New pressures are being placed on loons and their nesting and chick rearing activities. Background Many of our lakes are patrolled by Loon Rangers, a volunteer group of lake residents who spend their time, and sometimes their own money, to help protect loons and loon habitat. They make nesting rafts and place them next to buoys to alert boaters that there are loons nesting in the area. Rangers also prepare an activity report at the end of summer. The report lists new loon arrivals, notes when they fledged, and includes the date upon which they left the lake for the winter migration.
Rangers also report threats to the loon.
This occurred in the lower half of the state. There were no other reported incidents until 1989. Rangers from two lakes then reported that PWCs could be a problem. In 1990, two lakes again reported that PWC were a threat to loons, and the problem escalated. In July, two young men on PWC literally terrorized the loons out of existence.