Letter from the President

  For anyone who was around about the time Ed Sullivan introduced the Beatles to America, it gets harder each year to acknowledge the speed at which time passes. It does for me. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I wrote the last newsletter? Anyway, ‘nuff said about how fast time goes by. Let’s take a look at what we did with the time we had over the last year.

  With a certain amount of pride, I will repeat that this year there was no need to treat Big Eagle Lake for milfoil. Unbelievably, the weeds, like the economy, are in a recession. Is that aquatic economics or what? I feel such pride for the Lake Association Board and the community that supports it. WE accomplished this feat, all of us. We will, of course, be waiting with baited breath for the spring to come to see if our good fortune continues as we are always at the mercy of Mother Nature and her response to our stewardship. But this bit of good news means that since we did not have to spend a lot of money on weed control, for the first time the Lake Association treasury has reserves. With the advent of our upcoming Ice Fishing Contest, as opposed to the national deficit, we are in the black. With another successful contest on the horizon, we should be able to raise enough money to ensure the stability and longevity of the Lake Association and we might even be able to broaden its scope. It would be great to have ongoing education programs to help raise the awareness and knowledge of lake shore management, water quality control, invasive plant awareness - control along with a host of other low cost, high impact educational endeavors.

  Big Eagle Lake has been very, very fortunate in that its water levels have remained quite stable. Extreme examples of the opposite would be White Bear Lake and Lake Minnetonka and many of the lakes surrounding them. Those lakes on the other hand, have not only experienced drastic drops in lake levels, but because of the lower levels, the sunlight has been able to penetrate to the lake bottom much easier which promotes greater weed growth. Milfoil is a major issue in those lakes right now and those lake associations are scrambling to deal with it. There is no doubt that we are quite blessed with our current situation.

  Speaking of blessed events, the 2010 Big Eagle Lake Improvement Association Annual Ice Fishing contest will be on Saturday, February 6th this season. We will have even more kids activities available this year than last, the Hard Water Café will be serving up another fine menu of cold weather fare, the prizes will be as plentiful as ever (we have another 4 stroke ice auger in the mix again), the jokes will be just as bad however (no amount of medicating seems to help this), but the fun will, hopefully, be expanded. We will be having exhibits, educational tables, Alta the Wonder Dog will be back, ice bowling and enough contests and games to keep the youngsters engaged. Oh, yeah, and there will be ice fishing. Also, we will have Deputy Joe of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s office on hand along with an assistant to help with crowd control and to answer any water regulation, safety or hydro questions that anyone may have. Now remember, with all this activity, we will need a few more folks to step up to the plate and lend a hand with everything from selling tickets to making sure the attendees know where everything is. So, don’t be shy, contact a Board member, email me at thebeckgroupmn.com, call my cell phone at 612-801-3491 or check with a neighbor. Tickets will be sold at local area merchants, Hardware Hank, Coborns and Klein Bank as well as by Board Members. Also this year, we have a new raffle, for one thin U.S. dollar you get a shot at winning $100.00 a month for one year (for the mathematically challenged, that adds up to $1200.00). Also a 2nd prize of $250.00 and a third prize of $100.00. Tickets are available from board members (phone numbers included at the end of this newsletter). Weather permitting this contest should prove to be another good time.

  By the way, another round of walleye fingerlings were released this fall at the landing. All season long, we have continued to get reports of people catching some nice sized walleyes. Along with the walleyes, local anglers have also been reporting that the rest of the fish population has been coming in with good numbers.

  Well, I would love to continue to jaw boning with you, but the sun is setting and I don’t type worth a darn by candlelight. So, see you next time and mark your calendars for Feb. 6th.

    Earl Rose, BELIA President