Announcement of new FLLA President

                                                                                                          

                                                                                  

December 12, 2017

Dear Friends of the Lake;

The Forest Lake Lake Association (FLLA) would like to announce that Jerry Grundtner has been elected by the FLLA board to be President of the association effective November 15, 2017.  Jerry will be succeeding Stev Stegner who has been President since 2013.  The board would like to thank Stev for his commitment and dedication as President to the Forest Lake Lake Association.   Through Stev's efforts, the FLLA has remained a vibrant part of the community and Forest Lake has remained a premier recreational lake.

Jerry and his wife have 3 children and 1 grandson.  He and his family have lived on 3rd lake of Forest Lake for the last 30 years.  His children grew up on Forest Lake and the entire family has always been active users of the lake including swimming, boating, waterskiing, wakeboarding and fishing.  Jerry and his wife are usually on the lake several times a week and they are now getting their grandson involved in everything the lake has to offer.

 After working for 40 years in the construction industry Jerry retired in 2013.  Upon retirement he became a board member of the FLLA.  He has also been active with the Comfort Lake Forest Lake Watershed District for the last 4 years.  One of his passions and desires has been to be a champion in coordinating and managing the AIS threat on the lake.

Jerry is looking forward to serving as President and hopes that you will reach out to him with any questions or concerns that you may have.

Jerry's Contact information:

E-mail - Jagrundtner@msn.com 

            Ourforestlake@gmail.com

Phone - 612-751-4666

Forest Lake Lake Association Board of Directors

DNR Permit requirements for boat removal transport

                                                                                                            

                                                                                  

Re:  IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR FOREST LAKE WATERCRAFT OWNERS

Dear Fellow FLLA members;

Due to the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) in Forest Lake, the MN DNR requires all watercraft owners removing or launching their boats from or into Forest Lake to carry this permit from the MN DNR  (http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/natural_resources/invasives/ais-auth-form-boats.pdf )with them to the next location for cleaning, repairing, storing and/or launching their watercraft.

The MN DNR states: INDIVIDUAL WATER CRAFT OWNERS MAY NOT...

• transport watercraft without removing the drain plug.
• arrive at a lake access with a drain plug in place.
• transport aquatic plants, zebra mussels, or other prohibited species without permit 2015-003 (see link above)
• launch a watercraft with prohibited species attached.
• release bait into the water.
• place a boat lift, dock, swim raft or associated equipment that has been removed from any water body may not be placed into another water body until a minimum of 21 days have passed.

For other MN DNR restrictions and rules, etc. please see the MN DNR website or contact the MN DNR directly at (651) 296-6157 or 888-646-6367.

 Without the Permit/Form in your possession there is the possibility of a $500 fine.  Thank you for your consideration and for doing your part to protect Forest Lake.

Forest Lake Lake Association Board of Directors

Help Protect Your Lake

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                       Sept. 16, 2017

Dear Friends of the Lake,

Did you know that one pound of phosphorus can generate 500 pounds of algae during those "gross" algae blooms of July and August? Untreated storm water runoff from yards, ditches streets and the city storm water system deposits over 2100 pounds of phosphorus per year into Forest Lake.

This is  NOT  fertilizer phosphorus, but phosphorus from decaying grass clippings, leaves, twigs and sediment that washes into the lake, often  through the city storm water drain system( ie., through those storm water grates on curbed streets).

The Comfort Lake Forest Lake Watershed District, in an effort to protect the lake, is funding a storm water street drain stenciling program this Saturday , Sept 23  from 9am to 1 pm to let people know that storm water grates drain into the lake without any treatment.

Since all volunteers (adults and youth), will receive a tee shirt, beverage and food, we need you to  RSVP providing your name and  shirt sizes ( S,M,L XL).   RSVP by either :

1.     Calling :       Jack  MacKenzie @ 651-324-8873

OR

2.     Emailing :    jmackenzie426@msn.com

 

Event details are listed below. Thanks for your help!

FLLA Board of Directors

Stev Stegner, President

  SCWMS and CLFLWSD Storm Drain Stencil Initiative Information

• Contact:  Jack MacKenzie, 651 324 8873 or jmackenzie426@msn.com

                                          

• Date: September 23, 2017 alternate date September 30
• Pre and Post project destination: CLFLWD office, 44 Lake St S, Forest Lake, MN 55025 (next to Kodiak Coffee)
• Gloves, safety vests provided.  Paint and templates provided.
• Push brooms, back pack blowers and flat shovels needed for pre-clean up.
• Goal: To clean and paint "neatly" as many storm drains as possible and   
• Time: 8:30 pre-project meeting begins, including: discussion, team creation, instructions, materials distribution and mapping.
• 9:00 initiative starts, groups head to respective areas to paint, call Jack if you encounter challenges.
• Remember: clean area for good paint adhesion, paint, cone, stuff fliers into mailboxes, repeat. 

