The LLAA has a total of six committees that serve our mission and members in various, important ways. One of the committees is the Finance Committee, composed of the officers of the Board and chaired by the Treasurer. The other five essential committees are listed here. The health of the Association is dependent on the vibrant, invested members who serve as volunteers in many capacities, whether it be as an elected Director on the Board of Directors, or as a committee member or committee chair. Please join us!
Communications Committee
- Educate association members about lake preservation/protection practices
- Build awareness of the association (purpose, efforts, outcomes, etc.)
- Encourage people to join/renew membership
- Educate people using/living/connected with Long Lake to understand what is needed to keep the lake healthy and usable for everyone
- Inspire participation in association events.
- The committee focuses on four communications vehicles: the website, Facebook, and the newsletter and the lake access kiosks.
- Development of a communications calendar to provide a guide for timing, topics, and content for all communications vehicles as well as for special events, like the annual flotilla.
- Efforts include writing copy in collaboration with topic experts and board members, designing graphics, updating website content, soliciting topics/authors for newsletter articles, proofreading, and coaching writers (length, style, etc).
- When required, make physical copies of vital information to be mailed to members without digital access.
- Work can be done remotely, but requires some computer skills
- Tasks are divided into smaller teams according to volunteers’ skills.
- Newsletters are published monthly and there are periodic publications developed for dissemination on the website, Facebook, or via emails.
- April/May/June/July are the busiest work periods due to events (annual meeting and the flotilla, etc.).
Contact us to learn more about how you can contribute to this important work for our Long Lake community!
Community Committee
- Increase, develop, and enhance a sense of community among the members of the LLAA community
- Understand what connects members to the lake
- Plan activities that can bring members of the lake association together
- Collaborate with other committees to develop activities and events that serve as vehicles to educate the community about issues of importance to their enjoyment of the lake and its health
- Plans the Summer Social Annual Meeting held in mid-summer, the July 4th Flotilla, and the twice-yearly Highway 20 roadside cleanup.
- The LLAA community is concerned about the health and quality of the lake, and that’s where the Community Committee is going to focus and expand its efforts. The details of that effort and direction are currently being developed.
- Current activities are supported by work done from May to October. As the committee’s portfolio expands the timeline will change.
- Meetings and independent work of the committee members can be done remotely.
Contact us to learn more about how you can contribute to this important work for our Long Lake community!
Environmental Stewardship Committee
The Environmental Stewardship Committee focuses on the health and future of Long Lake. There are three subcommittees that share the work pertaining to environmental stewardship:
Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Monitoring Subcommittee
- Conduct near-shore aquatic vegetation monitoring for early detection of AIS
- Conduct near-shore aquatic vegetation monitoring
- Sampling is done with a double-headed rake on a rope along with visual observation of the aquatic vegetation depending on the depth and clarity of the water.
- Collect near-shore aquatic vegetation monitoring
- Hands-on training and tools are provided for all volunteers
- Volunteers perform near-shore aquatic vegetation monitoring during two separate periods in the summer; late-June to mid-July and then again mid-August to the 1st week in September
- Estimated time commitment for the Chair and Volunteers is four to six hours per summer
Water Quality Monitoring Subcommittee
- Physical characteristics of the water are measured to determine the condition of the water including oxygen content, clarity and pH levels
- This helps the health of the fish habitat
- Diagnoses the health of the lake vegetation supplies the purity of the water
- This subcommittee monitors the water quality per the “Lakes Monitoring Program” with the Hubbard County Coalition of Lake Associations (HCCOLA) and RMB Environmental Laboratories.
- Long Lake’s deepest area is sampled May through September on specific Sundays
- HCCOLA water samples are provided to RMB Labs in Detroit Lakes for analysis
- Dissolved oxygen monitoring with the county’s hydrolab toolset is used at a deep water site on the lake
- Analysis trips generally occur in May or June through Sept, depending on weather and schedules.
Planning Subcommittee
- Maintain awareness of potential opportunities in the northern lakes area and Hubbard County that touch on the nine focus areas in our “living” Lake Management Plan for Long Lake initially developed in 2010.
- Update Lake Management Plan for Long Lake.
