Jeff Forester joined the MLR Board in 1993 and has been the Executive Director of Minnesota Lakes and Rivers (MLR) since 2001. MLR seeks to protect Minnesota’s lake and river heritage for current and future generations by forging powerful links between lakes, lake advocates and policy makers. 

Forester was Hubert Humphrey Public Policy Fellow and Shannon Leadership Fellow. His book, Forest for the Trees, How Humans Shaped the Northwoods (Minnesota Historical Society Press) examines fire and forestry in northern Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He was associate producer of “Transplant, A Gift For Life,” which won a midwestern Emmy.

MLR believes that much work can be done at the local level to protect water, and that there is a significant role for citizens to play. Its agencies and public resource managers cannot protect and improve water in isolation. To that end MLR works to build civic infrastructure around water in local communities, and to build the capacity of partnerships to protect Minnesota’s most valuable resource, our lakes and rivers.

Forester lives with his wife, two daughters, two dogs and five chickens in Uptown Minneapolis, but spends as much time as he can on family land adjacent to the Boundary Waters.

The OTC COLA Meeting will be held on July 18, at the Ottertail Community Center, 93 Lake Avenue South, Ottertail. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early for coffee and bars and a time of socializing and networking. All Otter Tail County lake property owners are invited to attend.

For more information contact John Kruse, otccola2@gmail.com