Who We Are
Our Mission
The Big Pine Lakes Association (BPLA) is a non-profit organization that has grown to 210+ member families in recent years. BPLA’s mission is to Preserve and Enhance the Quality of our Lakes. BPLA is over 40 years old.
We have over 40 volunteers that help with water quality and fish habitat projects. Our group is also active in the community, contributing to area food shelves and First Responders. Our membership also contributes funds to sponsor the Annual 4th of July Fireworks Display on the lake which is enjoyed by hundreds of area residents. No association funds are used for the Fireworks.
We encourage connectivity amongst our membership by supporting engagement activities around the lakes. These include semi-annual association group meetings, newsletters, boat parades, an association summer picnic event, coordinating volunteer days, sending out monthly email updates, and hosting a Nextdoor site. We also provide our membership a directory of all current association members to encourage connectivity.
What We’ve Achieved:
Partnership
Active participant in regional Coalition of Lake Association (COLA) organization through Pine County
Partners with the MN DNR on lake survey monitoring and fish stocking
Active participant in the development of the MPCA Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) report for the Kettle & Upper St. Croix River (KUSC) Watersheds
Volunteerism
Maintains fishing pier on Pine Lake for public use
Developed and maintains public picnic area and hiking trail within the Pine Lake Narrows area
Constructed buffer zone interpretative area on Pine Lake highlighting native plantings
Designed and built identification signs for key areas of interest around the lakes
Built and maintains multiple informational kiosks at Public boat landings highlighting AIS information for boat owners
Built, maintains and deploys Loon nesting platforms annually to encourage loon activity on our lakes
Lake Quality
Monitors lake quality using volunteer efforts and reports results to the MPCA
Has helped facilitate the development of 30 Buffer Zones over the past 7 years in partnership with property owners leveraging support with Aitkin/Pine Counties
Community engagement
Publishes and distributes the Pine News newsletter 3 times annually to our membership of over 210 members
Solicits, publishes in hard copy, and distributes a Local Business Directory for our membership highlighting local business that provide needed solutions for property owners.
Hosts 2 membership meetings annually for our membership at the Finlayson Community Center
Hosts annual summer picnic
Using donated funds, coordinates annual July 4th Fireworks display
Hosts an annual July 4th Boat Parade
Developed and maintains a “NextDoor” site for local property owners to share information
Provides for sale branded logo wear and merchandise at association events
BPLA collects donations during our annual membership drive for the Sandstone Area Food Shelf. In 2021, BPLA members provided donations exceedingly $4000 to the Food Shelf
Big Pine Lakes Association was honored as outstanding conservationists for 2011 at the annual meeting of the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts
BPLA was nominated by the Pine County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD)