Here's an e-mail that Brian wanted posted!

April 25, 2008
Dear Lakeshore Property Owner:

We write with good news! On Tuesday, April 22, Minnesotans for Healthy Lakes scored a big victory on behalf of lakeshore property owners when the Environment and Natural Resources Committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives held a hearing on our legislation (HF 4157).
MHL was granted nearly two hours of testimony and discussion time by the committee chair, Representative Kent Eken, which is almost unheard of for a legislative hearing. Typically, legislative hearings last 15-30 minutes per bill. The length of the hearing is an indication of the concern legislators have with the Department of Natural Resources management of the Aquatic Plant Management (APM) program; the DNR has regularly opposed lakeshore property owners' fight against invasive aquatic weeds. Since the House Environment committee did not hear our bill last year, this was the first time that many legislators had heard from MHL – as well from the DNR – in a committee hearing on our bill. This was an essential step in passing our bill.
Also, many thanks to Board Co-Chair Bill Goins (Schmidt Lake) and to MHL members Roger Williams (Lake Johanna), John Enstrom (Veterans Lake), Bill Pool (Whitefish chain of lakes), for their wonderful testimony. They did a great job challenging the DNR's claims and answering legislators' questions, which you can listen to by clicking on this audio link: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/audio/archivescomm.asp?comm=9000&ls_year=85.
How You Can Help in the Fight for Lakeshore Property Owners
Here are some things you can do today in the fight for the rights of lakeshore property owners.

As we move into the spring permitting season, please forward any negative interactions or unreasonable delays that occur between you or your lake association and the DNR to info@mnhealthylakes.org.

Please take some time to contribute to MHL today so we can continue to communicate with lakeshore property owners, lake associations, and resorts during the spring and summer. We need to grow our membership so we can have a bigger impact on state government and we need your financial help to get the word out to lakeshore property owners. If you can, help us with a contribution today by clicking here.

We also remind you of the proposed new APM rules that will be posted to the State Register at any time. Once posted, lakeshore property owners will have only 30 days to inform the Administrative Law Judge of their concerns and request public hearings on the new rules. Read these rules and their justification, called a Statement of Need and Reasonableness (SONAR), now. We will be asking members to write the judge asking for a hearing as soon as the rules are posted.
Thank you for your support of Minnesotans for Healthy Lakes as we continue to fight for the rights of lakeshore property owners!
We encourage you to forward this important message to friends and neighbors who also own lakeshore property, as well as the president or chair of your lake association.

Sincerely yours,

William Iacoe, Co-Chair William Goins, Co-Chair
www.mnhealthylakes.org
P.S. Your contribution today helps us print brochures and mailings to lakeshore property owners who are LARGELY UNAWARE that the DNR is planning to drastically and permanently reduce their ability to treat aquatic weeds like curlyleaf pondweed and Eurasian milfoil in the lakes they live on. Help us get the word out by contributing now.