Thoughts from the Association President​

​Facts to think about this lake season.
 
Once again it is nearing the time when we begin to think about and prepare for spring and summer on the lake.  This time reminds me of when we first bought our lake property back in 1990.  I had shared my excitement with a colleague who was a former high school science teacher at St. Cloud Tech.  He told me that all lakes will eventually die.  This kind of bothered me and in my naivete with being a lake property owner, I called the DNR to ask about the life cycle of Bass Lake. He advised me that indeed all lakes will eventually die and Bass Lake likely would not die in my lifetime.  I have since learned that the life cycles of a lake are the oligotrophic, the mesotrophic and the eutrophic with oligotrophic being the best and eutrophic being at the end of the lake life cycle.  Bass lake is in the mesotrophic stage where there are intermediate levels of plant productivity. The more plant activity the more sediment the less oxygen and shorter life cycle.  Deeper lakes have a longer life span and shallow lakes less and Bass lake is a shallow lake. Did you know that we can play a part in lengthening the life span of a lake or shortening it?  The lake is no different than all life forms.  For example, if we abuse our bodies we run the risk of shortening our life span and it is the same for lakes. Bass lake has no inlets or outlets, so the largest determinate of future water quality is land use practices in the shoreland zone.  What I am saying is that we can play a part in lengthening the life cycle of Bass lake if we choose to do so.  The lake association website is full of information on how to maintain water quality.  

Bob Steele
4/1/22
By-Laws (Adopted 2010; Amended 2014, 2018 and 2021)
bla_financial_report_8-8-2020.docx
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Treasurer Reports 

2021 Memberships=30
2020 Memberships=30
2019 Memberships=30
​2018 Memberships=30
2017 Memberships=30
2016 Memberships=27
2015 Memberships=32
2014 Memberships=28
2013 Memberships=26
2012 Memberships=29
2011 Memberships=19
2010 Memberships=23

Membership dues are $20.00

Interested in being a member? Complete the application  below.

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Upcoming Events

Mission Township News



Mission Township is excited to announce it has been awarded a grant by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Recreation Grant Program to assist the township with improvements to Mission Park.  The grant is intended to assist local governments throughout the state with developing or redeveloping recreational areas and facilities.  Under the terms of the grant, the township will match the funds provided by the state.
Key improvements and additions to the park include dedicated pickleball courts, new playground equipment and surfacing, resurfacing the basketball court, new roof for the pavilion, and several other items.  Work will commence in the fall of 2021 and be completed by mid 2023.
So watch for more information and join in the fun as our park grows and provides exciting opportunities for all ages!
​
​
The Mission Township Transfer Station is open every Saturday.
 New Hours  9am – 3pm 
Open April until the end of October.  The Transfer Station is located on East Horseshoe Lake Road.  

Monthly township meetings held the first Monday of the month (unless it is a holiday).  Meeting schedule, minutes and agenda can be located on the township website--missiontownship.org
 

Mission Township Park
(Michael Blassey)
 
The shelter is available to Mission Township residents for use by reservation. Contact town clerk, Anna Anderson, at 765-4377
Also, please call Michael if you have questions or issues about the trail system at (612) 240-7985

People spread Aquatic Invasive Species, people are the solution.

BLA Officers
President:  Bob Steele
Vice President: Nancy Geiger
Secretary/Treasurer: Pam Berhow
​Website Administrator: Martha Steele  

    Questions or Comments?

Check this out!

Last summer, Candi Fuller (Bass Lake property owner and member of the Association!) did a demo on soil run off with a rainfall simulator at the Crow Wing County Fair.   The first 1/2 talks about farming but the second 1/2 really drives home the importance of vegetated buffers.
GOOD NEWS!  Our early AIS testing came back negative for both Zebra Mussel Veliger and Spiny Waterflea!

Crow Wing County Updates

Nicole Erickson: Updates​

10/12/22​
  • Reminder! Crow Wing County is hosting a 2022 Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) prevention wrap-up presentation on October 19th starting at 9:00 am. This presentation will be in meeting room 2, downstairs in the Land Services building located at 322 Laurel Street in Brainerd and online via Microsoft Teams. If you would like to virtually attend this meeting please use the link on the attached agenda. This presentation will be recorded and shared to the group for those that are unable to attend on October 19th.
 
