after 2010 when  the study is complete and we need money to implement William Walker and the Experts, ideas. It's my philosophy if you have something negative you try to turn it into a positive.  Knowing that the odd and unusual often becomes news worthy,  I drank 4 cups of coffee, couldn't sleep and came up with another of my weird brainstorms.

How about having LRL Carp Rendevous Day! A Rendevous in the days of the trapper and traders were when people brought items to forts to trade or sell and Little Rock Lake and Watab have a history of having trading posts at one time on the lake so we would be combining history but making it unique in that it was  a fishing rendevous.   We could still offer tours of restored shoreline as part of our education goal, but we could make it fun.Many lake associations have some special type of day and we might even be able to coordinate it with Rice which would help generate business down town.  They could come up with specials to go along with the theme.

 .  Carp Day sounds Silly enough to get noticed by the media, plus we do have a number of people interested in shooting carp with bow and arrows on the lake.  Heck, we want to get rid of the carp don't we, and we could give them a funny Carp teeshirt for the biggest Carp or the ugliest carp harvested from the lake, plus have the media take their pictures.   I checked out the internet and there are a lot of angling tournaments for carp, but you need heavy duty lines etc and I am not sure how you go about it, as I have never tried to catch a carp.  We could even have a fish fry at Benton Beach and invite local Rice business people and others to provide unusual foods. (Fish tacos are great...I had them at the Little Falls Craft fair from the Fishing Museum booth)   The trick is that we need unusual menu items, not the usual boring things you can get at home or in your local restaurant because people often come just for the food.    We could probably get some unusual crafters that specialized in Out door crafts, but it would have to be juried so we didn't get a ton of plastic refrigerator magnets that were ugly.  Crafts are not selling real well right now unless they are practical.  At Little Falls they had some neat formica fish cleaning boards as well as some innovative fish hook removers that I think could sell well.  We could Sell crazy carp Tee shirts with weird sayings.  Have displays up about what we are doing to improve the lake.  Invite the DNR, Benton Soil and Water, etc to host a booth etc.  You could even have your picture taken with a giant carp and money could go to the lake association.  All we need is someone to draw a carp and paint it with a place that has a head cut out for photo ops.  I did a google search and guess what? Carp are the new game fish in England.  There are tons of carp societies starting around America.    I looked up what they called trophy carp and I think the carp boats are routinely shooting  carp out of Little Rock that would be trophy carp.  Carp are IN!..I did find other places that are having a carp day,  or carp fishing tournaments, but I don't think it matters! I think we could make money on Carp  Rendvous Day, plus get some media coverage and have a chance to put up materials about what we are doing to help improve the lake.  We might even get some local musicians to entertain for free just to help our cause.  It would be a ton of work though and we'd have to have people really involved to make it work.  Maybe not this year, but once the study is done and we need money to implement lake clean up, we may have to come up with something unique, so keep your thinking caps on this winter!  It would be a great time for those of you who are craft minded to come up with some ideas based around a lake theme that we could sell.   I found a lot of neat fishing patterns for up north items.  I don't know how hard it is to run a fishing tournament.  It may be really a logistical nightmare, so we would have to have a lake resident that was familiar with tournaments to head this up.  We'd need someone to head up the craft end of it as well as the food end and someone to manage the media and collect all the money we would make.  We'd need the communication group to send out email to crafters getting them involved, plus we would need someone to coordinate the whole thing.   I don't know how much we could charge to have a booth or if we could get Benton beach to allow us to use the beach, but it would get Little Rock noticed.  I don't think we can be "highbrow" while having a carp fest, but we can have good quality fun items.  I researched carp fishing a bit and found they sell special bait for carp, etc.  We could sell prepackaged carp bait.  It would be great to get rid of some of our carp in the lake and at the same time, get some free publicity for the lake and get people to understand what Little Rock is dealing with.  Maybe we could get the sportsman group involved....or get some ideas from them.   Fall is a great time for crafts and it is one time our lake really looks pretty.  I will go to the Little Falls Art Festival and check out some of the crafters and get cards from all of them that i think have unique products.  I think it would be neat to have a fish rendezvous  that appealed to men as well as women. Maybe we could even have some vendors showing docks, pontoon trailers etc.  We have so many boating places in the area and we could even invite companies like Solarbee that produce products to clean up algae.  We could probably get some groups to come in that would appeal to the Up North cabin crowd....such as taxidermists who would display items, boat and dock sales, etc and we could charge them a small amount for using space.  I also checked out all the odd foods at the State fair that were selling well.  If we had it in the fall, (not opening hunting) we could have Caramel apple a la mode in a cup, cream puffs or popovers, unusual fruit pizza etc,  wild rice brots,  venison nachos, or even baked fish and veggies in tin foil, or fish tacos. We could give them all Little rock lake names or up north sounding names... Remember how wild people get about going to a fish boil in Door county.  I suppose we could even have something like that if we could get someone at the Old Creamery or another restaurant to make it. ( Not made with carp!)  This idea was just my sleep deprived mind going l00 miles an hour again, by tomorrow I will have forgotten this...so I just had to write it down.  You can comment on my carp idea in the forum or on the journal.  Just hit comments.  You can also add more ideas in other places.   If you don't like the concept of Carp Day maybe we could invite the U of M to come to Little Rock and look into harvesting algae for bio fuel.  That's one of the new scientific areas being explored by the U of M.    I suppose we could have an Earth Friendly Educational day where we displayed Green products to help  clean up the lake, but I still like the Rondevous ideas

The August 9th meeting of LRLA was at Watab.  New officers were elected and a discussion was made of where the Lake should be going in the next season.  See the journal.

Annie Felix is having a meeting at 7:00 at the Sauk Rapid's Middle School for anyone interested in learning more about what is going on with the TMDL project and Little Rock Lake.  It should be a good one!  We also received another positive editorial in the St. Cloud paper this past Sunday ( July, 27th...you can read and make comments at sctimes.com  The Editor commented on how Benton County, the state and the LRLA were all proactive in doing their best to improve the lake.  It looks like Little Rock Lake may turn out to be the poster child for lake improvement.  Let's keep this issue in front of the media by writing or calling local papers.  I'll try to go to the meeting and add information in the Lake Journal. A number of you have also added comments showing your frustration with the algae situation on the lake.  I know I just recently voiced my frustration in the Journal and some of you have added comments.  Maybe there will be a time at Annie's meeting where we can ask whether or not we can treat the lake with copper sulfate or a similar substance.  I was at the lake on the 24th and the blue green gunk was alive and well giving off it pungent  limburger cheese odor.    It was miserable enough that we just went home.  I guess I really believe we need some action Now.  I am happy they are doing the TMDL study, but with l,475 lakes on the MN impaired list, the DNR  must have a pretty good idea about what is wrong and they could apply their general knowledge to a solution.  I hope they are not going to study all l,475 lakes before they come up with an idea.  It starts to sound to me like they are buying time, rather than attempting to do something.  Sorry for the negativity.  I said I was going to try to be positive in this site...but the algae fumes went to my head and I still have the migraine they gave me. pj