By Jim Wilson, Northampton County Parks & Recreation Division and Secretary, Friends of Minsi Lake

Friends of Minsi Lake recently launched its fundraising campaign for the Minsi Lake Habitat Improvement Project, which will go to construction on the empty frozen lakebed in Northampton County’s Upper Mount Bethel Township next winter.

This personal information-packed appeal includes a brief, but exciting illustrated slide program and project literature presented by several knowledgeable and engaging FOML volunteers on request for any organization to learn how its members can help bring back the fish and improve angling success at one of the Lehigh Valley’s most popular public lakes.

The Commonwealth drained Minsi Lake last summer for a dam rehabilitation project, which should begin later year.

Friends of Minsi Lake organized last year to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve fish habitat on the empty lakebed in the short term, and to help chart the course and provide resources needed to improve other natural and recreational assets at Minsi Lake in the long term-- like building and installing accessible fishing piers, kayak launches, trails, picnic tables, grills and restrooms.

FOML operates as a committee under Northampton County Junior Conservation School, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization and award-winning youth education program.

FOML committee members represent a number of conservation, recreation, education and community organizations and residents from across the county and the Lehigh Valley.

Click Here to view a short video about FOML.

The Fish & Boat Commission developed the Fish Habitat Improvement Plan for Minsi Lake last July. The plan calls for building 861 rock and timber habitat structures across 56 acres of lakebed and along hundreds of feet of shoreline.

These structures will provide fish, turtle and aquatic insect habitat; stabilize and protect sections of lakeshore from wave erosion; and in the case of rock shoreline structures, provide an additional 200 linear feet of solid shoreline access for anglers.

These structures will provide sorely needed refuge, spawning, nesting and nursery habitat for many species of gamefish, panfish and their baitfish and other aquatic food sources, which will eventually provide and sustain a thriving fish community and increase angler success at Northampton County’s most popular lake.

Additionally, ten of the 861 habitat structures will be basking platforms, which will provide critical basking habitat for the aquatic turtles that call Minsi Lake home.

In total, almost 2,000 tons of stone and nearly 7,000 pieces of lumber are required to build the 861 habitat structures.

About $108,325 is needed to purchase these and other construction materials for the project.

The Fish & Boat Commission will provide all the heavy equipment, operators, laborers and supervision for the two-week-long construction project next winter.

In turn, FOML and its partners must raise the funds for and purchase the construction materials for the project.

The friends groups has already raised nearly $50,000 for project materials through grants and individual donations.
            Do you or your organization want to learn more about the Minsi Lake Habitat Improvement Project and how you and your members can help?

It is the perfect meeting presentation for your rod and gun club, watershed group, Lions Club, Rotary Club or other civic organization.

To make an appointment for a presentation or to learn more about Friends of Minsi Lake or the Minsi Lake Improvement Project, call or email Jim Wilson, Secretary, Friends of Minsi Lake, at 610-829-6404 or at jwilson@northamptoncounty.org. 

You can also visit Friends of Minsi Lake online, on Instagram or Facebook.

[Posted: June 21, 2018]

6/25/2018