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More than 200 guests gather for the Green Lake Association’s State of the Lake Breakfast and Annual Meeting, where they enjoy a complimentary breakfast and learn about the impact of the Green Lake Association.
The Green Lake Association (GLA) held its second State of the Lake Breakfast and Annual Meeting last week Saturday.
With more than 250 registered guests, the event took place at the Heidel House Hotel & Conference Center and was sponsored by Horicon Bank.
Gary Mecklenburg, Chair of the Green Lake Association board, welcomes guests to the sold-out State of the Lake Breakfast and Annual Meeting.
Gary Mecklenburg, GLA board chair, welcomed attendees and introduced GLA CEO Stephanie Prellwitz.
Prellwitz shared insights on Green Lake’s water quality, provided updates on projects protecting the lake and announced the GLA’s new strategic plan.
“If we’re serious about improving Green Lake’s water quality, we need to broaden our approach to include innovation and technology,” Prellwitz said. “This is a time of exploration, of learning, and of testing new ideas. These are some of the efforts captured in the GLA’s new strategic plan, which articulates a level of commitment never before possible in our organization’s 72-year history.”
The GLA’s new strategic plan empowers it to aggressively pursue its No. 1 priority to reduce phosphorus on behalf of Green Lake’s future. To align with the new strategic plan goals, the GLA also announced its program pillars: phosphorus reduction, aquatic invasive species prevention, data evaluation, and community activation.
With multiple projects in progress for the sake of Green Lake, this structure is designed to better reflects GLA’s priorities and efforts in the Green Lake watershed.
The State of the Lake presentation video showcased projects in each program pillar, highlighting the GLA’s research, exploration of new techniques and pilot projects to address water quality challenges.
Green Lake Association CEO Stephanie Prellwitz shares updates about Green Lake’s water quality, and how the Green Lake Association is working to protect it.
Prellwitz highlighted the GLA’s latest study that revealed that Green Lake’s two primary inlets — the Silver Creek Estuary and the County Highway K Marsh — have accumulated decades’ worth of phosphorus and are an additional source of phosphorus loading, called “internal loading.”
“We now know that it’s not just the streams bringing phosphorus into Green Lake,” Prellwitz said. “We’re dealing with years of historic phosphorus that has accumulated within the lake’s inlets and is leaching phosphorus into the lake over time.”
With this information, the GLA is exploring effective approaches to manage these systems and reduce phosphorus loading, protecting Green Lake.
The presence of government officials demonstrated strong support for improving water quality. Those officials in attendance included Justin Williams, on behalf of U.S. State Sen. Tammy Baldwin; David Abendroth, chair of the Green Lake County Board; Ken Bates, Green Lake Sanitary District commissioner and Green Lake County Board supervisor; Robert Schweder and Nita Krenz, Green Lake County Board supervisors; and Katherine Griffith, Fond du Lac County Board supervisor.
To join or renew a membership with the GLA, watch the presentation video or read the three key takeaways from the event, visit: www.greenlakeassociation.org/2023-annual-meeting.
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