At the public meeting on September 2, 2026, residents were encouraged to write a personal letter to Minnesota DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen. The purpose is simple: let the commissioner hear, in your own words, how low water on Woman, Girl, Child, and Little Woman lakes is affecting real families, properties, recreation, and wildlife. In preparation, you may want to review the Commissioner’s recent letter sent to the City of Longville.
A stack of unique, heartfelt letters carries more weight than a form letter. Speak from your own personal experience. Use photographs. Mail the letter (as opposed to using email). This guide walks you through how to do it.
Why a Personal Letter by U.S. Mail?
Email is easy to file and easy to ignore. A signed letter that arrives in the commissioner’s office:
- Is treated as official constituent correspondence
- Can be logged, routed to staff, and included in a response file
- Shows you took the time to document what you are seeing
- Makes it harder to treat the problem as “just another complaint”
Do not send a copied talking-points letter. The commissioner already receives those. What she does not have is your story, your dock, your grandchildren’s swimming beach, your before-and-after photos.
How to Address the Letter
Use a formal business-letter format.
Inside address and on the envelope:
Commissioner Sarah Strommen
Office of the Commissioner
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155Salutation:
Dear Commissioner Strommen:You may add this line under the inside address:
Re: Low water levels on the Woman Lake chain (Cass County) and the Girl Lake Rock Arch Rapids outletWhat to Put in the Letter
Keep it to one or two pages. A short, specific letter is more likely to be read than a long brief.
1. Identify yourself and your connection to the lakes
Open with who you are and how long you have been on the chain.
Examples (use your own facts):
- “My family has owned cabin property on Woman Lake since 1978.”
- “I live year-round on Girl Lake and launch my boat from our shoreline.”
- “Our children learned to swim off the same beach that is now a mudflat.”
Name the lake and, if you are comfortable, the township or approximate location. You do not need a legal description.
2. Describe how low water has affected you — personally
This is the heart of the letter. Concrete details matter more than adjectives.
Possible impacts (include only what is true for you):
- Docks, lifts, and shore stations that no longer reach usable water
- Boats that cannot leave the lift, or that scrape bottom leaving the bay
- Lost swimming areas, especially for children and grandchildren
- Exposed lakebed, muck, weeds, or rotting vegetation near the house
- Property that looks and smells different than it did in prior dry years
- Difficulty reaching a public access or neighbor by water
- Cancelled family gatherings, fishing trips, or rentals
- Wildlife changes you have observed (loons, fish, waterfowl)
- Safety concerns (rocks, stumps, or bars that used to be safely underwater)
- Financial cost: extending docks, moving lifts, lost rental income
- Emotional cost: a place that no longer feels like the lake you bought or inherited
Write in the first person. “Our dock now sits 40 feet from water” is stronger than “many docks are high and dry.”
3. Compare “before” and “now”
If you have lived on the lake through earlier dry summers, say so. If this drop feels different from past low-water years, say why:
- In an earlier dry year the outlet slowed or nearly stopped; this year water is still leaving
- Photos from 2018, 2021, or 2023 show a usable beach or floating dock that now sits on dry ground
- A piling, rock, or lift post you have watched for years is now exposed by a measurable amount
You do not need to argue hydrology. Report what you have seen on your property.
4. Include photographs
Photographs are the single most useful enclosure.
What to send:
- A “before” photo of your shoreline, dock, swimming area, or lift in a more normal year (label the year)
- A “now” photo from the same spot and angle if possible
- Optional: exposed lakebed, a stranded lift, or a measuring stick / piling with the waterline marked
How to present them:
- Print them (color, 4×6 or 5×7 is fine)
- Caption each: date, location, and one sentence of what it shows
- Paperclip or enclose them; do not rely on email attachments alone
- Keep digital copies
Two or three well-labeled photos beat a dozen unlabeled ones.
5. State what you are asking for
End with a clear, respectful request. You do not have to solve the engineering problem.
Requests consistent with what residents and the City of Longville have already asked for include:
- An independent engineering review of the Girl Lake Rock Arch Rapids outlet and how it performs compared with the old dam, especially in low-flow conditions
- An explanation of why the outlet continues to pass water when the chain is near historic lows
- Protection of the lakes’ ordinary high-water level so the chain can recover to its historic operating pool when precipitation returns
- A written response to you, and a public accounting of what the DNR will do next
- Coordination with Cass County, the City of Longville, and lake residents rather than a one-way “it is only drought” answer
You may note that more than 1,100 people have signed the petition at womanlake.org and that the Longville City Council passed a resolution requesting an independent review. Do not make the petition the center of your letter. Your story is the center.
6. Close courteously
A firm, civil close is more effective than anger.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and to look at the photographs.
I would appreciate a written response.
Sincerely,
[Handwritten signature]
[Typed name]
[Mailing address]
[Phone]
[Email]
[Lake / township]7. Copy state lawmakers
The Woman Lake chain of lakes resides in two different legislative districts (districts 2 and 6). There are a total of four state lawmakers who represent constituents in these districts (two state senators and two state representatives). These lawmakers have formed a team to address the low water levels in the Woman Lake chain. We therefore recommend sending copies of your letter to all four state lawmakers so they are all aware of your correspondence with the DNR commissioner. Here are the addresses to which to send copies of your letter:
Representative Ben Davis
2nd Floor Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55155-1298Representative Matt Bliss
2nd Floor Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55155-1298Senator Keri Heintzeman
95 University Avenue W.
Minnesota Senate Bldg., Room 2235
St. Paul, MN 55155Senator Steve Green
95 University Avenue W.
Minnesota Senate Bldg., Room 2319
St. Paul, MN 55155
Suggested Outline
- Date
- Your contact block
- Commissioner’s address
- Salutation
- Who you are and how long you have been on the lake (2–4 sentences)
- What low water has done to your family and property (1–3 short paragraphs)
- What is different from earlier dry years, if you know (optional)
- What the enclosed photos show
- What you are asking the commissioner to do
- Thank-you and request for a written reply
- Signature and contact information
Tone: Speak From the Heart, Stay Factual
Do:
- Write as if you are talking to someone who has never stood on your dock
- Use dates, measurements, and family details you actually know
- Be respectful; staff read tone
- Stick to what you have observed
Do not:
- Copy a form letter or paste a list of talking points
- Attack staff by name
- Claim legal conclusions you cannot support
- Threaten lawsuits in the first letter
- Send only email and assume it was read
Practical Mailing Tips
- Use a standard business envelope; a larger envelope is better if you enclose prints
- First-class mail is sufficient; certified mail is optional if you want a receipt
- Keep a photocopy or scan of the letter and photos
- Give the office time. A thoughtful letter may take weeks to receive a reply
Send Us A Copy Of The Commissioner’s Response
We are interested in knowing how the Commissioner responds to your letter. When you receive a response, please send us a copy of both your letter as well as the Commission’s response to: WLA, Box 226, Longville, MN. 56655.
Sample Letter (Example only: do not copy and paste)