Meetings
The Lake Onalaska Protection and Rehabilitation District holds an annual meeting in August or September of each year, where the budget is reviewed and informational presentations and speakers are available. Throughout the rest of the year periodic (approximately monthly) board meetings are held, depending on the urgency of Lake District issues. All meetings are open to the public and follow Wisconsin's open meetings laws.
Meeting Minutes
- Regular Meeting Minutes (Navigate to "Other Committees", then "Lake Onalaska Protection and Rehabilitation District")
- Annual meeting summaries and minutes are listed below
Lake District Annual Meeting, August 30, 2023
The 44th Annual Meeting of the Lake Onalaska Protection and Rehabilitation District was held Wednesday August 30, 2023 at the City of Onalaska City Council Chambers at 435 Main St. Onalaska WI.
- Annual meeting notice and agenda
- Proposed 2023 Budget
- 2022-2023 Expenditure Report
- Invited Presentations:
- Update on BPCA Dredging Project (Mike Todd)
- Wild rice dynamics in the Upper Mississippi River (Alicia Carhart, Wisconsin DNR)
- Post-HREP Sedimentation in Lake Onalaska Dredge Channels (Dr. Colin Belby, UW-L River Studies Center)
- Agency Reports
- USGS Science Update, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (Randy Hines)
- US Fish and Wildlife Service Update (Tim Miller)
Lake District Annual Meeting, August 31, 2022
The Lake District held its annual membership meeting in the City of Onalaska council meeting room on August 31, 2022. (This is a preliminary summary of the meeting: refer to the minutes, once approved, for the record of official actions.)
- Annual meeting notice and agenda
- Finalized Meeting Minutes
- Speaker: Rylee Hince, executive director of the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance, – (presentation slides)
- Natural Resource Agency Reports for Annual Meeting
- USGS (Randy Hines) submitted the report: Ecological Status and Trends of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers
- USFWS Tim Miller presented the 2022 USFWS Refuge Update
- Wisconsin DNR: Shawn Giblin submitted the report "Brice Prairie Channel: A Case Study of Water Quality and Fisheries Habitat Decline"
Lake District Annual Meeting, September 2, 2021
The Lake District held its annual membership meeting in the City of Onalaska council meeting room on September 2, 2021. State statutes required the meeting to be held inperson. Covid-19 precautions were observed, including wearing masks and social distancing. /(This is a preliminary summary of the meeting: refer to the minutes, once approved, for the record of official actions.)/
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Annual meeting notice and agenda (pdf document).
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2021 Budget: The proposed 2021 budget was presented during the budget hearing preceeding the annual membership meeting, reflecting a substantial income increase from fundraising activities and increased funds available for projects. The proposed budget was adopted during the annual membership portion of the meeting.
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Minutes of the 2020 (41st) Annual Meeting were approved.
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Elections: Mark Tierney (current treasurer), Barbara Friell (current secretary), and Connie Welch were re-elected to commissioner positions.
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Public comment: Brian Tippets commented that the City of Onalaska was a good place to hold the 42nd LOPRD Annual meeting and that involving the City of Onalaska was appreciated as it takes everyone's involvement. Mayor Kim Smith was recognized and thanked for her support of the LOPRD. Fritz Funk commented on the need to keep the focus not only on Brice Prairie, but also French Island and mentioned an upcoming potential Nelson Park Landing Fish Project on French Island. Marc Schultz commented that the LORPD will now follow Chapter 33 of the Wisconsin Statutes and deactivate the LOPRD Bylaws.
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State of Lake Onalaska: Marc Schultz and Fritz Funk provided a history of the LOPRD (since its inception in 1975) and Lake Onalaska (formed in 1937). They had displays at the meeting and projected photos describing the state of the lake. Land use and climate change are the two principal underlying driving factors affecting the recent hydrology and increased sedimentation rate of the lake. At the mid-August 2021 peak, aquatic vegetation covered over 50% of the lake's surface (see satellite imagery on main page). Almost all aquatic vegetation on Lake Onalaska are native species: there has been minimal coverage thus far from Eurasian water milfoil and curly-leaved pondweed (mostly early in the summer), both of which have been present in the area for many years but have never become dominant. Wild rice has been aggresively expanding around the lake margins and moved into deeper, formerly open water areas, for the first time in 2021. Wild rice has been present in the area for a very long time (a 1905 map names "Rice Lake" as the principal wetland body of water in the area where Lake Onalaska now is). This local wild rice is the "southern wild rice" (Zizania aquatica), smaller-grained and distinct from the larger-hulled "northern wild rice" (Zizania palustris), which is commercially harvested. However the genetics of this recently aggresively expanding local wild rice are somewhat uncertain: Wisconsin and Minnesota DNRs have been collecting genetic samples to determine if there is a genetic component to the recent expansion into deeper and more flowing waters than it has previously been found in.
