Pictured: The LMEF data buoy bobs along in Aubbeenaubbee Bay.

We are go for launch! On a chilly March afternoon, and with a generous lift from Jeff Justice of Jeff's PWC & Marine, LMEF launched our data buoy. It will be gathering water quality data as well as meteorological data. Yes, that means publicly-available wind speeds and direction, air and water temperatures, and more! Unfortunately, we had to take the unit back out of the water within a few days in order to troubleshoot some technical issues. The manufacturer (YSI/Xylem) came out and patched things up, and we will be re-deploying it shortly. We will let you know when the public-facing interface is live.

This equipment was funded by a grant from the Marshall County Community Foundation's Vonnegut Fund as well as contributions from our regular donors. Thank you!

Adam attended the Indiana Lakes Management Society annual conference in Noblesville last month. Indiana has a great network of professionals, volunteers, and industry that are all working together on the issues facing our lakes and streams. We are looking forward to put these relationships, ideas, and collaborations to work. Stay tuned!

LMEF volunteer JD (John) Castleman is a familiar year-round face around Culver. We appreciate that he has that farmer's "just get to it" attitude. He sent us this photo of one truly nasty tire that had been bothering him for a long time... staring up at him from below the public piers. He decided that it was stuck there long enough, then waded in and took care of business.

A lake ecosystem is built up (and torn down) with many small inputs, decisions, and events. It is a massive ship that is turned only in increments. This is one example of how we can all make a difference. We like organized events, but anyone can take initiative to make things better, starting today. If you are tire(d) of seeing these discarded rubber doughnuts lying around, if you have seen some and know where they are but don't have the ability to extract & transport them, please e-mail us or give us a call. We are hatching a plan!