Elk-Skegemog Lakes Association

Elk-Skegemog Lakes Association Celebrating 75 years of protecting our waters! Join us in preserving its beauty and resources for future generations.

Together we keep our precious waters thriving!

08/04/2026

There are many kinds of gar, the most common in Michigan being the spotted gar and longnose gar! These fish feed on minnows, worms, crayfish, and other small creatures living in our lakes.
Fossils of gar have been found dating back to the Cretaceous period, a.k.a. the time of the dinosaurs! They've been able to survive this long due to several unique adaptations. These creatures have ganoid scales, which interlock, providing the fish with impeccable armor! They also have a vascularized swim bladder, allowing them to breathe small amounts of air and survive in oxygen-poor water.
The gar really is an amazing fish, and you can find them right here in Lake Skegemog!

Come see ESLA at the Evenings on River Street events every Wednesday!📍 Downtown Elk Rapids📅 July 30 – Wednesday Evenings...
08/01/2026

Come see ESLA at the Evenings on River Street events every Wednesday!

đź“Ť Downtown Elk Rapids
📅 July 30 – Wednesday Evenings, 5:00pm - 9:00pm
Stroll the street, enjoy the music, and stop by the ESLA booth!
There, you can meet & chat with board members and our lake biologist, purchase some ESLA swag, and learn how ESLA is working to protect our unique waterway ecosystem!

It’s a great night to connect with the community and support local lake conservation, as well as learn more about what we do every year to sustain the natural world around us!

đź’™ See you there!

A huge thank you to Traverse City Horse Shows for choosing us as your charity ticket partner for 2026! We are so gratefu...
07/31/2026

A huge thank you to Traverse City Horse Shows for choosing us as your charity ticket partner for 2026! We are so grateful for partnerships like this, as it helps us continue our work in conservation of the local ecosystem!
Thank you to everyone who attended this exciting event, as your ticket purchases went directly to ESLA and will aid us in our efforts to protect the natural world around us. We had a wonderful time there, and hope you all did too!

07/29/2026

Purple loosestrife blooming season is just around the corner, so it's best to be aware of what this plant is!
Purple loosestrife is an invasive plant native to Europe and was introduced mainly as an ornamental plant, but has quickly spread to almost every US state. A single plant can produce over a million seeds, causing it to rapidly overtake floodplains and shorelines. These plants reduce the shelter and food available to many bird species, causing a decline in their populations.
If you see these plants in your backyard, please contact our biologist, Sam, at [email protected].
The seeds of purple loosestrife spread easily, so remember to regularly clean off your boots, hiking materials, and anything else you might use in a natural area.
Thanks for your support!

Hey there, Elk Rapids! Just a quick reminder that the Kids Fish Photo Contest is going on throughout the summer! July's ...
07/26/2026

Hey there, Elk Rapids! Just a quick reminder that the Kids Fish Photo Contest is going on throughout the summer! July's competition is almost over, so be sure to get your photos in!
If you don't, no big deal! You can always partake in August's contest for a chance to win a gift card. Along with this, the grand prize winner of the entire summer will have their fish mounted by the Guntzviller's Taxidermy and Spirit of the Woods Museum. The winners are based on excitement and creativity of the picture, not fish size, so be sure to show off your favorite catch!
For more information, feel free to visit this link:
https://elk-skegemog.org/fish-shelter-project-overview/kids-fish-picture-contest/

07/23/2026

Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, ESLA teamed up with CAKE Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area and a ton of volunteers from the shoreline committee of the Elk Rapids, MI - Village Government to remove the invasive plants slowly overtaking Rotary Park in downtown Elk Rapids. We were able to get rid of it all, and will come back sometime next year to make sure these plants have stayed gone.
A huge thanks to everyone who helped out with this project, especially the DPW, who hauled away all the brush once we cut it.
Hope you all enjoy the clearer shoreline, and appreciate the native trees there that are now able to thrive!

07/21/2026

Spend the morning with our lake biologist 👩🏼‍🔬
For the past couple years, Sam, our lake biologist, has been keeping a close eye on water quality as part of NOAA's Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (PMN) — helping us track and identify harmful algal blooms (HABs) before they become a problem. Sam is trained to identify 5 different types of HABs, and she monitors local sites twice monthly.
This is a look at how samples are collected and analyzed, as well as a close-up view of non-harmful algae and other tiny aquatic life 🦠🧫
Thanks to your support, this work helps to keep our waterways safer, healthier, and better understood by the entire community. đź’š

Join us on July 23rd to discuss the removal of the Rugg Pond dam! This dam used to act as a power plant, but has since b...
07/18/2026

Join us on July 23rd to discuss the removal of the Rugg Pond dam! This dam used to act as a power plant, but has since been decommissioned. As of right now, the dam is filling Rugg Pond with silt, putting the local aquatic ecosystem at risk. Learn more about this at the ESLA Shore Thing event, where Conservation Resource Alliance project manager Tom Vitale will be our keynote speaker!
Meet us at the Edward Grace Memorial Harbor Pavilion in Elk Rapids at 5:30 pm!

A huge thanks to the Elk Rapids Marina () for delivering and installing our biologist's boat hoist free of charge. We ...
07/15/2026

A huge thanks to the Elk Rapids Marina () for delivering and installing our biologist's boat hoist free of charge. We are so grateful to have them in our corner to help us protect and preserve our waters!

Join us July 23rd and 25th at Flintfields Horse Park for a weekend of world-class equestrian sport, including the $75,00...
07/15/2026

Join us July 23rd and 25th at Flintfields Horse Park for a weekend of world-class equestrian sport, including the $75,000 CSIO3* Traverse City Nations Cup and the $62,500 CSIO3* B&D Builders Grand Prix!
All revenue from general ticket sales on these dates will be donated to the Elk Skegemog Lakes Association, so let's make sure to pack those seats! Whether it’s your first visit or you’re already a fan of one of Northern Michigan’s best-kept summer traditions, we’d love to see you there while supporting Elk Skegemog Lakes Association through the Traverse City Horse Shows Charity Ticket Program.
Sign up via the link below if you're interested in a wonderful day of horse shows and fun!
https://app.gopassage.com/venues/8654?referral=isea

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P. O Box 8
Elk Rapids, MI
49629

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