Aquatic Invasive Species Webinar on April 29
Tuesday, April 29, 2025 6:30-7:30 PM Join Zach Stewart from Douglas Co and Cris Neff from Friends of the Eau Claire Lakes Area for a live online educational opportunity to learn about Aquatic Invasive Species and what the Douglas Co Surface Waters Program is doing to protect local lakes like the Eau Claire Chain. Cris Neff and […]
Cris Neff Honored by The Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Partnership
2025 Wisconsin Lake Stewardship Award Winner – Christine Neff Congratulations to Friends of the Eau Claire Lakes Area Board Member Christine Neff, who this week received the 2025 Wisconsin Lake Stewardship Award in the category of Programmatic Excellence for Lake Health. Cris joined the FOECLA Board in 2008 and has been a leader and tireless […]
Join us for our Annual Meeting on July 12, 2025
Join us at the Barnes Town Hall on Saturday, July 12, for our annual meeting! Our business meeting will be followed by an all-ages presentation, Why Is There a Lake in My Backyard? This fascinating presentation on the geology, geologic history, and hydrology of the Eau Claire Lakes region will be shared by geoscience professor […]
Healthy Lakes Grant Continues Progress on Area Lakes
Frozen lakes provide the perfect setting to improve nearshore habitat. With winter in full swing, we’d like to thank a couple on Upper Eau Claire Lake who installed two fish stick complexes in December that will be partially submerged when spring arrives. These trees will provide feeding, breeding and nesting areas for all kinds of […]
Our 2024 Newsletter Now Available to Download!
Our April 2024 newsletter was recently mailed to property owners in Barnes, Gordon and Highland and is now available to download! The newsletter includes information on our annual meeting which will have an update of the status of Wisconsin’s elk herd, and information about what you can do if you see sick, injured or entangled […]
Newly Introduced Legislation Threatens Our Lakes
Our mission guides us as a board and organization, always reminding us of our commitment to protect, preserve and improve the natural resources around us. So when new recreational uses of our lakes emerged – wakesurfing and wakeboarding – we took time to research the design of wake boats and the potential impacts of wake […]
2015 Middle Lock/Dam and Mooney Dam Repairs
During the summer of 2015, both Bayfield County’s Middle Lock and Dam on the Eau Claire River between Upper and Middle Eau Claire Lakes, and Douglas County’s Mooney Dam located where the Eau Claire River drains Lower Eau Claire Lake’s Mooney Bay, underwent significant repairs. Both dams were originally constructed of logs to impound and […]
July 11, 2016 Storm Brings Flooding to Area
On the night of July 11, a severe rainstorm struck the Eau Claire Lakes Area, saturating woodlands, farms, lake properties and communities from Hayward to the Ashland area and Lake Superior overnight. The next day we awakened to damage from 10 to 13 inches of rain that washed out roads, raised lake levels so high […]
USDA Issues Warning Regarding Unsolicited Seeds Mailed from China
Jill Jacoby, Douglas County AIS Coordinator, reports there have been people in our area who have received unsolicited mailings from China containing seeds. Residents in all 50 states have received these mailings and USDA officials are advising people to not plant the seeds, which are unknown and could be invasive species or be harmful to […]
Lock Between Middle and Lower is Closed for Repairs
The lock between Middle and Lower Eau Claire Lakes is now closed for repairs due to seepage issues. The dam alongside the lock was originally constructed of logs to impound and propel felled logs downstream during the late 1800s. It was called Smith Dam. At the outlet from Lower Eau Claire Lake was another log dam, […]