  • A watercraft inspector prevented the introduction of Starry Stonewort in Lake Superior. Please read the official DNR press release at this link: Starry stonewort introduction to Lake Superior prevented by watercraft inspectors.​
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8/31/22​
2022_zm_veliger_sw_results.pdf
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pr2022_decon_stations_.pdf
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2022_mobile_decon_schedule
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2022_ais_newsltr
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cwc_2022_inspection_master_schedule.pdf
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starry_stonewort_risk_map.pdf
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3/28/22
2021 LID Reports: View the 2021 Lake Improvement Districts reports on the County’s website at https://www.crowwing.us/601/Lake-Improvement-Districts-LID
​
3/11/22
2022 Crow Wing County’s Watercraft Inspection and Decontamination Policy
2022_cwc_ais_policy.pdf
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newly_infested_ais.pdf
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County AIS Information:

  •  The County is offering a texting service for decontamination stations in the area. The public can Text CWCDECON to 72345 or call the Decon Hotline at 218-824-1055.
  • The County’s mobile decontamination station is located at boat accesses throughout Crow Wing County. You can find its current location by visiting www.crowwing.us/ais and click the interactive map.
​Weather Alerts
Sign up  for Crow Wing County ALERT:
https://crowwing.us/1490/Crow-Wing-County-ALERT
Residents can opt in and pick what weather alerts they wish to receive

REPORTS
Bass Lake 2021 Summary from AW Research
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Water Quality (Catherine McGoldrick):

See separate water quality page for more info.
Secchi disk readings (this tells us the clarity of the lake's water by measuring how deep one can see a white disk under the surface at the deepest part of the lake).
​
Secchi Readings @ 23' lake depth
5/15                 13'
6/7                   14'
7/13                 11'
8/4                   11'
9/3                   10.5'
​10/1                 13'
Water level gauge set @ 1.34 on 5/20
5/20                1.32
​5/31                1.46
6/5                  1.38
6/16                1.29
​6/28                1.35
​7/8                  1.28
​7/25                1.26
​8/4                  1.13
​8/13                1.06
9/3                  1.04
10/2                  .98
10/11                .88    removed gauge
(Each tenth of a foot is equal to a water elevation change of 1 1/5")

Local Rainfall Report:
https://www.cocorahs.org/ViewData/Station
PrecipSummary.aspx?station=MN-CW-16

Membership Signs 
Are Now Available

​$23.00 for an 8x8 acrylic with aluminum laminate sign.  Post it on the road or your dock or both!  Contact Martha Steele steeles@brainerd.net to order.

MN Lakes and Rivers Advocates
Joined in 2015.
Mission:  To protect Minnesota's lake and river heritage for current and future generations by forging powerful links between lakes, lake advocates, and policy makers.
​ http://mnlakesandrivers.org/

August Water Connects Us All MLR News 8/29

MLR's Shoreland Guide to Lake Stewardship available on Amazon
 
Last Fall the MLR Lake Steward volunteers met to "lowdown" on our pilot year, identify strengths, and how to make them stronger, and identify gaps and how to close them.
 
Everyone agreed that education was critical. Working with Nancy Moe-Mergens of Center Lakes Association and Barbara Heitkamp, Lower St. Croix, we reviewed the available books on shore land management. One in particular was uniquely well suited to educating shore land owners on both the practices and the reason why these practices benefit the owners by benefitting the lake they love.

A special thank you is extended to Itasca Waters, Cass County Environmental Services, and the Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation for permission to revise their Itasca County Shoreland Guide.
 
We updated their guide and reformatted it to correspond to the Lake Steward program. The MLR Shoreland Guide to Lake Stewardship was published by Beaver House Press in July. It is not only an excellent leave behind for potential Lake Stewards, but anyone interested reducing the impact of their property on water quality. Some of the lake associations have provided the booklet to new property owners on the lake as a way to introduce them to the unique requirements of riparian ownership.
 
Learn More Here...

