(This content is from the Outdoors Column "Waterworks" by Gordon Prickett for the Aitkin Independent Age,9/7/2011.)
GOOD WEEDS
There is this image of endless sandy beaches that we take from our visits to the Gulf shores or the oceans on either coast. People arriving at Minnesota’s freshwater lakes look at the aquatic vegetation on their new shoreline and think “How can I get rid of these unsightly weeds?”
But we are not living on the shifting salt water shores of Florida, Texas, or California. The bulrushes and cattails plus other useful aquatic vegetation up here have a useful role to play. Before buying devices that rotate on the lake bottom to scape off every aquatic plant near shore, there is a lesson for us to learn from scientists who have studied the fish and wildlife that were here long before cabin people came north. The natural shores of our lakes, with their “weeds,” are where fish spawn and thrive. This is where waterfowl breed and nurture their young.
Rushes and cattails protect the shore from wave action that erodes bluffs and beaches. There is a different image here in the lake country from that of the ocean side. Small boats and canoes, kayaks and sailboats head out from docks on the shore. Shorelines with trees, shrubs, and sedges protect the habitat of many creatures, and provide a unique Minnesota beauty for photographers vacationing far from the oceans.
In short, the less you tear up from your beach, the more there will remain to enjoy on the lake. Think again about these “good weeds.”
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
ENJOY THE LAKE
From WATERWORKS, Outdoors Column by Gordon Prickett coming 8/3/2011 in the Aitkin Independent Age
The pleasures of our lake country are at their best in these summer months. When the rest of the country is sweltering in record heat or beset by drought and wild fires, we jump in the lake and cool off, even on the hottest days. And invariably, it is "cooler by the lake."
A common theme in the purposes of our county lake associations is "to protect the lake and preserve it for our enjoyment, and for that of coming generations." But... my enjoyment may not be the same as yours. As the vacant shoreline increasingly fills up with cabins and mansions, after the best campsites have already been taken, this question of whose enjoyment can be tricky.
The DNR has recognized the pressures of lakeshore development and increased lake surface use (boating), and it has attempted to put regulations in place to help us "enjoy the lake."
We should also consider the "enjoyment" and the survival of the various species of fish and wildlife, whose habitat we invade when we come into this lake country. Boating maneuvers that churn up fish spawning grounds and disrupt waterfowl vegetation areas diminish the enjoyment for some of us. That is why the Minnesota Boating Guide restricts the speed of personal watercraft (jetskis) to 5 mph or less (no-wake), when operated within 150 feet (half a football field) from the shore.
WELCOME, KEVIN ANDERSON!
Last week I met the new Publisher of the Independent Age, Kevin Anderson, in the office, and told him how much I have enjoyed writing this column for the past thirteen years. It looks as though we may continue the arrangement that I made back then with Dick Norlander. He didn’t charge me for carrying "Waterworks," and I furnished the content without cost, on every first Wednesday of the month.
The pleasures of our lake country are at their best in these summer months. When the rest of the country is sweltering in record heat or beset by drought and wild fires, we jump in the lake and cool off, even on the hottest days. And invariably, it is "cooler by the lake."
A common theme in the purposes of our county lake associations is "to protect the lake and preserve it for our enjoyment, and for that of coming generations." But... my enjoyment may not be the same as yours. As the vacant shoreline increasingly fills up with cabins and mansions, after the best campsites have already been taken, this question of whose enjoyment can be tricky.
The DNR has recognized the pressures of lakeshore development and increased lake surface use (boating), and it has attempted to put regulations in place to help us "enjoy the lake."
We should also consider the "enjoyment" and the survival of the various species of fish and wildlife, whose habitat we invade when we come into this lake country. Boating maneuvers that churn up fish spawning grounds and disrupt waterfowl vegetation areas diminish the enjoyment for some of us. That is why the Minnesota Boating Guide restricts the speed of personal watercraft (jetskis) to 5 mph or less (no-wake), when operated within 150 feet (half a football field) from the shore.
