Glen Lake Association named “Best in Michigan”

Press release
The Michigan Lake and Stream Association has awarded the Glen Lake Association its top honor for 2008. The Leelanau County nonprofit organization is the recipient of the “Michigan Inland Lake Steward of the Year Award.”
Photo by Jeff Rabidoux
The designation recognizes the Glen Lake Association (GLA) as the benchmark for other lake protection groups around the state for their exemplary operations, programs and outreach.

Assistant Executive Director of Michigan Lake and Stream Associations in charge of the awards program, Scott Brown, said the Glen Lake Association sets the bar for others to attain. “The Glen Lake Association is head and shoulders above other groups in the state,” he said of the award, which has been given out the past two years. “We congratulate Glen Lake for bringing riparian owners up to speed in regards to ecological processes, issues and needs. Our most important challenge is education. A lot of lake associations don’t do much — just pontoon parades on the Fourth of July and an annual potluck. We look at GLA as the association that sets the pace for leadership.”
Presentation of the steward plaque took place at the recent 47th Annual Conference for Michigan Lake and Stream Associations held in Grayling and was received by GLA president, Sarah Litch.
“The association board, the staff and our dedicated volunteers have worked long and hard on behalf of this irreplaceable resource and we are proud to be the 2008 recipient of the award,” she said. “Educating riparians and the community about this delicate watershed is paramount to its health and its future for generations to come. We need everyone’s continued help and involvement.”
There are thousands of lake associations in the state and the Michigan Lake and Stream Associations represents about one third of them, according to Brown. He added that, unlike the Glen Lake Association, less than one percent of the state’s lake organizations employ a lake biologist or offer a Boat Wash/Inspection program at the boat launch aimed at protecting the lake from invasive species.
Other programs funded by member dues and contributions include the;
° Joint creation of a Glen Lake-Crystal River Watershed Management Plan.
° Yearly invasive plant surveys of Big and Little Glen, Big and Little Fisher.
° Establishment of a Fish-Wildlife-Recreation Committee by the GLA board.
° Duck capture, inoculation and relocation program to control Swimmer’s Itch.
The Glen Lake Association, founded in 1954, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection, preservation and continued improvement of the beautiful Glen Lake area. For more information, to become a member or to contribute, visit www.glenlakeassociation.com or call (231) 334-7645.