WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP IN ML&SA?
Date Last Updated: 12/14/2003
MICHIGAN WATER LAW
- Information on boat licensing and water use regulations.
- Promoting water safety through education of Marine Safety Act.
PROMOTING AND BUILDING LAKE ASSOCIATIONS
- Assistance in forming lake associations, including samples of association bylaws, incorporation procedure and tax provisions.
- Suggestions for maintaining an active association which include program ideas, list of speakers and social suggestions, newsletters and membership directories.
- Immediate support and advice from an Officer, Regional Vice President , Regional Director, Director of Operations, Executive Director, or the Science Advisory Committee of Michigan Lake and Stream Associations.
EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
- Manuals and Workbooks on Watershed Management.
- Brochures on Water laws, Lake Management, Riparian Rights, and others.
- Information on Exotics.
- Sewer systems, private and public.
- Zoning
- Riparian Rights
- Aquatic Plant Identification
- State and Local Governments.
- Many other educational materials
SUBSCRIPTIONS
- Subscription to the MICHIGAN RIPARIAN magazine.
- Subscription to Michigan Lake and Stream Associations' Newsletters and Bulletins.
ANNUAL AND REGIONAL CONFERENCES
ML&SA Annual Conferences and Regional Seminars provide educational sessions on such subjects as:
- Legal Issues, Legislation, Watershed Management, Association Activities, Aquatic Plant Identification and Management,
- Water Testing, Lake Quality, and Marine Law.
They also provide:
- A Resource Center.
- An Exhibitor's Center for Service and Sales Companies, Manufacturers, and Non Profit Corporations.
- An opportunity for lake association representatives to share common goals, problems, activities and achievements.
- A time to meet the Scientists, Lawyers, Educators, Government Officials, Michigan DEQ and DNR staff, and many others.
INSURANCE SAVINGS
- Savings on Liability Insurance for Directors and Officers of Lake Associations who are members of ML&SA.
- Substantial savings on General Liability Coverage for lake associations.
- Savings on insurance premiums for auto, boat, and homeowners personal property for individual members and members of ML&SA member associations.
SHORELINE DEVELOPMENT - Dredging, Sea Walls, Marinas, etc.
Notification of applications submitted to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to change the shoreline of a lake or to dredge or fill a wetland. These applications are filed under Act # 346, INLAND LAKES & STREAM ACT, P.A. of 1972, and under Act # 203, the WETLAND PROTECTION ACT, P.A. OF 1979. They are now recorded under Act No. 59, P.A. of 1995, Parts 301 and 303, respectively.
EARTH CHANGES
Information on regulations to prevent erosion and sedimentation of lakes and streams. These regulations are defined in Act # 347, SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION CONTROL ACT. The provisions now appear in Act. No. 60, Public Acts of 1995, Part 91. A permit is needed to make an earth change within 500 feet of a lake or stream.
WATER TESTING PROGRAMS
- Secchi Disk Self Help Program. Promotion of water clarity measurements through the use of a Secchi Disk. The Self Help program is carried out under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Michigan DEQ. A free Secchi Disk is provided, on request, to ML&SA members enrolled in the Self Help Program.
- An Advanced Self Help Program, now known as the CLMP (Cooperative Lake Management Program), for the spring and summer testing of Phosphorus and a testing for
Chlorophyll a, is carried out under an MOU with the Michigan DEQ.
SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Recommendations may be obtained from the Science Advisory Committee on issues such as the kind of water tests necessary, water quality, fisheries biology, etc. The committee is made up of Doctors of Biology, Limnology and Fisheries.
LAND AND WATER MANAGEMENT
- Assistance in identifying your lake's watershed and its relationship to the water quality.
- Information on the annual water budget of your lake.
- Information on private and public water supplies for water front property owners.
- Information and suggestions on waste water management.
THE EXOTICS
Information on the identification and invasion of the Exotics in Michigan and methods of controlling their spread.
GOVERNMENTAL
- Assistance in arriving at the best procedure in approaching local municipalities and agencies of state government on water matters.
- Updates on Michigan House and Senate Bills which concern riparian (waterfront) property owners vis a vis ML&SA Newsletters and/or articles in The Michigan Riparian.
- Updates on decisions of government agencies such as the Michigan DEQ, DNR, and the Attorney General, which impact riparian property owners and lake associations.
- Opportunity to promote legislation with the assistance of ML&SA which will benefit riparian property owners.
- Assistance in developing local zoning and "Police Power" ordinances, i.e. (1) Noise Nuisance, (2) Docking and Mooring of boats.
- Information on laws and court decisions pertaining to riparian rights.
WEBSITE HOSTING
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