2026 Spring Meeting 5/23 9:00 AM
Agenda
Treasurer Report
Summary
Greetings to all Clearwater Lake Residents and Homeowners,
This provides a recap of the 2026 annual lake homeowner meeting last Saturday; a copy of the presentation is attached for your reference. Please reach out to any Board member if you have questions using the “Contact Us” feature you’ll find on the website https://www.clearwaterlakemn.org/ or send an email to [email protected].
Introductions and Thanks
The annual meeting started with the traditional introductions of lake Board members and lake families in attendance - we believe we had 60+ people in attendance! It was great seeing so many legacy families still on the lake (some 70+ years!) and we welcomed a few new families to the lake as well.
We also thanked the citizen volunteers handling some of the lake-related activities – loon nesting, recording and reporting Secchi disk readings and water levels to State Agencies, hazard warning buoy deployment and retrieval for the rock island area, dam and Nokasippi debris clearing, etc.
Clearwater Forest Update
Clearwater Forest’s Executive Director Erin Anderson provided an update on the camp’s activities and financial health as well as presented the varied ways lake homeowners can take advantage of camp programming for their kids, grandkids or themselves. Many of the buildings on the grounds can be rented out for use as well – contact the camp or visit their website to learn more (clearwaterforest.org).
Boat Parade
Will be Saturday, July 4th – decorate your boat or pontoon to help celebrate our nation’s 250th Anniversary! Meet at 1 p.m. on Loon Point for a tour around the lake. Note we are suspending the prizes this year for budgetary reasons.
Loon Update
Many thanks to Bronson and Madison Lake and family for helping rebuild, vegetate and deploy nine loon nests this season. Bronson reported all but one nest had eggs as of last Saturday.
Fisheries Update
Kevin provided a recap of the Aug 2025 DNR fisheries survey. Most fish species showed an increase in numbers compared to last survey six years ago. You can find the details in the presentation. The DNR also will be stocking walleyes fingerlings this Sept as they do every 3 years.
Lake Management Initiatives
Crow Wing County is again this season providing Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) inspectors at the public boat launch on the weekends during the summer months. Please thank the inspectors if you see them this summer.
We continue to monitor the lake water levels at the concrete dam near the public boat launch and visually inspect for any debris holding back water near the dam and the culvert under CR8. We’ve outlined our action plan in the presentation for addressing various high water level scenarios.
The lake health and Secchi disk readings are stable.
We will again this summer contract with our limnologist James Johnson of Freshwater Scientific to survey the lake in mid to late July for AIS – aquatic invasive species. James will then provide us with a detailed report and map of any areas of concern – typically Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM). We will then determine next steps including possible herbicide treatment, if we have sufficient funds to treat, and send emails to all lake homeowners keeping them updated.
Webpage Assistance
We’re looking for help with redesigning and/or managing our lake association web page – if you or anyone in your family want to get involved, contact Kathy Peterson: [email protected].
Local Happenings
Katie provided a list of local activities.
Treasurer Report
Barb provided a recap of 2025 expenses and 2026 budget. Current association balance as of last Saturday was a little more than $10,000. We’re expecting about $23,000 in expenses this year. The largest expense each year is for treatment of the invasive Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM). EWM has infested Clearwater Lake since 2012 and we’ve averaged about $20,000 / year for treatment. We know the EWM will not disappear from the lake so we will need funding to address the issue. For this, we need the help of the lake homeowners. Our current financial support from lake homeowners is under 40%; our goal is 70% and we feel that is a reasonable expectation. So, we’re asking all lake homeowners to support both the Association with a donation of $50 and to support the Environmental Fund with a recommended $300 donation or anything +/- that amount. For several years, the same families have contributed funds to support the effort against the EWM (we’re very grateful to them!!!). This season we’re asking and hoping that everyone can participate with their financial support and we encourage you to speak with your neighbors about supporting the lake association as well. We sincerely appreciate it. Details for sending your contributions can be found in the presentation and on the website https://www.clearwaterlakemn.org/.
