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Next in our free, online Practical Water Wisdom series...

"How the State Determines Fish Management Stategies, Including Stocking"

Thursday ~ May 2nd ~ 12 to 1 pm

Presented by: Don Schreiner, fisheries specialist with Minnesota Sea Grant (MNSG). His role at MNSG focuses on transferring technical fisheries information to interested public in a concise and easily understood manner.

Almost every angler and property owner has an opinion on how the fisheries in their lake of interest should be managed. In many cases those opinions are extremely variable. Don’s presentation will describe how fish populations in Minnesota lakes are managed.

"Planting for Clean Waters"

A Resilient Lawns and Shoreline Workshop

Thursday May 2 ~ 5-8pm

Sponsors include:

Beautify your landscape while planting for clean water and pollinator habitat.

Blue Thumb workshops walk through the steps to create rain gardens, native plantings, pollinator habitat, shoreline buffers, and more!

There will be a Meet & Greet period from 5-6pm, followed by the presentation by Blue Thumb and local experts from 6-8pm - including a Q&A period.

Food and drink is available to purchase from Rapids Brewing Company and can be brought into the Event room.

If there are no spots available when you go to register please call 218-256-5998 and we will make sure there is seating available for you!

There is no charge for this workshop but donations will be accepted to continue our Native Plants program, in conjunction with the Grand Rapids High School Horticulture class.

Become a Detector

The AIS Detectors Core Course is an introduction to aquatic invasive species (AIS) science, identification, and surveillance. You will learn how to report invasive species, best practices for preventing the spread of AIS, relevant rules and regulations, and how to search for AIS on your own.

Read full report here

Itasca County’s SWCD AIS Prevention Aid Program: A Snapshot of Accomplishments in 2023

This report of what the Itasca SWCD AIS Program accomplished in 2023 in its fight against the introduction and spread of AIS in Itasca County, and was presented to the Itasca County Board of Commissioners by Bill Grantges, Itasca County SWCD AIS Program Manager on March 19, 2024.

CORRECTION

Native Plant Sale

The was an error in last month's bulletin. The pickup dates for 2024 are May 16 & 17, at Itasca SWCD office in Grand Rapids.

Next ICOLA meeting will be

June 12th

6-8pm at the Itasca County Courthouse

Learn more about Itasca Coalition of Lake Associations here

Volunteer Opportunities with Itasca Waters

in 2024!

Youth Water Summit, Tuesday May 21st

Once again Itasca Waters will be coordinating a Youth Water Summit for 5th graders in Itasca County. We are looking for volunteers who would like to lend a hand on the day, such as escort the chaperoned student groups to their scheduled workshops and presentations.

No experience required!

Call 218-256-1338 or email info@itascawaters.org for more information.

E-mail for info!

Aquatic Invasive Species Webinar Series

Tall Tales: Stories of Progress in Invasive Phragmites Management in Minnesota featuring Chelsey Blanke, Julia Bohnen, and Daniel Larkin About this webinar: Invasive Phragmites (Phragmites australis subsp. australis) is a tall, non-native grass that can dominate wetlands and lakeshores, displace native flora and fauna, and harm recreation, infrastructure and ecological functioning.