July 4th President's Letter

Hi Lone Lakers,

The LLPOA Board of Directors sends its wishes to you to have a wonderful Independence Day weekend on Lone Lake. This weekend the lake association will have several activities including the Boat Parade on Saturday at noon starting off at the public access bay, the Lone Lake Triathlon on Monday at the swimming beach starting at 8:30 a.m. and boat inspections at the public launch Friday through Monday, conducted by LLPOA members and County boat inspectors. Let’s have a fun and safe weekend with family and friends. Please be extra conscientious and thoughtful by conducting water sports in the middle of the bays.

July is also important because we will be holding our Annual Meeting and Pot Luck again this year on Saturday, July 23 at 11:00 a.m. You will receive a postcard reminder and more information in the mail. Master Gardener Micki Berg will speak about the Monarch butterfly, and how we can preserve its habitat to keep the butterfly alive and well. This is always a fun meeting with neighbors and a good way to get lake association news. We hope to see you there!

Finally, thank you for your LLPOA membership as all of us work together to enhance, protect and preserve the beauty of Lone Lake.

We’ll see you on the lake! Steve

Paddle Boards & Kayaks

Look over Lone Lake on a summer day and you might see ski boats pulling tubers, fishing boats criss-crossing the lake at a slow troll, and paddleboarders quietly slipping through the waves. The narrow silhouette of a paddleboarder can be difficult to spot, especially when the sun is shining in your eyes. Please watch for smaller, slower-moving craft to keep the lake a safe place for all to have fun.

Check out the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website for more information.

Paddleboarding Safety Tips
1. Always wear your life jacket.
2. Know or learn how to swim.
3. Tie a whistle onto your lifejacket in case of an emergency.
4. Paddle on a lake or a calm bay of a larger lake if you are a beginner.
5. Tell someone where you're going and when you'll be back.
6. Paddle sober. Never paddle under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
7. Be aware of weather and wind conditions.
8. Paddle with a group, not alone.
9. Take a paddling skills course to learn how to self-rescue and tow another paddleboard.
10. Be aware of paddling hazards like rocks and low hanging branches.
11. Know when to wear a leash on your board.
12. In case of an emergency, bring a cell phone in a waterproof case or bag.

Year of the Monarch for Lone Lake

Image: Milkweed Monarch Victor R Quintanilla-Blog

At our July 23, 2016 LLPOA annual meeting and picnic, LLPOA will call special attention to the Monarch butterfly, which is experiencing a serious decline due, in large part, to a lack of habitat. One thing you can do to help the Monarch is to plant - and do not mow or knock down - milkweed. Milkweed is the only plant that the Monarch butterfly lays its eggs on, and the only plant the caterpillar eats. Without milkweed, there can be no Monarch butterflies.

Plant at least ten individual milkweed plants in your garden or yard, if possible. Choose at least two different species. Conservationists recommend you include common milkweed since it is the Monarch’s preferred species of milkweed. It may grow into large clumps, but if there is room in your garden, please include it.

These are the native milkweed species that are recommended for this region: Common Milkweed; Swamp Milkweed; Butterfly Milkweed; Purple Milkweed; Prairie Milkweed; Whorled Milkweed and Poke Milkweed. Collect seeds from the pods or refer to www.xerces.org/milkweed-seed-finder for sources to buy other plants and seeds.

Holiday weekend features membership drive

Memorial Day weekend starts the LLPOA summer season, which begins with the 2016 membership drive. Association dues are $25 again this year. With your membership you will receive a “Clean, Drain and Dry” sign to place on your dock or boat. This is the association’s way of bringing attention to the drive to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) on Lone Lake and all lakes in Minnesota.  Thanks to Bev Napurski (LLPOA Board director) who produced the signs.

We also want to thank the small but determined road clean up group that met on a cold and windy Saturday, May 7 to clean the environment around Lone Lake. The hardy group had coffee and rolls, took a group picture and then got right to the road clean up. They were…..and we thank them for their dedication! They could use a few more volunteers this fall and next year, too.

