Friday, December 18, 2015

"Hot Topic" Around Long Lake

At the Long Lake Ladies Christmas Dinner Party on December 8th, 2015, at Blueberry Pines one of the frequent topics of conversation was "When will the lake freeze over this year?".  We have the historical ice information link below to help you make an informed guesstimate.  See the wonderful pictures of the fun evening compliments of CC White too.

During the winter of 2011-2012 the ducks, geese, and swans were able to keep the waters open in the deep part of our lake until January 14th.  That is the latest that we have had "Ice In" since John & Bella Sanders began tracking it in 1987.  The Long Lake Area Association is a thankful beneficiary of their ice-in/ice-out data.

We strive to keep that data updated now with the help of many Long Lake friends around the lake.  http://www.longlakeliving.org/p/ice-in-ice-out-data.html

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Gift of a Clean Lake for our Kids, Grandkids & Great-grandkids!


"What a great gift – a clean lake for our kids, grandkids and even great-grandkids!"
- by  Arthur Howe

Many of you have already given to the Foundation Fund Drive this year, but here’s an opportunity for members of your extended family to also help with a gift.  If your relatives exchange Christmas gifts among themselves, what about having people request that their gift be a check to the Foundation?  What could be better than a gift to keep the lake clean for our youngsters?

For the Christmas gift, request the donor mail a check to:

LLAA Foundation, 
PO Box 808, 
Park Rapids, MN 56470

Include in the check memo: “(Your Family name), Xmas Gifts”

All of “(Your Family), Xmas Gifts” will be combined, based on the check memo notations.
The total of “(Your Family) Xmas Gifts” will be recognized on the Foundation website:
http://llaafoundation.blogspot.com/2011/11/purpose-long-lake-area-association.html
Each contributor will receive a receipt for their tax deductible gift.

Your gifts will primarily go to pay for watercraft inspections, education, and a quick response contingency fund.  As of October 31, 2015, $20,735 had been received this year.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

The History Page has Just Added 4 New Memories of Long Lake

The History page (tab above) has links to stories, documents, and other items from Long Lake Association Members. (short cut to history page)
The most recent entries will be at the top of the list under the title "History: Story Links". 


Each story is shared on our history page with hopes of inspiring others to share their stories of Long Lake - whether your family came in the 1920s or just last year.  We all have a unique story as to how, why, and when we came to this lake.

Holiday time is a perfect time to talk with your grandparents, parents, etc.  Listen to their stories.  For those of you who are comfortable with technology, try the app from Story Corps.  This group is collection personal stories from all over the nation for storage in the Smithsonian.  Record your conversations for them, but make a copy for us.  Email the audio file or written story to longlakeliving@gmail.com.  We would love to have old pictures too.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

LLAA (Autumn 2015) Newsletter

On September 15, 2015, a specimen of a young eagle that had died was delivered to the Park Rapids DNR Wildlife Office.  It had been found electrocuted near a Long Lake power pole and had a Cisco in its talons.  [Perhaps it hadn’t listened to its parents when told to choose a tall pine tree for a dinner table?]  Read our Fall 2015 Newsletter to learn about an intriguing "likely scenario" and why this picture is a "wake-up call" to help the Cisco.  [Click on the photo for a closer look.]

Also in the newsletter:
  • LLAA Foundation Update
  • Watercraft Inspection/Education Recap for Summer 2015
  • Cinder Block Hosting for Early Detection Sampling for AIS
  • Upcoming Events for Long Lake
  • Wildlife here at Long Lake
  • Neighborhood Get-togethers
  • and MORE!
You can find a list of links to Long Lake Area Association's Board Meeting Minutes and Newsletters posted on our Board Communications page.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Remembering Bella Sanders

Isabella "Bella" Frazier Sanders, 85, of Park Rapids. MN passed away on Thursday, October 1, 2015 at Heritage Living Center in Park Rapids, Minnesota.

Bella and her husband, John, spent many summers on Long Lake and in 1987 they moved permanently to their lake home.  Eventually Bella moved into Park Rapids to live, but she continued to support the Long Lake Area Association in many ways including joining the ladies for the monthly lunch gatherings.

