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Looking for another way to enjoy the wonders of the Northwoods? Exploring the night skies, watching fireflies and stargazing are but a few ways to appreciate the darkness. Join us for two weekends of LIGHTS OUT…

Perma­nent land conser­va­tion is one of the most effective ways to safe­guard our lakes and rivers.  

If your town is considering a hazardous wake ordinance, you may want to attend this workshop at the Boulder Junction Community Center on March 8, 2023. The purpose of this workshop is to offer guidance on how to regulate hazardous wakes through local ordinances.

Our Winter 2022-2023 newsletter is available online (members who get print copies will get these by mail in a few weeks). Read about Hazardous Wake Issues, Blue Heron Stewardship awards, AIS prevention and much more…

As we bring 2022 to a close, I am deeply grateful for the work we’ve accomplished together to protect the beautiful lakes and waterways of Vilas County…

Last week, the Wisconsin Natural Resource Board met to examine the issues surrounding wake boats to look at actions, including new laws, to address the issues.

Join other local lake organizations, professionals, and volunteers next week on Friday Oct 28 from 9:30-Noon at the Boulder Junction Community Center for the annual Vilas County Lake Conservation Partners Meeting. Each year Vilas County Land & Water facilitates this networking and planning meeting centered around lake conservation work. Hear what neighboring groups are working

by Dea Larsen Converse, larsenconver@wisc.edu  A recently released report on climate impacts to water resources in Wisconsin from the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) shows that warming temperatures and changing precipitation patterns are impacting Wisconsin’s wealth of water resources. The last two decades have been the warmest on record in Wisconsin and the

View the presentations from our most recent multi-county lakes & Rivers Conference

Join the statewide search for aquatic invasive species! This statewide, one-day event connects volunteers, water lovers, and local groups in a search for aquatic invasive species (AIS). You can help protect Wisconsin’s rivers and lakes from these invasive plants and animals that negatively impact habitat, wildlife, recreation and health. This event is coordinated in partnership

06/28/2022 12:30 PM – 04:30 PM CT at the North Lakeland Discovery Center Our Northwoods lakes have a protective shield – healthy shoreline buffers! Join Mariquita Sheehan, Conservation Specialist for the Vilas County Land & Water Conservation Dept. as she surveys the Statehouse Lake shoreline to quantify the health of the buffer, identify areas that

Check out our latest newsletter. Learn about our upcoming, 2022 Northwoods Six-County Lakes & Rivers Conference (which incorporates our VCLRA annual meeting) on July 15th at Nicolet College, which returns to an in-person format. Our theme is wakeboats, lake capacity and other key issues impacting lakes and rivers. This newsletter also has a wealth of

My love for the night sky started when I was just a kid, as early as I can remember. I grew up on the south shore of Plum Lake in Sayner, which was the perfect spot to see the night sky. Growing up one of my favorite things to do (and my familys) was to take our boat out on the lake at night, we called it a midnight boat-ride. Once out on the lake you can see so many stars since there isn’t any light pollution near Sayner. That is where it all began.

The public has an opportunity to influence state regulations through the 2022 Spring Hearing online input sponsored by The Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC), which is a liaison between the citizens of Wisconsin, the Natural Resources Board (NRB) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).  Its purpose is to provide an avenue for public input and exchange concerning conservation issues in Wisconsin.  Pending approval by the Wisconsin Legislature, what started as a Citizen Resolution can become a Wisconsin rule/law.  To that end, WCC has submitted several proposed Citizen Resolution questions for Vilas County and Dane county. If these resolution questions pass the first step, they will follow the process toward a hazardous wake resolution at the state level.  If successful, current State boating regulations and statutes could be changed to regulate wake boats.

Lake group leaders and members from six northern Wisconsin counties will convene for a discussion of the environmental impacts of wakeboats and other issues related lake recreational capacity on Friday, July 15th, and will return to an in-person event.

by Bobbie Kocim, bkocim@sbcglobal.net   I read the Winter 2021-22 Newsletter article regarding Wake Boats. [See page 6 of the winter newsletter.] It may be of interest to readers to know WI currently has State Statutes which offer some relief from documented wake boat damage.

Daryn Smolinksi, Mollie Waltz, and Clark Higley are the winners of the 2022 Vilas County Land & Water Youth Conservation Poster Contest. The Vilas County Youth Conservation Poster Contest is held annually to promote youth awareness of local land and water conservation issues.  Vilas County Land & Water staff partner with teachers, home schoolers, and

Happy New Year! Our Winter 2021-2022 newsletter is available online (members who get print copies will get these by mail in a few weeks). Read about Wake Boats, the Northwoods Businesses for Clean Waters partnership, our 2021 scholarships and Blue Heron awards, and much more…

Wednesday,  January 5, 2022 6:30 pm — Live Event – Oakfire Pizza, Minocqua UPDATE — due to Covid this is now a remote event. Visit  http://www.scienceontapminocqua.org/ to connect. Michelle Nault is the statewide lakes and reservoir ecologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau of Water Quality and is responsible for providing technical guidance to

View all presentations from the 2021 six-county lakes and rivers conference, which  was hosted by Vilas and Oneida County Lakes and Rivers Associations on July 16th 2021. Attendees were invited from Oneida, Vilas, Forest, Langlade, Iron and Lincoln counties.  Pat Goggin, lake specialist at the UW Extension Lakes, was the conference leader.  Climate change, high

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison recently produced a report about lakeshore property owners’ attitudes toward aquatic invasive species management strategies. The report, which summarizes the results of a survey taken by over 700 individuals identified as owning property on a lake in Wisconsin, includes numerous insights that can help lakeshore property owners and lake association leaders make management decisions consistent with their goals.