• The day will be over no later than 1:00 pm, maybe sooner depending on how many volunteers we have.  Currently there are 875 storm drains to stencil.  According to statistics, one team of three can clean and paint between 10 and 15 per hour.  Realistically, it is my hope to knock out half of the drains this year and the other half next spring.

• Post meeting after at the CLFLW Office.

Flowering Rush Seed Removal

August 31, 2017 Dear Friends of the Lake; Forest Lake is home to an invasive emergent plant called flowering rush that is spread via seed dispersal and rhizome (root) fragmentation. The control of flowering rush has been ongoing for 3 years.  The Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District (CLFLWD) manages flowering rush through herbicide treatments and manual flower cuttings. The purpose of the flower cutting is to remove flowers from the flowering rush plants before they can deposit seeds into Forest Lake.  In 2016, CLFLWD staff determined that the flowers on a single stem of flowering rush may produce up to 14,000 seeds annually.  Each of these seeds has the potential to start a new patch of flowering rush in Forest Lake or start an infestation of flowering rush in a new lake. On August 14th, 2017 the CLFLWD hired PLM Lake and Land Management to treat 40.2 acres of flowering rush in Forest Lake using the herbicide Diquat. The herbicide treatment occurred in similar areas of 2nd and 3rd lakes as those that were treated with herbicide in 2016. A second herbicide treatment will occur in late August or early September. On August 24th Jerry Grundtner with the FLLA and Mike Sorensen with the CLFLWSD collected flowers and seeds on August 24th, 2017. The entire shoreline of 2nd Lake and 3rd Lake was inspected by boat. When flowering rush flowers were observed, the flowers were carefully cut with a pair of household scissors and placed in a garbage bag inside of a plastic tub. We believe that we were able to remove 99% of the flowers but there may be some isolated flower heads still on the lake and there is still the potential for new flowers. In all, exactly 800 stems with flowers were collected. This can be compared to 276 stems with flowers that were collected last year. Since each stem may produce up to 14,000 seeds annually, collecting 800 stems may keep up to 11,000,000 seeds out of Forest Lake. With regard to disposal, all flowers and seeds have been transported in sealed containers to a location away from public waterbodies where they were burned. A second round of flower collecting will be performed in coming weeks prior to the second herbicide treatment. We ask that you do not cut any flowers if you see them as incorrectly cutting them will spread flowering rush even more. Figure 1. A sample of the 800 flowers that were collected on August 24th, 2017. Some of the flowers were still green with undeveloped seeds, while others were dry and easily dropped their seeds when touched.

Flowering Rush Treatment Notice

                                                                                                              August 10, 2017       

 

Dear Friends of the lake;

The treatment of flowering rush will occur with the first round of treatment on August 18th.  We wanted to give you notice so you are aware of the treatment when you see people and boats near your property. 

All of you who have prop

erty on the lake should have received a large postcard in the mail detailing the complete treatment process.  This will be our 4th year of treating flowering rush.  Even though we have not completely eradicated flowering rush we are making great progress.  This is a multiyear program and one that will continue for the next few years.  The 2nd round of treatment should occur in late August or early September.

We ask that you do not pull flowering rush or cut it as that only continues the spread of this invasive species.  If you are not certain what flowering rush looks like please refer to the postcard you received or look it up on the internet.

As a matter of fact we know that some lake residents are continuing to pull flowering rush because they did not know it was flowering rush.

This is an effort that the Comfort Lake - Forest Lake Watershed District, in conjunction with the City of Forest Lake, Forest Lake Lake Association, and MN Department of Natural Resources, will be conducting. The herbicide that will be used is called Tribune (active ingredient is Diquat) and will be applied by the licensed applicator company, PLM Lake and Land Management Corp. The combined acreage of all treatment areas totals 40.2 acres. A map of the treatment areas may be found below.    

We appreciate you cooperation with this effort and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Comfort Lake - Forest Lake Watershed District.

  

Sincerely

Jerry Grundtner

Board member  

FLLA - Forest Lake Snail Kill

                                                                                                              August 9, 2017       

 

Dear Friends of the Lake;

There has been significant discussion and questions regarding the recent dead snails that have been washing up on some of the shores around Forest Lake.  We asked the Comfort Lake Forest Lake Watershed District to investigate. 

