Elk-Skegemog Lakes Association

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Elk-Skegemog Lakes Association

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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!

08/25/2026

Congrats to our July Fish Photo Contest winners! The submissions we received were all so creative, and our winners shone the brightest!
There's still time to submit your picture for the August contest, if you're excited to show off your amazing catches and get a chance to have your fish mounted! Follow the link below for more information!
https://elk-skegemog.org/fish-shelter-project-overview/kids-fish-picture-contest/
A big thanks to Guntzviller's Spirit of the Woods Museum & Taxidermy for providing prizes for the winners, and we hope to see you on the lake!

08/20/2026

Today, at the Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall, meet us for a talk all about native freshwater mussels and their importance to our ecosystem! We will be welcoming Joe Rathbun, an aquatic biologist and mussel expert, as our keynote speaker. We are so excited to learn from his many years of experience, so stop by to discover all about the lake's natural filters, as well as what's threatening them!
Doors open at 5, and Mr Rathbun will begin presenting at 5:30, taking time at the end for a Q&A. Hope to see you there!

08/15/2026

This was quite the project, but so worth the results! Rex Terrace is now free of Eurasian watermilfoil. This aquatic plant is notoriously difficult to fully remove, as any small fragment of leaf can bud into a new plant. Unchecked, it can grow incredibly dense and clog out waterways, as well as other plants, such as native varieties of milfoil.
Not in Rex Terrace, though! Its fish are swimming in clean, clear waters! (if you ignore all the muck🤣)

08/13/2026

We're getting so close to finishing our Rapid River survey for curly leaf pond w**d! We've got one more section to go, and then we'll be well and truly out of the woods! (or river, in this case 🤣)
Unfortunately, we have found quite a bit of this invasive plant, but we are working on a strategy to remove it before the Rugg pond dam is removed. In the meantime, if you see any curly leaf pondw**d in water near you, feel free to slowly pull it out, making sure to get the roots out as well, and throw it away. Do not compost it though, as it can get back into the watershed that way!
Thanks for helping keep our ecosystem healthy!

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!

08/01/2026

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

📍 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!

💙 See you there!

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!

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/

Address

P. O Box 8
Elk Rapids, MI
49629

Website

https://www.elk-skegemog.org/

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