Little Rock Lake Blog!

Little Rock Lake 

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Little Rock Lake Association, P.O. Box 326, Rice, MN 56367

Fall 2008 edition www.littlerocklake.org or www.freewebs.com/littlerocklakeblog

Meetings are held at Rumors on the 2^nd Saturday of the Month.

September and October Meetings at Rumors

President, Bruce Christofferson is looking for public input to determine the direction that the Little Rock Lake Association should take in the following year. We may even consider a fishing Rendevous, or other ideas. The more members we have and the more positive news we generate, the more likely we will be to get funding that we need. Your ideas are valuable;share them.The Lake association will be looking for member input concerning  the role that we should be taking to get Little Rock Lake out in front of the public in a positive way .  With funding so tentative and depending a lot on  "the squeeky wheel getting the oil," we don't want Minnesota to forget about us. Meetings will be held at Rumors at 11:00.  The Lake association needs your ideas ,as well as help implementing them.

November 4^th, Clean Water Bill

Minnesota voters will vote for a constitutional amendment called the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. If passed this bill would have a major effect on cleaning up MN waters and hopefully making our lake property more valuable. This referendum,  could generate 300-400 million annually to help our lakes.

TMDL Study

The Federal Clean Water Act of 1972, gave states authority to protect water quality. The TMDL(Total Maximum Daily Load) is a detailed assessment that determines how much pollutant is present, the source, and what reductions will be needed.. Annie Felix, Benton County Soil & Water and Maggie Leach, MPCA, presented the TMDL study to the public at the Sauk Rapids Middle School on June 29th. The good news is that LRL is at the head of the TMDL Studies, and that we are “on the fast track”. This happened because of our severe problem in 2007 and because members called Public Officials, MPCA, the DNR and Media. As a result, Benton County has hired William Walker, who wrote the original clean water models for the Army Core of Engineers, to study, test results and make recommendations. Other officials have also been hired to collect and interpret data. Scheduled date of completion for the TMDL study is May of 2010. You can learn more about this study by checking out the web and following links.

LRLA Meetings

MN Shoreline Steward, Darrin Halverson, complemented our excellent web site, www. littlerocklake.org stating, “it is one of the most complete and informative sites” that he has seen. Thanks go to Joan Spiczka our web master. On July 9^th discussions were held concerning a temporary fix for algae problems and lake quality. Marilyn Corcoran reported doing research and contacting state officials about algae. There was discussion of chemical control, copper sulfate, Solarbees, as well as enzymatic treatment and netting carp. In most cases, the cost was prohibitive and results were poor. Air quality monitors were discussed and the consensus was that if we have a problem we need to contact the DNR and MPCA. It was suggested that Anne Felix might look into ordinances to protect the lake. We need to be proactive for the lake to receive positive attention. Mention was made that we can take small steps now by leaving grass buffer strips , upgrading septics, not fertilizing, collecting rain water, etc. The picnic was discussed and we learned that Walmart will match the $722.00 we earned at the silent auction. We had about ll5 people attend. Special thanks to Phyllis and Judy for soliciting door prizes/auction items and to those who donated or worked to make it a fun day. Highlights of August 9^th were renewed discussion of the TMDL study and the stakeholder presentation in Sauk Rapids as well as the Newsletter. The board has approved sending this Newsletter to all LRL property owners. We have obtained a Non-Profit Bulk Mailing Permit to help reduce the costs. Jeff Soderholm stated he will sell Snow Baron raffle tickets. We keep 85% of the profit. Also mentioned were special thanks to Joe Wollak for his help with funding issues and Annie Felix for her dedication to the lake. Marilyn Corcoran explained the Clean water bill. Elections were held. Jim Rau replaced VP Chuck Wilson. Maureen Graber replaced Cliff Weitgenant as director. Judy Christofferson and Phylis Post retained their positions on the board. We now have 89 members of LRLA. We need to remind everyone that membership equates to power when it comes to getting things done on the lake. A big “Thank You” goes out to former board members for their hard work over the years as well as to new members who volunteered to serve.

September l3th Is Watab Fall Clean Up Day

This cleanup is for citizens of Watab and Langola townships. You can bring in tires,limit of 4, scrap iron, demolition waste and appliances(1 free and each additional is $15) Where: Rockwood Estates in Rice, 11000Hwy10 NW Time: 8:00 am.-2:00 pm

November 8^th LRLA Meeting at Watab Town Hall-11AM

Guest speaker,Valerie Prax, U of M Extension, will address managing and maintaining private septic systems. Questions will be answered and trouble shooting hints given. Some of you might be able to find a better septic system for the lake so you do not have to pump all the time. The public is invited.