- Lake Management Plan for Long Lakeinclude: to identify opportunities for our community , specially pertaining to:
- water quality
- fisheries management plans
- aquatic vegetation
- wildlife
- exotic (invasive) species
- land use and zoning
- managing water surface use conflicts
- public water access
- organizational development and communication
- Examples of opportunities include but are not limited to:
- Collaboration with Northern Waters Land Trust to attend hybrid meetings on Conservation for Lake Associations
- Working through the Hubbard County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to help LLAA update or develop lake management plans
- Attending information meetings such as the Crow Wing River 1 Watershed 1 Plan forum
- Ongoing, year-round gathering of information regarding AIS and water quality so as to inform the LLAA Board for planning purposes and with the with the LLAA Treasurer regarding needed expenditures
- Updating all Environmental Stewardship Committee and Fisheries Committee volunteers about planning opportunities that may influence their work.
- Disseminating information in consultation with the Communications Committee to keep the LLAA members informed
- Review news items for opportunities that could support Long Lake.
- Review vaious State of MN updates and publications and County meetings agendas for information that could impact Long Lake
Contact us to learn more about how you can contribute to this important work for our Long Lake community!
Fisheries Committee
- Monitor the overall Long Lake fishery
- Establish a working relationship with the local DNR fisheries office and become a liaison between the LLAA members and the DNR
- Help identify potential improvements in the fishery and be in a position to take action to help achieve any such improvements
- Maintains a positive relationship with the DNR
- Reviews current and historical DNR lake management plans, stocking plans, and survey results for Long Lake
- Acquires a basic awareness and understanding of DNR fisheries practices being used on Long Lake and other lakes in our area
- Uses the MN DNR lake finder app and monitors and observes any stocking in Long Lake
- Meets with the MN DNR as needed
- Summarizes data from DNR meetings and documents
- Partners with the Communication Committee to provide DNR survey data and management plans for the LLAA website
- Works to obtain a rough “pulse” on Long Lake
- Advocates for Long Lake’s equitable treatment from the DNR as compared to other lakes in the area
- Determines if any DNR stocking permits are warranted and applies for such permits on behalf of the LLAA
- Identifies private fisheries vendors and manages the stocking process for the LLAA
- Stocking is done in even numbered years which leads to some administrative and field work at that time
- Standard lake surveys are done every five years instigating an analysis and a DNR meeting to prepare for in survey years
- Background research on lake finder app and review of fisheries documents on LLAA website can be done at your leisure
- Fishing or talking to others fishing Long Lake can be considered indirect support of the committee
Contact us to learn more about how you can contribute to this important work for our Long Lake community!
Membership and Elections Committee
The Membership and Elections Committee engages in important work for the LLAA and its members as it focuses on member recruitment, retention, and volunteer engagement as well as recruiting members as volunteers on committees and the Board of Directors. There are two subcommittees that share this work:
Membership Subcommittee
- Increase the LLAA membership
- Retain members and engage them in serving as volunteers, either as elected representatives and/or committee members, of our Association.
- Manage dues renewal and new member recruitment activities and the annual elections process.
- Establishes and manages a LLAA regular membership roster
- Establishes and manages a list of eligible LLAA members
- Encourages LLAA membership for each residence on Long Lake.
- Creates email lists and messages for the LLAA Foundation annual appeal
- Creates alternate distributions of information to those who do not have email addresses
- Creates email lists for email coordinator
- Collaborates with the Treasurer to track membership dues
- Identifies lake home turnover through the Hubbard County GIS System so an invitation to join the LLAA can be provided to the new owner.
- Manages the membership roster and engages with the GIS system year-round
- Works collaboratively with the Secretary and Treasurer regarding membership data and dues collection
- Engages year-round with the Communications Committee to deliver key information to the membership through the website, Facebook, and email.
Elections Subcommittee
- Notify the LLAA membership of all Board of Director openings and to receive nominations for these positions
- Report a slate of nominees from Committee to the LLAA Board
- Conduct online elections for the LLAA Board members and shares the outcome of those elections to the LLAA membership
- Collaborates with the LLAA Communications Committee to recruit nominees for Board openings through the LLAA newsletters
- Notifies all LLAA voting members of open positions and calls for nominations
- Receives and records nominations of qualified nominees for the various neighborhoods and At-Large Director position
- Submits its report to the LLAA Board
- Crafts and shares ballots in coordination with the Secretary and reviews the official tally of votes
- Reports the results of the election to the Board which is shared with all members
- Recruitment begins with engaging and informing the membership of open positions on the Board in spring of each year
- Election-focused tasks occur during spring through the election period in early summer, as described in the Bylaws
Contact us to learn more about how you can contribute to this important work for our Long Lake community or if you are interested in being a part of the Board of Directors or to serve on or chair a committee!