Our historical Long Lake "Ice In/Ice Out" data was provided by Bella and John Sanders.  Bella also provided historical pictures and an original abstract from the early Sanders cabin on Pine Haven Beach for display at our LLAA Annual Meeting History Area and at the Hubbard Sleigh Festival History Area. When she sold her Long Lake home, she presented it to the current owners.  She also contributed to the History information for Long Lake Area Association and encouraged all of us to do the same.

Bella will be missed by the association but her "stories" will live on.  The history page will be posting some of the documents and her stories later this month.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Thanks to Long Lake Families

Thanks go to the 82 Long Lake families who donated close to $14,000 to the Friends of the Headwaters (FOH) and their legal representatives at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) last winter, to reroute the proposed Sandpiper oil pipeline and protect our waters.

On September 14th, the MN Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the MCEA/FOH contention that the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) requires that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) be completed for the Sandpiper pipeline before a final decision is made by the MN Public Utilities Commission to grant or deny a Certificate of Need.
http://www.minnpost.com/earth-journal/2015/09/why-sandpiper-pipeline-went-aground-appeals-court

In the meantime, Enbridge has filed for a Certificate of Need for a second, larger pipeline, called Line 3 Replacement, to carry Canadian tar sands oil alongside the proposed Sandpiper route.  The EIS has not been done for this pipeline either.  This process is just at the "Comment" stage which ends Sept 30th.  The last LLAA eblast described additional potential topics for comment and how to comment.
http://www.longlakeliving.org/2015/09/recent-oil-spill-topic-for-your-comments.html

On September 17th  the MN Environmental Quality Board (EQB) approved the 2015 Water Policy Report called "Beyond the Status Quo" which proposes solutions to Minnesota's pressing water challenges.   Read, reflect, and acthttps://www.eqb.state.mn.us/beyond-status-quo-2015-eqb-water-policy-report

Also consider that the Minnesota EQB may be best positioned to lead the EIS process above and submit your comments to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission about Line 3. The Comment Period for Line 3 Replacement ends Wed 9/30.  See page 3 in the following link for instructions to submit electronically or by U.S. Postal Service: http://www.friendsoftheheadwaters.org/uploads/3/4/4/2/3442631/initial_line3_meeting_notice_aug_19.pdf

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Do You Know these Facts about Long Lake?

These facts are based on 2013 Hubbard County GIS data.
  • Long Lake has 500 unique lake shore parcel owners.
  • There are 622 parcels on this 1926.07 acre lake.
  • Long Lake is the most valuable lake in the county based on the county assessor data from 2013.
  • The Taxable Market Value (TMV) for water related properties in Hubbard Township is about $166 million and Hubbard is the 4th most valuable township in Hubbard County.
  • The agricultural lands are part of the other 30% of the TMV in Hubbard Township.
  • There are 136 residential parcels (full homestead) and 364 non-homestead or “seasonal” residents.
  • There are 5 resorts and 1 campground plus 2 public accesses with parking.
✔️The MPCA 1989 Ground Water Contamination Susceptibility Map depicts this area with the highest susceptibility to groundwater contamination.

Photo by L.L.K.Johnson
 This is what we are working to protect.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Recent Oil Spill a Topic for Your Comments

BREAKING NEWS:  August 28th.  Nexen has been ordered to shut down 95 oil pipelines in Alberta after oil leaked for two weeks undetected in July.  The one-year-old double-walled pipe was supposed to be “fail-safe.”


Read more at: 

Before September 30th, please write your comment to reroute the proposed 36” diameter tar sands pipeline (“line 3 replacement”) planned to run close to Long Lake.  See page 3 in the following link for instructions to submit electronically or by U.S. Postal Service:

Clearly nobody was doing a daily inspection of  the Alberta pipeline.  Request in your comment that daily aerial and satellite surveillance be mandated, as offered by Tata Consultancy Services:

This post from Arthur Howe's September email to LLAA members.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

A Visitor Shares Pictures from Long Lake

Gary Stoltz took wonderful pictures of eagles and loons during his visit with relatives on Long Lake a few weeks ago and has shared them with us.

