Jim Seid Board Retirement

Written By Jim Seidl

September 18, 2026

Dear SLA Members & Friends:

In the words of the late poet, folk singer, and conservation advocate, Pete Seeger: To everything (Turn, turn, turn). There is a season (Turn, turn, turn). And a time to every purpose under heaven.

After 5 memorable years of service as your Square Lake Association (SLA) Board President (2022-2026); 3 years serving as Vice President (2019-2021); 3 years representing SLA on the May Township Board of Supervisors (1990-1992); 4 years representing SLA on the May Township Planning Commission (1992-1995); and 8 years of service in various roles to SLA’s Board between 1988 and 1995 – before relocating to Minneapolis for business reasons in 1995 and returning to Square Lake in 2018 – I’m writing to inform you that I’ll be retiring from my role as your SLA President, effective October 1, 2026.

It’s been a great honor to serve alongside such a talented and committed group of conservation-centric kindred spirits, over the past four decades – working jointly as one advancing SLA’s conservation mission. Together, we’ve made incredible strides in Protecting & Preserving the beauty, serenity, and legacy of the unique waters, woodlands, and wildlife of our Square Lake paradise. The enduring support and hard work you’ve contributed over the years have been especially uplifting and inspiring - and I cherish the opportunities, experiences, and friendships we’ve had the good fortune to share.

While I’m stepping down from leadership, I’m not going far. I look forward to investing additional time on my other volunteer passions, including the 65 beautiful Down syndrome children at White Hearts Center in Idlib, Syria, who I’ve supported for the past six years, as Advisory Board Chair. Additionally, I look forward to enjoying more time on our beautiful lake, while continuing to support SLA’s vital work from the northside of Square. Thanks to each of you from the center of my Square Lake soul for making my time as President so deeply rewarding.

Going forward, please be assured that our Board of Directors is working diligently to ensure a smooth leadership transition, led by SLA Vice President Jane Krentz, who has graciously offered to guide our Association's next stage of growth. I’ve offered to assist Board leaders over the coming months on an as-needed basis to ensure that all prior operational duties and management responsibilities are successfully transitioned.

Looking back. I’m overwhelmingly grateful to past and present SLA Board leaders, volunteers, and financial supporters - including my dear friends Scott Alexander, Keith Bakke, Alicia Blanchard, Ann Brookman, Rich Cummings, Carol Gilligan, Annette Glamos, Anne Hovland, Joanne Josephson, Jane Krentz, Paul Leverentz, Matt Mattson, Judy and Steve Markham, Lynn Mecum, the late and supremely great Rick Markwardt, Ted Nesse, Jim Pohlad, Angel Samolytz, George Scott, Diane and Fred Storti, Rob Sherer - and the many other dedicated SLA Board members, volunteers, and donors – who’ve generously contributed to SLA’s ongoing success.

For those of you who are new to SLA, I’ve captured a few of our current Board’s notable accomplishments below – in praise of their shared leadership, and to remind you why Minnesota Lakes & Rivers Founder and CEO Jeff Forrester praises our SLA team, with inspiring compliments like: “SLA is a model of how lake associations should operate!”

Finally, please be reminded that our Board’s ongoing need for additional hands on deck has never been greater. Please be encouraged to contact Alicia Blanchard, Ann Brookman, or Jane Krentz to learn how a few hours of your volunteer time on a monthly basis in 2027 will help our Board ensure continued SLA success – on your and our Lake’s behalf.

In closing, as you review the Board accomplishments as highlighted below, I share my favorite Beatles song, sung by my favorite jazz vocalist, dedicated to my favorite Square Lake friends.

With enduring In My Life gratitude to each of you for your ongoing commitment to Protect & Preserve our beloved Square

Respectfully, with cheers and best wishes,

Jim Seidl
Former President, Square Lake Association
Co-Director, Square Lake Conservancy
President, Legal Research Center
Jim.Seidl@LegalResearch.com
651.439.7116 - Landline
612.325.8995 - Cell

Selected SLA Board Accomplishments: 2022-2026

Following is a selection of notable accomplishments of current and retired Board members in service to our Square Lake community from 2022 to 2026 – shared with overwhelming gratitude and praise!