Healthy Waters Initiative Update - Study of Wake and Prop Thrust Impacts on Lake Ecology
 
If we hope to find ways to mitigate emerging threats to our lakes, we must begin by getting the best science. MLR is proud to support the Healthy Waters Initiative at St. Anthony Falls Fluid Dynamics Lab as they investigate boat wake and prop wash dynamics, and the impacts on lake ecology.
 
With the new larger and more powerful boats on the market, like wake surfing watercraft, finding reliable answers to these questions is critical. Below is an update we just received from the Healthy Lakes Initiative:
 
August 25, 2022
 
It’s been a busy few months for the HWI team and we’re happy to report many positive steps forward:
  • First, last Wednesday we presented our Phase 3 proposal to the Legislative Citizens Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). The presentation went well with many questions from the members. This 3-year project is now under consideration for funding by this program, which would allow us to greatly expand the efforts of Phase 1 and Phase 2 work, and begin to make connections to environmental impacts. Keep your fingers crossed as we wait to find out if our project will be selected for the funds that would become available June 2023. Our LCCMR proposal presentation can be watched here (time 39:17).
 
  • Second, we have exceeded the halfway point of our crowdfunding campaign for Phase 2 propeller wash research. As of today, we’ve raised just over $100,000 from more than 72 donors. We need to continue raising funds to ensure that we're able to execute our scope of work plan in its entirety. However, with the funds raised to date, we are moving forward with planning and preparing for our field deployment which is scheduled for the end of September. We are currently focused on planning test day logistics, identifying test sites, determining test conditions, purchasing water quality sensors, and selecting boats to test. It’s exciting to back at the table, preparing for field work!
 
  • Third, our undergrad student Bryce has made some amazing progress in developing our Citizen Science wave monitoring mast. The mast is deployed in Spearhead Lake thanks to our collaborators Peter Buesseler and colleagues at the Mississippi Headwaters Audubon Society (MHAS). Check out our recent update on the Citizen Science page.
We’ll continue to provide updates as we head into our field campaign.
August 25, 2022
 
Sign up to receive future updates here...

Conserving critical habitat in the face of climate change in Midwestern lakes by managing watershed land use, University of MN, 
July 27, 2022
 
"In a University of Minnesota study published in Ecosphere, researchers used statistical models to estimate the resilience of over 10,000 lakes in the upper Midwest to both climate change and land use in order to identify temperature and watershed conditions above which critical habitat was lost. For lakes in which watershed land use was predicted to influence coldwater habitat, the researchers identified lake-specific thresholds for protecting or restoring forested watersheds. They also estimated the uncertainty in how individual lakes would respond to both climate and land use change."
 
Read More...

Crow Wing County Lakes and Rivers Alliance (LARA)
​

​Joined in June 2012. 
LARA represents dues-paying lake associations in Crow Wing County.
Check out the latest newsletter!  3/30/21
lara_spring_newsletter_2021_.pdf
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MAISRC (Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center) 

The Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center is dedicated to fighting the spread and impact of aquatic invasive species on Minnesota’s beloved lakes and rivers.Created in 2012 through funds from the Minnesota legislature, our Center has grown into a respected partner and national leader in the fight against aquatic invasive species. MAISRC is a multidisciplinary team that plays a central role for AIS research in Minnesota.
MAISRC's mission is to develop research-based solutions that can reduce the impacts of aquatic invasive species in Minnesota by preventing spread, controlling populations, and managing ecosystems; and to advance knowledge to inspire action by others. You can learn more about our plans for the future in our 2015 - 2025 Strategic Plan. 

Finding Solutions to Minnesota’s Aquatic Invasive Species Problems. | Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC) (umn.edu)

Letter from the Director  7/29
Hello from MAISRC!

As I see the latest cutting-edge research, I remain optimistic that we can solve our AIS problems. The new discoveries and creation of tools will continue to change the way we manage AIS in Minnesota. The researchers at MAISRC are excited to share these findings with you at our upcoming Research and Management Showcase. We will have virtual presentations all day on September 21st, and optional in-person tours of our state-of-the-art Containment Laboratory on September 22nd and 24th. Read more.