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Molly Zender Zins, COMMUNICA"ITONS GOORDINATORMTNN~S07A LAKLS ASSOCIATION he year. was 1974. Nixon was president,: the nation was experiencing its first energy= crisis, and Congress was just passing the Safe Drinking Water Act. Few were aware of the water quality issues facing Minnesotan lakes, and even fewer possessed the foresight to consider the state of Minnesotan lakes in 30 years, yet Dick Duerre was beginning a decades' long career of monitoring Minnesotan water quality. Duerre's volunteer monitoring career started with the same simple intentions that mark the beginning of most great work. He and his family had recently moved to the shores of Crystal Lake in Dakota County and Duerre was concerned about the lake's water quality. Shortly thereafter he learned of the Mintiesora Freshwater Biological Institute monitoring program -and before long he was monitoring Crystal Lake. He started with the same instrument he uses today, the Secchi disc, and initially sent his. data to the University of Minnesota. Eventually the Minnesota Pollution Control Agenry {MPCA) assumed responsibility for the project and Duerre persisted with his work. Cystal Lake benefited .from Duerre's water quality measurements for almost two decades before he and his .wife:: moved to Minneapolis in the early nineties. During that time he worked to resurrect the Crystal Lake Improvement Association, a once active social club, guiding its revitalization into an association with an environmental focus. Duerre wrote and published the Association's newsletter; reporting information on the lake's water quality and other environmental issues facing the lake, and distrib- uting the newsletter to every property owner on the lake. In addition, Duerre spent time educat= ing his neighbors,' informing policy makers and advocating for greater lake protection. However, .throughout the years his next door neighbor maintained a brilliant green lawn, complete with the use of harmful phosphorous ferrilizers, grow- ing directly up to the shoreline.. And although the message took some time, persistence clearly paid off. After almost two decades Duerre's Neighbor finally heeded t}e lesson' and bee; iu practicing better water stewardship_ lawn carp. Patience_and resolve always seem ro be a big p:ut of the success for;, any great envimnmrn~.~l steward and Duerre is no exception to dirs n11, . Shortly after"moving to Crystal l.anc Duerre also became involved with the land known today as the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Those of us familiar with the vast expanse of beautiful land abutting the Minnesota River have Duerre and friends to thank for preserving this green space. Duerre says their efforts began when they realized a large garbage dump, located along the river in: Burnsville, was releasing runoff into ditches and draining directly into the river. Seeking support for their cause they approached the Burnsville City Council, but were told the financial factors involved would take precedence and the land remained unprotected. Eventually Duerre and others formed the Burnsville Environmental Council and launched major efforts cowards pre- servingthis land in 1976. Through lobbying, let- ter writing and other grassroots work Duerre and the Burnsville Environmental Council convinced policy makers to establish. the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Today the Refuge encompasses 14,000 acres of protected lands and waters, preserving habitat for countless water- fowl, fish and other wildlife. In 1991, Duerre and his wife built a summer cabin on Gladstone Sake in Minnesotan Central. Lakes area. This became:the next locality for Duerre's water monitoring. Although his lake volunteer work was already. 'a hefty commitment, Duerre continued enhancing his water monitor- ing skills as he also began measuring the Minnesota River and Slack-Doi Lake;: in Bloomington, .about twc }cars ago. Appro- priately, Duerre. himself initiated-this project as he noticedthe poor water quality of the-river and contacted the MPCA regarding the need for monitoring. Although he was required to learn a new form of measurement, which necessitated the transp<uency nrbe rather than Sccehi-disc, "Gc~t iyai~olved czsr~lst~~y~ i~tz~olr~~~~>-~tnd-tq.~~ t® ;~1 rftof~e peo~ile involve~~ 13~costu ulvare of ruh~%~ s ~~ happening to your lake- ~t understand how actions on land a~ect your water. " -DICK DUERRE Page 6