 The Turtle River Watershed Association is working to be proactive in educating everyone about growing water quality issues. The association welcomed the executive director of Minnesota Lakes and Rivers where he spoke on key issues. The local organization is working to protect 12 lakes and connecting waterways. There are five key areas of focus when it comes to water quality and they're all linked together. Their patterns are changing, which is making the lakes warmer, which changes the chemistry of the lakes and when the plants emerge and so forth and when spawning happens. That's also related to we're getting more rain now than we used to, which is washing more pollution off the land into the water which fuels weed growth and algae growth and all that kind of stuff. Since the infestation of Starrie Stoneward and Big Turtle Lake, the Watershed Association has seen interest grow even though aquatic invasive species has been contained on Big Turtle Lake. There are numerous other issues that residents are concerned about. We have water quality issues that are based on shoreline, shoreland vegetation. We have runoff from and we have septic system issues so it's not the only issue but it's right now it's taking center stage. For more information about Watershed Associations you can visit mnlakesandrivers.org. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.