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This spring, Chisago County officially became a member of Adopt-a-Drain, with a goal of engaging local residents to help prevent water pollution. Storm drains help to protect neighborhoods against flooding, but they also flow to our local streams and lakes, carrying debris and pollutants off the streets and into our water. You can make a difference by volunteering just 15-minutes, twice a month, to keep your nearest storm drain clear of litter, leaves, grass clippings and dirt. Go to Adopt-a-Drain.org and use the map to find your neighborhood storm drains - then click and sign-up to adopt. If you don't see your drain on the map, you can also add a new drain by address. Spend a few minutes each month picking up the garbage and debris near your drain and then go online to report your work so that we can measure our collective impact. And there's a bonus: you get to name your drain! This is a wonderful volunteer opportunity for families! Sign up at https://mn.adopt-a-drain.org/

We are looking for new volunteers to partner with CLA and participate in the Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates- Lake Steward Program for 2022. We need a set of 2 volunteers for each lake (one pair for South and one pair for North). Highlights about the program: Free webinar training New and improved phone application for on site survey Easy, fun work at your own pace Meet your lakeshore neighbors Work directly with our CLA team If you are interested, please contact us and let us know which lake you would like to volunteer for! For more information about the Lake Steward Program, see our original article: https://www.centerlakes.org/post/be-a-lake-steward

Chisago County is hiring seasonal Watercraft Inspectors. Watercraft Inspectors work at public water accesses providing education to boaters on aquatic invasive species. You do not need to be an expert in aquatic invasive species. Chisago County provides all the training you would need. Inspectors work a minimum of 20 up to 40 hours per week. The pay range for Inspectors is $15.00 to $17.50 per hour. If you like working outdoors, please apply at https://www.chisagocountymn.gov/316/Job-Opportunities For more information, please contact Susanna at 651-213-8380 or Susanna.Wilson@chisagocountymn.gov

Center Lakes Association wants to encourage everyone in the Chisago Lakes watershed to join Lawns to Legumes to help preserve the natural beauty of our area! If you believe you are eligible for this program and want to schedule a site visit to apply for funding, contact Jacquelynn Kelzenberg Chisago SWCD Conservation Technician 651-674-2333 jacquelynn.kelzenberg@mn.nacdnet.net

Jeff Forester and the Minnesota DNR have shared the results of the survey done earlier this year. See a summary from Jeff and the full results in the PDF below. Key Findings: 74% of respondents reported current problems with aquatic plants on Minnesota Lakes. 77% of those lakes report they are organizing to combat the problems within their lake communities. While 80+% of lake associations feel that the city, county or state should be responsible for maintaining a healthy plant community in Minnesota lakes, almost 90% report that homeowners and lake associations have had to be responsible for it. Only 31% of respondents feel the DNR is proactively working to solve nuisance plant issues. While 92% have sought to gain permits for their own treatments, less than 15% of the total feel the DNR has organized itself efficiently to address their concerns. MLR's mission is to protect Minnesota's lake and river heritage for current and future generations. It is clear from this survey that one of the key tasks is to build more transparent, functional, efficient and productive civic partnerships between the MN DNR and lake associations. Some progress has already been made. Last session MLR successfully lobbied to increase the MN DNR's Invasive Aquatic Plant Management Grants for lake associations to $850,000, and then worked with the MN DNR to create different levels and requirements within that grant. We are lobbing for an increase in the grant funding for this important work. But in addition, MLR will continue to work to build productive civic partnerships between MLR and DNR leadership and regional DNR and lake associations. Civic Standards will guide MLR efforts: All those impacted by a problem help define the problem. All stakeholders are accountable for contributing resources (leadership/time, knowledge, constituencies & dollars) to solve the problem. All stakeholders are engaged in decision-making and policy-making that contributes to the common good. This will be an ongoing process and will be a focus of MLR's efforts into the future. Thank you for all you do for our lakes and please stay in touch. Jeff Forester jeff@mnlakesandrivers.org View the full survey results

At Center Lakes Association we are proud to announce a new program to support members interested in learning how to protect South and North Center Lakes. The University of Minnesota has a course to learn how to detect aquatic invasive species (AIS). This course consists of two portions: an online course and a workshop. The self-paced online course takes approximately 8 hours to complete, followed by one in-person workshop or two virtual workshops. The online course will open on Monday, April 1st, 2022. There are workshops in person and virtual this spring: New Brighton - April 29th; 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Alexandria - May 13th; 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Virtual Workshop 1: Tuesday, May 24th and Wednesday, May 25th; 1 - 4 p.m. Virtual Workshop 2: Wednesday, May 25th and Thursday, May 26th; 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. CLA will reimburse course costs for 2 association members after completing the course. ***1 spot is still available (3/19/22)*** If you are interested in taking the course and would like to be a part of the reimbursement program please email us at info@centerlakes.org before registering and paying with the UofM.

