News Archives

Dear HLSIO supporter, As 2023 draws to an end, we want to report to you the latest update of your Swimmers Itch (SI) program. During 2023 we saw a return of merganser broods to Higgins Lake without the ability to relocate them for the first time since 2015. We used the summer season to study…

Welcome to the highly anticipated 2023 summer season at Higgins Lake. The Higgins Lake Swimmers Itch Organization (HLSIO) is gearing up for a productive summer, having already completed our Canada Goose control program for this year. While it is impossible to regulate every goose that visits our lake, we are dedicated to reducing their population.…

As the summer season concludes, we reflect upon another year where Swimmers Itch was not a significant issue for our community It proved to be an extraordinary year for lake associations, like ours, who rely on Trap and Release methods to control the problem. Due to the presence of avian flu, the Department of Natural…

Due to what the DNR describes as a highly pathogenic avian flu that has already affectedboth wild birds and commercial flocks, relocation of merganser ducks and Canada geesewill not be permitted this year. So for 2022, Swimmer’s Itch solutions will not be trappingand relocating merganser broods this summer and we will not be conducting our…

Hello Higgins Lake Swimmers Itch supporter,As we come to the end of the year we want to update everyone on the HLSIOactivities of 2021 and what we look ahead to in the future. Attached you will findthe year end report and the summary of the results of a research study that wesponsored during the 2021…

2020 Letter to HLSIO Supporters Higgins Lake Swimmer’s Itch OrganizationP.O. Drawer 665, Grayling, MI 49738 Dear HLSIO supporter, Forgive me if I seem thrilled to say …. As we come to the end of 2020 ….. I’m including here (attached) your HLSIO year–end report based on the 2020 work done by Swimmer’s Itch Solutions (SIS)…

For the past two years HLSIO relocated Canada Geese from Higgins Lake, but regrettably will be unable to continue the program in 2020. The relocation of Canada Geese is a US Department of Agriculture program that is managed and permitted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, DNR. Our application to continue the program in…

Hello HLSIO supporter, We hope this finds you safe and healthy and optimistic about what summer will be like at Higgins Lake. These are unusual times to say the least, and it sometimes feels as though the rules of everyday life are changing daily. We would like to take a few minutes to give everyone…