STAKEHOLDER
VOLUNTEERS with Purpose “Our mission is to maintain, protect and enhance the quality of Weiss Lake and its fisheries—for today’s generation, and future generations, to enjoy.” Carolyn Landrem
President Weiss Lake Improvement Association
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onsidered to be an element that is critical to sustaining life on Earth, water is also the key ingredient to the good life enjoyed by residents and visitors to Cherokee County Alabama. The mighty Coosa River has traversed through Cherokee County, well, since documented explorations. However, a little more than half a century ago Alabama Power erected its huge concrete dam outside Leesburg, thus creating Weiss Lake—fed not only by the Coosa, but the Chattooga and Little Rivers.
The organization of Weiss Lake Improvement Association (WLIA) has taken a leading role in protecting the resource, which is the lifeblood of Cherokee County. Carolyn Landrem, president of the WLIA says the lake is critical to the economy of Cherokee County because it draws fisherman from all over the U.S., and approximately 450,000 people visit the lake each year. Over the last five decades, the lake has become the number two economic driver of the county. Tourism and other lake activities rank only behind agriculture in terms of its economic contribution. The Alabama Department of Conservation has reported that more out of state fishing licenses are sold in Cherokee County than any county in the state. “We depend on the fishermen—and they depend on the quality of water. The higher quality and quantity of fish they catch determines how often they come back, and how long they stay,” says Landrem.
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