The Three Lakes Association Science Education Outreach Program (SEOP) helps cultivate stewardship of the watershed in the hearts and minds of our young people- the next generation living within the watershed. Our strategy has been to work with science teachers and students in the Central Lake, Bellaire, Kalkaska, and Mancelona school districts.

By offering supplemental assistance to local science educators, wehave enriched the environmental science curricula. Science teachers are invited annually to submit a grant application for equipment or experiences relevant to their grade level curriculum and state guidelines that enhance science instruction but are not within the budgetary means of their districts. TLA awards as many grants each year as its budget will allow. To date, we have provided almost $50,000 to our partner districts!

In order to continue this program, we need your help. As our water quality and safety programs expand, our ability to sustain the current awards is in jeopardy.

• $25 secures a subscription to National Geographic Kids for a 2nd grade classroom.
• $50 provides a Watershed Field Kit to a 5th grade class.
• $100 assures that a middle school biology class can dissect worms.
• $250 sends four classes to the Grass River Natural Area for a customized field trip experience.
• $500 outfits a high school biology class with 3 compound microscopes.

See what projects our grants supported this year: 2013 Science Education Outreach Program.

The benefits of the program are great. Preparing our young people to be better stewards of our environment speaks for itself.

Take a moment and help us match Dockside Torch Lake’s challenge to assure that the SEOP is funded for 2014 and beyond. You can now donate online or fill out this pledge card (SEOP Pledge 2013) and send us a check!

You can donate online, safely and securely through PayPal by pressing this ‘Donate’ button now:

1. Determine if log structures can improve the aquatic habitat of a river heavy with sediment.
2. Determine if log structures along the riverbank can be a useful technique to improve navigability by deepening portions of the channel impacted by sediment built-up.

If successful, the log-structures technique could be applied to other sites throughout the Chain of Lakes.

For more information, read our overview.

Here is the 2013 Summer Intern Schedule: TLA Intern Schedule 2013

If you are interested in becoming an intern, fill out this application TLAInternshipApplication_2013 and submit it by May 31, 2013.

Grass River Natural Area Education Center
6500 Alden Highway

A proposed pilot project; collaborating partners include…

• Antrim County Board of Commissioners
• Friends of Clam Lake
• Antrim Conservation District
• Grass River Natural Area
• Antrim County Drain Commissioner
• Three Lakes Association
• Clam Lake Businesses
• Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council
• Elk-Skegemog Lakes Association

Flyer: LogStructures-MeetingFlyer, May 21, 2013

LCA Forum Publicity Flyer

With low water levels on everyone’s mind, the Lake Charlevoix Association is hosting a Low Water Forum on Monday May 6, at 6:30 pm in the Boyne City High School Performing Arts Center.

Is this just part of the natural cycle or the beginning of a disastrous trend?  We have a great lineup of speakers to answer your questions, led off by Jennifer McKay, Policy Specialist at Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council.  Jennifer will address inflows and outflows as they contribute to lake levels.  She will be followed by Roger Gauthier, who is a retired Army Corps of Engineers Senior Hydrologist in the Detroit Office.  Roger is also Chair of the bi-national coalition, Restore Our Water International (ROWI) an organization working toward restoring water in the Great Lakes to more natural levels. Roger will go into more detail about water level fluctuations over time, their causes and possible human interventions.

Our featured speaker for the evening will Ms. Lana Pollack, a Michigan native who is now the US Chair of the International Joint Commission (IJC) in Washington DC. As chairperson of the IJC, Ms. Pollack, along with the other four US and Canadian IJC Commissioners, has been charged by both governments with making recommendations regarding the causes and possible responses to Great Lakes water level changes.  Ms. Pollack will speak about the IJC role, what studies they are basing their decisions on and what she sees as the next steps that should be taken to protect the water of the Great Lakes.  We are honored that Ms. Pollack has agreed to speak to us in Boyne City. I’m sure everyone in attendance will find her words of great interest.

There will be time after the presentations for questions from the audience.

Spread the word, we hope to see a large crowd on May 6^th!

This issue contains articles on the following topics:

• With his passing, longtime TLA member helps to ensure the future
• TLA Science Education Outreach Program Looking to the Future
• What ??? You’re kidding!
• Managing Grass River Sedimentation: Proposed Pilot Project
• Natural Shoreline Lakescaping & Restoration, Part 1
• TCE Plume
• Efforts of Marine Patrol Contribute to a Safer and More Family Friendly Lake
• Low Water Level in Lakes Michigan & Huron: TLA Advocating for Action

Read more from Dr. John W. Richter – President, Friends of the Jordan River Watershed Inc.

Additional information on Biodiversity can be found at the Friends of the Jordan River website.

On January 30, TLA, in collaboration with several other organizations (known collectively as the Elk River Chain of Lakes-Watershed Plan Implementation Team – or ERCOL-WPIT), participated in the second annual informational forum to update members of our local government entities on the state of our watershed, the challenges it faces, and the opportunities ahead for all of us to help keep this place beautiful and healthy.

Here is the agenda from the meeting, which includes links to some of the presentations.

Watershed Workshop Agenda (pdf)

9:00am:  Registration

9:30am:  Introduction – Joe Meyers, Antrim County

9:37am:  Elk River Chain of Lakes LOON Network – Peg Comfort, Michigan Audubon

9:40am:  Watershed 101 (pdf) – Sarah U’Ren, The Watershed Center of Grand Traverse Bay
Stormwater Action Plans, Small Dam Inventory (pdf)- Andy Knott

Organization Initiatives:

10:00am: A. Invasive Species (pdf)

• Becky Norris, Three Lakes Association
• Sharon Vreeland, Acme Township
• Purple Loosestrife (pdf), Leslie Meyers, Three Lakes Association

10:15am:  B. Natural Shorelines (pdf)

• Jen Gelb, Tip of the Mitt
• Diane Crandall, Bloomin’ Buddies
• Heidi Schafer, Antrim Conservation District

10:55am:  Break

Elk River Chain of Lakes Projects:

11:00am:  Fish Shelters Project (pdf) – Fred Sittel, Three Lakes Association/Friends of Clam Lake

11:15am:  Grass & Rapid Rivers’ Sedimentation Project (pdf) – Anthony Kendall, Michigan State University

11:40am:  Future Projects – Panel Discussion & Electronic Voting – Future Projects TBD

• Grenetta Thomassey, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council
• Andy Knott, The Watershed Center of Grand Traverse Bay
• Dean Branson, Three Lakes Association
• Bob Kingon, ESLA
• Christy Roman, ACD
• Terry Smith, Forest Home Township

12:20pm:  Wrap-Up and Acknowledgements

12:30pm:  Lunch (Lunch provided by Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council)

This issue contains articles on the following topics:

• Short’s to Short’s 2013 kayak paddle event: TLA volunteers needed
• Can the accumulation of sediment in Grass River be reduced?
• Samantha Fox and Derek Walton – 7 years later
• Waterfowl Botulism Update 2012: The What and Why
• TLA to attack Eurasian watermilfoil in 2013…again
• Tamarack beetle; changing the appearance of our wetland areas
• TLA Education News