Thank you for visiting the website of the
​Black Lake Preservation Society

No one that has been to Black Lake would deny that we have a special, natural treasure here.  As visitors, sportsmen and sportswomen, and property and business owners in the area, we have certain stewardship responsibilities to manage the effects of erosion, stormwater pollution, invasive species, and other risks to our shared interest in the lake.   We share this interest by virtue of our history and investment in Black Lake.  

​Thanks for visiting our page and for sharing our mission!

Let's Keep Black Lake Natural!

BLPS Calendar

(You can add the BLPS Calendar as a "friend calendar" on your gmail calendar by adding blacklakepreservationsociety@gmail.com)


JULY EVENTS OF INTEREST:

JULY 1  
CLEAN DRAIN DRY FREE MSU BOAT WASH and AQUATIC INVASIVE LANDING BLITZ
              TIME:  7AM-11:30AM
              LOCATION:  ONAWAY STATE PARK                                              BOAT LAUNCH
 Black Lake joins 78 other lakes in the Aquatic Invasive Landing Blitz sponsored by the DEQ.   Volunteers from MSU will wash your boat for FREE in 3 minutes.  Pick up cool giveaways and be part of the charge to protect BLACK LAKE from plant and animal invasive species.


JULY 4:
LOOK FOR THE BLPS FLOAT IN THE ONAWAY PARADE


JULY 6:   
Registration, coffee, and baked goods at 8:30,
Program from  9:00AM-11AM 
               ONAWAY COURTHOUSE- 
               2ND  FLOOR
Find to what the BLPS is doing to protect and preserve Black Lake and how you can help.  
               
Floatilla on the lake to follow the program

Who We Are
The BLPS is a group for those that want to contribute to our community learning and ongoing change.   Our guiding principles are:

1. that the right time to preserve and protect a lake is when it is healthy because there are few practical ways to restore  a lake once it is impaired,
2. that you cannot "outsource" your responsibility to protect the lake simply by writing a check to a group that takes responsibility for the lake's health.  People need to care enough to listen, learn, and engage if our goals are to be met, and
3. that to maximize our impact, we cannot repeat, recreate, or replace what other groups have done.  There are over 1,000 lakes of 100 acres or more in Michigan and similar numbers in Wisconsin and Minnesota.  There are solutions out there that can be leveraged toward our needs and it is critical that we find them and reuse them.  

Why We Created the BLPS
Pursuant to these guiding principles, our organization is really about starting the conversation around topics that impact our ability to preserve our lake;  the same topics being addressed by organizations around our area, our state, and through the midwest:

• that invasive species most likely enter our lake on visiting boats,
• that we need to hold dear the forest, dirt roads, wetlands, and meadows/flood plains that make up the free, beautiful water purification system in our watershed,
• that we are exposed due to lack of land use restrictions within our local government rules,
• that a healthy shoreline and a healthy septic system is our stewardship responsibility, and
• that harvesting weeds and stocking fish are addressing undesirable symptoms in the ecosystem while ignoring or masking  the root causes.

​2017 Achievements
2017 was an important year for us as we launched our first two programs.   First, we impacted operational methods at the dam that will lead to more drainage from the lake over the winter, better compliance with court ordered lake levels, and reduced risk to shoreline and waterfront property.  Second, we started an important community-wide conversation about how invasive species find their way into our lake and other lakes by hitchhiking on boats and trailers that move between lakes.

2018 Plans
In 2018, we're going to launch two new programs.  First, we will introduce a self-guided property assessment tool that property owners can use to identify ways that they can contribute to the health and longevity of our lake.  This tool was developed by the Michigan Shoreland Stewards, and it is leveraged broadly across our state.  Secondly, we will expand our monitoring of water quality metrics and the learning that we get from that data.  We'll begin by looking upstream in the tributaries to learn about nutrients, toxins, bacteria, and sediment coming from the 5 rivers that flow into the lake.  This project will be lead by the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, and we'll use the learnings from this project to identify what may be done to reduce the impact of any issues that we find.    Visit "PROGRAMS"  from the menu to learn more about our plans.

What Is Membership Like
There is ample opportunity for you to provide input and feedback regarding our plans and to volunteer your time and lend your financial support to the educational, collaborative, and project related activities that are part of our program.  We are committed to maintaining low dues so everyone can participate.  The dues cover the non-discretional spending (e.g. web hosting, insurance, postage, etc.), and our planned projects will require additional funding that will come from restricted donations and grants.  See the Program section and the Membership section for more information on how to help fund our projects and execution of our strategic plan.
 
To get the most from your membership with the BLPS, it is essential that you a) join our Facebook Page with notifications turned on, b) revisit this website from time to time, and c) make sure that we have your current contact information for mail and email.  Only then can you be part of the full conversation and be aware of opportunities to join with your neighbors to achieve the BLPS mission.
 
Please go to the Membership page for information on how to join the BLPS or renew your membership for 2018.  ​

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