WELCOME, KEVIN ANDERSON!
Last week I met the new Publisher of the Independent Age, Kevin Anderson, in the office, and told him how much I have enjoyed writing this column for the past thirteen years. It looks as though we may continue the arrangement that I made back then with Dick Norlander. He didn’t charge me for carrying "Waterworks," and I furnished the content without cost, on every first Wednesday of the month.
Monday, June 27, 2011
LAKE NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
From Waterworks by Gordon Prickett, July 6 edition, The Aitkin Independent Age
County Sheriff Scott Turner has been making the rounds of lake association meetings and radio interviews lately with a message for the Aitkin Lakes Area. "Be careful out there. Be alert to danger. And be a good steward in your neighborhood."
Shortly after hearing the sheriff on KKIN I received a call from a lake association member across the lake. The previous evening at suppertime, two fisherman near the public access had climbed onto their docks and were looking over fishing equipment at waterfront residences. The owners responded quickly and the trespassers left in a hurry. Conservation Officer Bob Mlynar was notified along with the sheriff’s office.
Their pickup truck has been traced and local law enforcement is on the lookout for the visiting fishermen. “Invasive aquatic species” come in different forms, as these would-be pirates demonstrated. Half of our lake association members are connected through the internet, and we put out an alert around the lake. More than half of our lake residents are away from their cabins in the middle of a work week. Many of the boat docks are not visible from houses on shore. Our message was “Be alert and remove contents that easily could be stolen from your boats and docks.”
IS THERE A LAKE ASSOCIATION?
Fifteen years ago I asked Steve Hughes this question at the Soil and Water Office, when we had just moved onto our lakeshore. Back then there wasn’t any association. But seven years ago a committee of neighbors was interested in organizing. Today the Aitkin County Lakes And Rivers Association (ACLARA) has a coalition of twenty member associations. ACLARA works with folks in the county to help them start up a lake association where they live and vacation.
Our organizing purpose on Nord Lake was to preserve and protect the lake and get to know the neighbors around the lake. Now another purpose is clear - to help provide for the safety of us all.
County Sheriff Scott Turner has been making the rounds of lake association meetings and radio interviews lately with a message for the Aitkin Lakes Area. "Be careful out there. Be alert to danger. And be a good steward in your neighborhood."
Shortly after hearing the sheriff on KKIN I received a call from a lake association member across the lake. The previous evening at suppertime, two fisherman near the public access had climbed onto their docks and were looking over fishing equipment at waterfront residences. The owners responded quickly and the trespassers left in a hurry. Conservation Officer Bob Mlynar was notified along with the sheriff’s office.
Their pickup truck has been traced and local law enforcement is on the lookout for the visiting fishermen. “Invasive aquatic species” come in different forms, as these would-be pirates demonstrated. Half of our lake association members are connected through the internet, and we put out an alert around the lake. More than half of our lake residents are away from their cabins in the middle of a work week. Many of the boat docks are not visible from houses on shore. Our message was “Be alert and remove contents that easily could be stolen from your boats and docks.”
IS THERE A LAKE ASSOCIATION?
Fifteen years ago I asked Steve Hughes this question at the Soil and Water Office, when we had just moved onto our lakeshore. Back then there wasn’t any association. But seven years ago a committee of neighbors was interested in organizing. Today the Aitkin County Lakes And Rivers Association (ACLARA) has a coalition of twenty member associations. ACLARA works with folks in the county to help them start up a lake association where they live and vacation.
Our organizing purpose on Nord Lake was to preserve and protect the lake and get to know the neighbors around the lake. Now another purpose is clear - to help provide for the safety of us all.
Friday, May 27, 2011
THE LEGACY AMENDMENT IS WORKING
From WATERWORKS, a column in the June 1, 2011 Aitkin Independent Age
by Gordon Prickett
Minnesota bucked a trend of nationwide anti-tax zeal in the November 2008 election.
