This October held the 2025 annual joint meeting of the Lake George Improvement District and Lake George Conservation Club. Members, as well as representatives from ACD, MNDNR, and Lake Restorations Inc., gathered to discuss lake water quality monitoring, aquatic vegetation management efforts, and cost-share opportunities for shoreline enhancement. A couple of highlights from this year include:

• Curly leaf pondweed, a prolific invasive plant, has been almost non-existent in vegetation surveys in recent years. A few plants were found in mid-summer 2025, so management of this plant, along with Eurasian watermilfoil, will continue.
• The native plant community remains robust, with some species of native pondweeds transitioning from non-existent in 2018 to prevalent in 2025, according to the MNDNR vegetation survey data.
• New lakeshore cost-share opportunities will be available next year. Outreach will begin this coming winter or spring. The goal of these projects is to mitigate shoreline erosion using bioengineering practices with rock only as needed.

At the 2025 Columbus Fall Fest, the Sunrise River Watershed Management Organization partnered with the Anoka Conservation District to host a booth packed with conservation resources.

For more information, contact Brian Clark, Water Resource Specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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We'd like to invite you and your local community leaders to join us for a series of short educational webinars during the month of June. Presentation topics will include lakeshore and riverway rules, wildlife of the Lower St. Croix watershed, and policies to protect pollinators. Our partners in Washington County partners have collaborated to hold an annual St. Croix Workshop on the Water for the past 10 years. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they are offering this year's workshop as a series of free webinars instead.

This year's St. Croix Virtual Workshops on the Water are offered in partnership by EMWREP, MN DNR, Washington County, and St. Croix River Association.

Lake and Shoreline Management: June 3, 2-3pm

*Offered in place of the June water consortium meeting

• Who's in charge? Understanding the different roles of state and local government - Jay Riggs, WCD
• Common scenarios: Can I do that with my property? - Angie Hong, EMWREP
• Vegetative removal and land alteration standards along shorelines - Matt Bauman - MN DNR

Landscaping and Habitat: June 10, 2-3pm

• Planting for clean water and wildlife - Angie Hong, EMWREP
• Policies to protect pollinators - Laurie Schneider, Pollinator Friendly Alliance
• St. Croix virtual wildlife safari - Greg Seitz, St. Croix 360

St. Croix Riverway: June 17, 2-3pm

• St. Croix Riverway land use regulations – Dan Petrik and Matt Bauman, MN DNR
• Ideas for innovative local shoreland, floodplain, and St. Croix land use ordinances – Dan Petrik and Matt Bauman, MN DNR

Register online to reserve your spot.