The Lake Oakland Board was established under Part 309 (Inland Lake Improvements) of Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. In accordance with the act, the Long Lake Governmental Lake Board includes a lakefront property owner, a representative from each local unit of government abutting Lake Oakland, the county water resources commissioner (or designee) and a county commissioner.

In 2023, the Lake Oakland Improvement Board held a public hearing on a five-year improvement program for Lake Oakland. A primary focus of the program is the control of nuisance aquatic plant growth. Plant control activities in Lake Oakland are coordinated under the direction of the lake board’s environmental consultant, Progressive Companies. Contract work for mechanical plant harvesting was competitively bid in the fall of 2022.