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.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
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.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
THE STATE OF THE LAKES
WATERWORKS Column by Gordon Prickett for the Aitkin Independent Age, 2/2/2011
In my midwinter musings I am thinking about the “State” of things - the State of the Union, the struggling state of the economy, and our divided State Government. As our lake association members and boards consult this winter to plan our meetings and programs for the year, it might be a useful exercise to look into “The State of Our Lakes.” The beautiful lakes of Aitkin County.
In the county there are approximately 57 lakes with one or more public access landings that the DNR maintain. About two dozen of our lakes have active lake associations. Roughly, the same number of lakes have had volunteers counting loons and monitoring their lake water quality in recent years. This has resulted in a treasure trove of lake data that resides with the individual volunteers, their lake associations, the DNR, and the Pollution Control Agency.
The Common Loon is an “Indicator Species,” as are the several kinds of frogs found along the lakeshore and in wetlands of each watershed. Water quality volunteer monitors have lowered their white Secchi disks during the Summer months and recorded lake water clarity readings - the depth where the disk can no longer be seen. As local loon populations vary and as water conditions appear to change over years, we have an indication of the “state” of these twenty- or thirty-some developed lakes that are subject to serious use by visitors and residents.
Then there are public agency professionals who conduct more intensive water sampling, chemical testing, and lead shoreland revegetation projects. In any given year several of the county lakes are the focus of protection and remediation studies, using state and county funds dedicated to environmental purposes of clean water and wildlife habitat. When lakes and streams are discovered to be “impaired,” their use for recreation is compromised. Staff scientists and technicians from county and state governmental agencies then work with local lake dwellers to identify the causes of impairment and correct the conditions that have harmed these waters.
Aitkin County contains more than 300 bodies of water with an area greater than ten acres. Of these, 251 have been given names, and 50 of them are classified as General Development lakes or Recreational Development lakes. Dozens of remote lakes are simply referred to as “Unnamed,” although they carry a Division of Waters identification number and appear on our maps. We have 164 lakes classified as Natural Environment lakes, which are predominately undeveloped.
As I have reviewed the variety of data contained in the current Shoreland Ordinance and County Water Management Plan, I can confidently report that the “State of Our Public Waters” today is “pretty good.” Our challenge for this year and for future years is to protect and improve them as much as possible.
In my midwinter musings I am thinking about the “State” of things - the State of the Union, the struggling state of the economy, and our divided State Government. As our lake association members and boards consult this winter to plan our meetings and programs for the year, it might be a useful exercise to look into “The State of Our Lakes.” The beautiful lakes of Aitkin County.
In the county there are approximately 57 lakes with one or more public access landings that the DNR maintain. About two dozen of our lakes have active lake associations. Roughly, the same number of lakes have had volunteers counting loons and monitoring their lake water quality in recent years. This has resulted in a treasure trove of lake data that resides with the individual volunteers, their lake associations, the DNR, and the Pollution Control Agency.
The Common Loon is an “Indicator Species,” as are the several kinds of frogs found along the lakeshore and in wetlands of each watershed. Water quality volunteer monitors have lowered their white Secchi disks during the Summer months and recorded lake water clarity readings - the depth where the disk can no longer be seen. As local loon populations vary and as water conditions appear to change over years, we have an indication of the “state” of these twenty- or thirty-some developed lakes that are subject to serious use by visitors and residents.
Then there are public agency professionals who conduct more intensive water sampling, chemical testing, and lead shoreland revegetation projects. In any given year several of the county lakes are the focus of protection and remediation studies, using state and county funds dedicated to environmental purposes of clean water and wildlife habitat. When lakes and streams are discovered to be “impaired,” their use for recreation is compromised. Staff scientists and technicians from county and state governmental agencies then work with local lake dwellers to identify the causes of impairment and correct the conditions that have harmed these waters.