This is the link to the photos (that are in the in the slideshow seen here) for those whose devices do not support flash:  Long Lake Photos - Gary Stolz

Friday, August 21, 2015

DNR Will Host Two Public Meetings on August 25, 2015

At our LLAA Annual Meeting, we said we would let you know as soon as we learned about the meeting plans:

The MN DNR is hosting two public meetings regarding the Straight River Groundwater Management Area Plan on Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at the Park Rapids Area High School Auditorium, 401 Huntsinger Avenue, Park Rapids.  The times for these two public meetings are below.  Remember that Long Lake is within the boundary of this groundwater area.  Hopefully one of these two meeting times will fit into your schedule so you'll be able to attend.

The DNR has placed the referenced draft plan and survey on the following website:  http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/gwmp/area-sr.html.  They recommend that the survey respondents take time to adequately review the draft of the Straight River Groundwater Management Area Plan before completing the survey and/or before providing comments via email at StraightRiverGWMA.dnr@state.mn.us.  The survey will remain open until September 24, 2015.
  • Morning Meeting, 8/25 from 9 to 10:30 AM
  • Evening Meeting, 8/25 from 7 to 8:30 PM
Enjoy the rest of August here at Long Lake!

Monday, August 10, 2015

From Runoff to Ruin: The Undoing of Minnesota's Lakes by Ron Way and Steve Berg

From the Star Tribune, August 7, 2015
A very relevant article by Ron Way and Steve Berg published in the Star Tribune on August 7, 2015.

(For the complete article click here)

The article talks about how the water quality of the lakes in Central Minnesota has declined in the last decades.  Way and Berg detail what and how this has happened in the article.  They talk about how reckless shore line development has "killed" some of the lakes.  Lakes can not just keep taking in run off from roads, parking lots, fertilized lawns, and so on without changing.  In recent years many lakes have huge algae blooms by mid summer which affect most water activities and fishing.   There is some discussion on whether a lake can be restored, but Way and Berg are fairly pessimistic about that outcome. They believe  we need to protect the "good" lakes we have now.

In the 8th paragraph they mention the Park Rapids region.  Their solution is that local people and their governments need to step up and plan for development.  The system we have now is not working.

According to Way and Berg, "The damage came less from numbers, however, than from careless design. The real-estate market and local governments treated lake country not as a delicate ecosystem but as an ordinary template for suburban excess. The jarring retail strip along Hwy. 371 between Baxter and Nisswa offers an ironic example. Its lineup of big boxes fronted by barren parking lots replicates the suburban sprawl that vacationers go north to escape."

We can all do our part at keeping Long Lake clear and clean and this is food for thought.

You Can Help our Lake!

This proposed second pipeline will be THE major pipeline into the US for Canadian tar sands oil, equivalent in capacity to the suspended XL pipeline

Speak on Wednesday, August 19th, to the Public Utilities Commission,  Dept. of Commerce, and Enbridge staff at the 11am or the 6 pm meeting to be held at the Park Rapids Century School Cafetorium.

Each meeting starts with a 30 minute presentation, followed by 2 hours 15 minutes time for citizen’s comments. This is the start of the formal process seeking a 36” diameter pipeline to carry Alberta tar sands oil to run beside the proposed Sandpiper pipeline.   For further details visit:
 http://www.friendsoftheheadwaters.org/uploads/3/4/4/2/3442631/initial_line3_meeting_notice_aug_19.pdf

Comments can also be submitted online at:
http://mn.gov/commerce/energyfacilities/publicComments.html?projectId=34079
 

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Can You Improve Your Shoreline?

While you and your family are at the lake this summer, it is a good time to do some shore management planning.  Take a good look at your property.  Do you  need any trees or shrubs to keep the soil from washing into the lake?

Browse the information on Shore Management page of this website.  (Page tabs are above.)  Look at the variety of trees and shrubs you can order through the lake association to enhance your property and the lake.  If you have questions ask Sharon Natzel or David Anderson.

Have fun planning this winter and then take pictures as you plant your trees next spring.  Remember trees are a message to your great grandchildren as well as protectors of our lake. 