ACLARA (Aitkin County Lakes and Rivers Association) held its annual DNR AIS Boat Inspection Training and Certification session at the Hazelton Township Hall on May 21. Walt and Dianne Weisser from our lake association organized and hosted the event. Boat inspectors must take the in-person AIS training every three years and an on-line refresher course in the intervening years. The online course with videos help boat inspectors stay current with best practices to prevent the spread of AIS. I personally did the review on-line as I was certified in 2014 and the six short videos were great and very informative. Linda Szymanski is our AIS Coordinator and is doing a great job facilitating the county inspectors and our own team of lake ambassadors. We are making some changes in our AIS Inspection Program and look for that report here. Please step-up and get certified as a volunteer and help in the fight to stop the spread of AIS and specifically on Lone Lake!

Finally, we have proclaimed this year to be the year of the Monarch butterfly. If you have milkweed on your property, do not cut them down or run them over. If you don’t have milkweed, plant then! We will be featuring the Monarch butterfly at our annual meeting with a guest speaker and also distributing milkweed seeds to plant in the fall. In the meantime, take pictures of butterflies for our Lake Association Butterfly Picture Contest also to be held at the annual meeting.

Thanks you for your support of the LLPOA and we’ll see you on the lake!
Steve Frazier, LLPOA President

Summer is almost here

Hi Lone Lakers,

What a beautiful spring it has been on Lone Lake to kick-off our summer season with our families and with the Lone Lake Association. The ice went off the lake on March 30th and last weekend you cannot believe how many docks and boats were already in the water. We even got our own dock in last weekend, which is a record! There is a lot to share with you so let’s get at it.

This year of 2016 is the year of the Monarch Butterfly on Lone Lake. We will be giving out Milk Weed packets with memberships to help the struggling Monarch population in the USA. We will also have our Annual Meeting Program center around the Monarch theme with a speaker and a photo/art contest of best Monarch shots and art using Milk Weed pods.

Our regular calendar of events starts on May 6th with Boat inspections using DNR Inspectors. Save May 14th on your calendar to join the Spring Road Clean-up at 9AM at the Public Beach. We’ll have coffee and rolls, a group picture and then take-off to our cleaning areas. Thanks to everyone that helps us keep the environment around Lone Lake pristine!

Thank you for your cooperation on the beaver issue and we have now suspended that effort and the Board will discuss more humane ways of dealing with nature’s effects on water flowage out of Lone Lake.

Our next big push will be the Memorial Day Weekend with both Boat Inspections and the Spring Membership Drive. Our second newsletter will come out just be for then to add additional detail to upcoming events.

Thank you for your support of the Lone Lake Association and we urge you to get involved in as many of the association’s activities that you can this summer.

We’ll talk again later, Steve Frazier, LLPOA President.

Good-bye to summer, say hello to fall events

What an incredible summer it has been on Lone Lake and a great year for our lake association!

The LLPOA’s Annual Pot Luck and Meeting held on July 25 was a wonderful success.  More than 70 people attended. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, the Audubon Center of the North Woods’ presentation was memorable—especially the porcupine—and we took care of lake association updates and business. Re-elected to the board were Steve Frazier as president, Karen Frazier as treasurer, Jennifer O’Neill as communications director, and Bev Napurski as web site and social media director. Unfortunately, we did not have a candidate to be the association secretary and we have an open director position. If you can serve, please contact Steve Frazier at sfrazier@usjet.net so the board of directors can fill open positions at its September 12th meeting.

Annual meeting attendees also received an AIS Plastic Dock Poster to remind boaters to clean, drain and dry their boats to prevent the spread of zebra mussels and other exotic species. LLPOA membership is well over 100 and if you want your AIS Poster and roster please get your membership dues of $25 to the LLPOA, P.O. Box 10, Aitkin, MN 56431. All members also will receive their Lone Lake Association membership roster to be distributed by LLPOA membership committee members this fall.

