Vermilion Lake Association Honored at Watershed Forum

The Vermilion Lake Association and the Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association, a Canadian lake association, were each recipients of the 2019 Wilson Stewardship Award, recognizing their outstanding contributions to environmental stewardship in the Rainy-Lake of the Woods watershed.

The 2019 Wilson Awards were presented by the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation on behalf of the 160 researchers, resource managers and water stewards from the United States and Canada attending the 2019 International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum in International Falls on March 13, 2019.

“The Vermilion Lake Association and the Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association both have histories of over 50 years of engaging citizens in stewardship,” said Todd Sellers, Foundation Executive Director. “They have been very effective at raising awareness of environmental issues and actively pursuing solutions and partnerships to advance science and implement concrete stewardship actions.”

“I am honored to accept the Wilson award on behalf of our lake association’s 2500 members, our hundreds of volunteers, and numerous partners working daily to protect Lake Vermilion,” added Terry Grosshauser, President of the Vermilion Lake Association.

While the award recognizes the Vermilion Lake Association’s broad range of lake stewardship over 50 years, the Foundation specifically cited its extensive aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention work beginning in the 1990s, its 40 years of water quality sampling and support for actions to improve water quality, and its 36-year count of common loons, the longest running single-lake count in the United States.

Diane Schwartz-Williams accepted the award for the Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association.

The Wilson Stewardship Award is presented annually by the Foundation to individuals, groups, or projects that have made significant contributions to environmental stewardship in the Rainy-Lake of the Woods watershed. The award is named in honor of its first recipient, Gerry Wilson, in recognition of her contributions to lake stewardship in the Lake of the Woods region.

For additional information about the Vermilion Lake Association, please explore this website.