Douglas County Water Quality Legacy Fund

The deteriorating water quality in many Douglas County lakes is obvious. This is caused by multiple factors:  increased pollution from a variety of sources, aquatic invasive species, overdevelopment and others. This sounds overwhelming, but we can make significant improvements.

An Ad Hoc committee representing Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District, Douglas County Land and Resources, Douglas County Commissioners, The Nature Conservancy, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Douglas County Lakes Association began meeting in October 2017. In November 2018, the Douglas County Water Quality Legacy Fund (WQLF) was finalized. This is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is able to accept public and private donations. It will be administered by the West Central Initiative in Fergus Falls, and will be led by the Douglas County Lakes Association.

The fund will be used primarily to provide the 25% match required by water quality grants received from the State. Some of these projects can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, making the 25% match significant.

The WQLF advisory board includes County Commissioner Jerry Rapp, Alexandria City Council Member Mike Weber, Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor Mike Cleary, Emily Siira from the Glenwood Fisheries, Kayli Overland, Mississippi Headwaters Conservation Coordinator for the Nature Conservancy, Greg Bowen representing the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, John Ledermann representing Douglas County Corn and Soybean Growers, and two members of the Douglas County Lakes Association Boards; Jay Sieling and Steve Henry.

We look forward to meeting with individuals residing in Douglas County, our Lake Associations and other public groups to further explain our goals with the fund. We are also soliciting monies for the fund and ideas for water quality projects. Working together we hope to improve water quality in Douglas County.

Steve Henry
President, Douglas County Lakes Association
Phone:  (320) 815-9606
email address:  [email protected]

Learn more about the importance and status of our lakes in Douglas County from the presentation below.  A committee of the
Douglas County Lakes Association in partnership with the Douglas County Soil & Water Conservation District prepared it. We
hope it will help us maintain and improve the water quality of our lakes for the future. More information about the Douglas
County Water Quality Legacy Fund can be fund by using the “Donate to the Fund” and the “Standard Component Fund
Agreement” links below.