The majority of snails washing up onshore are either Chinese Mystery Snails (Cipangopaludina chinensis) or Banded Mystery Snails (Viviparus georgianus). These are both invasive species of snails that were introduced to Minnesota via human activity. They were given the name "Mystery Snails" because for many years biologists didn't understand their life-cycle and their offspring seemed to mysteriously appear, fully-formed.

It is common for mystery snails to display a boom and bust population cycle where they grow extremely dense, then eat themselves out of their food supply (typically algae that is scraped from rocks and sometimes filtered from the water) and die back. It is likely that a massive snail die back is what is causing the snails to wash up onshore at Forest Lake. These types of large-scale die backs will continue to occur in Forest Lake's future, but it is hard to predict when.

Almost all of the snails that I have seen washing up on the shores of Forest Lake are no longer living. This means that chemical treatment is no longer possible. My suggestion is that lake residents either leave the dead snails in the lake or gather them up in a sealed bag and dispose of them in their garbage can.

These species are considered a Regulated Invasive Species by the Minnesota DNR and cannot legally be released into public waters (e.g. from an aquarium).

Additional information about mystery snails can be accessed at the following links:

Minnesota Sea Grant: http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/ais/mysterysnail 

Minnesota DNR: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/aquaticanimals/chinese_banded_mysterysnails/index.html 

Sincerely

Jerry Grundtner

Board Member

FLLA - EWM Letter for second treatment

                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                            August 4, 2017

Subject: Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) Treatment #2

Dear Friends of the Lake,

You may recall that 10 acres of Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) was treated in Forest Lake #1 on June 19th.

A follow-up inspection on July 11th indicated complete control of those 10 acres of heavy growth. However, during the lake wide inspection, additional moderate growth was identified in six other areas in Lake 1 and the entrance to Lake 2 for a total of 23 acres (see map below).

In order to help delay /prevent the spread of EWM to Lakes 2 and 3, these 23 acres will be double treated the week of August 7. A map of the treatment locations and a copy of the Public Notice from the CLFLWD and DNR appear below. The treatment was originally scheduled for the Week of Aug 1 but adverse weather/wind conditions forced the schedule to change to the week of August 7.

Thank you for your continued support of the Lake and your FLLA. If you have changed your email address, please let us know so you continue to receive timely FLLA information/broadcasts.

Steve Schmaltz

FLLA Board Member

Treatment Map and Public Notice appear below:

FLLA - 2017 Mid-year boat inspection report

July 26, 2017 Dear Friends of the Lake; We wanted to inform you of the progress of the boat inspections on Forest Lake with the hope of trying to prevent any other AIS from coming into Forest Lake. Comfort Lake Forest Lake Watershed District is responsible for managing and paying for the majority of the boat inspections on Forest Lake.  The FLLA and the City of Forest Lake also contribute to this effort but this effort is only possible because of CLFLWSD.  Forest Lake is a very heavily used lake and boats coming into Forest Lake continue to increase as noted below.  We have several species of AIS already in the lake but there are still others we do not have. The FLLA wants to personally thank  the staff at the CLFLWSD for their efforts in this very important effort to maintain the quality of Forest Lake. Mid-Season Summary Note: This information reflects the 2017 watercraft inspection program up through July 14th.  The 2017 watercraft inspection season is nearing its half-way point. Inspections are currently in week 9 of 22, assuming that the program will continue running until October 15th. Thus, the season is approximately 41% complete.  Total Inspection Hours This summer we hired four full-time level 1 inspectors, four part-time level 1 inspectors (approximately 20 hours per week), and three rotating level 2 inspectors operating a decontamination unit. The decontamination unit is mobile and rotates between 11 accesses in Chisago and Washington Counties, including Forest 1 and Forest 3. The level 1 inspectors are not permitted to use the decontamination unit, and instead complete visual inspections of the watercraft. The following table summarizes the number of inspection hours completed by District-hired inspectors this summer (including Chisago joint program inspectors, excluding DNR inspectors): Total Inspections Total Hours Inspection Rate (Inspections/Hour) Budgeted Hours Percent of Budgeted Hours Forest 1 (Lakeside Park) 774 350 2.2 833.3 42% Forest 2 (Willow Point) 465 284 1.6 833.3 34% Forest 3 (Hagberg) 955 421 2.3 833.3 51% Total/Average (CLFLWD) 2,194 1,055 2.0 2,500 42% Since Forest Lake is a high-traffic and high-priority lake for the state of Minnesota as a whole, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offered inspectors to conduct inspections throughout the summer at Lakeside Park in Forest Lake at no additional cost to the Watershed District or the Forest Lake Lake Association. So far, the DNR has contributed 170 hours of level 2 inspections which all took place at Forest Lake 1. The following table summarizes the number of inspection hours completed by District-hired staff and DNR-hired staff this summer: Total Inspections Total Hours Inspection Rate (Inspections/Hour) Forest 1 (Lakeside Park) 1,276 520 2.5 Forest 2 (Willow Point) 465 284 1.6 Forest 3 (Hagberg) 955 421 2.3 Total/Average (CLFLWD + DNR) 2,696 1,225 2.1 For comparison, during the entire 2016 season, a total of 3,147 inspections were performed over 2,369 hours. This resulted in an average inspection rate of 1.3 inspections per hour. Survey Results As mentioned above, a total of 2,696 inspections have been performed on Forest Lake this season. Below are some findings from the compiled inspection survey data: Number of watercraft arriving at the lake with water, vegetation or mud on their watercraft = 66. Number of watercraft requiring removal of the bilge drainage plug upon arriving at Forest Lake = 74.   All of these boats were inspected upon arrival at Forest Lake and deemed acceptable to launch into Forest Lake. Without the boat inspection none of these boats would have been cleaned before launching.  As we know it only takes one boat to bring another new AIS into Forest Lake. Sincerely Jerry Grundner FLLA Vice President and Board member

