by Ben Russell

Today we celebrate fifty, incredibly successful years of The Lake Martin Resource Association. Few truly volunteer organizations can match our unbroken stream of accomplishments.

The need for an audience for the exponentially expanding voices of the “lake residents” was the ultimate summons for LMRA.

 

Chief among the concerns were the extreme low lake-levels in the late sixties. For example, the lake-level on a July the fourth holiday weekend was seventeen feet below “full pool”.

 

In the very early days of the new Lake Martin, lake levels were probably not an all-important factor - yet as recreational use began to expand, the concern of the lake community grew as well.

Things were much different in those days and I was fortunate enough to be involved with the management of Mr. Ben’s newly acquired land holdings. My job with Russell Lands allowed me to be involved in such situations.

 

In the early seventies a great group of enthusiastic members of the new lake community agreed to volunteer their time and energy to a bold and dedicated venture.

 

Soon the newly formed LMRA began a trip to Washington DC for a meeting with The Federal Power Commission and the Alabama Power Co.

 

Of course, a public utility company falls under the protection of the commission and we had a very difficult time presenting a solid case for any input into the system. Yet with the meager weight of much Influence from our side we were soon able to come to an agreement that would greatly enhance the recreational potential of Lake Martin.

 

Dropping back a bit in time – for an initial program to raise funds, awareness and membership we promoted a $1,000 Reward System for the arrest of any one breaking and entering member homes. This was the boost needed to put us on a very sound footing. For some reason the widely scattered “lake cabins” seemed to have attracted the attention of the “wrong crowd.”

Today the reward is $5,000 and several have been payed in the recent past.

 

In more recent times and under the dedicated leadership of John Thompson, LMRA now has a membership of more than 1,200.  We monitor any and all threats to both water quantity and quality, which includes the ongoing “water wars” with Georgia.  Our 21 member Board of Directors includes a legal professional who is an expert on past and present issues.

 

We also maintain more that 440 buoys and marking “hazardous areas” and “no wake” zones.  The “no wake” buoys are installed under the authorization of the Alabama Marine Police and “hazardous areas” are installed by our LMRA Buoy Team.

 

LMRA recently completed the 15th “Renew our Rivers” Annual cleanup which has resulted in the removal of more than 125 tons of trash from the shoreline of Lake Martin as well as roadsides surrounding Lake Martin.  Additionally, more than 600 automotive tires have been removed and recycled.

 

In a partnership with Russell Lands and Alabama Power Company LMRA created the “Treasured Mile” Program which supports the adoption of islands and stretches of shoreline.  This has resulted in successfully keeping the popular shoreline and sandy beaches “litter free” year round.