We passed the “Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment” to the state constitution, which meant that we actually voted to raise our state sales tax by three-eighths of a percent. By a sizeable margin, the decision was reached that it was time to do a better job for clean water, for wild habitat, parks, trails, and culture.
Two years later, in November 2010, state voters mixed their message to St. Paul, voting in a wealthy governor who wanted a higher tax bracket for the rich, and choosing a legislature that wants less government. The result could shut down state government come July 1.
One of the most interesting sessions at the recent 2011 Lakes and Rivers Conference in St. Cloud was titled “The Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment: Where is the Money Going?” The director of the watchdog group “Conservation Minnesota,” analyzed the first two years of this 25-year amendment, and looked ahead at the next 23 years. There are four funds where this dedicated sales tax goes.
The Clean Water Fund and the Outdoor Heritage (Lessard-Sams) Fund each get 33% of this new money. 19.75% goes to the Arts, History, and Cultural Heritage Fund, while the remaining 14.25% supports Parks and Trails with regional and statewide significance.
The state legislature receives regular reports on how this money is being spent. In fact, during this conference report by Paul Austin, two agency people identified themselves from MPCA and the DNR, as the persons who count the legacy expenditures for the state legislature.
The Arts funding is well documented and has been well publicized locally. In Aitkin we saw Gregory Peck in the classic movie at the Rialto ”To Kill a Mockingbird,” paid by this fund. Recently the library brought the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet to perform in its meeting room with arts fund money. Minnesota authors are currently visiting libraries across the state to meet their readers in arts-funded programs.
Those of us who partner with local and state agencies to clean up and protect our waters have found that the Legacy Amendment is helping. The Clean Water Fund contains new money for assessments and remediation of polluted waters, as well as for additional monitoring and protection that prevents degradation of rivers and lakes. The process of obtaining grants from Outdoor Heritage and Clean Water money can be complicated. Mostly the funds are funneled though local agencies, such as Soil and Water offices and County departments. There is a concern that the current legislative budget cuts will rely on legacy funding to replace natural resource appropriations. With watchdogs like Conservation Minnesota, I am hopeful that this can be prevented.
by Gordon Prickett
Minnesota bucked a trend of nationwide anti-tax zeal in the November 2008 election.
We passed the “Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment” to the state constitution, which meant that we actually voted to raise our state sales tax by three-eighths of a percent. By a sizeable margin, the decision was reached that it was time to do a better job for clean water, for wild habitat, parks, trails, and culture.
Two years later, in November 2010, state voters mixed their message to St. Paul, voting in a wealthy governor who wanted a higher tax bracket for the rich, and choosing a legislature that wants less government. The result could shut down state government come July 1.
One of the most interesting sessions at the recent 2011 Lakes and Rivers Conference in St. Cloud was titled “The Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment: Where is the Money Going?” The director of the watchdog group “Conservation Minnesota,” analyzed the first two years of this 25-year amendment, and looked ahead at the next 23 years. There are four funds where this dedicated sales tax goes.
The Clean Water Fund and the Outdoor Heritage (Lessard-Sams) Fund each get 33% of this new money. 19.75% goes to the Arts, History, and Cultural Heritage Fund, while the remaining 14.25% supports Parks and Trails with regional and statewide significance.
The state legislature receives regular reports on how this money is being spent. In fact, during this conference report by Paul Austin, two agency people identified themselves from MPCA and the DNR, as the persons who count the legacy expenditures for the state legislature.
The Arts funding is well documented and has been well publicized locally. In Aitkin we saw Gregory Peck in the classic movie at the Rialto ”To Kill a Mockingbird,” paid by this fund. Recently the library brought the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet to perform in its meeting room with arts fund money. Minnesota authors are currently visiting libraries across the state to meet their readers in arts-funded programs.
