REPORTS
Thoughts from our PresidentWelcome to 2025
Happy Winter, although it is feeling more like spring. I wouldn't be surprised to hear the loons on the lake soon. Last summer was like a roller coaster with all the rain in June and July, followed by a drought that is still continuing. We had some gorgeous Northern lights, several loon families, and even some bears around the lake. Our Lake Association Board planned several successful events and managed communication with lake residents. The same Board is in place in 2025 - Nancy Geiger, President; Mike Munos, Vice President; Pam Berhow, Secretary/Treasurer; and Martha Steele, Web Administrator. Past Presidents Bob Steele, Jon Auge, and Catherine McGoldrick have also volunteered time and effort on the Board, Events for 2025 - get these on your calendars! We'll get more information out to you prior to the events. Spring Social - Saturday, June 7 Boat Parade - Friday, July 4 Annual Meeting - Saturday, August 9 Last year I listed a few "resolutions" for our lake association - I think they are still applicable for 2025. - To maintain Bass Lake as a place where we can find peace and tranquility away from the chaos of modern life. It is even more important this year, as it seems like our country, state, and the world is in turmoil. I look forward to my time on Bass Lake to escape some of the pressure, and I envy those of you who live there year round. - To foster connections with our neighbors on the lake. We had over 25 people attend our social gathering at Mission Tavern in June, about 20 boats participated in the July 4th boat parade, and about 30 people came to the Annual Meeting in August. The Bass Lake Association Facebook page has been a great way to share beautiful photos (thanks especially to Julie Munos and Jeanne Carlson), ask for information, and share lake news. This website has been a central place to find information about the Lake Association and state/county work around lake health. Thanks so much to Martha Steele for maintaining the website and Facebook page. - To connect with local and state organizations that are committed to keeping our lakes and rivers clear and healthy. We continue our memberships in Minnesota Lakes and River (state) and Lakes and Rivers Association (county), and network with other lake associations in the area. This information is linked to our website. - To support efforts to keep Bass Lake free of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) through education and testing. Bass Lake remains free of AIS, although many lakes around us are contaminated. I hope that I will be able to write that again at the end of 2025! Thanks to Catherine McGoldrick for conducting the testing done on our lake. - To support efforts to maintain and increase the loon population in Minnesota and on Bass Lake. We were lucky to have two loon families on our lake last summer, as well as several other loons who visited regularly. After many summers when no chicks survived, each loon family had a chick that lived to migrate last fall. It is exciting to watch the development of the National Loon Center in Crosslake. I went on the "StewardShip" tours of Crosslake several times last summer and it was fascinating to hear about our state bird. Thanks to Catherine McGoldrick, Michael Blassey, and Paul Linder for volunteering to lead these tours. If you haven't taken one of these free tours, you can register on the National Loon Center website. If there are projects you'd like to see the Association get involved in, or if you would like to get involved yourself, please let us know. Here's to a wonderful summer at the Lake! Nancy Geiger, President 2/3/2025 By-Laws (Adopted 2010; Amended 2014, 2018, 2021 and 2024)
Treasurer Reports
2022 Memberships=25
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.
Upcoming EventsAnnual Meeting - Saturday, August 9 Mission Township Park 10:00 AM Mission Township Park (Michael Blassey) The shelter is available to Mission Township residents for use by reservation. Contact town clerk, Naomi Scott, at 218-765-4377 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: Nancy Geiger Vice President: Michael Munos Secretary/Treasurer: Pam Berhow Website Administrator: Martha Steele Membership Signs
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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 6/17 14.5' 7/15 11.0' 8/7 10.0' 8/20 8.0' 9/10 9.5' Water gauge level : set 5/1/2025 5/1 0.88 6/18 0.75 7/1 0.80 7/15 0.73 7/28 0.88 (back to set-in level) 8/7 0.72 8/20 0.57 9/10 0.37 9/27 0.33 10/10 0.10 (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 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 MAISRC (Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center)
Join Starry Trek 2025: Volunteers Needed to Help Protect Minnesota's LakesVolunteers who love lakes are needed throughout Minnesota on Saturday, August 9, 2025, to help search for starry stonewort, an aquatic invasive algae that can spread easily and form dense mats in lakes. Early detection is the best way to prevent the impacts of starry stonewort, and you can help!
Starry Trek is an annual, one-day event hosted by the AIS Detectors program, where the public meets at training sites across Minnesota to learn how to identify starry stonewort and other aquatic invasive species (AIS). After the training, participants head out to local water access points to look for signs of these AIS. Watch a short video about Starry Trek: LEARN MORE AND REGISTER Starry stonewort was first discovered in Minnesota at Lake Koronis in 2015 and has since spread to thirty lakes across the state. Early detection is crucial for managing this species. Starry Trek volunteers have already identified starry stonewort in four lakes and found other AIS such as Eurasian watermilfoil and zebra mussels, during this event. There are currently 23 local training sites around the state - check out this map to find the one closest to you! Volunteers will meet at their local site for training, then will be sent to nearby public water accesses to check for starry stonewort. At the end of the day, they’ll return to the local training site to report their findings. For a full list of the sites and other FAQs, please visit starrytrek.org. REGISTER FOR STARRY TREK 2025 For statewide information, contact: Megan Weber, Extension Educator Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center [email protected] 
Explore the Latest in Aquatic Invasive Species Research
What’s inside our latest newsletter?
NEWSLETTER MAISRC researcher SCUBA diving in a lake, holding a quadrat (PVC square to map lake bed), photo by Naomi Blinick Upcoming Events
In the News
Crow Wing County Lakes and Rivers Alliance (LARA)
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MN Lakes and Rivers Advocates
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| 2025_cwc_ais_prevention_plan_presentation.pdf |
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11/26/24
Changing wages - 1st year $18.50, 2nd year 19.25, 3rd $20.25, lead $21.25, $2 more an hour for decontamination trained staff.
Using Crosslake permanent station as a backup decon spot instead of being open all the time.
Increasing/Changing grant opportunities for lake associations and LIDS.
We want to give a thanks to all who have participated in efforts to help keep our lakes clean, worked with us at the county on several projects, and supported us through changes that have been made. We also are thankful for all the work and support from other counties. We keep in touch with local counties and bounce ideas off them, look for guidance, and work together to bring AIS awareness to boaters.
- 2025 AIS plan
- Proposed updates to our plan are:
Changing wages - 1st year $18.50, 2nd year 19.25, 3rd $20.25, lead $21.25, $2 more an hour for decontamination trained staff.
Using Crosslake permanent station as a backup decon spot instead of being open all the time.
Increasing/Changing grant opportunities for lake associations and LIDS.
- We have many different tools available for landowners to use to help protect our waters! Water is a focal point in Crow Wing County.
- Starry Stonewort
- Sharing a great write up on Starry. Rush Lake efforts mentioned at the bottom. A Decade of SS Exerpts Part 1.pdf - Google Drive
We want to give a thanks to all who have participated in efforts to help keep our lakes clean, worked with us at the county on several projects, and supported us through changes that have been made. We also are thankful for all the work and support from other counties. We keep in touch with local counties and bounce ideas off them, look for guidance, and work together to bring AIS awareness to boaters.