Citizens for Improving Long Lake

01/30/2026

A black man's perspective on President Trump, very enlightening.

10/25/2025

Good afternoon,
The trapper with the USDA called and asked that we do not remove the dam until we get approval from the county. He is worried about flooding down stream properties, since this one is holding back the majority of the posted.

I will reach out to Eric Mathes at the county Monday and let him know we want to get it down ASAP
The Lake is coming down, hopefully we can get this wrapped up by next weekend.

My schedule is flexible, so if we get the green light I am available during the week to remove it.

Have a nice evening and I will keep you poted.

10/21/2025

The water if flowing under the bridge with the small breach we made last Sunday. There is no Seahawks this Sunday so if we could have no more than six volunteers meet at noon and we can dismantle the rest of it and stack it up on the bank.
The water is about 2 to 3 ft deep, just shorts and tennis shoes is best but if have hip waders you can wear those. We need a couple hand saws and pics to break up parts of it.

My goal is to get the whole thing dismantled and the water flowing Sunday.

The next phase is to formulate a plan to clear a lot of the brush and growth on the east side of the bridge, it is a mess, and I am sure it is impeding the flow of the lake.

I was in the creek for 2.5 hours last Sunday and you get used to water real quick, it is not as cold as you might think.

Please let me know who is willing to help this Sunday.

Thank you,
Dana

10/20/2025

Great news, we took down the dam east of the bridge, bad news we discovered there is big dam under the bridge. Eric breached part of it but it is big!! I will call the county and see if they can remove ASAP, if not we need to get it down. After we remove it the lake should really start to drain. Removing it quickly will take six to ten volunteers to take it down. Today we just wore tennis shoes and shorts.
I will keep you posted, but next weekend or prior if we can get a crew together during the week, let's getter done!!
Go M's
dana

10/12/2025

Beaver update, we trapped 5 beavers, one nursing female.
We have begun dismantling the the dam. About half was taken down, if there are more beavers they will come to investigate why the dam is failing, if the don't show up then we have removed them and the rest of the dam will be taken down next week and we can remove the rest of the dam
When we remove it we will get a wood chipper and grind up the material they use to rebuild. Please be patient, we are trying to remove and relocate them to a new home far away from Long Lake, we sew draining the lake and we should see results in the next few days.
I will keep you posted,
Dana

10/05/2025

BEAVER UPDATE. As of now they have trapped 4 beavers and will check the traps tomorrow. Based on their recommendations we keep trapping or now start to remove the dam.
If they suggest to keep trapping we will have to write another check. The fee is $60 an hour which includes travel time, we gave them $600 for the initial treatment. We have funds available to cover the additional cost, I will keep you posted.
DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TAKE IT UPON YOUR SELF TO REMOVE THE DAM. THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY AND ERIC HAS BEEN HELPFUL IN THIS PROCESS.
When we get the green light we will organize a work party to remove the dam and all the debris so they can't rebuild if any beavers remain.
Thank you,
Dana

09/26/2025

BEAVER UPDATE: I signed this contract with USDA yesterday to start on the removal of the beavers from the east side of the bridge. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD ANYBODY GO IN THAT AREA!! It is a process that must be followed and if anybody disturbs or dismantles the dam it will nullify everything we are trying to accomplish.
When the beavers have been removed we need to organize a work crew of maybe 10 people to remove all the material so they can't rebuild.
Please be patient, it is a process to have it done correctly.
Thank you and I will send updates as things progress.
Dana

09/23/2025

Does anybody that lives on Long Lake have a kayak and can paddle up from the fishing pier at the park to the bridge . We are meeting with a licensed trapper to evaluate Curly Creek on the opposite side of the on the outflow side. We need to check the lake side of the bridge to see if there any dams on that side. If that is the case we need to address the lake side of the creek first. It is beautiful weather to go kayaking.
Please let me know.

Citizens for Improving Long Lake (CILL) is a non-profit lake association working towards reducing toxic algae and noxious weeds from Long Lake.

06/24/2025

Does anybody have a small boat, maybe with a outboard motor, or a stern dive to tow this the north end and see if it can be pushed into the lily pads

08/26/2024

I love the night life, especially when it involves big wakes😄

08/25/2024

As you all know the lake is extremely high for this time of year as a result of beaver dams. The owner of the property where the dams was underway fixing the issue, unfortunately last Thursday night some people went on to his property Thursday night and tore down one of the dams, which totally screwed up the capturing the beavers. They had trapped two and working on trapping the others so they can eliminate the cause, then take down the dams.
The owner had over $500 of his own money to start the process. He is so mad that someone came on his property took down one day without his permission which flooded is ponds, threw all the material on the banks, which the beavers will use to rebuild the dams.
The owner has removed over 40 beavers over the years, with his own money, but now he is so upset he feels like he will just let naturerun it course.
Hopefully we can get back on course and the creek flowing again
THE NUMBER ONE THING TO DO IS STAY OFF HIS PROPERTY. IT IS PRIVATE PROPERTY AND NOBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS, WHICH ACTUALLY DID MORE HARM THAT GOOD!!!
I would like to raise money to reimburse the owner and then set up a volunteer group to help maintain the creek in the future.
Who ever did the removal, you can reach out to me and reimburse the owner for the $500 he spent to pay the trappers. I will be totally anonymous.
In closing, stay off his property, it is private property!!

04/25/2023

Remember to come to the lake owners meeting this Wednesday at 6pm at the Long Lake community center. Seating is limited, please only lake front owners. Thank you