Those of us who partner with local and state agencies to clean up and protect our waters have found that the Legacy Amendment is helping. The Clean Water Fund contains new money for assessments and remediation of polluted waters, as well as for additional monitoring and protection that prevents degradation of rivers and lakes. The process of obtaining grants from Outdoor Heritage and Clean Water money can be complicated. Mostly the funds are funneled though local agencies, such as Soil and Water offices and County departments. There is a concern that the current legislative budget cuts will rely on legacy funding to replace natural resource appropriations. With watchdogs like Conservation Minnesota, I am hopeful that this can be prevented.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
WORTH THE WAIT - LAKES ARE OPEN!
WATERWORKS an outdoor column by Gordon Prickett 5/4/2011 Aitkin Independent Age
A nesting pair of Mallards swam by at sunrise on Easter Monday. Loons and Canada Geese call across the lake, as we prepare the dock, the canoe, and fishing boat for launch. There are chores to be done after our three-week Amtrak excursion, but my focus is on the water. I phoned a neighbor long distance from Texas to confirm Ice Out on April 19th. The first loon had landed. But that was just for the folks on the North and East Shores.
There were still ice floes drifting around the South Shore. For our official lake records (since 1976) the date should be April 20. This is at least one week later than the average. Our gravel access roads were graded last Tuesday to fill up the pot holes. Moisture was still boiling up on the road from deep winter frost, but Mud Season is now over. All the posted road restrictions should be gone in a few weeks.
OUR LAKES HAVE A HISTORY
Recently the son of a family that used to have a summer cabin on our lake, read news on-line about the effects of the recession in Aitkin County. He searched on the internet for more local news and got in touch with me. His message told about the long ago Nord Lake Store and the farms that bordered the northeast shore. He described how my neighbors had gotten together some fifty years ago to build the access that became Nordland Township Road 304. The familiar family names have come down through the years, as properties have been subdivided and sold off, and given to children.
More than fifty of our many county lakes have DNR public access and have become the site of vacation cabins, resorts, and early farm homes. About two dozen lake associations have been organized in recent years. The earliest peoples chose the best lake sites with good fishing, available game and timber, and sandy beaches. Then Europeans “discovered” these occupants and began trapping and logging. Shortly after Minnesota became a state we had a railroad crossing the county, and the river boat town of Aitkin was founded.
Some of our lake associations have been collecting the stories of settlement around their individual lakes. Sewing more of them together could make a “patchwork quilt” to tell an important piece of Aitkin County’s history.
At the Rivers and Lakes Fair on Saturday, June 18th, the Aitkin County Lakes And Rivers Association will have a booth where you can learn about how lake people have been organizing. You are welcome to drop by and share some of your lake stories.
A nesting pair of Mallards swam by at sunrise on Easter Monday. Loons and Canada Geese call across the lake, as we prepare the dock, the canoe, and fishing boat for launch. There are chores to be done after our three-week Amtrak excursion, but my focus is on the water. I phoned a neighbor long distance from Texas to confirm Ice Out on April 19th. The first loon had landed. But that was just for the folks on the North and East Shores.
There were still ice floes drifting around the South Shore. For our official lake records (since 1976) the date should be April 20. This is at least one week later than the average. Our gravel access roads were graded last Tuesday to fill up the pot holes. Moisture was still boiling up on the road from deep winter frost, but Mud Season is now over. All the posted road restrictions should be gone in a few weeks.
OUR LAKES HAVE A HISTORY
Recently the son of a family that used to have a summer cabin on our lake, read news on-line about the effects of the recession in Aitkin County. He searched on the internet for more local news and got in touch with me. His message told about the long ago Nord Lake Store and the farms that bordered the northeast shore. He described how my neighbors had gotten together some fifty years ago to build the access that became Nordland Township Road 304. The familiar family names have come down through the years, as properties have been subdivided and sold off, and given to children.
More than fifty of our many county lakes have DNR public access and have become the site of vacation cabins, resorts, and early farm homes. About two dozen lake associations have been organized in recent years. The earliest peoples chose the best lake sites with good fishing, available game and timber, and sandy beaches. Then Europeans “discovered” these occupants and began trapping and logging. Shortly after Minnesota became a state we had a railroad crossing the county, and the river boat town of Aitkin was founded.
