VOLUNTEER
There Are So Many Ways to Lend a Helping Hand
TLWA enlists a platoon of volunteers to accomplish our goals. Our volunteers share the goal of a desire to preserve the Three Lakes Chain of Lakes environment for us and our “children’s children”. They vary from teachers, to artists, to fishing guides, to business owners, to retired professionals. The work is rewarding and the workplace is the great outdoors. Opportunities for volunteering include lake captains, shoreline monitors, boat inspectors, education assistants, boat drivers, membership assistance and more.
Adopt your Shoreline!
Adopt Your Shoreline (AYS) volunteers set out in boats and inspect the aquatic plant community in shallow nearshore waters along their designated area in late spring, midsummer and early fall. It is a “great excuse” to get out in your kayak and spend some quiet time carefully studying and understanding your shoreline. Total commitment is about 8-12 hours per season.
Interested parties are invited to attend the annual Aquatic Invasive Species workshop to learn how to identify AIS effectively. At season end, TLWA’s gratitude to our dedicated volunteers is expressed through the Annual Volunteer Appreciation Party.
JOIN the team!
CLEAN BOATS CLEAN WATERS
The Clean Boats Clean Waters program aims to educate every boater about the dangers of invasive species and to assist with the removal of all vegetation from watercraft. While interviewing the boaters and anglers at the landing, inspectors also collect data and enter it into the DNR database Surface Water Integrated Monitoring System (SWIMS). The total time commitment is customized for each volunteer. If you enjoy boats, boaters, the great outdoors and want to help, join the Clean Boats Clean Waters team!
ENLISt in the DIVE TEAM
or KAYAK SUPPORT TEAM!
The Three Lakes Waterfront Association Rapid Response Dive Team arose in 2016 to help control the spread of Eurasian Water Milfoil (EWM). Starting with just three volunteers, the team had grown in 2023 to six scuba divers plus three boat crews and more than twenty support kayakers. They gather a team once a week throughout the summer to help locate and hand-harvest EWM. Learn more about this amazing group of volunteers from our newsletter archive. Interested persons are welcome to volunteer and assist in this effort to control the spread of EWM. Contact Fred Knoch at [email protected].
ENROLL IN OUR CITIZEN MONITORS TEAM
From spring through fall, Citizen Monitor volunteers on the Three Lakes Chain do a “Secchi Test” once every 2 weeks to assess water clarity. This 10-minute exercise, which can be done while fishing or boating, has many implications for lake health. Currently we have 12 volunteers, including Ed Cottingham who tests Big, Big Stone, Deer and Dog Lakes. We are looking for testing volunteers on Round, Laurel, Moccasin, Range Line, and Townline Lakes. If you are interested in becoming a Citizen Monitor on these lakes or relieve Ed Cottingham of a lake or two, please contact Lynn Zibell at [email protected].
WATER CLARITY SECCHI DISK