Restore the Shore Tree Orders for Spring 2016

The 2015 deadline for submitting your "Restore the Shore" Tree Order form and payment for delivery of trees in the Spring 2016 is coming up on Thursday, October 1, 2015.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Pictures from Flotilla 2015

It was a perfect day for a flotilla.  A big "thank you" to all the families that participated by decorating boats or by cheering from their docks.  Thank you also to Nancy Baer and Donna Newman for sending us pictures to add to this slide show.  If others of you have unique pictures for us, please send them to longlakeliving@gmail.com.  Special thanks to the family with the shirt launcher!  It added to the fun.



For those with devices that do not support flash, this is the link to the Flotilla photos:
Flotilla 2015 Photos

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

4th of July Flotilla and More



July 4th Flotilla 

Decorate & show your patriotic spirit! 

Wave & watch from shore too!

  •  9:50 AM meet in front of New Frontier Resort on the West side of Long Lake
  •  10 AM both the North & South Leaders will lead the parade on the two routes.
  •  If there is bad weather such as high winds, rain or thunderstorms at 9 AM:  the event will be cancelled.
  •  Participants agree to allow boats to be photographed and published on our longlakeliving.org website
  •  Provide your photos to longlakeliving@gmail.com

Other Activities in July: 

July 1st to June 20, 2016 -
 Fishing Contest for Kids from 5 to 15 years old – To enter the contest, Parents submit by email the first name of kid and photo which shows the child and the fish caught on Long Lake along with answers to the contest questions to longlakeliving@gmail.com   See the contest questions to answer & more details at: http://www.longlakeliving.org/p/kids-fishing-contest.html

Tuezday, July 7th at 6 PM is Zorbaz Night – bring your Long Lake neighborz for fun timez

This website will post any pictures of lake activities, fishing, skiing,  tubing, etc. that you submit.  Share your good times with your lake neighbors.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Pictures and Notes From Annual Meeting 2015

Over 93 people attended the Long Lake Area Association annual meeting on Saturday morning. First the group heard an excellent talk from Christine Herwig, the Regional Non Game Specialist, from Minnesota's DNR.  Christine shared information on eagles, herons, loons, trumpeter swans, ospreys and other wildlife such as otters in the area.  She said most of these species are doing OK in Minnesota but each has a few concerns that we need to be aware of in order to keep the species healthy.  She also shared information on how we can all help keep our lake clear and healthy by being careful with our shoreline, by planting native plants, and watching out for invasive plants such as the Japanese Knotweed or Non Native Water Lily.  (Check out our Shore Management page for more information.) She also talked a little about pine beetles, turtles, amphibians and AIS.  Christine mentioned several books and pamphlets that would be good sources of information: Resource Link to DNR.

The next part of the meeting conducted by our president, Sharon Natzel, covered all the details of the association such as approval of last year's minutes, and treasurer's report from Doug Bakken for both the association and the LLAA Foundation. There were reports from various board members:
    ◦    Jeff Bjorkman on AIS monitoring
    ◦    Jaimie Beretta on Events and the Kids Fishing Contest
    ◦    Dave Anderson on the LLAA Foundation which is now 5 years old
    ◦    Sharon Natzel on pine bark beetles, lake monitoring, groundwater planning and Sandpiper pipeline updates

Elections were held for Neighborhoods 2, 4, and 6.  Two new people were welcomed to the board:  Monica Wilkins from Neighborhood 6 and Pam Petersen from Neighborhood 4

Dave Anderson, Arthur Howe and Renee Gust were thanked for their service on the board.