In other news, a Lake Outlet Committee was formed to deal with issues relating to lake levels, outlet drainage, and obstruction removal. There is room on the committee for a couple more lake residents, if you wish to participate. The committee’s first action was to replace the culvert that was partially blocked between Lone Lake’s outlet and Ripple Lake. LLPOA shared the cost of the project. My thanks to everyone that took part.

This Labor Day weekend you may notice AIS Boat Inspections volunteers at the public launch. For our lake’s part in the Aitkin County Boat Inspection Grant Program, we need to either pay or supply volunteer boat inspectors for 25% of the grant requirement.  This weekend is our final inspection weekend to attain our hours of inspection to fulfill our grant obligations. Become an AIS Inspector and do your part in protecting Lone Lake.

Our final event of the year will be the Fall Road Clean-up on Saturday, Sept. 12 at the swimming beach at 9 a.m.  We will have hot coffee, rolls, a photo-op and then divide into cleaning teams.  It is a fun and easy way to keep our lake area beautiful and to meet and talk with neighbors from around the lake.  Thank you for your membership and support of our lake association as we strive to enhance, protect and preserve the beauty of Lone Lake for the future.

We’ll talk again later, Steve Frazier, LLPOA President.

Culvert Repairs

A Lake Outlet Committee was formed to deal with issues relating to lake levels, outlet drainage, and obstruction removal. There is room on the committee for a couple more lake residents, if you wish to participate. The committee’s first action was to replace the culvert that was  partially blocked between Lone Lake’s outlet and Ripple Lake. LLPOA shared the cost of the project. To the satisfaction of property owners, Aitkin County and the lake association, repaired the culvert between Lone and Ripple Lakes. Project was completed in August 2015.

Annual Meeting Ahead

Annual meeting ahead: Is it time for you to step up?

The next big association event is the LLPOA Annual Meeting & Pot Luck on Sat., July 25 at the Preiner’s storage facility, 30353 Oak St. starting with games and set-up at 10:45 a.m.  We truly hope you will come and enjoy a few hours with friends, and cast your vote on board business and elections.

Up for election this year are all officers and two director positions.  The current officers that have indicated that they will serve another term are Steve Frazier – President, Karen Frazier-Treasurer, Jennifer O’Neill-Communications, and Bev Napurski-Director & Website/Social Media.  However, we are currently without a secretary and have one open director position.

This is a great time to step forward.

The secretary participates in board meetings and events, takes meeting notes (usually five meetings per year), and keeps the association’s historical records.  The person serving in a director’s position takes part in board meetings, shares in tasks that are not covered by team leaders, and attends association events. Please contact sfrazier@usjet.net to place your name in nomination as we all work to preserve and protect Lone Lake for the future!

We’ll talk again later, Steve Frazier, LLPOA President.

Loon update for 2015

Note July 12 from Dianne and Walt Weisser, Lone Lake loon watchers, and keepers of the loon nest platform:

“Not sure if you were aware, but Humphreys called to say the loons had been off the nest a couple of days.  He said they left on Saturday, which was the week before the 4th.  Bob and Bert Kosloski went by pontoon and saw eggs shells and a small dead baby chick, very tiny.  The following day Walt called the DNR.  Walt and Bob went back and removed the nest.  The egg shells were gone, but they retrieved what appeared to be the tiny chick.  We froze it and Walt dropped it off at the DNR.  Will wait to see if they are able to get any viable samples from the chick that may determine what happened.”

Stand up for Butterflies

A monarch caterpillar sits on a milkweed plant. | GARY FRIEDMAN FILE PHOTO

We all know and love the beautiful orange and black monarch butterfly.  This pretty insect, actually Minnesota’s state butterfly, is dying off.  In the immediate term, eliminate pesticide use (including the purchase of bedding plants and annuals treated with pesticides/herbicides) and plant milkweed—monarch caterpillars must have it for food.  Also, check out EPA’s risk assessment and opportunity to comment—due July 24, 2015.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-06-24/html/2015-15405.htm