As you will read, the scope of our Protect & Preserve mission over the past 5 years has focused on education; conservation, AIS management, and natural resource preservation best practices; strategic partner bridge-building; enhanced governance and financial planning; operational committee management; and ecology research. Our notable accomplishments in each of these areas of focus underscore a remarkably committed team of community leaders with a shared passion for excellence, who have earned high and recurring praise from lake management leaders across the State.

Commendations and cheers to our Board, SLA Members, and the Lake we so committedly serve!  

A) Member & Community Education.

  1. Development of Square Lake Association’s (SLA) educational website in 2021 - to address conservation and natural resource preservation issues in our community and increase lake-user awareness.

  2. Ongoing publication of informational posts on Square Roots Blog.

  3. Creation of a New Member Welcome Packet handouts, as part of SLA’s New Member recruitment initiative.

  4. Sharing Square Lake fireworks safety and legal risk information.

  5. Co-designing and distributing Square Lake watercraft maps, information overviews, and Square Lake Park signage, including:

B) Conservation & Natural Resource Preservation.

  1. Founding of Square Lake Conservancy (SLC), a community-based, conservation-centric, advocacy group, whose twofold mission since 2022 has been to Protect & Preserve:

  2. Co-development and deployment of SLA’s visionary Lake Vegetation Management Plan (LVMP) in 2025-26, in collaboration with Carnelian Marine St Croix Watershed District’s (CMSCWD) Tom Langer and Mike Isensee, and Emmons & Olivier Resources’ (EOR) Jimmy Marty:

  3. Ongoing, multi-year strategic discussions on how to help DNR and Washington County AIS leadership think-differently – to proactively protect Square Lake from AIS intrusion, most recently motivated by the 2025 Zebra Mussel infestations in surrounding lakes. In response, WCD has indicated that continuing best efforts are being applied to:

    • Continue to advocate for a permanent De-Con station at the Square Lake boat launch – which has been SLA’s #1 AIS management priority for years, and for which we have previously offered to co-fund with WCD and CMSCWD. Square Lake Park AIS Tool Station.

    • Staff Square Lake Park with DNR mobile De-Con station coverage, observing that Square Lake Park does not receive a fair-share of mobile DNR De-Con coverage because other lakes with AIS infestations have been receiving higher-priority coverage from DNR decision-makers.

  4. Ongoing management of the SLA & CMSCWD AIS Inspector Cost-Share Program, as highlighted below:

    • CMSCWD’s 2026 Inspector budget has been approved and includes an 8% increase in hour coverage for Square Lake. Going forward, WCD agreed to inform CMSCWD of SLA’s Board request for a minimum annual budget increase of 15% to increase coverage and reduce the one-boat AIS-carrier risk that increasingly threatens Square Lake waters.

    • By comparison, the AIS Inspector hour-count for Square Lake was 480 in 2025, compared to a similar one-access boat launch hour-count on Lake Jane, of 260 hours.

    • WCD’s 2025 AIS Inspection Update (1-5-26) of inspection metrics for Square Lake.

C) Strategic Partner Bridge Building.

Building SLA’s strategic partnering bridges with Minnesota Lakes & Rivers, Washington Conservation District, Carnelian Marine St Croix Watershed District, and Washington County executive leadership, including ongoing collaboration with, and active SLA representation on:

  • Carnelian Marine St Croix Watershed District (CMSCWD) Community Support Committee, advancing Watershed District and SLA strategic planning initiatives; advocating on behalf of conservation-centric Board members and administrative leadership; recruiting/screening/promoting qualified Watershed District Board candidates to help us further Protect & Preserve Square Lake and surrounding waters, watersheds, woodlands, and wildlife; including our joint success in securing appointments by the Washington County Board of Commissioners of four conservation-centric Board Members over the past two years, and removal of one pro-development, anti-regulatory Board Manager, in 2026.

  • Minnesota Lakes & Rivers (MLR) Leadership Committee, advancing MLR’s strategic plans for Water Steward Program, AIS management, State Legislative water preservation advocacy, wakeboarding regulation, and Lake Association best-practice bridge-building.

  • Washington Conservation District (WCD) Technical Advisory Committee, working in collaboration with Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) planning and management leaders across the State, to develop Washington County’s 10-year AIS Management Plan.

