Become a Minnesota Lakes & River Member: Benefit by Association
For over 30 years, Minnesota Lakes & Rivers (MLR) has united Minnesotans - rural and urban, conservative and progressive - around a shared commitment to safeguarding our waters. Whether you live on a lake, fish a river, or simply value clean water, MLR’s work impacts you.
As a member of the Midwest Active Citizenship Initiative, MLR is piloting the Civic Organizing Model to grow civic leadership for water protection, empowering community and lake association leaders with the skills to build lasting capacity, align resources, and ensure accountability to protect Minnesota’s lakes and rivers for generations to come.
MLR Advocates - 501(c)4 nonprofit. MLR’s grassroots membership organization is dedicated to advancing policies that protect Minnesota’s waters. Through legislative advocacy, civic organizing, and member-driven campaigns, MLR Advocates give lake associations, local leaders, and citizens a stronger collective voice at the Capitol to safeguard our lakes and rivers for future generations.
MLR Protection & Education - 501(c)3 nonprofit. MLR’s charitable branch is focused on education, outreach, and community programming. By equipping citizens with science-based tools, leadership training, and public awareness initiatives, the foundation builds the knowledge and partnerships needed to preserve the cultural and ecological vitality of Minnesota’s waters statewide.
A recent University of Minnesota survey reminds us why MLR’s work truly matters – in support of science, education, and community mobilization around water quality. The survey found that 93% of Minnesotans are concerned about pollution in lakes and rivers, and that most of us believe science and collective action can make a difference.
Top 2025 Water & Environmental Concerns:
Pollution and water quality (68%)
Aquatic invasive species (55%)
Habitat loss (42%)
Climate change impacts (34%)
Overdevelopment (29%)
These numbers reflect the message we hear from SLA members every day: We care deeply about Square Lake waters and want to safeguard them for future generations.
Top 2025 MLR-Led Legislative Outcomes:
MLR lobbyists navigated a complicated split Legislature with the help of staff and members who, over the course of the session, were sending thousands of letters and emails to policymakers and lobbying locally to secure a final budget that:
Maintains AIS Prevention Aid, delaying the 50% cut until 2027–2028.
Doubles the AIS Surcharge on a three-year boat registration (from ~$11 to $25).
Appropriate one-time funding of $28 million in the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, expanding funding opportunities for community groups to restore and protect natural resources statewide.
Protects additional state aid to local governments for essential services to avoid shifting the deficit onto property taxes.
The strategic bridges our Square Lake Association (SLA) Board is building with MLR’s Leadership Committee members - including Big Marine Lake Association Board member Mike Blehert - are yielding high value and increased ROI for SLA members. For example, SLA’s Lake Vegetation Management Plan implementation, has directly benefited from lessons learned from Mike and his AIS Treatment team at Big Marine.
Importantly, here are two recent MLR reports that also directly and beneficially impact Square Lake and our Protect & Preserve mission:
The Underwater Impact of Recreational Boating. New research from the University of Minnesota’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory reveals how enhanced wake boats stir up lakebeds, (must use Chrome or Safari to open) resuspending sediments and nutrients that degrade water quality. The St. Anthony Falls Fluid Dynamics Lab recently released Phase II of a three-part study on wakes and wave impacts on Minnesota’s waters. The study used acoustic sensors to measure pressure and velocity through the water column at several depths as recreational powerboats made passes. The underwater footage is available online and shows a cloud of displaced sediment and plants after the passes, sometimes sustaining the murky water for minutes after the initial pass. In surfing modes, bow and pressure velocities were enough to disturb lakebeds at depths of 20 feet deep. More info about the Healthy Waters Initiative and all three plans can be found here. (Use Chrome or Safari to open).
Stop Starry Stonewort Program
MLR has recently distributed over 30 CD3 waterless, solar-powered boat cleaning stations for 21 lakes in Minnesota. Funded by the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, the stations have now logged over 50,000 tool uses. Partners in the program are also testing control methods to develop a comprehensive strategy for managing starry stonewort.
Square Lake is currently under-represented in MLR, in comparison to the financial support and volunteer services received by MLR from other Lake Associations.
Please help SLA get more involved by becoming a member of MLR today.
Your MLR membership will enhance SLA’s seat at the MLR table in 2026, which will directly benefit Square Lake and SLA homeowners going forward.
Please email me if you have questions or suggestions for strengthening the SLA & MLR bridge.
Jim Seidl
President, Square Lake Association
Co-Founder, Square Lake Conservancy
Jim.Seidl@legalresearch.com