Page 36 - Vacation Okoboji Tourist Guide 2022

The CLAMP data shows huge reductions in phosphorus levels, which have dropped by half in West Lake Okoboji and Big Spirit Lake in the last two decades with an even bigger drop in East Lake Okoboji The data also shows a doubling in water clarity on West Lake Okoboji since measurements began in 1999, and steady improvements on the other lakes as well\u000AOkoboji\u2019s successes serve as a model for other communities looking to improve their own water bodies Here, the clean and clear lakes make\u000AOkoboji, a community of just 17,000 permanent residents, a destination for thousands more that bring an estimated $300 million to the local economy each year\u000AThe Okoboji community showcases its methods each year at events like the Prairie Lakes Conference and the Okoboji Blue Water Festival These gatherings draw water quality experts from around the upper Midwest region to witness the Okoboji method of protecting our most precious resource\u000AThe Okoboji Blue Water Festival\u000A\u201CPeople come here because the water is clean and the lakes are beautiful and all of those things relate back to the overall health of the ecosystem,\u201D Hawkins said \u201CIt\u2019s all interrelated Whether you just enjoy sitting on the deck looking at the blue water, or you are a scuba diver that loves to see the diverse fishery underwater, or you\u2019re the guy that\u2019s out muskie fishing and trying to tag into the giant trophy muskie It all comes back to the health of the lake \u201D\u000A 34 VACATION OKOBOJI 2022\u000A