FLLA - Watercraft Inspector Job Posting

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     June 15, 2015

Dear Friends of the Lake:

The Watershed District partners with the FLLA to do boat inspections at the public accesses, they need help this summer.  Maybe you know someone who is looking for a summer job?  Perhaps you have children, friend or niece/nephew who wants to get paid $15.00 Hr.  

The WSD is hoping to hire 2-3 additional watercraft inspectors for this summer. After being trained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the inspectors will work at public boat accesses and check incoming and outgoing watercraft for aquatic invasive species.

The positions to be filled will be 20 hours per week at $15 per hour, with all of the worked hours being between 11 AM on Friday and 9 PM on Sunday. By emphasizing weekend inspection hours, the WSD is hoping to maximize the number of inspections that are being performed.

If anyone has questions about this position, they can contact Mike Sorenson 651-395-5857 or mike.sorensen@clflwd.org.

FLLA Board of Directors

FLLA Milfoil Broadcast - June 19, 2017

                                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                June 18, 2017

Dear Friends of the Lake,

As you are probably aware, there is a small amount of   Eurasian Water Milfoil (EWM) in Lake 1 but not in Lakes 2 and 3.

In an effort to control the growth and spreading of this aquatic invasive species, a DNR approved herbicide treatment will occur on 10 acres of Lake 1 in mid-June. The official Public Notice, dates and a map showing the area to be treated appear below.

We will continue to keep you apprised of the treatment results. Thank you for your ongoing support.

FLLA Board of Directors

Public Notice and Treatment Map:

                                                                                             

June 16, 2017

PUBLIC NOTICE: Eurasian Watermilfoil Herbicide Treatment on Forest Lake, Round 1

Forest Lake, MN - Notice is hereby given that the Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District, in conjunction with the Forest Lake Lake Association, City of Forest Lake, and MN Department of Natural Resources will be conducting an aquatic invasive species herbicide treatment of Eurasian watermilfoil in Forest Lake.  The herbicide that will be used is called DMA-4 (active ingredient is 2,4-D) and will be applied by a licensed applicator company, Clarke Aquatic Services Inc. Treatment of 10.4 acres of Eurasian watermilfoil will occur between June 19 and June 23. A map of the treatment areas may be found below.

A second round of treatment targeting heavy growth will likely occur in mid-July and will be accompanied by a second public notice and treatment map.

Questions may be directed to the Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District at:

info@clflwd.org

(651) 395-5850

44 Lake Street South, Suite A

Forest Lake, MN 55025

  

Forest Lake Eurasian Watermilfoil Treatment Areas Round 1 - June 2017

 

Aquatic Invasive Species Identification Workshop - June 19, 2017

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         June 16, 2015

Dear Friends of the Lake:

Below is an opportunity for you to attend a workshop conducted by the Forest Lake - Comfort Lake Watershed District regarding the identification of Aquatic Invasive Species versus Native Aquatic Species.  We encourage you to attend if this of interest to you.  The workshop is this Monday, June 19th.  Further details are listed below.

