CLA president Tom Marchand have been in contact with the MN DNR dealing with our weed permit for 2020 and requested the same cut map as in the past. The thought was, harvest the same area and see if there is a real difference in the regrowth of our lake weeds. Keven Martini of the DNR agreed and has issued us the permit for 2020. The permit is active from June 10th to September 1st 2020.
Think Spring
Dear guests of Caribou Lake,
Proctor & Hermantown Community Education in collaboration with Catching Adventures brought to you an opportunity to experience an ice fishing. Please refer to a document 
and to register call: 218.628.6293 or visit: ph.ce.eleyo.com
Caribou Lake Association kindly asks our guests, ice fishermen, not to block mailboxes, when parking on streets, adjacent to the public landings and not to trespass through private lake owners’ properties to get access to the lake. We want everybody to enjoy our beautiful lake and hope that the lake visitors will respect property owners rights as well. Thank you and enjoy ice fishing season!
CLA commitee
Holiday Greetings to all Caribou Lake property owners and their families!
Today is official start of the Winter and weather is cooperating giving us a reprieve from a lot of snow and brutal cold of recent weeks.
Holiday season is upon us. It is also a season of giving and CLA is especially grateful to all our great members and friends, who made the purchase and operation of our new Eco Harvester a success, donating their funds and hours of hard work!
Two young people operated Eco Harvester on a contract base for approximately 240 hours . A few volunteers donated their time and efforts to run it on as needed basis. Special thanks to our wonderful member Cory Garden and his young sons from Shady Lane, who donated 17 hours fixing broken wires, 28 hours operating the harvester, 35 gallons of gas and hauled harvested weeds to the nearest pit. Many thanks to Tom Marchand, CLA president for coordinating and overseeing weed harvesting efforts; Paul Manns, Jeff Charnes, Jowain and Larry Wallin for operating the harvester and hauling weeds to the pit all summer long! Detailed information about first year of Eco Harvester operation will be included in Spring 2020 newsletter.
Cory fixes Eco Harvester
Happy Holidays – Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year – to all and the best wishes in 2020!
CLA officers.
Please take a look at photos from 4th of July Boat Parade 2019, organized by Rosie and Les Adophlson.
Newly purchased Eco Harvester arrived at our lake on 5/29/19. Two hour training session for hired operators has been provided on the same day.
Eco Harvester was put in operation on 6/10/19 in compliance with DNR granted permit. Shortly after it developed a leak in hydraulics system. To fix a leak a certain part has been ordered and shipped to the company in Hill City, MN, where our new harvester was going to be repaired. There is a company in that city, which specializes in hydraulics repairs. To make matters more complicated CLA had to get a permit from the DNR to take it on the roads with weeds on it. Then after it got fixed the DNR was bringing a high pressure washer to clean it in order to transport it back weeds free. Both, our president Tom Marchand and weed harvester committee chair Jeff Charnes, spent endless hours of work to put our harvester back in operation. Many great thanks to them!
We have two young dedicated operators and third very experienced operator as an additional back-up in time of need. Two people expressed desire to run Eco Harvester as volunteers on as needed basis.
As it was announced at the Annual CLA Meeting on 6/1/19 plans were put in motion to run the harvester 60 hours a week, starting 6/10/19. The harvester has been in operation for the total of 35.5 hours versa planned 180 hours for the period 6/10/19-6/30/19. Inability to meet a planned goal is a result of unforeseen circumstances as hydraulics leak and repairs, problematic weather. As a safety concern Eco Harvester could not be operated during thunderstorm, rain and strong wind.
For those, who are wondering about cutting area maps, please click on the tab “Useful info” and there is a link to follow up with the maps attached.
CLA acquired a GPS unit for new harvester, it is in the process of installation. So far it is not possible to track with a smartphone app for interested residents duration, direction and dates Eco Harvester has been in operation. Only operator himself would be bale to do as soon as GPS installation on the harvester will be completed. However, there is perhaps a possibility in the future to make it happen, in a year or two.
Please, remember that it is our first year with new harvester in operation and no matter how much we want everything to be done at once, it never works this way. Please, have a faith in your lake association, become a member and consider volunteering in any capacity you can.
Our lake property owners proved once again that we could achieve a lot if we put our hearts and minds together. Only united, as a team of like minded individuals, we can make our beloved lake healthier, cleaner and enjoy it for the years to come. Membership at CLA is an answer!
As soon as further updates will be available they will be posted on website.
P.S. As of today 45 hours are metered on Eco Harvester. Way to go!
Caribou Lake association is a member of broader MN Lakes and Rivers Advocates organization. On 6/6/19 MLR delivered not only good news, but excellent results as well! Continue reading
The annual June meeting will be Saturday, June 1 at the Old Caribou Lake School (now the Sheet Metal Workers Academy) at the intersection of Industrial Road and Munger Shaw Roads. Come for coffee, juice and pastries at 9:30, the meeting will start at 10.
Please join the Caribou Lake Association. Last year we had 84 member families out of a total of 160 owners on the lake. We need to work together to protect and preserve our lake’s ecosystem, advocate for responsible recreational activities, and enhance the relationships among lakeshore owners. We are all responsible for protecting our lake in order to pass on to future generations the beauty, wildlife, water and natural resources we enjoy today.
Items on the agenda for the business meeting will include an update on the new weed harvester and plans for weed harvesting, AIS inspection and prevention for Caribou, election of officers, and program plans for the summer.
Following the business meeting we will go over to the boat launch and the public beach on Birch Point Road to see the new weed harvester. Our permit does not allow harvesting until June 10, but we can show it and explain to members how it works. Weather permitting, we will grill hot dogs and have other treats for lunch.
We hope to see you there next Saturday!
New Eco Harvester arrived at the Birch Point landing at 11:00 AM May 29th. Continue reading
On Thursday, May 2nd around 8:30AM and later on at 3:25PM trumpet swans visited our lake. Eight birds in the morning and seven in the afternoon rested here on their way to summer destination. Besides that… Continue reading
Though it is difficult to believe that Spring will be coming anytime soon, especially feeling all this Artic air coming through, CLA is ready to go!