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The 2024 Mayo Lake Association annual meeting will be on Saturday, July 20th starting at 10:30 AM. Lunch will be provided after the meeting. The event will be held at the Peterson/Jackson property on West Mayo Lane. That is located just off South Sluetter Road on the west side of Mayo Lake.

We will soon enter a new growing season for curly leaf pond weed. As you are probably aware, the association has been treating for this invasive lake plant for the past several years. It’s likely we will see an early ice out this year, and that will be followed shortly by the emergence of this weed. The association plans to have a survey done during that time to determine the impact of past treatments and the extent of regrowth. Another treatment will likely be required and it will be costly. Please renew your member soon. Or, if you are not currently a member, please consider joining!

The following link has information about curly leaf pond weed and the possible impact of the mild winter.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/02/25/lack-of-snow-could-spur-growth-of-minnesota-lake-invader

We will again be holding an outdoor annual association meeting at the Sibley Lake Park Pavilion in Pequot Lakes. It will be at 10:30 am, July 23rd. The park is accessed by either West Grove or West Sibley streets. An agenda will be posted prior to the meeting. There will be an election for six board seats, so your attendance is strongly encouraged. If you’re interested in serving on the board, please contact John or Becky Murphy. Their contact information is listed in the Board of Directors page of this website. See you there!

We will be holding an outdoor annual association meeting this year at the Sibley Lake Park Pavilion in Pequot Lakes. It will be at 10:00 am, July 24th. The park is accessed by either West Grove or West Sibley streets. An agenda will be posted prior to the meeting. There will be an election for one half of the board seats, so your attendance is strongly encouraged. If you’re interested in serving on the board, please contact John or Becky Murphy. Their contact info is listed in the Board of Directors page of this website.

It has been a very long year with COVID-19 impacting virtually everything we used to take for granted. We have greatly appreciated having our lake properties to use as refuges during this storm!

We recently held our first ‘in person’ association board meeting since the beginning of the pandemic. The main topic was Mayo Lake’s curly leaf pondweed problem. We recently had PLM survey the lake and there were three larger patches of this invasive weed totaling almost 10 acres. They quoted $9000 to treat these areas. After much discussion, the board voted to approve two actions. First, we approved a motion to have PLM perform the treatment. Second, we approved a motion to follow up with another lake survey in the spring of 2022 to 1) determine the efficacy of the 2021 treatment and 2) identify new areas to consider treating next year.

This treatment will consume a considerable portion of our financial reserve. If you haven’t yet paid your 2021 membership dues, please do so. If you’re not an association member, please join the effort to conserve your lake! And if you have the financial resources to do so, please consider a gift in addition to your membership dues. Remember, your dues and gifts are tax deductible!

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the annual Association meeting will not be held as usual. Please see the letter from our Board President, John Murphy.

The 4th of July has passed and we’re now enjoying great summer weather at the lake. Thanks to everyone for their conscientious boating over the 4th. The lake can get pretty crowded and safe boating practices then become even more critical.

We’re now in the season when we can get torrential rain. Mayo Lake is on a large watershed, so the lake level can quickly rise to the point where docks become submerged. If that should happen, please keep your boat wakes to a minimum!

I’m pleased to report that our loon family continues to prosper! They safely avoided the heavy boat traffic on the weekend of the 4th, and probably more importantly, the eagles. The chick is now diving for longer periods of time, so hopefully can avoid eagle attacks.

Sometime between June 23rd and June 30th the loons we’ve been seeing near the island hatched at least one chick. We first saw the chick on the evening of June 30th. The family has been hanging out near the island, so PLEASE watch for them while boating! The chick is young and is not able to evade a fast moving watercraft like its parents.

You might have noticed that a loon has been lurking near the island lately. That’s because it has a mate sitting on a nest there. Every year a nesting pair of loons claim the island, and the lake, to raise their chicks. Unfortunately, their success rate has been quite low. The chicks have many predators above and beneath the surface of the lake. Even the adults fear the bald eagles and you can hear their warning cries while an eagle circles the sky over the lake. Given all the perils the loons and their chicks face, one thing we as lakeshore residents can do is to give them a wide berth when boating. While they are nesting, please stay away from the island. They will abandon their nest if harassed. And after the chicks have hatched, be careful not to run them over. They almost immediately leave the nest after hatching and can’t dive until they are several days old. The July 4th weekend is especially perilous for them with the heavier boat traffic. Please be very watchful for the young family! You can read more about loons at: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/birds/commonloon.html

Minnesota’s 2020 fishing opener is May 9th. Be sure you have purchased your license, stocked your tackle box, and reviewed the fishing regulations for this year. Good luck and be safe!