Winter 2024

Dec 1

Issue 42

From your Association President

Drew Zelle | dmzelle48@gmail.com | 920-209-0564

Greetings! It’s almost winter and as I look out onto the lake I see the first ice. Although not frozen over yet, Smoke Lake has a lot of ice cover. Winter is certainly on its way here hopefully with snow this time around. Having a nice normal winter would be good for the lakes and us.

The PCLA has had an active year, with the Annual Picnic, Clean Boats Clean Waters efforts and Water Quality Monitoring. I thank you all for your time, donations, and talents that make this organization what it is. Volunteerism for the good of the lakes helps everybody enjoy what we have. I am looking forward to working with you all in the coming year.

This winter’s activities for the PCLA are minimal but important. We will be running our three aeration systems this year as usual. Once the ice is thick enough, we will fence out the open water areas and turn the systems on. Typically, this is done in December.

You will be receiving the Open Water Warning Letter in a separate email or by mail soon. It is also available on the home page of our Website. Please share the contents of this letter with your visitors so they can be safe on the ice this year. We will need volunteers for the fencing installation so look for an email or post on facebook when we plan to lay out the fence.

Also, we will continue to monitor the health of lakes through monthly water quality monitoring and reporting it to the WDNR. We measure dissolved oxygen and temperature at several locations on the lakes and submit that information to the WDNR. Our lakes are healthy and for the most part AIS free. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Thank you again for all your help this year. Take care,

-Drew Zelle

2024-23 Upcoming Events

Dec 2024 - Jan 2025: Aerator pole and line installation
26-28 March 2025: Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention

Aeration Update – Join us to help with pole and line installation

We’ve had some snow and the temperatures have been below freezing for long enough that ice is forming on the lakes. When the ice covers the lakes and is thick enough to safely walk on, we’ll be setting up the safety poles and lines. We always appreciate volunteers to help us with this work. Join us! You can notify one of the PCLA board members directly, email us at BoardPCLA@gmail.com, or sign up for alerts on our website.

Learn more about our aerators – including aerator locations - on our Aerator page.

Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention

Interested in learning more about water quality and conservation locally and across Wisconsin? Take part in Wisconsin Water Week, 26-28 March, 2025, in Stevens Point, WI. More about the event at wisconsinwaterweek.org.

What is OCLAWA?

You may have heard about this organization, but what is it and what does it do for our lakes? Oconto County Lakes and Waterways Association (OCLAWA) is a non-profit organization that promotes the conservation and preservation of all lakes, rivers, streams, and flowages in the county including the watershed around them, for today and future generations.

OCLAWA’s role is to be a leading advocate for the health of all surface waters in Oconto County by promoting the programs and action that represent the current best practices for addressing water quality issues and to develop financial support methods for the application of those practices.

OCLAWA provides guidance and networking opportunities to Oconto County lake associations and lake districts, promotes effective water quality practices, and manages our fundraising and grants activities. Any lake association or district in Oconto County may join OCLAWA. Currently there are about 30 members, including the Pickerel Chain Lake Association. OCLAWA holds 2 member meetings each year, in April and August.

OCLAWA hosts an annual Lucky 13 Raffle to raise funds for county lake and waterway programs. OCLAWA members may apply for these funds, and may use them as matching funds to qualify for state and county programs, including the Oconto County Healthy Waters Cost Share program for AIS management and lakeshore restoration. A full list of awardees as well as partner grants and programs is available on the OCLAWA website at https://oclawa.org.

Happenings About the Town

The Townsend Town Hall main hall is open! The large evergreen is gone, and this year the town has started a new tradition with locally-decorated trees. PCLA is celebrating the season with a “seasons of water” tree, with white snowflakes, glittery ice, and blue water decorations.

2024 - New Townsend Town Hall with decorated trees

Et Cetera!

We’d love to share your pictures of the lakes on the PCLA website! And kudos! Please send your pictures, ideas for content, and your nominations for people to recognize for their lake stewardship activities to BoardPCLA@gmail.com.

Ideas and Comments?

Questions or comments about the newsletter? Ideas for articles to include?

Contact Laure Haak, PCLA Secretary, at BoardPCLA@gmail.com

Laurel Haak

Founder and CEO of Mighty Red Barn, enjoys exploring and testing new ideas. She uses her experiences as a biomedical researcher, policy wonk, company leader, and non-profit Board member to support impact-based organizations building digital infrastructure. She takes a collaborative approach to align growth with social benefit, experiment and refine value-adding products, and evaluate mission success. Laure has created and contributed to several tech start-ups, pioneered and scaled virtual teams and companies, and built communities of practice and collaborative work environments across government, academic, non-profit, and corporate sectors.

https://www.mightyredbarn.com