Hello Bar Lake Association Members and Area Residents,
I hope you are enjoying our gorgeous pure Michigan summer! I would like to briefly update you on the
activities of the Bar Lake Association this season and share some important
news with you.
First of all, I would like to thank those of you who have
formally joined our association. I am happy
to report that we have grown our membership numbers to over 40 to date,
comprised of both full and part time area residents. This demonstrates a true concern in our
community for the health of Bar Lake. We
are working hard to extend the olive branch to those initially concerned about
our motives and it seems a few more memberships trickle in every week. If you are among one of those who have not
yet joined, or know of a neighbor or friend who enjoys the Bar Lake area,
please point them our way. The Manistee
News Advocate recently featured an informative article about our association
which can be found here on our website. Membership applications can be found here as
well and are accepted at anytime.
On Saturday, June 27th approximately 35 members
and friends gathered for the 2nd Annual Bar Lake Association Picnic to meet one another, socialize, and enjoy delicious food. We were joined by the Lake Bluffs Audubon
Center Manager, Deb Krieger, and two interns spending the summer at the center
to study the piping plover, an endangered shorebird that nests in our area. Deb
shared that Lake Bluffs Audubon Center fully supports our mission to promote
the welfare, maintenance and improvement of Bar Lake in order to protect the
rich wildlife habitat our area enjoys.
Bar Lake Association, in turn, offered its support of the sanctuary by volunteering to
restore the vegetable garden on its grounds, an
effort we are just starting.
Many thanks to all of you who have helped with that so far, to those of
you who prepared the dishes we shared at
the picnic, to Olesons Food Store for donating the outstanding cake for our picnic dessert (please support them!
), and to Jim and Venus Snoeyink for hosting the event at their lovely new home.
Hopefully, if you have been out on the lake this summer, you
have noticed the huge reduction in invasive plants in the water. This is due to the success of last summer’s
initial lake treatment. On June 22, Clark
Services applied spot treatments to a much smaller amount Eurasian Watermilfol. One further treatment was applied on August 5 to invasives in the lake area within
1000 feet of the culvert, once the
outflow to Lake Michigan had ceased (as required by the DNR).
Here is the important
news: The Bar Lake Association will
coordinate a lily pad treatment project for riparians who, at their own cost,
wish to treat lily pads which impede their access to navigable waters in Bar
Lake. An area up to 1600 sq ft. may be
treated at a cost of $250. The DNR permit secured by Clark Services to
treat the lake this season covers this activity however the cost must be borne
by each riparian desiring the treatment.
Monies collected via tax assessment by the township will not be used in this project. If you are interested in participating, please send an email to barlakeassociationmanistee@gmail.com by August 26 with the following information:
Property Owner’s name, Your name (if different), Local address, Permanent address (if different) , Email address, and a phone number where you can be reached.
Once we gather the information and confer with Clark, we will contact you with the treatment date
and directions for payment. All
treatments will be scheduled on the same day and no areas will be treated
without payment in advance.
Two final items:
·
The Association Board will conduct an open board
meeting in October, at a time and location to be announced. All Association members are invited to attend. Be watching your email and check our website
meeting page for this announcement.
·
We are seeking members to serve in the roles of
Secretary and Riparian representative.
We could especially use some representation from the east and south
areas of the lake. We need your help
and seasonal residents are welcome to serve!
Please see the bylaws on our website for a description of these roles
and feel free to contact myself or another board member if you are interested
in serving.
Lastly, a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who working to put differences
aside and focus on the greater good of Bar Lake and the community in which we
all live and play. I look forward to
our continued progress!
Cheers!
Sara Tucker, President
Hello Bar Lake Association Members and Area Residents,
I hope you are enjoying our gorgeous pure Michigan summer! I would like to briefly update you on the activities of the Bar Lake Association this season and share some important news with you.
First of all, I would like to thank those of you who have formally joined our association. I am happy to report that we have grown our membership numbers to over 40 to date, comprised of both full and part time area residents. This demonstrates a true concern in our community for the health of Bar Lake. We are working hard to extend the olive branch to those initially concerned about our motives and it seems a few more memberships trickle in every week. If you are among one of those who have not yet joined, or know of a neighbor or friend who enjoys the Bar Lake area, please point them our way. The Manistee News Advocate recently featured an informative article about our association which can be found here on our website. Membership applications can be found here as well and are accepted at anytime.
On Saturday, June 27th approximately 35 members and friends gathered for the 2nd Annual Bar Lake Association Picnic to meet one another, socialize, and enjoy delicious food. We were joined by the Lake Bluffs Audubon Center Manager, Deb Krieger, and two interns spending the summer at the center to study the piping plover, an endangered shorebird that nests in our area. Deb shared that Lake Bluffs Audubon Center fully supports our mission to promote the welfare, maintenance and improvement of Bar Lake in order to protect the rich wildlife habitat our area enjoys. Bar Lake Association, in turn, offered its support of the sanctuary by volunteering to restore the vegetable garden on its grounds, an effort we are just starting. Many thanks to all of you who have helped with that so far, to those of you who prepared the dishes we shared at the picnic, to Olesons Food Store for donating the outstanding cake for our picnic dessert (please support them! ), and to Jim and Venus Snoeyink for hosting the event at their lovely new home.
Hopefully, if you have been out on the lake this summer, you have noticed the huge reduction in invasive plants in the water. This is due to the success of last summer’s initial lake treatment. On June 22, Clark Services applied spot treatments to a much smaller amount Eurasian Watermilfol. One further treatment was applied on August 5 to invasives in the lake area within 1000 feet of the culvert, once the outflow to Lake Michigan had ceased (as required by the DNR).
Here is the important news: The Bar Lake Association will coordinate a lily pad treatment project for riparians who, at their own cost, wish to treat lily pads which impede their access to navigable waters in Bar Lake. An area up to 1600 sq ft. may be treated at a cost of $250. The DNR permit secured by Clark Services to treat the lake this season covers this activity however the cost must be borne by each riparian desiring the treatment. Monies collected via tax assessment by the township will not be used in this project. If you are interested in participating, please send an email to barlakeassociationmanistee@gmail.com by August 26 with the following information:
Property Owner’s name, Your name (if different), Local address, Permanent address (if different) , Email address, and a phone number where you can be reached.
Once we gather the information and confer with Clark, we will contact you with the treatment date and directions for payment. All treatments will be scheduled on the same day and no areas will be treated without payment in advance.
Two final items:
· The Association Board will conduct an open board meeting in October, at a time and location to be announced. All Association members are invited to attend. Be watching your email and check our website meeting page for this announcement.
· We are seeking members to serve in the roles of Secretary and Riparian representative. We could especially use some representation from the east and south areas of the lake. We need your help and seasonal residents are welcome to serve! Please see the bylaws on our website for a description of these roles and feel free to contact myself or another board member if you are interested in serving.
Lastly, a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who working to put differences aside and focus on the greater good of Bar Lake and the community in which we all live and play. I look forward to our continued progress!
Cheers!
Sara Tucker, President
