Whitefish Area Property Owners Association



Pine River Watershed Alliance

Posted March 8, 2010


Meg Bye and John Forney  Join PRWA Board

Meg Bye, a former member of the Duluth area Minnesota Coastal Zone Management Advisory Committee, and John Forney, well known as a clean water advocate around the Whitefish Chain of Lakes, recently joined the Board of Directors of the Pine River Watershed Alliance (PRWA).
Meg Bye joins PRWA Board

Bye has a diverse background that ranges from president of the Duluth City Council to president of the League of Minnesota Cities, and from being the director of a food bank to a mathematics teacher.

With regards to local water quality issues, Bye said that, “This watershed has so far escaped major environmental damage, and we have an opportunity to preserve its important function as a generator of clear water for our area.”

Bye feels strongly about the impact that the PRWA can have on water quality, saying,

 “The Alliance is an example of the best of grassroots citizen action to provide energy for environmental preservation and restoration.”

She is also a member of Duck's Unlimited, the Pequot Lakes Women's Club and you have probably seen her name on local campaign posters for state-level office.

John Forney echoes Bye in his assessment of the Pine River Watershed saying, “ It is one of the few watersheds in Minnesota that is not impaired and must be protected.”
John Forney joins PRWA Board

Forney brings water-related organizational experience and skills to the PRWA. He has leadership volunteer roles with the Whitefish Area Property Owners Association (WAPOA) including vice president, president, past president, director, director emeritus and publicity chair.

 He is also chairman of the Pine River Watershed Protection Foundation, a companion non-profit foundation that accepts donations from organizations, individuals and in some cases other foundations, in behalf of WAPOA and the Watershed.

Recognizing that it is not easy to explain the importance of the entire landmass of the watershed to water quality, Forney commented,

“I am concerned that public indifference to the Pine River Watershed will lead to the decay and destruction of a fundamental asset – our water. We are blessed with a valuable resource that we must protect and preserve.”

Forney lives on Lower Whitefish Lake and Bye lives in Loon Lake Township of southern Cass County.

In welcoming this new talent and experience to the Alliance board, PRWA board president, Ron Meyer, said, "Meg and John bring tremendous talent and experience to the PRWA. But most importantly, they bring a commitment and dedication to protect our environmental assets. PRWA wants to stay a pure volunteer organization, driven by resident’s priorities. This can only happen when people like Meg and John, and hopefully others, choose to participate."

The public is invited to meet these newest PRWA board members and the entire board at their regular meetings that are held on the third Tuesday of each month from 7-9 PM.

 In order to be accessible to all people living in the watershed, monthly meetings are rotated throughout the watershed. Their next three meeting dates and locations are:
April 20 at Emily City Hall, May 18 at the Life Center (Main St. in Pine River) and June 15 in the Backus City Hall.

    The Pine River Watershed Alliance is dedicated to addressing issues throughout the Watershed and will be active at the minor-watershed levels through citizen participation. The Alliance believes in working as locally as possible to effect change and to make progress. The Alliance also believes that people want to ensure their neighborhood manages their natural resources and that they realize the benefits of their actions when seen in the local community.

The Pine River Watershed covers a large area of northern Crow Wing and central Cass counties. The area of the Pine River Watershed covers about 785 square miles, or about 502,000 acres. Of this area, about 62,000 are lakes, 61,000 are shrub swamp and 24,000 are bogs. The Pine River Watershed is part of the Mississippi Watershed.

The Alliance is always interested in more people getting involved or attending their meetings. Please contact Ron Meyer at rnsmeyer@tds.net or call him at 218/543-6246 for more information.

by Larry Wannebo

               



   


















Editors note: There are 2 items which will soon be "clickable" in the above menu.  However, currently they are still located in the column to the left as explained below:



To see "Pictures of Volunteers at Bungo Creek" click the line with those words in the column to the left (under Pine River Watershed Alliance heading)

To see "Grants Awarded for Bungo Creek" click the line with those words in the column to the left) (under Pine River Watershed Alliance Heading)



 
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