This provides a recap of the 2026 annual lake homeowner meeting last Saturday; a copy of the presentation is attached for your reference. Please reach out to any Board member if you have questions using the “Contact Us” feature you’ll find on the website https://www.clearwaterlakemn.org/ or send an email to [email protected].
Introductions and Thanks
The annual meeting started with the traditional introductions of lake Board members and lake families in attendance - we believe we had 60+ people in attendance! It was great seeing so many legacy families still on the lake (some 70+ years!) and we welcomed a few new families to the lake as well.
We also thanked the citizen volunteers handling some of the lake-related activities – loon nesting, recording and reporting Secchi disk readings and water levels to State Agencies, hazard warning buoy deployment and retrieval for the rock island area, dam and Nokasippi debris clearing, etc.
Clearwater Forest Update
Clearwater Forest’s Executive Director Erin Anderson provided an update on the camp’s activities and financial health as well as presented the varied ways lake homeowners can take advantage of camp programming for their kids, grandkids or themselves. Many of the buildings on the grounds can be rented out for use as well – contact the camp or visit their website to learn more (clearwaterforest.org).
Boat Parade
Will be Saturday, July 4th – decorate your boat or pontoon to help celebrate our nation’s 250th Anniversary! Meet at 1 p.m. on Loon Point for a tour around the lake. Note we are suspending the prizes this year for budgetary reasons.
Loon Update
Many thanks to Bronson and Madison Lake and family for helping rebuild, vegetate and deploy nine loon nests this season. Bronson reported all but one nest had eggs as of last Saturday.
Fisheries Update
Kevin provided a recap of the Aug 2025 DNR fisheries survey. Most fish species showed an increase in numbers compared to last survey six years ago. You can find the details in the presentation. The DNR also will be stocking walleyes fingerlings this Sept as they do every 3 years.
Lake Management Initiatives
Crow Wing County is again this season providing Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) inspectors at the public boat launch on the weekends during the summer months. Please thank the inspectors if you see them this summer.
We continue to monitor the lake water levels at the concrete dam near the public boat launch and visually inspect for any debris holding back water near the dam and the culvert under CR8. We’ve outlined our action plan in the presentation for addressing various high water level scenarios.
The lake health and Secchi disk readings are stable.
We will again this summer contract with our limnologist James Johnson of Freshwater Scientific to survey the lake in mid to late July for AIS – aquatic invasive species. James will then provide us with a detailed report and map of any areas of concern – typically Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM). We will then determine next steps including possible herbicide treatment, if we have sufficient funds to treat, and send emails to all lake homeowners keeping them updated.
Webpage Assistance
We’re looking for help with redesigning and/or managing our lake association web page – if you or anyone in your family want to get involved, contact Kathy Peterson: [email protected].
Local Happenings
Katie provided a list of local activities.
Treasurer Report
Barb provided a recap of 2025 expenses and 2026 budget. Current association balance as of last Saturday was a little more than $10,000. We’re expecting about $23,000 in expenses this year. The largest expense each year is for treatment of the invasive Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM). EWM has infested Clearwater Lake since 2012 and we’ve averaged about $20,000 / year for treatment. We know the EWM will not disappear from the lake so we will need funding to address the issue. For this, we need the help of the lake homeowners. Our current financial support from lake homeowners is under 40%; our goal is 70% and we feel that is a reasonable expectation. So, we’re asking all lake homeowners to support both the Association with a donation of $50 and to support the Environmental Fund with a recommended $300 donation or anything +/- that amount. For several years, the same families have contributed funds to support the effort against the EWM (we’re very grateful to them!!!). This season we’re asking and hoping that everyone can participate with their financial support and we encourage you to speak with your neighbors about supporting the lake association as well. We sincerely appreciate it. Details for sending your contributions can be found in the presentation and on the website https://www.clearwaterlakemn.org/.
Reference Links
- Lake Health Calendar - Clearwater Lake Conservancy Lake Management Plan
- Clearwater Lake is rated a "B" meeting all it's goals- Watershed Health Assessment - Clearwater Lake.
- Clearwater Lake and Mercury - Mercury warning and Fish Eating Guidelines
- Clearwater Lake Clarity - MN Pollution Control Water Clarity Select Clarity Tab for chart.