And of course at the end Door Prizes were drawn with the grand prize basket going to Dave Peterson of Neighborhood 5.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

ANNUAL MEETING: June 27, 2015



Members and non-members are invited to 
the Hubbard Community Center
 at 9:30 AM – Noon
on Saturday June 27th 
for our annual meeting

9:30 AM - refreshments, socializing, registration, and displays 

10:00 AM -Business Meeting
  • Guest Speaker   - DNR Regional Nongame Wildlife Specialist
  • AIS update
  • Pine Bark beetle update
  • Lake monitoring results
  • Groundwater Planning update
  • Sandpiper oil pipeline update
  • Kids fishing and 4th of July flotilla activities
  • Financial reports and elections
  • Prizes
More information on these topics is in the Spring Newsletter 2015:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxj3i6XNgv2PUngtQkhiUnR2MEk/view

Friday, May 29, 2015

Meet a 6 Year Old Expert Fisherman


We have our first entry for the Kids' Fishing Contest.  Rylan's family submitted 5 pictures of fish that Rylan caught this Spring.  He loves to fish and wants to be a professional fisherman one day.  He used garlic to catch one of the fish!  Check out all the pictures by clicking on the Kids' Fishing Contest Tab at the top of this page.  Scroll down the page to click on the .pdf link for the full story.

Remember there are only about 3 weeks left for your kids to enter the Long Lake Association's Kids Fishing Contest.  Prizes will be awarded during the annual meeting June 27th.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Using Innovative Science to Identify Solutions to Minnesota’s AIS Problems


photo from http://www.maisrc.umn.edu/
This is letter is an update about the Univeristy of Minnesota's AIS Research Center.  Since the Association works so hard to combat zebra mussels and other invasive species, we like to keep up with others in the state on a similar mission.

"Dear Stakeholders and Friends of the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC),

Unlike in the movies, science is not something that happens overnight. It is an investment that often takes years — even decades — to come to fruition. Finding a control for purple loosestrife took 25 years from initial exploration to implementation. It took over $5 million and 20 years to find and develop a bacteria into the product Zequanox that is just being tried in open water zebra mussel treatments now. And these are examples with positive outcomes; many others run into one or more roadblocks!
This means we must work now, across many fronts, to use innovative science to find solutions to Minnesota’s aquatic invasive species problem. And that’s just what we are doing. MAISRC was founded in 2012, with additional funds awarded in 2013 to conduct specific research projects scoped by the Center’s founder, including detection, prevention, and control efforts on Asian carp, zebra mussels, aquatic plants, and VHSv. Part of these original commitments also included significant investments in education and outreach to translate research findings to the field for implementation.
The first two and a half years of the Center’s existence have been focused on launching these projects, which included hiring two new faculty members as well as research teams ranging from 2 to 11 members in size in order to deliver on these commitments. All of these projects will have begun by year’s end.

Even in our short existence, we have accomplished a lot, including:
    •    Hiring the state’s first full-time zebra mussel researcher
    •    Participating in the state’s first open water use of Zequanox and potash to control zebra mussels
    •    Completing the first field season of zebra mussel sampling to determine their pathways of
          spread and to develop early detection techniques
    •    Installing experimental sound deterrents at Lock & Dam 8 to deter Asian carp from moving up
          our rivers and into our lakes
    •    Developing an accurate genetic detection method for invasive carp
    •    Launching studies to improve Eurasian watermilfoil and curly-leaf pondweed treatment options
          through mechanical, herbicidal, and biocontrol methods
    •    Screening 33 waterbodies and more than 3,300 fish for VHSv, an aggressive virus affecting
          game fish

Yet if we are going to have an impact, more research is needed to find solutions to preventing and controlling the top threats to Minnesota’s waters. That is why I spearheaded a process starting last fall — which included input from AIS scientists; local, state, and federal AIS managers; current MAISRC researchers; and the public — to systematically identify the state’s top AIS research priorities. Final recommendations are coming before the Center Advisory Board at its meeting this month.
We look forward to announcing these additional research plans with you soon.
Thank you for your support of the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center.

All the best,


Susan Galatowitsch, PhD"

This is the link to the U's website for even more information:  http://www.maisrc.umn.edu/
Or click on this link to go to their facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/maisrc.umn?fref=ts

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Saturday, May 9th, is "Clean, Drain, Dry Day" in the Great State of Minnesota.

Launching the 2015 Fishing Opener, Governor Mark Dayton proclaimed

Saturday, May 9th, 
"Clean, Drain, Dry Day" in the Great State of Minnesota.

With over 1.6 million anglers, Saturday is the perfect opportunity to educate anglers and boaters across the state on the importance of stopping invasive species and to Clean, Drain, and Dry all boats, trailers and equipment.

