Photo: Jeremy Hynes on Unsplash.com

By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - June 18, 2025

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is still looking for volunteers in Cook and Lake Counties to participate in its annual loon monitoring program. The DNR has been collecting data on loons for over 20 years, and uses the information to identify any changes in adult populations, reproduction, and examine potential issues that could impact the future of the bird. Loons serve as indicators of water quality and are typically attracted to areas with clear, clean water to catch food. They are sensitive to changes in the environment, including disturbances or lakeshore development, and can indicate effects of contaminants in an area. 

Each year, hundreds of volunteers survey over 600 lakes across the state, grouped in certain regions (index areas) selected for the ways they "matter to loons, including varying human population growth, acid rain sensitivity, public or private land ownership, and/or road density," according to the DNR. 

This year, volunteers are needed for a minimum of one morning between July 4 and July 14 to count adult and juvenile loons on specific lakes (see list below). The time commitment for each lake ranges from one to four hours, with surveys to be conducted between 5 a.m. and noon on a single day of the volunteer's choosing within the monitoring period. Surveys can be performed from shore on smaller lakes or by boat or canoe on larger bodies of water.

Bry Persing from the MN DNR Ecological & Water Resources, SNA & Nongame Programs, Enforcement department, told Boreal Community Media that the following lakes in Cook and Lake Counties are still in need of volunteers: 

• Alger
• Artlip
• Bonanza
• Crooked
• Dogtrot
• Elixir
• Kelly
• Little Cascade
• Peterson
• Pipe
• Richey
• Sawbill
• Scarp
  

For more information on a specific lake or to sign up and volunteer, visit the MN DNR website here.

The Minnesota Loon Monitoring Program and the broader Nongame Wildlife Program are primarily supported by donations to the nongame wildlife check-off on Minnesota’s tax forms.