Aitkin County contains more than 300 bodies of water with an area greater than ten acres. Of these, 251 have been given names, and 50 of them are classified as General Development lakes or Recreational Development lakes. Dozens of remote lakes are simply referred to as “Unnamed,” although they carry a Division of Waters identification number and appear on our maps. We have 164 lakes classified as Natural Environment lakes, which are predominately undeveloped.
As I have reviewed the variety of data contained in the current Shoreland Ordinance and County Water Management Plan, I can confidently report that the “State of Our Public Waters” today is “pretty good.” Our challenge for this year and for future years is to protect and improve them as much as possible.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
NEW CONSERVATION MONEY
WATERWORKS Column by Gordon Prickett for The Aitkin Independent Age
NEW MONEY FOR CONSERVATION
By now there is a pot of new state money collected since July 1, 2009. It receives three-eighth’s of a percent from every Minnesota sales tax purchase. More than a dozen state agencies are reported to be receiving and distributing the proceeds from this voter-approved Legacy Amendment. While Governor Pawlenty was busy vetoing and condemning any future tax increases, the legislature and the citizens slipped this one by him, in a constitutional amendment that passed in November 2008.
One third of the new money is going for parks and trails plus arts and cultural heritage. The rest is equally divided - that’s one quarter percent - between the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Clean Water Fund, for lakes, rivers, and aquifers. Following the money spent on the arts has not been difficult. Radio, television, and print media have been announcing the source of new legacy-funded programs. Public libraries, museums, theaters, and radio broadcasts have all shared in new tax-sponsored events.
State legislative committees receive annual accounts of this dedicated spending. The new money has been coming in for eighteen months. Tens of millions have been spread around. Those activities with qualifying “shovel-ready” grant applications on hand have successfully added to their budgets. This sales tax increment is for 25years, so worthy projects can expect to be continued.
A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
My special interest is following the money that leaves Aitkin County, and tracking the money that finds it’s way back here. Especially, the clean water and fish-wildlife habitat money. In some of the early reports I have found identical titles for line items of the Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Natural Resources. They both assess and monitor water quality.
I will ask the readers to help with my New Year’s Resolution to “Follow the Money.” As reports to the legislature become available I will digest them for this column. Already the Board of Water and Soil Resources in this region has given the Water Planning Task Force a look at their share of Clean Water funding in the current budget year. Aitkin County lakes will have a chance to apply for and share in money dedicated to water quality monitoring and improvement programs. Stay tuned!
NEW MONEY FOR CONSERVATION
By now there is a pot of new state money collected since July 1, 2009. It receives three-eighth’s of a percent from every Minnesota sales tax purchase. More than a dozen state agencies are reported to be receiving and distributing the proceeds from this voter-approved Legacy Amendment. While Governor Pawlenty was busy vetoing and condemning any future tax increases, the legislature and the citizens slipped this one by him, in a constitutional amendment that passed in November 2008.
One third of the new money is going for parks and trails plus arts and cultural heritage. The rest is equally divided - that’s one quarter percent - between the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Clean Water Fund, for lakes, rivers, and aquifers. Following the money spent on the arts has not been difficult. Radio, television, and print media have been announcing the source of new legacy-funded programs. Public libraries, museums, theaters, and radio broadcasts have all shared in new tax-sponsored events.
State legislative committees receive annual accounts of this dedicated spending. The new money has been coming in for eighteen months. Tens of millions have been spread around. Those activities with qualifying “shovel-ready” grant applications on hand have successfully added to their budgets. This sales tax increment is for 25years, so worthy projects can expect to be continued.
A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
My special interest is following the money that leaves Aitkin County, and tracking the money that finds it’s way back here. Especially, the clean water and fish-wildlife habitat money. In some of the early reports I have found identical titles for line items of the Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Natural Resources. They both assess and monitor water quality.