FLLA Board of Directors

Hello,

This is a reminder that an aquatic invasive species identification workshop will be taking place at the Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District office (44 Lake Street South, Forest Lake) and Forest Lake's Lakeside Park at 6:30 pm on Monday, June 19th. The attached flyer describes the workshop in detail.

The workshop will start at the Watershed District office with a short presentation about aquatic invasive species and will then move across the street to Lakeside Park where participants will get hands-on experience learning to identify invasive species and native (beneficial) species. The hands-on time will be informal and will allow for participants to ask questions about the plants themselves or the approach that the Watershed District takes toward monitoring and managing aquatic invasive species.

This event is completely free and open to the public. No prior knowledge of aquatic invasive species is necessary. Please share this email and the attached flyer with anyone who may be interested.

If you are interested in attending this workshop, please register here: http://tinyurl.com/AISID17

We hope to see you there!

-Mike Sorensen

---------------------------------------------------------

Mike Sorensen, M.S.

Program Assistant

Comfort Lake - Forest Lake Watershed District

44 Lake Street South, Suite A

Forest Lake, MN 55025

P: 651-395-5857

www.clflwd.org

FLLA 2018 Calendars

                                                                                                          June 7, 2017

 

Subject:  Forest Lake Lake Association Calendars

Dear Friends of the Lake;

The Forest Lake Lake Association is assembling a 2018 calendar featuring Forest Lake with photos depicting the lake and the wonderful activities that we all enjoy.  We will be sending this free 2018 calendar to all 2017 paid members who have paid their dues by September 1, 2017. 

We are intending to have a different photo for each month.  We are reaching out to you our members for photos that you have taken that show the lake with your favorite activities, wildlife, sunsets, sunrises or any other great pictures.  It is important to note that we will only use photos from paid members.  We will provide honorable mention with your name below the photo for any photo we use in the calendar - any photograph submitted can be used by FLLA at our discretion for marketing and advertising.  We will also give photographer credit for any pictures used.

Please send any photos that you have in a JPEG format to Ourforestlake@gmail.com

Please send your photos to us by August 31, 2017.

We hope to have the calendars printed and sent out by late fall so you will have them in time for 2018.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at the above e-mail also.

Thank you,

The FLLA Board of Directors

Reminder: 2017 Membership Dues from Forest Lake Lake Association

Forest Lake Lake Association   INVOICE 2017-000 DUE DATE 02/02/2017 BALANCE DUE $40.00 View invoice

Dear friends of the lake, In reviewing our membership list we noticed that you were a FLLA paid member in 2016 but our records show that you have not paid your dues in 2017. We hope this has just been an oversight on your part and we look forward to receiving your dues payment. For ease of use our website now has the ability to pay with a credit card if you do not want to pay by check. If you have decided for some reason not to be a member of the FLLA for 2017 we want you to know we appreciate your support in past years and hope that maybe you will consider joining again in 2018. If there is a reason why you do not want to be part of the FLLA that you feel the Board of Directors should know about please e-mail us at ourforestlake@gmail.com and let us know your concern. Thank you Board of Directors Forest Lake Lake Association.

Watercraft Decontamination Station at Lakeside Park May 26-27, 2017

                                                                                                          May 22, 2017

 Dear FLLA Members,

As you may know, the Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District runs a watercraft inspection program cooperatively with Chisago County. Through this program, and with support from the Forest Lake Lake Association, the City of Forest Lake, and Washington County, we are able to station DNR-trained watercraft inspectors at the three public accesses on Forest Lake at high-traffic times throughout the summer. The inspectors search for aquatic invasive species (AIS) on incoming and outgoing boats.

Chisago County owns a portable watercraft decontamination station that uses heated and compressed water to remove visible aquatic invasive species from watercraft and kill organisms that are too small for us to see such as zebra mussel veligers. The decontamination station is operated by two specially-trained inspectors. The station is on a rotating schedule and will be stationed at Forest Lake periodically throughout the summer.

Please note that the watercraft decontamination station will be at the Lakeside Park public boat access on Friday, May 26^th from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and Saturday, May 27^th from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm. 

Lake association members are encouraged to stop by the park during these times if they are interested in learning more about how the decontamination station works. If anyone is interested, the image below is of the decontamination station in use. You will notice that the boat trailer is parked on a pad that collects all of the water before it can run into a nearby lake.

As mentioned above, the station is on a rotating schedule. It will be back to Forest Lake periodically throughout the summer. Your FLLA Board will send you updates when the decontamination station is scheduled at Forest Lake.

Thanks for your support of the lake,

The FLLA Board of Directors