OCLRA eNews – August 2025
Please share this information and the OCLRA website (www.oclra.org) with the members of your lake association, district and/or friends group and with your personal networks.
The next OCLRA Board meeting is Monday, September 8, at 9 a.m., at the ADRC building in Rhinelander, across the parking lot from Trig’s grocery.
URGENT: Wakeboat bill headed for state legislature
University study documents wakeboat impacts on lake bottoms
Grant writing seminar set for September 26 at Kemp Station
Lake Steward recognition program advances with MGLP grant
Wisconsin’s Green Fire sets Lake Toolbox Workshops
Six-County Lakes and Rivers Meeting video now available
Oak wilt: A growing threat to northern forests
Extension Lakes seeks Lake Stewardship Award nominations
Oneida County Clean Waters Action offers update
MGLP webinar series to continue in fall
Follow OCLRA on Facebook
URGENT: Wakeboat bill headed for state legislature
A boat-industry backed bill on wakesurfing could be in introduced in the state assembly as soon as Monday, August 25, and could go to a public hearing at a committee meeting the next day at noon in Madison, according to the Last Wilderness Alliance and Lakes at Stake Wisconsin. The bill is expected to include inadequate limits on water depth and distance from shore, and to restrict local governments’ right to regulate enhanced wakes. A strong showing at such a hearing is essential. Watch for emailed updates and be prepared to travel to Madison to oppose this bill. The future of our lakes is at risk.
University study documents wakeboat damage to lake bottoms
The much anticipated University of Minnesota study on the impact of wakeboats shows that 10 feet of water is not enough to protect lake bottoms from damage caused by the boats’ propeller wash. The boating industry has claimed there is no lakebed impact if wakesurfing occurs in depths of at least 10 feet. However, the new study definitively shows that profound sediment disturbance is done even in much deeper water. The report states: “It is recommended that wakeboats operate in 20 feet of water or greater when in surfing mode to minimize impacts on the lake bottom.” You can find the study summary here (https://oclra.us3.list-manage
Grant writing seminar set for September 26 at Kemp Station
So your lake group has a big project to do, but limited funds. Maybe a grant would help. To that end, OCLRA and VCLRA are offering a Grant Writing Seminar on Friday, September 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Kemp Station on Highway 47 north of Lake Tomahawk. This hands-on session can help you identify grant sources and write grant applications that get accepted. Presenters will include Laura MacFarland, DNR; Michele Sadauskas, Oneida County; Cathy Higley, Vilas County; Rosie Page, Wisconsin Headwaters Invasives Partnership; Ben Strand, Natural Resources Foundation; and Tracy Beckman, Lumberjack Resource Conservation and Development Council. Attendance is limited to 40 people; the cost is $20. For details and to register,https://www.eventbrit
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Lake Steward recognition program advances with MGLP grant
The Lake Steward program operated statewide in Minnesota, and being pilot-tested on Oneida County’s Moen Chain in partnership with OCLRA, has been bolstered by a $58,250 grant to Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates (MLR) from the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership. The grant announcement states that MLR will partner with OCLRA to advance both organizations’ regional Lake Steward programs. At present, OCLRA has received 15 expressions of interest in Lake Steward from lake associations in Oneida and neighboring counties. The grant will enable MLR and OCLRA to share resources to help those associations actually deploy Lake Steward initiatives. Meanwhile, the Moen folks have so far awarded Lake Steward seven signs to property owners.
Wisconsin’s Green Fire sets Lake Toolbox Workshops
Imagine that you could assess conditions that affect your lake, identify threats to water quality and habitat, and customize a “take action” plan—without a consultant and lake management plan. Wisconsin’s Green Fire is offering free Northern Lakes Toolbox Workshops in Oneida and Vilas Counties. Topics include basic lake ecology and management, where to find data on your lake, and how to identify action strategies that make a difference. The Oneida County workshop will be held on October 1 and 3, and the Vilas County workshop on September 10 and 12, both at Kemp Station in Lake Tomahawk. For more information, contact Mike Meyer, MMeyer@WIgreenfire.org (mailto:MMeyer@WIgreenfire.org
Six-County Lakes and Rivers Meeting video now available
If you missed the 2025 Northwoods Six-County Lakes and Rivers Meeting, you can now view a video (https://oclra.us3.list-manage
Oak wilt: A growing threat to northern forests
We’ve seen beetles decimate American elms and emerald borers destroy ash trees. Now another important tree species is under threat. Red oaks and pin oaks, essential to the scenery around our lakes, can be vulnerable to oak wilt, spread by a fungus-carrying beetle. The disease is starting to show up in northern counties, including Oneida. The fungus grows through the water-conducting system (xylem) of the tree and can progress rapidly. Symptoms appear from June to September. Leaves of infected trees appear dull green or bronze and fall off while still partly green. Prevention is the best remedy. Visit here (https://oclra.us3.list-manage
Extension Lakes seeks Lake Stewardship Award nominations
Do you know an outstanding person or group who dedicates time and talent to our state’s water resources? You to nominate them for a Wisconsin Lake Stewardship Award. The Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Partnership present the awards each year at the Lakes and Rivers Convention. Visit here (https://oclra.us3.list-manage
Oneida County Clean Waters Action offers update
The latest update from OCCWA includes a report on Oneida County’s Comprehensive Plan, plus articles on the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, the Six County Lakes and Rivers meeting, and permaculture as a solution to reducing energy consumption in the Northwoods. It also includes a post covering OCCWA’s participation in an independent coalition PFAS summit, an essay from Wisconsin’s Greenfire on new federal direction on forests, the significance of WXPR being defunded, and DNR PFAS testing results for the Town of Stella. Explore these and other items at https://oclra.us3.list-manage.
MGLP webinar series to continue in fall
The Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership’s 2025 Lake Conservation Webinars will resume in fall. Visit here (https://oclra.us3.list-manage
Follow OCLRA on Facebook