Banquet, set for June 24 is primary fundraiser for the Lake Association

The Minnewaska Lake Association (MLA) will conduct this year’s 23rd annual banquet on Saturday, June 24 at the Minnewaska House Brewing Co. + Grill.   The MLA ,strongly encourages its members and those who want to attend to get your tickets early. “Last year we had to turn some people away at the door, said MLA President Mike Stai.  The event was completely sold out last year.

“We are excited to host another successful banquet,” Stai stated, “because the primary funding of all MLA projects comes from annual memberships and the banquet fundraising. We are hoping you will consider renewing your membership and even consider making a donation to help us continue all of our projects,” he stated in a recent newsletter. 

Get tickets now for

annual MLA banquet

For tickets, contact a Minnewaska Lake Association board member by visiting mlalake.org and clicking the “about” link for board member contact information. Registration and refreshments will begin at 5 p.m. with dinner served at 7 p.m. Prizes will be available to win during the banquet.

In 2022, MLA continued to fund the spraying of milfoil and completed Surveys to determine the spread of the Starry Stonewort from the Marina in Starbuck. They also stocked 2,000 pounds of walleye fingerlings into Lake Minnewaska.  

Walleye stocking 

program is working

Over the years, MLA has stocked hundreds of thousands of walleye fingerling into Lake Minnewaska. The MLA started stocking walleye fingerlings in 1998 and has every year since. That is 24 years in a row that they have been stocking Walleye Fingerlings normally average 6” to 8” in length.  This equates to about 40,000 to 50,000 fingerlings every year.  In the spring of 2019, the DNR recorded a record number of 75.5 walleyes per test.  It was in 1996 that the test revealed only .8 walleyes per test and in 1997 a zero count was recorded per test.  That’s the main reason MLA began stocking fingerlings in Minnewaska in 1998.  

Stai stated that “We received many reports of greatest walleye fishing on Minnewaska last year that people can remember.  In many cases was a mixed bag of walleye, northern pike, crappie, sunfish, and of course, bass,” Stai stated.  “One of the comments we continue to hear is that it’s always fun to take family and friends to fish Lake Minnewaska because you seem to always catch fish,” he added.

MLA is dedicated to 

preservation of the lake

The Minnewaska Lake Association (MLA) coordinates projects that help in the preservation of Lake Minnewaska.  Some of the projects they are currently working on include the treatment of Starry Stonewort and Milfoil.  . With a board consisting of 18 members, the Minnewaska Lake Association is leading the fight against invasive species in Lake Minnewaska. 

Starry stonewort was found in the Starbuck marina in August 2017.  The City of Starbuck is responsible to lead the fight to control the Starry Stonewort in the Marina.  The MLA is working on the Starry Stonewort which has now been found just outside the Marina.

The MLA has been working together with the Pope County Land and Resource Management Department in these efforts. The MLA has a contract with a company to treat the 1.52 acre area in the channel leading just outside the marina in Starbuck that is now infested with Starry Stonewort.  They have contracted a company that will be conducting a meandering survey of the area outside the infested area to see if has spread from the 1.52 acres since last year.

The MLA will also be conducting a meandering survey to treat Milfoil again this year.  They have been fighting the invasive species, milfoil, since 2013. Over the last nine years, they have successfully thinned the areas of infestation. Since Lake Minnewaska covers about 7,110 acres of water, the MLA will not be able to fully eradicate the species from the lake. They will continue to work to try to reduce and control the spread of milfoil over the coming year, however.   “MLA will be treating the invasive species again this year,” it was stated

“The MLA is dedicated to making Lake Minnewaska beautiful and safe for all.” 

To learn more about the Minnewaska Lake Association and helping with these important projects please visit mlalake.org.