Click on this link, www.cleandraindry.org, for additional information and take a look at our updated LLAA Kiosks at the South and North Accesses, too.


Happy Fishing Opener:  2015!!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Ice Out on Long Lake: April 13th

Sharon Natzel reported: In checking with all the folks around the lake that are part of our monitoring team, plus others, we can officially declare that sometime this afternoon (April 13, 2015) with warm temperature and the high wind gusts today, the ice is now officially out on Long Lake!  We will update the ice data tab as soon as the chart has been updated.  The ice out date this year is one day ahead of the average date of April 14th and sixteen days ahead of last winter's date of April 29th.

Now let's work on getting some rain!

Weather.com reported the following information:

Sunday, April 12, 2015

April 12th, 2015

We have received pictures and reports from several people on the lake today.  The ice is not quite gone yet, but there are many stretches of open water.  Everyone thinks the ice will most likely be gone by the end of the day on Monday.  If we would get a little bit of rain, the grass and trees, etc. could start to show some green too.


Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Ice Out Watch

A message shared from Lou Schultz. (Lou lives on Chippewa Loop on the west side of Long Lake and helps us with the ice in and ice out statistics.)

       "Around this time of year, we always wonder when we might have ice-out.

       Fact:  Our average ice-out is April 20, although we have wide and increasing variation of this
       date.

       Theory: Long Lake gets ice-out two weeks after Lake Minnetonka, which was April 4, 2015.

      Therefore: I predict we will have ice-out this year on April 18.
      That is only 11 days away and that is a mighty big ice cube sitting out there.

      Would anyone else like to predict a date; any challengers?  - Lou"

You can add your comments below or on our Facebook page.

For the historic data go to the Ice Data tab at the top of this page or scroll to the blog post below this one for DNR data. 

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Article posted on MPR News site about ice out data

As the warmer weather comes and goes, Long Lake residence start to watch the ice.  The big question: When will "ice out" be this year?  This site starts getting more hits on our Ice Data Tab also.  So this article posted by MPR News seems very relevant to our readers.  An interesting part is: what is the exact definition of Ice Out.  

Taken from MPR News article:  As DNR climatologist Pete Boulay explains "The DNR uses observers (which can be individuals or groups familiar with the lakes and weather patterns) to report ice outs across the state, and the definition varies from individual to individual.  Boulay said there are three main ways to measure an ice out:
  1.  ability to get from point A to point B across a lake;

  2.  when about 90 percent of a lake is ice-free;

  3.  when a lake is completely free of ice.
Since the definitions vary, the DNR typically contacts the same observer or group in each part of the state to maintain some consistency over individual bodies of water.

"We usually leave it in the hands of the locals to declare their ice outs," Boulay said. "

Read the entire article here

Within the article is an interactive map for ice out data on Minnesota Lakes.  Click the link below to access the map.  Then zoom in to find Long Lake. You can also click a link to see the DNR's data on ice out. Their data is slightly different from ours which is not unexpected as our observers use a definition of "lake completely free of ice".  


http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ice_out/index.html?year=median

Friday, March 20, 2015

Pipeline Relocation Fund Supported by Donations from Long Lake Folks


Long Lake has had 82 families donate for the reroute of the Sandpiper Pipeline Corridor, so we are over half way to our goal of raising $25,000 from Long Lake.  Using these funds, and those from other lakes, the "Brief" document has been prepared for the MN Public Utilities Commission's
Administrative Law Judge by the Minnesota Center of Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) lawyers in partnership with Friends of the Headwaters.

The full brief can be read here:  click here
The Administrative Law Judge makes his  recommendation to the Public Utilities Commissioners on April 13.  The PUC Commissioners are likely to make a decision in June.

For campaign details, please see the letter recently sent to Long Lake property holders:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxj3i6XNgv2PckJhemFBX1B1c1E/view?pli=1


Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Enterprise Article says to be alert for fire dangers.