I will ask the readers to help with my New Year’s Resolution to “Follow the Money.” As reports to the legislature become available I will digest them for this column. Already the Board of Water and Soil Resources in this region has given the Water Planning Task Force a look at their share of Clean Water funding in the current budget year. Aitkin County lakes will have a chance to apply for and share in money dedicated to water quality monitoring and improvement programs. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
MAKING ICE AGAIN
(for the Aitkin Independent Age Outdoors "WATERWORKS" column) by Gordon Prickett
Once the mercury drops below freezing and stays there for days at a time it doesn’t take long for bird baths and shallow ponds to freeze over. On November 23rd we awoke to see most of our lake’s surface covered with a thin skin of ice plus a dusting of new snow. So much for the early skating and exploring on the clear glassy ice that exposes the depths. Out from our shoreline I could see a pattern of openings where our young neighborhood beaver appears to have broken through. Remembering that “there is no such thing as safe ice,” I stayed on shore and didn’t venture onto the ice to inspect for beaver. With continued cold temperatures in the weather forecast most of the area lakes should have a thickening ice cover by early December.
A NEW LAKE COLLABORATION
The Hubbard County Coalition of Lake Associations, sometimes referred to as a COLA,
invited neighboring counties and Minnesota Waters to an exploratory meeting in Park Rapids. The invitation to fourteen similar COLAs was to meet and consider what might be gained by joining in a regional or statewide collaborative. Representatives from eleven coalitions of county lake associations sat down on November 16th and talked over their accomplishments and their challenges. I attended the meeting, representing the Aitkin County Lakes and Rivers Association, ACLARA.
From as far away as Grand Marais and Mankato we found that public perceptions about lake property, public waters, and shoreland regulations are pretty similar. Needing help with feedlot drainage and failing septic systems are shared challenges in a number of counties. Finding out about successful grant applications to state lottery, heritage, and legacy funding sources is part of the appeal of this collaborative approach.
The group decided that there was a lot to learn from each other, and there are important activities that we can perform together. We will continue to meet and organize in 2011.
Once the mercury drops below freezing and stays there for days at a time it doesn’t take long for bird baths and shallow ponds to freeze over. On November 23rd we awoke to see most of our lake’s surface covered with a thin skin of ice plus a dusting of new snow. So much for the early skating and exploring on the clear glassy ice that exposes the depths. Out from our shoreline I could see a pattern of openings where our young neighborhood beaver appears to have broken through. Remembering that “there is no such thing as safe ice,” I stayed on shore and didn’t venture onto the ice to inspect for beaver. With continued cold temperatures in the weather forecast most of the area lakes should have a thickening ice cover by early December.
A NEW LAKE COLLABORATION
The Hubbard County Coalition of Lake Associations, sometimes referred to as a COLA,
invited neighboring counties and Minnesota Waters to an exploratory meeting in Park Rapids. The invitation to fourteen similar COLAs was to meet and consider what might be gained by joining in a regional or statewide collaborative. Representatives from eleven coalitions of county lake associations sat down on November 16th and talked over their accomplishments and their challenges. I attended the meeting, representing the Aitkin County Lakes and Rivers Association, ACLARA.
From as far away as Grand Marais and Mankato we found that public perceptions about lake property, public waters, and shoreland regulations are pretty similar. Needing help with feedlot drainage and failing septic systems are shared challenges in a number of counties. Finding out about successful grant applications to state lottery, heritage, and legacy funding sources is part of the appeal of this collaborative approach.
The group decided that there was a lot to learn from each other, and there are important activities that we can perform together. We will continue to meet and organize in 2011.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
WATERWORKS Nov 3 Aitkin Independent Age
Local Wednesday Weekly by Gordon Prickett
MY WINDSOCK BLEW DOWN AGAIN
Our canoe that had been tied securely to the dock was swamped in last week’s windstorm. None of the weather guessers predicted that Minnesota would record it’s lowest ever reading for atmospheric pressure. At 10 AM, Tuesday, October 26th, the barometric low pressure record was first broken in Aitkin. By 5 o’clock in the afternoon the lowest pressure reading occurred in Bigfork with 28.21 inches of mercury (Standard pressure is 29.92 inches).
