AIS Alert: Starry Stonewort Found in Long Lake (Hubbard County)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just one month ago, the Long Lake Area Association (Hubbard County) Inc provided all Long Lake shoreland property owners a letter highlighting LLAA’s mission which includes education and communication. We also explained in that letter and at the LLAA annual meeting that a professional aquatic vegetation survey is planned for the entire lake every 5 years with 2023 being our next planned survey year.  

On Sunday morning, 8/13/23, during the aquatic vegetation survey, the team from vendor Aquatic Survey Professionals detected an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) called Starry Stonewort (SSW) in about a 5 foot diameter bright green patch underwater at a depth of about 10 feet. The SSW was confirmed by a DNR Invasive Species Specialist on 8/14/23.

Actions Underway:

• The LLAA Ready Response to AIS team is currently working with the DNR Invasive Species Specialist and potential AIS management vendors for treatment and control to prevent further spread.
• We will also reach out to the UMN Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC) to determine if current and past projects information or a pilot could be helpful.  

Check often for updates on this website (www.longlakeliving.org) and the Long Lake Living Facebook page.  

To learn more about Starry Stonewort, visit https://maisrc.umn.edu/starry-stonewort
If you have questions, please email Sharon Natzel, our LLAA AIS Prevention Coordinator at longlakeliving@gmail.com  

Learn More Here: 

• DNR News Release: 
• https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/news/2023/08/24/starry-stonewort-confirmed-long-lake-hubbard-county
•  Starry Stonewort Information from University of MN: 
• https://maisrc.umn.edu/starry-stonewort

5 Things You Can Do: 

1. Donate what you can to the LLAA Foundation. http://llaafoundation.blogspot.com/p/llaa-foundation-donate-electronically.html 
2. Decontaminate your watercraft and other aquatic equipment every time you move to another lake. (call 218 616 1631 to make your free appointment)
   
3. Educate yourself on how to identify aquatic plants and animals. (see AIS Identification tab above this post: https://www.longlakeliving.org/p/ais-identification.html)
   
4. Volunteer for the shoreline monitoring teams watching for AIS.
   
5. Be alert and contact longlakeliving@gmail.com if you suspect an AIS.
   
   
   
   
   

Linda Lee Kooyer Johnson, 73, of Park Rapids, MN passed away on Wednesday, August 2, 2023.

Linda was asked by John McKinney about 15 years ago to set up a website for the Long Lake Area Association.  She recruited her friend CC White to help with the project.  Linda continued to be the main proof reader, technical expert and design expert behind this website.  Her complete obituary is below. We will miss her expertise and pictures on this site.

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲 🌲

Linda was born on September 6, 1949, in Austin, MN to Wilbur and Blanche (Tolstead) Thompson. She grew up in Austin, MN and graduated from Austin High School in 1967. She was  a proud graduate of Bemidji State. On October 2, 1971, she married Glenn Kooyer in San Antonio, TX. They raised their sons Adam and Brian in Lakeville, MN. In 2001 they moved to Duluth. Glenn passed away in 2005. After Glenn’s passing, Linda moved to the home on Long Lake in Park Rapids she and Glenn had built for their retirement. Linda spent her teenage summers on Long Lake with her longtime friend Carolynne White.

Linda married Harlan Johnson on February 26, 2015. They have spent their summers together on Long Lake in Park Rapids and winters in Apache Junction, AZ.

Linda was a homemaker and also shared responsibilities for Glenn’s businesses in Lakeville and Duluth, MN. She enjoyed recreation, especially walking and biking. She delighted in sewing and knitting. She was a Christian woman who loved her Lord and was an avid reader of her Bible.

Linda is survived by her husband Harlan Johnson; her sons: Adam Kooyer of Golden Valley, MN, and Brian (Wendy) Kooyer of Apopka, FL; her grandchildren Evan (Rachel) Kooyer of East Bethel, MN, and Maya (Bentley) Hunter of Apopka, FL; and great-grandchildren Mason and Hayden Hunter and soon to be great-granddaughter Kooyer. Harlan’s children also survive her: Sam (Leslie) Johnson and their two sons of Woodbury, MN, and Jill (Jake) Krautkremer and their two children of Scandia, MN; her cousin Ronnie (Steve) Vaith of Austin, MN, and brother-in-law, George Crockett of Shakopee, MN.

Linda was preceded in death by her first husband Glenn Kooyer, her parents Wilbur and Blanche Thompson, and her sisters Janice Crockett and Mary Ellen Thompson.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 PM on August 11, 2023, at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Park Rapids. Visitation will be held on August 10, 2023,  from 5:00-8:00 PM at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Park Rapids as well as for 1 hour prior to the Mass.

Arrangements are by the Cease Family Funeral Home of Park Rapids.