A state agency has chosen seven men, from farmers to long-time lake activists, to run the soon-to-be-created Shell Rock River Watershed District.

The watershed district’s managers will include Harley Miller of Albert Lea, who initated the petition to have the district created; farmer Tom Dahl of rural Hayward; Ken Nelson, an lakeshore resident on Albert Lea Lake and a lake activist; former state legislator Paul Overgaard of Albert Lea; farmer Gary Pestorious; Roger Peterson of Clarks Grove; and restaurant owner Don Sorenson of Albert Lea, who has been an outspoken lake activist.

The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) chose the seven from a list of 13 applicants submitted with the petition three years ago. Miller and a group of lake activists have been pushing for BWSR to create a watershed district that will oversee water-quality and lake-improvement projects.

The first board of managers will serve for one year, then the county board will be able to appoint people to the seats for staggered terms.

The district will have taxing authority, but Overgaard said it will likely take months for the board to get organized and start putting a serious plan together, and the prospect of raising taxes is a long way from being discussed.

&uot;We have to wait and see how to make an overall plan that will move us toward the objective of cleaning up the lakes and cleaning up the water we send south,&uot; Overgaard said.

Once the plan is in place, it makes more sense for managers to start discussing funding, he said.

&uot;We can’t talk the water cleaner, so it seems to me we will need a resource, but I have no idea what that will be,&uot; he said. &uot;It isn’t a question of, ‘Hey, let’s raise some money and then see what we’re going to do with it.’&uot;

Overgaard, who was a state representative from 1962-68 and a senator from 1970-72 and is now retired, said he’s been an interested observer as watershed improvement efforts have built momentum in recent years, though he hasn’t been actively involved yet, aside from attending a few meetings.

Dahl, who farms and sells seed north of Hayward, said he agreed to be considered for the board because he wanted to ensure that farmers had a voice.

&uot;My family and my customer base has a lot of land in the watershed and I felt the farmers had to be represented,&uot; he said.

He also works as a ditch viewer for Freeborn County.

The board of managers will hold its first meeting June 26 at 7 p.m. at the Fairlane building at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds. The board is required to meet within ten days of the official establishment of the district, which is expected to come at a BWSR board meeting June 26. The watershed board meetings are open to the public.

BWSR staff selected the managers after the candidates filled out applications and did interviews. The selections are subject to approval by the BWSR board.