A new spirit of cooperation was forged Monday between Minnesota Department of Natural Resources representatives, city and county officials and members of the Lakes Coalition.

Tuesday, January 09, 2001

A new spirit of cooperation was forged Monday between Minnesota Department of Natural Resources representatives, city and county officials and members of the Lakes Coalition. Together, they expect to avoid a winter fish kill on Albert Lea Lake, develop a long-term solution, and establish a dialogue between agencies.

&uot;A very strong message I got out of the meeting this morning was the DNR wants to develop a strong relationship,&uot; said Environmental Services Director Randy Tuchtenhagen. &uot;I heard a pretty strong response from the people in the audience, saying this is what we want too.&uot;

Freeborn County and Albert Lea officials asked for the meeting as a part of their appeal of the DNR’s decision to deny Lakes Coalition applicants an aerator permit for the lake.

Local residents told the DNR about natural springs and water flow that the organization was previously unaware of, and the DNR explained their position dealing with different interested groups in the area, and reasons aeration could be harmful to begin at this time.

As a result, the DNR agreed to continue to monitor the dissolved oxygen and water flow in the lake’s channel and northeast corner. If conditions start to endanger fish, other things can be done to introduce gasses into the water in the short term, they explained.

&uot;There would be reactions set up by the DNR in case of low dissolved oxygen,&uot; said Environmental Services Water Plan Coordinator Dick Hoffman.

In addition, DNR representatives told Lakes Coalition members they would recommend a future plan for aeration, one that would likely be approved by the DNR with their recommendation. That recommendation should be complete within a week.

&uot;We asked them to review it and provide us some leadership in that area,&uot; Hoffman said.

&uot;They didn’t make us any promises in whether they would approve aeration, but they said they would go talk about things and come back in a week with a bunch of suggestions,&uot; Tuchtenhagen said.

&uot;We’ll kind of negotiate from there,&uot; he said.

More than 20 members of the Fountain Lake Sportsmen’s Association and concerned citizens also attended the meeting.

&uot;I think there was a good exchange of ideas that was beneficial for everyone,&uot; Tuchtenhagen said.

&uot;We’re a giant step in the correct direction,&uot; Hoffman said.