Jeff Forester and the Minnesota DNR have reached out to CLA, seeking input from our members. We ask that you take a moment to read their request and provide feedback to help protect our beautiful lakes: Over the last decade there has been a well documented increase in use of Minnesota's natural resources by Minnesotans. The last two years we saw an estimated 30% increase in the number of boaters out on the lakes and this was mirrored in State Park attendance, county parks and even the Boundary Waters Wilderness. Minnesotans are loving their beautiful outdoors and that is a very good thing. Not only are more people getting outdoors to recreate, but the activities they pursue are broader and more diverse with burgeoning interest in bird watching, mushroom picking, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, hiking and other activities. This increase in users of our natural areas has come even as the numbers of hunters and anglers decrease. Traditionally, much of the MN DNR budget for wildlife, fish stocking, and habitat projects has come from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. The decrease in these activities, combined with increased costs due to a host of factors, has put into question the DNR's ability to do its work into the future. MN DNR is seeking public input on future funding structures for the agency. As a key stakeholder they need to hear from you. Click the image to the left to weigh in and receive future updates on this discussion. In every institution, budget drives focus. Already our lakes are underfunded. Every lake shore owner has gotten appeals for philanthropic giving to support Aquatic Invasive Species programs, fish stocking, water quality projects and the like. A study by Concordia College, Moorhead found that Lake Associations already contribute over $6.25 million in charitable giving to support our lakes. As DNR budgets fall due to a decline in fishing license sales, more burden will fall on local revenue sources. The MN DNR needs to hear from citizens as to what the future of the agency will be, how to fund their efforts on our behalf. This discussion will be ongoing and your engagement at this point will make a difference in finding a fair and productive outcome. Use the button above to sign up for updates and see the discussion that is occurring. There is a space for you to ask a question or offer an opinion. MLR will be participating in this ongoing discussion. We expect this will be central to the 2022 DNR Roundtable and to listening sessions across the state. So make your voice heard now. As things progress we will make sure to keep you informed. Stay warm everyone - and you lucky snowbirds, stay cool, Jeff Forester MN Lakes and Rivers Advocates https://mnlakesandrivers.org/

Lake Management Inc. came out to North and South Center Lakes to treat phragmites on our lakes. This interactive map shows the areas they treated this fall ***Each point is a close approximation of the treated area ***Clicking on the icon in the top left will let you toggle on the treated areas that were covered in 2020 vs. 2021 for comparison

The latest edition of The Scuttlebutt from the Center Lakes Association is now available! Check it out HERE

Chisago County and the Wild Rivers Conservancy invite you to participate in Starry Trek, a statewide intensive search for the invasive starry stonewort in lakes and rivers in Chisago County. The event is on Saturday, August 21 from 9:00 – 1:00 p.m. (The County and Wild Rivers Conservancy are hosting one of the training sites around the state. The statewide event is coordinated by the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center.) At Starry Trek, you will receive training on how to look for and identify starry stonewort. Then you will be sent out to area lakes and rivers to search for the invasive species. After the search, volunteers will meet back at the park to report findings over snacks and refreshments! No experience or equipment is necessary to participate in Starry Trek. Expert training on monitoring protocols and starry stonewort identification will also be provided on-site. The event is free, but registration is requested. Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. To register for Starry Trek, and for more information, please visit: www.StarryTrek.org/. For more information about the event, please contact Katie at the Wild Rivers Conservancy at 715-483-3300. *Starry stonewort is an invasive algae first found in Lake Koronis in 2015 and has since spread to over 14 lakes in Minnesota. Early detection of this species is critical for control. For more information about starry stonewort, please visit https://www.maisrc.umn.edu/about-starrystonewort. We hope you can take part in the event! *words by our own Susanna Wilson Witkowski | Water Resource Manager

There have been reports this summer of an aquatic invasive species (AIS) called purple loosestrife on both North and South Center Lakes. It is important that this invasive species is removed early before it spreads! Identifying purple loosestrife Purple loosestrife grows to an average of 5 feet. The perennial herb blossoms between July and August. It produces purple flowers, thus the name purple loosestrife. The flowers are held by spiky sepals found at the tip of the branches, which contain some spikes. The leaves are arranged in a whorled or opposite pattern and they are smooth. They are rounded or heart-shaped. The leaves are around 2-3 inches long. Removing purple loosestrife The MN DNR has 3 recommended ways of removing these invasive plants: 1) Digging, Hand-pulling and Cutting In areas where there are few plants and easy access, manually removing the plants in recommended. Purple loosestrife can be cut or pulled without a permit in Minnesota. It is important to dispose of the plants away from the water. Allow the plants to dry out, then burn if possible. Pulling purple loosestrife by hand is easiest when plants are young (up to two years) or in sand. Older plants have larger roots that can be eased out with a garden fork. Remove as much of the root system as possible, because broken roots may sprout new plants. Removing flowering spikes will prevent this year's seeds from producing more plants in future years-remember each mature plant can produce over 2 million seeds per year. Also, remove last year's dry seed heads, as they may still contain seeds. Finally, cut the stems at the ground to inhibit growth. Proper disposal of plant material is important. Put all plant pieces in plastic bags (vegetation rots quickly in plastic) and take the bags to a sanitary landfill site. Be sure the landfill site doesn't require bags to be broken open for composting. Composting is not advised, as purple loosestrife seeds may not be destroyed and the thick, woody stem and roots take a long time to decompose. If facilities exist in your area, incineration is an effective way to dispose of plant material. 2) Chemical Control Herbicide can be used to spot treat small infestations of purple loosestrife. A DNR permit is required to spray purple loosestrife in public waters and protected wetlands in Minnesota. However, there is no fee for this permit. Details on controlling purple loosestrife with herbicides. 3) Biological control Leaf-eating beetles Galerucella spp. are available for control of purple loosestrife. They can be used on a variety of site types and on small sites with as few as 20 plants. Contact the DNR at 500 Lafayette Road, Box 25, St. Paul, MN 55155 for information on how to obtain beetles by field collecting or rearing your own with a beetle rearing kit. Details on biological control of purple loosestrife. References Invasive Garden Minnesota DNR article on purple loosestrife