News Flash!!! Green Lake Property Owners Association

Stream and Lake Monitoring Training for Volunteers

The Crow River Organization of Water and the Middle Fork Crow River Watershed District are offering a one-day workshop for citizens interested in monitoring a stream or lake in the Crow River Watershed.

The intent of this workshop is to provide volunteers with the knowledge and tools necessary to conduct monitoring on our local surface waters.

The training sessions will be offered on two different dates and locations.

March 31, 2007
Ney Park and Nature Center
Maple Lake, MN (Wright Co.)

April 28, 2007
Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center
Spicer, MN (Kandiyohi Co.)

For information, directions and to register, please click here to download the brochure.

The River Friendly Community Award, initiated by the Rivers Council of Minnesota, salutes communities throughout Minnesota for their leadership in celebrating and protecting rivers.

Wenck Associates, Inc. is pleased to sponsor the River Friendly Community Award to help continue efforts toward improving and protecting the Sauk River Watershed. Wenck Associates, Inc. is a leading environmental engineering company serving watershed districts, watershed management organizations and cities, in an endeavor to improve the quality of our water resources. Wenck Associates, Inc. is committed to the development of citizen partnerships with government to reach that end.

In 2003, citizens throughout the Middle Fork Crow River Watershed in Kandiyohi, Meeker and Stearns County began sharing their concerns and observations of deteriorated water quality. Parts of the watershed were at risk for becoming listed as impaired, yet there were no funds available through state and federal agencies for protective projects to implement in the watershed.

(From left to right: Bill & Anne Latham, accepting the award for the Middle Fork of the Crow River Watershed District; Governor Tim Pawlenty; Joe Grabowski, President of Wenck Associates; Ron Harnack, Executive Director, Board of Water and Soil Resources)

Thus began an intensive grass roots effort to create a watershed district--a consistent, representative, accountable organization with sustainable local funding to protect and improve water quality in the watershed. Countless hours of volunteer time was spent building watershed community consensus: circulating petitions, talking to and educating citizens and elected officials, researching issues and addressing concerns.

On April 27, 2005, the Middle Fork Crow River Watershed District was born. A representative Board of five Managers will work with a Citizen Advisory Committee to develop a comprehensive watershed-based plan to address pollution of lakes and streams in the watershed in partnership with local, regional and state jurisdictions toward improving water quality with up to $250,000 of locally generated revenue.

The educational results have already taken effect. People and governmental units have become much more aware of how their actions impact water resources in the watershed. Folks who would have otherwise never met found common ground, learned to cooperatively solve problems correct issues of mutual concern.

The hard work and determination of concerned citizens working with local, regional and state government toward locally led watershed conservation exemplifies the proactive, collaborative approach to watershed resource management that the Rivers Council of Minnesota envisions for all of Minnesota's 82 watersheds and 92,000 miles of river.