Did You Know:

40% of the lakes and rivers in Minnesota tested are so polluted that they fail to meet basic health standards. That the MPCA can not do an investigation of a feedlot or other potential source of pollution unless a complaint is formally filed. Members are encouraged to write to the MN commissioner of the MPCA and ask him to change this policy in areas where watersheds are causing major pollution to area lakes. Minnesota's 2008 TMDL list contains 1,475 impairments on 336 rivers and 510 lakes and it's growing. Minnesota’s 2006 list contained 2,250 impairments on 284 rivers and 1,013 lakes. The main reason for the decrease in total numbers in 2008 is that they ignored the mercury problem in lakes that was included in 2006, otherwise the impaired lake list would be much larger

Members Encouraged to Develop Buffer Zones

Our newest board member, Maureen Graber encouraged us all at the August 9^th LRLA meeting to develop buffer zones along our lake shore property. Craig Gondek presented material on a new garden that Watab has recently put in showing native shoreline grasses. Lake shore restoration project tours were discussed as a way to get positive media coverage of Little Rock Lake.

Membership Dues Form

Little Rock Dues Membership--$25--Payable to LRLA, P.O. Box 326, Rice MN 56367

Name(s)_________________________________________________________________________________________

Cabin Address____________________________________________________________________________________

Preferred Mailing address___________________________________________________________________________

Phone number _____________________________Email_______________________________________________ I want to be included in the LRL A directory Yes______No____

Little Rock News

lst Editon June 2008--next one comes out in the fall

Little Rock Lake Association, P.O. Box 326. Rice MN 56367

Meetings held at 11A.M, on the 2nd Saturday of the Month at Rumors

Check out www.littlerocklake.org and www.freewebs.com/littlerocklakeblog

June 28^th Picnic

LRLA will have its Annual pot luck Picnic and Silent Auction at Rumors on June 28th, 2008. If you have not paid your annual $25.00 dues, you can pay it at the picnic or send a check to LRLA. Lake residents are encouraged to join LRLA since membership numbers equates to power when it comes to grants. We need all the help we can get.  We currently have 75 members. You can also joint the lake association if you live close to the lake but are not on it.

Election of Officers.2008

LRLA will be holding an election for officers August 9th.  They will be filling the Vice President position, the secretary position and 3 members at large.   If you are interested in holding a position  contact the LRLA between June 14th when the  election will be held and the 9th. This meeting will be at Watab township hall which is off highway 10 near Seekers.  Postcards sent will update meeting time. Coffee and cookies will be served. Watab has a new test garden plot showing local restoration plants.

Pontoon Parade, 2008

LRL pontoonists will meet for the traditional pontoon parade starting from the bridge,  at l:00 on July 4th. If you have questions contact John Baune or Terry Higgens.

        Highlights of the May Meeting:

 In the last meeting Jeff Soderholm stated,"that the DNR would not spray for curly weed or algae this year." ( see the latest updates on the web page).  Also mentioned at the meeting was septic system updates, fund raisers, educational issues for members, water testing, TMDL study updates, development of a newspaper and better communications with members, the littlerocklake.org web, finances, and methods of increasing membership in the LRLA. Chuck Rau stated, "Everyone on the lake needs to rally around Annie Felix and the Soil and Water Conservation project."

                                                    New Added Highlights of the June Meeting :

More discussion of the picnic and TMDL project.  Concerns brought in by citizens about blue green algae and possible short term solutions to the problem. Discussion of elections and having a post card sent out to members telling them of the Watab meeting on August 9th as well as the TMDL project stakeholders meeting hosted by Annie Felix.

                                                  Annie Felix, Maggie Lynch and the TMDL Projects

Benton Soil and water will be hosting a TMDL stakeholder's meeting in late July.  You can go to their website and ask to be on their mailing list. Please attend if possible so that you know what is happening on the lake.  Well qualified experts have been hired and the project completion date is May of 2010.

                             Clean Water Bill coming out in November:  Help support it!

Quarterly Newsletter

LRLA members listened when you spoke of a desire for better communications. The Web page, the blog and the current newsletter are the results. Currently the plan is to have a quarterly newspaper mailed to LRLA members. We are in the process of getting mailing addresses for members who do not have mailboxes on the lake. If you know of any LRLA member who is not receiving a newsletter, please contact a member of the LRLA so that we can put your name on our mailing list. We will also look into emailing the newsletter, because it would save money for the association,  but we would need your email address. You can include this needed information with your dues payment.

Little Rock Dues Membership—Payable to LRLA, P.O.Box 326, Rice MN 56367

Enclosed is my membership fee of $25.00 which is the yearly dues. Website is www.littlerocklake.org

Name(s)__________________________ ____________________________

Cabin Address_____________________ _____________________________ Mailing Address___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

City_______________State____________Zip_________Phone #__________________________________________________________________________

Email Address:______________________if you want email updates from LRLA

___Yes, Please publish my information in the LRLA Directory.