Welcome, Minnesota Lakeshore Property Owners!
We represent the interests of Minnesota lakeshore property owners and other stakeholders concerned with the water quality of our lakes.
Lakeshore property owners! The hearing dates and locations for the proposed changes to the Aquatic Plant Management (APM) Rules have been set and are as follows:
- Monday, November 3
U of M Southern Research Station and Outreach Center
35838 120th Street
Waseca
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- Thursday, November 6
Bigwood Event Center
921 Western Ave.
Fergus Falls
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- Wednesday, November 5
Camp Ripley
Education Center
15000 Highway 115
Little Falls
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- Friday November 7
Days Inn Maplewood Hotel and Conference Center
3030 Southlawn Drive
Maplewood
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The hearing times are 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The proposed rules may be read here: http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/input/rules/apm/apm_rules.pdf
The link to the Statement of Need and Reasonableness (SONAR) can be found here.
Please read MHL’s detailed response to the rules here.
This is our last chance to change the content of the proposed rules, please try to attend the hearing closest to you. If you cannot attend and testify in person, please submit a letter to the administrative law judge detailing your concerns about the proposed rule changes. The judge may be contacted at:
Administrative Law Judge Richard C. Luis
Office of Administrative Hearings
600 North Robert Street
P.O. Box 64620
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0620
Tel: 651-361-7843
Fax: 651-361-7936
You may also submit your written concerns to the judge in advance of the hearings, or submit as you make your oral comments to the judge. You may also make only oral remarks to the judge. The bottom line is, we need to speak up now, about our concerns with the proposed APM rules.
This link to the DNR’s website answers the most common questions about the process and gives additional information: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/input/rules/apm/index.html
Has your application for an aquatic plant management permit this year been denied or reduced by the DNR?
If so, you can appeal their permitting decision by writing to the DNR commissioner:
Commissioner Mark Holsten
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155
phone: 651-259-5555
fax: 651-296-4799
Letter from the Chairman
Minnesotans for Healthy Lakes (MHL) is a group of Minnesota lakeshore property owners and other stakeholders who believe that our lakes should be kept in a clean, healthy, useable fashion for our families and friends, free of excessive invasive aquatic weeds. We recognize and acknowledge that Minnesota lakes are a public resource, but we also believe that as lakeshore property owners, we have the right to maintain shorelines in a reasonable manner. We reject overly restrictive and arbitrary changes to the rules that prevent us from doing so.
We have been working with the Department of Natural Resources for years to attempt to obtain, or maintain, reasonable rules that balance the rights of lakeshore property owners with the obligation we all have to protect our precious water resource. The continuing spread of invasive species of aquatic vegetation (e.g., Eurasian Water Milfoil and Curly leaf Pondweed) through an ever-increasing number of Minnesota water bodies, 19 years after they were first observed here, is a strong indication that the obsolete rules enforced by the DNR are simply failing to protect our waterways. This failure is being followed by the invasion of zebra mussels and other exotic invasive species against which the DNR has yet to develop effective strategies.
To counter this failure, we are engaged in education of the public through technical articles on this website, mailings, and periodic educational meetings of lakeshore stakeholders. We conduct grass roots campaigns to keep our constituents in contact with their elected representatives and the DNR, in order to ensure that property owner’s concerns are heard. We also have a lobbyist working for us at the State Capitol to bring legislation into being, that better balances the interests of lakeshore property owners and the general public.
Please surf this website for valuable information under the various headings. If you agree with what you see, we invite you to join us. Complete the Individual Membership Application and send it in or join online with a credit card, along with $40 for 2008 dues. Companies interested in Corporate Membership should contact us for more information. We are a 501c3 tax exempt corporation.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Bill Iacoe, Chairman
Statement of Purpose
Minnesotans for Healthy Lakes (MHL) is a 501(c)3 organization of Minnesota citizens, who join together to maintain and enhance the water quality of Minnesota lakes and their usability for recreational purposes. We engage in citizen education, advocacy, and lobbying of our elected representatives, to bring about improvements in practices, rules, and statutes, regarding the care and good stewardship of our lakes.
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Contact Information
Minnesotans for Healthy Lakes
1000 Westgate Drive
Suite 252
St. Paul, MN 55114
info@mnhealthylakes.org
(651) 265-7840
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