Some of our lake associations have been collecting the stories of settlement around their individual lakes. Sewing more of them together could make a “patchwork quilt” to tell an important piece of Aitkin County’s history.
At the Rivers and Lakes Fair on Saturday, June 18th, the Aitkin County Lakes And Rivers Association will have a booth where you can learn about how lake people have been organizing. You are welcome to drop by and share some of your lake stories.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
ICE OUT AND MUD SEASON
WATERWORKS is a Sports & Outdoor column by Gordon Prickett for the 4/6/2011 Aitkin Independent Age.
ICE OUT AND MUD SEASON
Maybe there won’t be much more snow this Spring. I had just gotten sight of a few inches of open water at the edges of our lake ice when the latest snowstorm and blizzard blew in. Cold Winter has spilled into "Spring" and forced us to order a third delivery of propane for this heating season. Rapid melting of new snow under a warm sun is backing up puddles of melt water before the ground can soak it up.
Aitkin’s diversion ditch for the Mississippi River will pay off again this year. It looks like some heavy flooding in other parts of the state.
My prediction for "Ice Out" this year is April 15th, for most county lakes no deeper than 40 feet and no larger than 500 acres. Road restrictions will probably last a good while on the muddy back roads.
SPEAK UP FOR CLEAN WATER
Minnesota has new Commissioners to lead the Pollution Control Agency and the Natural Resources and Agriculture Departments. Also Aitkin County has elected two brand new commissioners in Districts Three and Five. With shifting control of state and local governments this could be a time for changes in water policy. Both Commissioners Paul Aasen (MPCA) and Tom Landwehr (DNR) will address the Minnesota Waters Lakes and Rivers Conference in St. Cloud on April 29th. Aitkin County Commissioners Don Niemi and Anne Marcotte are on hand for county board meetings on the first and second Tuesday mornings of every month in the court house.
Those of us who believe that more can be done, to limit aquatic invasive species and to curtail over-development around our shores, can let these public servants hear from the people they were appointed and elected to serve.
SAVE THE DATE JUNE 18
The Annual Rivers and Lakes Fair is coming to the Rippleside Elementary School in Aitkin on Saturday, June 18, from 9 am to 2 pm. Featured this year will be reptiles from the Long Lake Conservation Center and the threat to our lakes posed by spreading aquatic invasive species. The popular minnow races will be back. Admission is free. An inexpensive lunch and snacks are available.
ICE OUT AND MUD SEASON
Maybe there won’t be much more snow this Spring. I had just gotten sight of a few inches of open water at the edges of our lake ice when the latest snowstorm and blizzard blew in. Cold Winter has spilled into "Spring" and forced us to order a third delivery of propane for this heating season. Rapid melting of new snow under a warm sun is backing up puddles of melt water before the ground can soak it up.
Aitkin’s diversion ditch for the Mississippi River will pay off again this year. It looks like some heavy flooding in other parts of the state.
My prediction for "Ice Out" this year is April 15th, for most county lakes no deeper than 40 feet and no larger than 500 acres. Road restrictions will probably last a good while on the muddy back roads.
SPEAK UP FOR CLEAN WATER
Minnesota has new Commissioners to lead the Pollution Control Agency and the Natural Resources and Agriculture Departments. Also Aitkin County has elected two brand new commissioners in Districts Three and Five. With shifting control of state and local governments this could be a time for changes in water policy. Both Commissioners Paul Aasen (MPCA) and Tom Landwehr (DNR) will address the Minnesota Waters Lakes and Rivers Conference in St. Cloud on April 29th. Aitkin County Commissioners Don Niemi and Anne Marcotte are on hand for county board meetings on the first and second Tuesday mornings of every month in the court house.
Those of us who believe that more can be done, to limit aquatic invasive species and to curtail over-development around our shores, can let these public servants hear from the people they were appointed and elected to serve.
