Page 3 - Vermilion Lake Association Spring 2021 Newsletter

Live from Lake Vermilion!
Coming Soon... from the VLA’s very own Loon NestCam
WBy Noel and Chris Sederstrom
hen we head north to Lake Vermilion, we can’t wait for the
water, the wind, the smell of the pine trees—it’s not only a breath of fresh air but food for the spirit. And later, when we hear the loons calling to each other, we realize we’ve been away too long.
There’s something about our Lake Vermilion loons. They help make our troubles seem far away, and their loon family somehow be- comes part of our family. When they suddenly appear around the end of the island, we call to each other and go running to see how many there are and, later in the summer, to see if there are any
little ones riding along with Mom and Dad.
With a long lens and a little patience, it’s possible to get close enough to one of our Lake Ver- milion loons for a great photo. Some even have a degree of trust in their human counterparts.
Now wouldn’t it be great to be able to watch them up close?
It’s with great pride and anticipa- tion that a few of us are actively working on boosting our Lake
Vermilion loons’ visibility to the outside world, to share the magic of these amazing creatures.
Look for our Live Loon NestCam to pop up on the Vermilion Lake Association website and a VLA YouTube channel in the next month or so.
We’re trying to do this the right way, of course. We’ll be protecting the privacy of the loon family, and their human neighbors, so please don’t attempt to physically visit the site. But if we do our setup work right, you can keep an eye on them on your phone, computer or even your big screen smart TV in late May, June and July.
VLA Volunteer Opportunity: Throwing a rake can be A loads of FUN....and helps protect Lake Vermilion
IS Sentries needed on both East and West ends. Sentries are trained in Aquatic Invasive Spe- cies (AIS) identification, then working with our Sentry Leader, monitor specified boat launches 3-4 times per season, gathering weed samples for visual inspection and reporting. Contact Pat
Michaelson, VLA Volunteer Program Leader, if you have an interest in learning more about this boat- er-friendly opportunity; plmichaelson@gmail.com.
President’s Message....from page 2
lake gem. We can always use more “hands on deck” with our AIS team, specifically Sentries interested in “throwing a rake” to assess lake vegetation, and
a new volunteer who will explore an innovation to assist our boat launchers with “clean, drain, dry” at less frequently used accesses.
We are very excited to be planning for our Annual Member Meeting after last summer’s (COVID) hi- atus. The meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August
7th from 3-7 p.m. at Camp Vermilion. Mark your calendars, plan to join us, and watch for more details in our summer newsletter.
Enjoy this spring edition highlighting other VLA ac- tivities and please reach out to me with any questions or suggestions you may have.
Be Safe, Pat Michaelson, VLA Volunteer Program Leader and President
www.VermilionLakeAssociation.org 3