Our Story

Lake Wilderness was overrun by eurasian milfoil plants in 1994. These plants made it almost impossible to utilize the lake for any activity. The spaghetti-like weeds entangled swimmers and boaters alike.

Local citizens came together and formed the Lake Wilderness Preservation Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to solving this problem. A selective tax district, the Lake Management District (LMD), was formed to fund treatment of the milfoil, and applies only to citizens in the watershed. King County owned the park at that time and provided tools and support. After the City of Maple Valley took over the park, they created a citizen’s advisory committee (CAC) to oversee the lake. With the help of the CAC and the LMD, the LWPA was able to substantially reduce the impact of milfoil in the lake.

Currently, we have an updated lake plan and budget, and all the tools to maintain our lake quality. We are developing new and better tactics to use on the lake to limit the noxious weed population and overgrowth of native weeds. Volunteers monitor the lake for aquatic invasive weeds, water quality and overall environmental issues.