In addition to our online (blog) Article and News items, VCLRA publishes 2 print newsletters per year that are mailed to members (unless a member requests digital only). The 2021 Spring printed version will be mailed out later this month; however, view the digital version now:

Vilas and Oneida County Lakes and Rivers Associations will again co-host a multi-county lakes workshop on July 16th 2021 at 9am-1pm. Climate change, high water, development, and less state protections can all impact water quality in the Northwoods and will be addressed during the meeting.

In Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, loons typically begin to arrive on their nest lakes around mid-to-late April. The first order of business is to establish a territory then attract a mate. This is done during the last weeks of April and early in May – then nesting begins.

The Vilas County Youth Conservation Poster Contest is held annually to promote youth awareness of local land and water conservation issues. This year’s theme was “Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities,” and the winning poster was created by Izabella Mitchell. Her entry will next compete with nine other county winners in WI.

Happy New Year! Our January/winter 2021 newsletter is available. Read about Lakes in the Time of Covid, the Northwoods Businesses for Clean Waters Program, and more.

Finally we can say goodbye to 2020!  Each of us faced unprecedented challenges that truly reshaped our focus and priorities.

Don’t you wish increasing volunteer involvement was as easy as throwing a good cookout? We know it’s not. Here we provide eight suggestions that may help you overcome the challenge of free-riding.

The Vilas County Lakes and Rivers Association (VCLRA) awarded our Blue Heron Shoreland Stewardship Award to Debbie Millar of Ballard Lake for restoration completed on her lakefront property. This award was presented at our “Celebrate the Lakes Day” on July 10, 2020 via Zoom Conference Call. Congratulations to Debbie Millar!

New Zealand Mud Snails are an invasive species of snails originating from fresh water lakes in New Zealand and have made their way to U.S. freshwater streams and lakes. Although these invasive snails have yet to invade Manitowish Waters, they have made a successful living nearby in the Great Lakes.

Similar to the stratifying temperature gradient of any given lake, dissolved oxygen also exhibits a stratified nature that is directly influenced by the lake thermocline, and thus season. Dissolved oxygen refers to the individual molecules of oxygen taken up from the atmosphere and in some areas where groundwater discharge occurs.

Turnover is a phenomenon that occurs in terrestrial bodies of water, such as lakes and ponds, in which the water near the surface of the lake (epilimnion) is replaced with the water near the bottom of the lake (hypolimnion) to establish a homogenous mixture. Lake turnover occurs during both the fall and spring when the

This is the video of the online Zoom conference held on Friday, July 10.  The six-county lakes & rivers event explored ways to encourage lake property owners to follow lake-friendly and environmentally responsible practices. The conference agenda is here.

Our latest newsletter (June 2020) is now available. It is notable for being the first newsletter published since the Covid-19 outbreak.  Our board continues to work remotely on the issues that are so important to our lake community. We are very appreciative of our many members who have already renewed, as well as the generous

Lake advocates and lake lovers from six northern Wisconsin counties are invited to an online discussion by Zoom video-conferencing of issues related to lake quality and protection on Friday, July 10.  The live discussion, from 9 a.m. to 1 pm, will explore ways to encourage lake property owners to follow lake-friendly and environmentally responsible practices.

The corona virus (Covid-19) has created an unprecedented global health and economic crisis. In this moment in time, we have in common with all other people on our planet the same fear, anxiety and stress over its impacts on the health of our family and friends, as well as its consequences for our society and

Shoreline Gardening for Healthy Lakes and Rivers CLMN webinar series May 5, 2020

Vilas County issues advisory to seasonal homeowners. On March 20, 2020, the Vilas County Public Health Official declared that a Public Health Emergency exists in Vilas County. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the national spread of the COVID-19 virus, Vilas County Government issued the following inter-county Travel Advisory. It urged seasonal or second home

Focusing on Resilient Lakes and Rivers is the theme for this year’s annual Lakes & River Convention, which will be held on April 1-3 at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Stevens Point. For the first time, the lakes focus of this annual event has been broadened to include rivers and streams…

Natural shorelines and water resource protection was the focus of the annual workshop of lake group leaders and members from six northern Wisconsin counties on Friday, July 12, at Nicolet College in Rhinelander.

This year, we are pleased to recognize Northland Pines High School senior Noah Miller as our 2019 VCLRA scholarship award recipient.

As a follow up to investigations into the economic value of waterfront properties in Oneida and Vilas Counties, researchers from UW-Eau Claire, researched the link between water clarity and the sale prices of waterfront homes.

A lake is a fascinating living system, full of mysteries and things to discover, if you look closely. Here are ten things you may not know about the world beneath the waves.

Vilas County Land & Water Conservation Department is seeking lakeshore property landowners wanting funds to improve lake water quality or shoreline habitat.

The Vilas County Lakes and Rivers Association (VCLRA) was pleased to award its inaugural scholarship to Lakeland Union student, Joseph Boyle.