Watershed Summit 2022

On October 22, 2022, Friends of Lake Monroe hosted the Lake Monroe Watershed Summit for local leaders from Monroe, Brown and Jackson Counties as well as state and federal agencies involved with the lake and its watershed. We are excited to strengthen our relationships with the participating organizations and work together to preserve the watershed. From the surveys, individuals highlighted that they most enjoyed learning what the action items from the watershed management plan were and having the opportunity to network. 

• 137 invitations sent out to community leaders, public officials and statewide conservationists 
• 41 attendees 
• 27 different organizations represented 
• 41 surveys distributed 
• 27 surveys received 

• 23/27 participants who completed the survey expressed interest in a follow up meeting 

Follow up from the watershed summit:  As a result of the watershed summit we met with several of the attending organizations: Sierra Club, Wonderlab, DNR, Sassafras Audubon Society, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Regional Opportunity Initiatives. We also had the opportunity to make additional connections to Duke Energy Community Foundation, Earth Charter Indiana, Teach Heart, and MedLife at IU. These connections will allow us to further our efforts. We had two state legislators reach out. Shelli Yoder attended and presented at the Watershed Summit. Matt Pierce was unable to attend but we met with him after the watershed summit. Julie Thomas, a Monroe County Commissioner, attended our Watershed Summit and presented Friends of Lake Monroe with a proclamation declaring Lake Monroe Day. In January 2023, Friends of Lake Monroe submitted a grant proposal building on the feedback from participants at the watershed summit.