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Lake District Activities
- LOPRD contracted with Schafer's Marine Services to harvest vegetation in the buoy-marked travel corridors three times this year.
- An inter-agency team, led by Tim Miller of the USFWS began meeting early year to examine the root causes of the increased sedimentation rate in Lake Onalaska, determine if there are solutions, and begin to develop projects to address the problem. Funding is available thru the Navigation Ecosystem Sustainability Program Participating agencies are US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Army Corps of Engineers, Minnesota and Wisconsin DNRs, Lake Onalaska Protection and Rehabilitation District, and the US Geological Service (see Tim Miller's presentation under agency reports for more information).
- The Lake District formed a fundraising committee over the last year to raise funds specifically to harvest aquatic vegetation in the travel corridors. Tony Christnovich, chair of the committee, gave a report on the fundraising event he is trying to organize for next May 22, and requested help from LOPRD members who could be committee chairs.
- Pontoon Tour Results: an LOPRD pontoon tour was held on August 18 (coinciding with peak aquatic vegetation) to view the extent of vegetation and see the harvested travel corridors. Five fully-loaded pontoons departed from Mosey Landing for the 1.5 hour tour. At the end of the tour the boats rafted together for an extended discussion on lake issues.The tour was well attended and very educational and appreciated by those who attended.
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WISCORPS Proposal: Marc Schultz explained what WisCorps is and that the LOPRD had Matt Bratner attend the LOPRD July 28th meeting held at the Town of Onalaska to provide information to those in attendance on how the LOPRD could possibly partner with WISCorps Inc. Refer to July 28th meeting minutes for additional information.
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Natural Resource Agency Reports for Annual Meeting
- US Geological Survey: Randy Hines of USGS was unable to attend because of agency Covid restrictions, but submitted an update on USGS activities in the area. Hines also submitted a more detailed report on USGS activities from March to September 2021
- US Army Corps of Engineers (John Schultz): awaiting written report
- U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service (Tim Miller, La Crosse District Manager). Tim presented a detailed presentation entitled Lake Onalaska Agency Team: Sedimentation and Potential for Habitat Loss of information presented at and reviewed by the interagency sedimentation team over the past year. The report contains much useful background information on processes affecting Lake Onalaska.
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: Dave Heath submitted a report describing DNR monitoring in our area, potential habitat proposals and legislation, and sedimentation problems.
Persons attending the meeting: Marc Schultz, Gordon Bornitz, Don Brenengen, Vickie Burke, Tony Christnovich, Rock Corbett, Tim Durtsche, Sue Durtsche, Jim Eggen, Dave Ford, Barbara Friell, David Heath, Ben Lachecki, Kathryn Lammers, Mike Leathen, Bill Leathen, Richard Luick, Steven Miller, Steve Miller, Tim Miller, Judy Pace, Larry Pierce, Mary Pierce, Donald Rieser, Marilyn Rieser, Jon Schultz, Kim Smith, Brian Tippetts, Kay Ward, Darryl Washa, Connie Welch
2021 Meeting minutes will be linked here when they become finalized.
Lake District Annual Meeting, September 8, 2020
The Lake District held its annual membership meeting outdoors at the NASA Memorial Park Shelter adjacent to Mosey Landing on Brice Prairie on September 8, 2020. State statutes required the meeting to be held inperson. Covid-19 precautions were observed, including wearing masks and social distancing. Turnout was lower than usual due to the setting and chilly 50 degree temperatures with light rain. Elections were held with Barbara Friell being re-elected, and Connie Welch voted into the seat formerly held by Jeff Reabe, who resigned at the end of his term. The District is moving forward with improving access by cutting vegetation in buoyed travel routes, and steps to create a lake management plan.
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Annual Meeting Notice and Agenda (pdf document)
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Map of Meeting Location (W7207 N Shore Ln, Onalaska, WI 54650)
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Proposed 2020-2021 Budget (pdf document)
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Treasurers Report
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Natural Resource Agency Reports for Annual Meeting
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U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service (Tim Miller, La Crosse District Manager)
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Wisconsin Deparment of Natural Resources
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Potential Upper Mississippi River funding increases (Jim Fischer, WDNR Mississippi River Team Leader)
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WDNR Agency Report (David Heath, Fisheries Biologist)
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2020 Meeting minutes will be posted here as they become available.