SAVE THE DATE JUNE 18
The Annual Rivers and Lakes Fair is coming to the Rippleside Elementary School in Aitkin on Saturday, June 18, from 9 am to 2 pm. Featured this year will be reptiles from the Long Lake Conservation Center and the threat to our lakes posed by spreading aquatic invasive species. The popular minnow races will be back. Admission is free. An inexpensive lunch and snacks are available.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
AQUATIC SPECIES
from March 2nd Aitkin Independent Age
I attended a roundtable at the Community College in Brainerd last week where eight scientists and supervisors from Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources converged on our region. The DNR is holding four meetings around the state to consult with citizens and special folks called “Stakeholders.” I’m thinking that stakeholders are the ones who are particularly concerned about our Minnesota waters and anything that threatens them.
The topic at these public meetings is “Management of Aquatic Invasive Plants and Animals.” In the DNR’s Annual Report for 2010 on Invasive Species, the Problem is defined as “non-native species that have the potential to threaten our water resources and cause serious harm.” Most of the discussion at Brainerd concerned Eurasian watermilfoil, curly-leaf pondweed, and zebra mussels.
In recent years in Aitkin County we have learned about some of these “invasives” at the annual Rivers and Lakes Fair, held in June at Rippleside Elementary School. Volunteers from a number of lake associations have been trained by DNR specialists in how to conduct boat inspections and instruct boaters in procedures to prevent the spread of species from lake to lake. The DNR has placed part-time interns at public access landings on Big Sandy Lake during the busy summer hours to meet boaters and make them aware of new regulations and how to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS).
DESIGNING A NEW PROGRAM
In the roundtable discussion and brainstorming exercise in which I took part, the consensus was that more education and information is needed by the boating public, with better focus and clearer messages in newspapers, at bait shops, and in the broadcast media.
In those lakes where infestations have been attacked there needs to be long-term follow through to provide effective control throughout the lake. There are some success stories where a few infested lakes have been successfully treated and areas of invasives, both Eurasian watermilfoil and curly-leaf pondweed, have been limited or reduced.
Clearly, the DNR is asking for help from those who want to address the AIS problem. My meeting was just Phase 1 in a three-phase process. Stay tuned.
I attended a roundtable at the Community College in Brainerd last week where eight scientists and supervisors from Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources converged on our region. The DNR is holding four meetings around the state to consult with citizens and special folks called “Stakeholders.” I’m thinking that stakeholders are the ones who are particularly concerned about our Minnesota waters and anything that threatens them.
The topic at these public meetings is “Management of Aquatic Invasive Plants and Animals.” In the DNR’s Annual Report for 2010 on Invasive Species, the Problem is defined as “non-native species that have the potential to threaten our water resources and cause serious harm.” Most of the discussion at Brainerd concerned Eurasian watermilfoil, curly-leaf pondweed, and zebra mussels.
In recent years in Aitkin County we have learned about some of these “invasives” at the annual Rivers and Lakes Fair, held in June at Rippleside Elementary School. Volunteers from a number of lake associations have been trained by DNR specialists in how to conduct boat inspections and instruct boaters in procedures to prevent the spread of species from lake to lake. The DNR has placed part-time interns at public access landings on Big Sandy Lake during the busy summer hours to meet boaters and make them aware of new regulations and how to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS).
DESIGNING A NEW PROGRAM
In the roundtable discussion and brainstorming exercise in which I took part, the consensus was that more education and information is needed by the boating public, with better focus and clearer messages in newspapers, at bait shops, and in the broadcast media.
In those lakes where infestations have been attacked there needs to be long-term follow through to provide effective control throughout the lake. There are some success stories where a few infested lakes have been successfully treated and areas of invasives, both Eurasian watermilfoil and curly-leaf pondweed, have been limited or reduced.
Clearly, the DNR is asking for help from those who want to address the AIS problem. My meeting was just Phase 1 in a three-phase process. Stay tuned.
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