Okoboji Protective Association

Fall 2007

From the OPA President

Dear Membership,

I would like to thank Hank Miguel for his just completed two-year term as OPA President. Hank has always been a passionate advocate for lakes area conservation efforts and he brought that drive with him as your president. I know we can look forward to Hank's continued involvement in the ecology of the Iowa Great Lakes.

The Iowa Great Lakes has many conservation and ecology issues worthy of the OPA's attention. The issues run the gamut from water quality to water safety. Fortunately, the interests of the OPA run parallel to my own interests. I am active in the Clean Water Alliance and the Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council. The Okoboji Yacht Club supports a boating activity that doesn't need fossil fuel. Many of you share those same interests even if you can't attend all the meetings.

One area of almost universal agreement is that West Lake Okoboji and the Iowa Great Lakes watershed needs responsible growth. The problem is to define what is meant by responsible growth. Some people think that means whatever the developer want to build that fits within the - sometimes limited - zoning ordinances. A small number of people would like to see "no growth". The article in this newsletter about how the Concerned Citizens of Okoboji was formed shows how one of these issues evolved this summer. Reasoned discussion should lead us to an optimum answer. Where an environmental impact to West Lake Okoboji or the Iowa Great Lakes watershed is involved, I would suggest the Okoboji Protective Association join the discussion and keep our members informed on the issues.

On August 25th, all of the lake protective associations held a joint meeting that included Center Lake, East Okoboji Lakes Improvement, Silver Lake, Spirit Lake, Three Lakes, and the OPA. Each association provided a brief summary of their organization and their most critical issues. Steve Anderson, Clean Water Coordinator, presented an overview of activities in the watershed. The guest speakers were Rich Leopold, DNR Director, and Bill Ehm, Iowa Water Quality czar. Working with the other lake protective associations in our watershed is important, because the DNR has told us they will react more favorably to recommendations that are endorsed by all protective associations rather than individual requests.

One of my OPA concerns is the number of OPA members. While there are a thousand lakeside homes around West Lake Okoboji, we have less than 300 dues paying members. The strength of OPA membership shows the DNR, the legislature, city councils and board of supervisors how strongly we feel about protecting the valuable natural resources we are all able to enjoy. If you have paid your 2007 dues, thank you. Maybe you had intended to mail your 2007 dues to renew your membership. We need your support.

In 2007 the OPA tried several methods to spread the word about the OPA and the benefits of our organization to increase our membership. None of our advertising efforts was particularly successful. Based on some other experiences we now believe that direct friend-to-friend or direct neighbor-to-neighbor contact is the most effective. If each of us would talk to three of our friends and/or neighbors we could triple our membership. Of course, the best direct contact with our Okoboji friends and neighbors will occur next summer. The OPA would appreciate your efforts at any time of year to spread the word of our association and its benefits to the Iowa Great Lakes.

The OPA Board of Directors meets April through September on the last Saturday of the month. For this summer's June, July, and August meetings, I would hope we could find a meeting time other than Saturday or Sunday morning, so that more Okoboji Yacht Club members could attend. Your suggestions are welcome.

The OPA is truly fortunate to have so many talented people serving the association on the Board of Directors. The breadth of the experience and dedication to our lakes is truly staggering. We were particularly fortunate that board member Joe Fitzgibbons has agreed to serve as our new vice president. Joe has enjoyed a life-long relationship with our lakes and wants to see the high quality of our lakes preserved.

Phil Petersen
President