IMPORTANT NEWS from Otter Tail County Coalition of Lake Associations

Darren Newville, District Manager of the East Otter Tail Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD)will be the Featured Speaker at the OTC COLA Annual Meeting. The event will be held August 17, 2023 at the Ottertail Community Center, 93 Lake Avenue S, Ottertail, MN 56571. The meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. All Otter Tail County lake property owners are encouraged to attend.

Darren will be providing an update on the work of the SWCDs in Otter Tail County and the progress on the Watershed Planning efforts. He will also provide an update on the Otter Tail River dam modification projects that are being completed this summer with funding from the DNR and the USF&WS.

John Kruse, OTC COLA Administrative Assistant

With summer in Lakes Country comes a variety of community events that celebrate our towns and communities. One of those events is the EOT Breakfast on the Farm. The local agriculture community and a host of volunteers are all geared up for this year’s EOT Breakfast on the Farm event. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, August 5th, on the Ed and Alisyn Keil Farm located north of Perham at 44703 490^th St, Perham (follow the signs).

The Featured Speaker at the July OTC COLA Lake Property Owner meeting was Jeff Vansteenburg, OTC COLA Environmental Director. Jeff's talk outlined COLA's water monitoring program that has been running for over 25 years. The data captured has been used to provide 10-year trend analysis reports. Trend analysis shows if lake health is improving, declining or maintaining. Pollution sources can be identified. Data can help determine how projects can improve lake water quality.

Jeff Vansteenburg OTC COLA Environmental Director

Remaining 2023 sample drop-off dates are:

August 21

September 18

218-864-5318

The Transport Water for Water Quality Sampling Permit is required to collect and transport surface water for water quality sampling in Minnesota. If you want to transport water for any other purpose, you may need to apply for an Infested Waters Permit.

Jeff Vansteenburg, OTC COLA Environmental Director

641-420-0928

OTC COLA hosted a booth at the East Ottertail County Fair in Perham MN, July 20-23, 2023. Information on the Otter Tail County Coalition of Lake Associations, water quality analysis reports, aquatic invasive species prevention and lake association creation and lake organization administration was offered to the fair attendees. Operating the booth were COLA Directors Scott Gaudette, David Helgerson and President Sylvia Soeth.

John Kruse, OTC COLA Administrative Assistant

Invasive Phragmites (Phragmites australis subsp. australis) is an aggressive, non-native wetland grass that can harm wildlife, recreation, and ecological functioning. While it has taken over vast acreages in other states, the scale of invasion in Minnesota still offers hope for effective management. We have a window of opportunity to reduce invasive Phragmites’ impacts to Minnesota’s lakeshores, wetlands, riparian areas, and other habitats.

We are excited to share our 2022 Annual Report with you! The Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC) spent the year translating research learned in the field and the lab to better inform decisions made in aquatic invasive species management.

Starry Trek volunteers have been responsible for the discovery of 4 previously unknown populations of starry stonewort, 1 new zebra mussel population, 2 newly reported Eurasian watermilfoil infestations, the discovery of Corbicula fluminea in an Sherburne County lake, and much more. 

Speeding is a dangerous and aggressive behavior that accounts for more than one-quarter of all traffic-related fatalities nationally. In 2020 alone, there were 11,258 people killed in speeding-related traffic crashes. This loss of life represented a dramatic increase (17%) in speeding-related crash fatalities from 2019-2020, with another projected 5% increase from 2020 to 2021. Otter Tail County Safe Communities Coalition is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to remind drivers to stop speeding and to help put an end to this risky driving behavior. NHTSA and OTC Safe Communities Coalition will host the speeding campaign Speeding Catches Up With You from July 1-31, 2023.

AIS * Water Quality * Administration * Regulation

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Roger Neitzke ∙ Ronald Christensen ∙ Scott Gaudette ∙ Sylvia Soeth

Bass Lake Underwood Association ∙ Berger Lake Association ∙ Big McDonald LID ∙ Boedigheimer Lake Association ∙ Clitherall Lake Association ∙ Dead Lake Association ∙ Devils Lake Association ∙ Eagle Lake Lakeshore Association ∙ East Battle Lake WS Association ∙ Elbow Lake Association ∙ Franklin Lake Association ∙ Hoffman Lake Association ∙ Jewett Lake Association ∙ Lake Lida Property Owners Association ∙ Lake Lizzie Lakeshore Association ∙ Lake Seven Association ∙ Lake Six Association ∙ Leaf Lakes Association ∙ Little McDonald Kerbs and Paul Lakes LID ∙ Long Lake at Vergas Association ∙ Loon Lake Association ∙ Marion Lake Association ∙ McDonald Lake Improvement Association ∙ North Long Lake Association ∙ North Turtle Lake Association ∙ Otter Tail Lakes Property Owners Association ∙ Pebble Lake Lakeshore Association ∙ Pelican Lake Property Owners Association ∙ Pickerel Lake Improvement Association ∙ Pine Lakes LID ∙ Prairie Lake Lakeshore Association ∙ Round Lake 56-214 ∙ Rush Lake Association ∙ Silent Lakes Association ∙ Silver Lake Property Owners Association ∙ South Turtle Lake Improvement District ∙ Spitzer Lake Property Owners Association ∙ Stalker Lake Association ∙ Star Lake Property Owners Association ∙ Stuart Lake Association ∙ Swan Lake Association ∙ Sybil Lake Association ∙ Tamarac Lake Association ∙ Ten Mile Preservation Association ∙ Trowbridge-Leek Lake Association ∙ Wall Lake Association ∙ West Battle Lake Association ∙ West McDonald Lake Association ∙ Wymer Lake Association

John Kruse, OTC COLA Administrative Assistant