  • Washington County (WC) Technical Advisory Committee, assisting in the development of Washington County’s 10-year Square Lake Park Master Plan. Visit Washington County Plans and Studies for Parks and Trails page and scroll down and click Square Lake Park Master Plan.

D) Governance & Financial Planning.

  1. Strengthening SLA’s governance:

    • Securing SLA’s Amended and Restated Nonprofit Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation, which were filed and accepted under the Minnesota Nonprofit Corporation Act (Minn. Stat. Sec. 317A) on January 30, 2023.

    • Securing SLA’s 501c3 tax status, to provide tax benefit to SLA’s donors, in February 2023.

  2. Strengthening SLA’s Treasury reserves:

    • Ongoing fundraising for SLA’s Square Lake Conservation Fund, for which we’ve received natural resource preservation funding donations of $103,000+ from 2022 to 2026.

    • Securing steady growth in SLA’s Treasury reserves - from $2,000 in 2022, to $37,000 in 2026.

    • Three-year (annualized) growth in payments of SLA Member dues:

      Year Dues Receipts Percentage

      2024 $4,590 85%

      2025 $5,700 85%

      2026 $7,177 91%

  3. SLA-Targeted Funding Grant Applications:

E) Operational Committee Management.

2026 Committees and Team Leaders:

  • LVMP Project Management - Jane Krentz, Lynn Mecum, and Jim Seidl, Team Co-Leads.

  • Lake Steward Program – Lynn Mecum, Team Lead.

  • Water Clarity Monitoring – Rich Cummings, Team Lead.

  • Zebra Mussel Monitoring – Dave Brookman, Team Lead.

  • Manual CLP Extraction – Alicia Blanchard and Ann Brookman, Team Co-Leads.

  • MLR & SLC AIS Legislative Advocacy – Jane, Team Lead.

  • SLA and SLC Fundraising - Jim Seidl, Team Lead.

  • Expanded AIS Inspector Volunteer Program – Paused due to no Team-Lead volunteer.

F) Square Lake Ecology Research.

  1. Daphnia protection: Trout Stocking Moratorium - 2017.

  2. Dr. Leif Hembre’s 2019 and 2020 Square Lake daphnia research update.

  3. PCA spreadsheet of Square Lake water data - from 1972 to 2025. This dataset is wonderfully comprehensive, but large. If you would like to review this information, send me an email requesting a copy of the Excel spreadsheet.

  4. Metropolitan Council Ecologist Dick Osgood’s 1984 study of Square Lake water quality: Square Lake Water Quality Study – Dick Osgood, Metropolitan Council 1984.

  5. Retired Ecologist Dick Osgood’s 2026 update to his 1984 Square Lake water quality study: To be shared upon completion in early October.

    G) Unsolicited SLA Board Commendations.

    1. “Congratulations on completing your LVMP. I think every lake group should have a plan like this to guide their management, for long-term lake preservation and planning.” - April Londo, Invasive Species Specialist/Aquatic Biologist|Ecological and Water Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

    2. “SLA is a model of how lake associations should operate.” - Jeff Forrester, Founder and CEO, Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates

    3. “Your extensive, and extremely impressive, experience in stewarding Square Lake, Wilder Forest, and other benefitting endeavors, can have a most welcome influence on the health of our Horseshoe Lake. I have been digesting the content at the links you provided: the inspiring, instructional case study, your achievement in preserving Wilder Forest, actions taken to mitigate invasive species in Square Lake, your water quality improvement activities, and Lake Steward Program, are of particular relevance.” - John Oakman, Sunfish Lake and Horseshoe Lake

    4. “It's a pleasure just coming to understand the quality and depth of your work at Square Lake.  The collaboration you've facilitated, quality of design, and process are inspiring.  It's the flagship project in our Watershed District right now, and I said as much to the County Commissioners at the Board meeting. Thank you!” - Charlie Borden. Conservationist and Filmmaker

Respectfully,

Jim Seidl
Former President, Square Lake Association
Co-Director, Square Lake Conservancy
President, Legal Research Center
Jim.Seidl@LegalResearch.com
651.439.7116 - Landline
612.325.8995 - Cell

Jim Seidl
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