I found my windsock on the ground not far away two days later. Last Wednesday we took in the dock and portaged the canoe up to a secure winter site on the lake bank. Our mail carrier told stories of power outages and damage from trees blown down on her route during the windstorm. High winds, a lot of rain, and some wet snow - with all that energy it could have been worse.
LAKE-FRIENDLY SHORES
With the end of the boating season it’s a good time to take a look at the water’s edge and ask how well your shoreline is handling storm water. Does it run off rapidly in gullies into the lake? Or have you left a shore zone not mowed, not clear cut, and not fertilized?
Each cabin owner needs no more than a ten-foot wide cleared path to get down to the lake shore with kayaks, fishing gear, and water toys. I have attended a number of workshops where the topic has been how to build these “Buffer Zones” and “Rain Gardens” to slow down, capture, and treat storm water - before it can flush pollutants into the lake and river.
TIPS FROM HUBBARD COUNTY
At one of these workshops I received a valuable summary page from Steve Hall of Shoreline Creations, a “Lakescaping” company in Nevis, MN. It answers questions and concisely tells why a buffer zone makes sense to improve and maintain good lake water quality. A few of Steve’s pointers:
No-Mow and Buffer Zones stabilize shoreline and reduce erosion. They increase fish and wildlife habitat. They also filter nutrients and pollutants and trap sediments. Plus they control insects naturally and reduce lawn maintenance.
Q. Isn’t a buffer zone just a lot of tall grass that looks messy and unkempt?
A. No! Creating a buffer zone with a combination of native perennial wildflowers, grasses, and a few shrubs will make your shoreline beautiful all year long. Add a reasonable maintenance program and your shoreline will be the envy of your lake!
MY WINDSOCK BLEW DOWN AGAIN
Our canoe that had been tied securely to the dock was swamped in last week’s windstorm. None of the weather guessers predicted that Minnesota would record it’s lowest ever reading for atmospheric pressure. At 10 AM, Tuesday, October 26th, the barometric low pressure record was first broken in Aitkin. By 5 o’clock in the afternoon the lowest pressure reading occurred in Bigfork with 28.21 inches of mercury (Standard pressure is 29.92 inches).
I found my windsock on the ground not far away two days later. Last Wednesday we took in the dock and portaged the canoe up to a secure winter site on the lake bank. Our mail carrier told stories of power outages and damage from trees blown down on her route during the windstorm. High winds, a lot of rain, and some wet snow - with all that energy it could have been worse.
LAKE-FRIENDLY SHORES
With the end of the boating season it’s a good time to take a look at the water’s edge and ask how well your shoreline is handling storm water. Does it run off rapidly in gullies into the lake? Or have you left a shore zone not mowed, not clear cut, and not fertilized?
Each cabin owner needs no more than a ten-foot wide cleared path to get down to the lake shore with kayaks, fishing gear, and water toys. I have attended a number of workshops where the topic has been how to build these “Buffer Zones” and “Rain Gardens” to slow down, capture, and treat storm water - before it can flush pollutants into the lake and river.
TIPS FROM HUBBARD COUNTY
At one of these workshops I received a valuable summary page from Steve Hall of Shoreline Creations, a “Lakescaping” company in Nevis, MN. It answers questions and concisely tells why a buffer zone makes sense to improve and maintain good lake water quality. A few of Steve’s pointers:
No-Mow and Buffer Zones stabilize shoreline and reduce erosion. They increase fish and wildlife habitat. They also filter nutrients and pollutants and trap sediments. Plus they control insects naturally and reduce lawn maintenance.
Q. Isn’t a buffer zone just a lot of tall grass that looks messy and unkempt?
A. No! Creating a buffer zone with a combination of native perennial wildflowers, grasses, and a few shrubs will make your shoreline beautiful all year long. Add a reasonable maintenance program and your shoreline will be the envy of your lake!
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