Thursday, July 26, 2018

Pipeline Update

On June 28th, 2018 the Minnesota Public Utility Commission gave a verbal approval for the southern route for Enbridge (Line 3) pipeline carrying Alberta tar sands to Wisconsin.
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/06/28/enbridge-energy-pipeline-decision-looms/

The approved route is Enbridge's preferred route (APR) and is shown in black in the map below. This segment is the option furthest away from Long Lake on this map.  The Line 3 route needs 29 permits.
See:  Governor's 6/28/18 statement on Enbridge Line 3
More details will be known once the PUC issues a written statement.

It is worth noting that the PUC went against the recommendation of the Minnesota Administrative Law Judge who after reviewing all the (numerous) submissions, recommended that the old Line 3, which takes a direct route to Superior, be removed and that the new Line 3 be put in its place.
State of Minnesota Administrative Hearings Report, Enbridge Line 3 pdf

For more background information, listen to several excellent Minnesota Public Radio reports at:
MPR News, Rivers of Oil


Thursday, July 19, 2018

Update on Christmas Lake Weevil Pilot Project

Edited from an Article written on July 3rd by Jeff Forester of MN Lakes & River Advocates:  

This summer the Christmas Lake Association is testing to see if a weevil native to Minnesota can be used to eat and control Eurasian water-milfoil.

Click here to see WCCO's video about the project

Lake Associations struggle with fundraising, and often face huge lake treatment bills for problems like Eurasian water-milfoil, etc.  Lake Association leaders fear that their membership is aging and they are searching for ways to engage younger members.

Yesterday, I, along with other lake association leaders, DNR personnel, and MAISRC, toured a pilot project on Christmas Lake that could provide a solution strategy for both of these issues.  

The pilot is based on research by Dr. Sallie Sheldon, Middlebury College, VT.  She has developed a process to catch native weevils out of a lake, raise them on the invasive Eurasian water-milfoil, and then release these weevils back into the lake to achieve some control of the invasive and costly plant.

Dr. Sheldon was a speaker at the Aquatic Invaders Summit held last winter sponsored by Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates, (MLR).  MLR has been working with Dr. Sheldon and Paul Hamilton, Norway Lake Association, and a Minnesota science teacher, to develop a way to package Dr. Sheldon's work and a curriculum so that lake associations can partner with local school or youth groups to engage youth in water related science while working to control milfoil, all at a lower cost than traditional management strategies.

Science is a key value for MLR.  As the land of 10,000 lakes, we believe that Minnesota should have the most rigorous and engaging water sciences programs in the country and that they should begin in grade school.

Anytime we can achieve control of an invasive species without impacting the native plants, that is a win.  If we can do that at a lower cost, that is a win win.  If we can do it while engaging a new generation in lake advocacy, that is a WIN WIN WIN.

In 2012 and 2013 the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District began a three year pilot, putting 30,000 weevils into the lake.  The program was interrupted in 2014 when the company hired to do the work pulled out.  Said Joseph Shneider, Christmas Lake Association President, “We started to see dramatic improvement a few years later.  You could argue that milfoil is no longer a problem on Christmas Lake. Dr. Sheldon believes that another year or two

Sunday, July 15, 2018

2018 Annual Meeting Recap

We had 90 people come to the Long Lake Area Association meeting on June 30th.  Barb Roberts organized the registration very well and everyone was registered with ease.  There were 47 families registered at the meeting this year.

Click here for a list of all our door prize winners

The Association made available AIS related items such as coasters, sponges to "Clean, Drain & Dry" boats, and PVC tubes to place at docks for sampling zebra mussels to families in attendance.  Also there were free trees to prevent soil erosion - potted pines from the White family.

Thank you to Betty Larsen for the great refreshments and the festive decor, too!  Thanks to Monika Wilkens for the great story ending with the aurora borealis over the lake to lead off the meeting.  And last, but certainly not least, thank you to Jason Durham, our speaker from Go Fish! Guide Service, for entertaining us with his stories and sharing his fishing expertise.

The video at the following link is a collection of the pictures and video taken during our annual meeting:
https://youtu.be/29cag8QpLCE

The LLAA board page on this website has been updated.  Please click here to see our new board of directors.

 Below are pictures from 4th of July Week activities.
 A few boats came out for the Flotilla despite its cancellation due to the threatening weather.
 
Joyce Nelson shared a picture of one of the boats decorated for the Flotilla
Largest Walleye for David Rix. 29.5 inches ( without pinching tale) caught on Wooters Point.
Lady Slippers
Photo by Barb Roberts

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Due to unstable weather: Flotilla is Cancelled


The forecast with its potential for thunderstorms has cancelled our Flotilla today.  Have a safe and fun 4th of July. 

(if you take good pictures of your alternative 4th of July activities today..please send them along to us at longlakeliving@gmail.com) 

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Lake Life Safety

Good Reasons to Use those Life Jackets.

A life jacket has additional safety purposes to consider:
  • A life jacket will help protect a person against hypothermia, an important threat when a rescue might be slow in coming. The jacket will help keep a person's head above water, so it stays dry, and it will help hold in body heat. Instead of exerting heat and energy in treading water, people wearing life jackets can pull their legs into their chests, which slows the escape of body heat.
  • Most life jackets are brightly colored to aid in rescue efforts.
  • Life jackets can absorb some of the impact of a fall and minimize injuries.
  • Few people plan to fall overboard. When someone ends up in the water who didn't expect to be there, a life jacket can provide some valuable time in adjusting to the shock. *Most people thrash around when panicked; a life jacket helps the user right himself and keep the head above water.
The above information is quoted from an article on the "How Stuff Works" website.

Monday, July 2, 2018

How Creative Can your Family Be this Year?


The annual Long Lake 4th of July Flotilla will be held this Wednesday, weather permitting.
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
We will gather at New Frontier Resort on the West side of the lake by 9:50am. Follow the North or South Leaders as they lead off the two branches of the flotilla at 10am.  If there is inclement weather (high winds, rain, thunderstorms) at 9am on that day, the Flotilla will be cancelled.
Join us in Celebrating the 4th! 

Thank you to all who attended the annual meeting on Saturday.  We had 90 in attendance.  For those of you who were unable to attend, please send your membership dues for $25 for this fiscal year (July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019) to LLAA, P.O. Box 808, Park Rapids, MN  56470.

If you haven't already read it, our LLAA Spring Newsletter is available on our LongLakeLiving.org website on the Newsletters page - or see it at this link:  Spring 2018 Newsletter