 (Excerpt from article in the Wednesday March 18th Park Rapids Enterprise:) 

"Because the snow is disappearing quickly, we urge people to check fire conditions and burning regulations prior to doing any open burning and to use extra caution when burning,” said Tom Fasteland, Minnesota Interagency Fire Center coordinator.
With an early start to spring, open burning restrictions are likely to be implemented earlier than normal, likely this week.
 ............
"With the recent warm weather, the DNR’s fire behavior analysts are predicting an early start to Minnesota’s spring fire season.

Predicted temperatures this week in the 40s and 50s will likely take care of what little snowpack the state had this winter. Plus, forecasts for the next two weeks show mild temperatures and a dry weather pattern. Minnesota also had a relatively dry fall and very little snow this winter. All of this points toward abnormally dry conditions in early spring.

In addition to predicting an early start to the spring fire season, fire behavior analysts say that based on past weather patterns and fire occurrence, Minnesota will likely have an average to above average number of fires this spring. Without the snow compaction, grass fires will move faster and be more intense. And, with dry conditions, Minnesota could face fire mop-up and peat fire issues. "

Read the entire article by following the link below.

http://www.parkrapidsenterprise.com/news/local/3702814-fire-departments-busy-weekend-calls

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Positive Weather Report


March is looking very encouraging for an early ice out.  As Sharon noted in an email to the Association Board today, there are puddles of water on top of the ice all over Long Lake.  Most of the snow on the roads has melted too.  Maybe if we all keep our fingers crossed and think positive thoughts we will miss the snow storms we usually get in March.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Update on Ospreys at North End of Long Lake



Photo courtesy of  Kristi Coughlon,  DNR Information Officer for the NW
region.

For several year ospreys have been nesting near the wires on this pole at
the north end of Long Lake.  The nest has been removed for safety reasons
and placed on top of the new nesting platform, ready for the ospreys to
return from migration.  Perhaps you will see the ospreys fishing in our lake
this summer.

Thanks to Park Rapids Cub Scout Pack 58, who constructed the platform, and
Great River Energy, which was granted permission to relocate the nest.

Click here for full story in Park Rapids Enterprise

Friday, February 6, 2015

Breaking news for the owners of boat and equipment trailers:

Here is some breaking news for the owners of boat and equipment trailers:
(Released January 28, 2015)


The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will postpone the new aquatic
invasive species training and trailer decal program that was due to launch
at the end of the month, while legislators consider changes to the program.
Under a law passed by the state Legislature in 2012, anyone trailering a
boat or water-related equipment such as docks and lifts in Minnesota is
required to take aquatic invasive species training and display a decal on
their trailer. The effective date was July 1, 2015.

“With the legislative interest in this educational program and ongoing
discussions about possible changes, we are postponing the launch until we
see if the Legislature acts this session to modify the program,” said Bob
Meier, DNR assistant commissioner.

For reference, the current, unchanged, laws on AIS prevention,
 are given on  this web site:
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/preventspread_watercraft.html


Thursday, January 22, 2015

Minnesota DNR Eagle Cam

The Minnesota DNR's Eagle Cam is up and running with interesting action to watch.  There is already one egg in the nest and there should be more over the next few days.  It is quite early for the female to lay the eggs, but these are experienced eagle parents and hopefully all will go well.  This is the link where you can watch the nest:  Minnesota DNR Eagle Webcam  This is the same link that can be found in the "Webcams" box on our sidebar to the right. 

For more information about these eagles check out the DNR's EagleCam blog page:  EagleCam FAQ.html

DNR Webcam, Screen Shot, 1-22-2015

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Updates Posted for Ice In Data and Lake Management

Winter Lake: picture taken by Linda Smith
Long Lake is well into the winter season, but your Lake Association is still hard at work.  This week we updated the Lake Management Plan.  You can find the full plan by clicking on the Lake Management tab above or by clicking here.

We also have updated the graph that shows Ice In Data for 2014.  The official Ice In day was December 24, 2014.  Most of Long Lake had frozen over earlier, but the deepest spot was just barely covered and we had a December thaw.  The cold temperatures hit again just before Christmas to officially freeze the entire lake.  Click here to go to the Ice Data page.

So far there does not seem to be much action on the ice yet - a few ice fisherman and a snowmobile or two.  Maybe the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday will bring people out to play.