Wednesday, June 27, 2012
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE!
from WATERWORKS by Gordon Prickett, an Outdoors Column
for the 7/4/2012 Aitkin Independent Age.
Everybody’s talking about it. Sandbagging in downtown Aitkin. The Mississippi took four or five days to crest at a level near 1950 records. While a tornado strikes and leaves, flooding continues on for weeks, sometimes months. Emergency service from Aitkin Area road crews and law enforcement has been exceptional during the storms and in the aftermath, and the difficult recovery work will continue for a long time.
The dry fall and dry early spring here meant that docks on county lakes were installed at lower elevations than normal. However, heavy rains in May, and a torrential downpour on June 18 and 19 put many docks underwater and many lakes and rivers have reached high water marks not seen in decades. Sections of docks and debris floating in lakes, and even loose watercraft, have brought danger on the water.
SLOW THE BOAT DOWN!
In this emergency the Aitkin County Board has enacted boating speed limits at the urging of Sheriff Scott Turner. At this writing, all county lakes, North of State Highway 18 and County Road 2, are under a SLOW-NO-WAKE restriction. Boat wakes can cause tremendous shoreland erosion. By observing slow-no-wake speeds, meaning 5 mph or less, the boat’s wave action is reduced and shore damage is prevented.
EROSION PREVENTION
Driving across the county and cruising the lakes today you see the amazing power that stormwater can deliver. Cutting away banks, gouging out new paths downslope, the water rushes ahead carrying sediment into pools and flushing watersheds into lakes.
For years Best Shoreland Practices have taught us to use “Buffer Strips” at the water’s edge. Leaving a 10 to 20 foot “No-Mow Zone” of natural vegetation beside the river and lake, makes a Buffer Strip. The deep plant roots prevent erosion, and the vegetation filters out sediment and contaminants. The result is cleaner water. A much cleaner lake results than if everyone tries to have clipped bluegrass all the way to water. A walking path through the Buffer Strip can provide adequate access to boat and swimming docks.
For the rest of the summer, here’s wishing you “Clean Water and Safe Boating.”
Friday, June 1, 2012
WILDLIFE AND HUMANS
This WATERWORKS column by Gordon Prickett is written for the Outdoors Section of the June 6th 2012 Aitkin Independent Age.
Around the lake where we live there has been trouble with what DNR-Wildlife refers to as “Nuisance Species.” Whole patches of rushes have been chewed off and then pulled up by the roots and consumed. Muskrats. Recently a neighbor’s pontoon had it’s fuel line chewed on just before they tried to motor it over to the public access for winter storage.
Stories are told of wiring on pontoons being gnawed by critters at the waters edge. Again the destruction was caused by muskrats.
Several years ago we had a population explosion of beavers. New beaver families built lodges and began felling trees on the loon nesting island. Shoreline maples and oaks were girdled as these skilled loggers and builders expanded their colony.
Thanks to an experienced trapper, who took twenty beaver in one open trapping season between late October and mid-May, we were able to restore balance in our habitat. The mature hardwoods along the shore are no longer threatened.
We are studying how to deal with the growing number of muskrats all around the lake. Information from the DNR tells us that an adult female may have two or three litters in a summer, with as many as ten young per litter. In marshes they build domed houses with mud and vegetation, but in our lake they have tunneled into dens on banks. Predators of muskrats may include mink, otters, eagles, foxes, and racoons. Fairly soon I expect you can add our skilled trapper to this list.
WHEN BOATS NEED LIGHTING
Most of our boating is during daylight hours, but as we launch our boats after a winter of storage, it’s important to get ready for early and late outings. Be sure to test the navigation lights; the sockets and wiring may have corroded, like mine!
A stern (rear) white light must be visible from all directions (360 degree circle).
Red and green bow (front) lights shine red to port (left side) and green to starboard (right side). The combination of red and green covers an arc of 225 degrees ahead of the boat.
Each light is seen from directly ahead to a point 22.5 degrees to the rear of the beam (midpoint of the boat) on each side.
Boats must be lighted from sunset to sunrise, so today, June 6th, navigational lights must be on before sunrise at 5:27 am, and shining again after sunset at 8:57 pm. These times may be found at the back of the current Minnesota Boating Guide published by the DNR.
Friday, April 27, 2012
A NEW STICKER FOR ALL BOATS
from WATERWORKS, an Outdoors Column by Gordon Prickett
for 5/2/2012 Aitkin Independent Age
A new aquatic invasive species (AIS) rules decal should be attached to all types of watercraft operating on any waters in Minnesota. These decals have become available from the DNR starting in January 2012. After August 1, 2014 if your boat doesn’t have one displayed, you can be ticketed for a petty misdemeanor and required to pay a penalty.
This peel-off decal has two parts. The top portion explains what you must do and what you may not do, according to the AIS laws. This upper part is attached on the boat.
The second portion of the decal is at the bottom. and it is to be placed on the winch post of watercraft trailers. It simply alerts you to CHECK THE DRAIN PLUG! and asks “Please wear your life jacket.”
State law now requires boaters to remove the drain plug before leaving the water access area. Of course, this sticker also reminds you to put the plug back in before launching. At our April ACLARA meeting, nearly everyone there admitted having launched a boat at least once without the drain plug in.
These new decals are free, and can be picked up at DNR offices and Deputy Registrar offices, from DNR Conservation Officers, and at most bait shops.
A SUMMARY OF AIS LAWS
What follows is written on the decal you must stick on your boat:
“These laws are intended to protect your lakes and water recreation from harmful effects of aquatic invasive species (AIS). Under state law your compliance with AIS inspection requirements is an express condition and legal requirement of operating or transporting
water related equipment.”
“You must...
CLEAN visible aquatic plants, zebra mussels, and other prohibited species off of watercraft, trailers, and equipment before transporting from any water access.
DRAIN water from the boat’s bilge, livewell, motor, ballast tanks, and portable bait containers before transport from water access site or shoreline property.
KEEP drain plug out and water draining devices open while transporting watercraft.”
“You may not...
TRANSPORT aquatic plants, water, or prohibited invasive species (e.g., zebra mussels, Eurasian water milfoil).
DUMP live bait into state waters, on the shore, or on the ground.
LAUNCH or attempt to place watercraft or trailers with aquatic plants, zebra mussels or prohibited invasive species into any waters of the state.”
Friday, March 30, 2012
MAKING HISTORY
from WATERWORKS, an Outdoors Column by Gordon Prickett, for the April 4th Aitkin Independent Age
MAKING HISTORY THIS SPRING
Every lake around Aitkin County has experienced its earliest Ice-Out in decades. Minnesota’s many lakes were slow to freeze over last fall. Skaters loved the open ice when snow came even later than usual this winter. The season for ice fishing and snowmobiling was awfully short. The same can be said for snow plowing, usually an added source of winter income up here.
When the ice cover on our lake disappeared on the second day of spring it became hard to imagine that this wasn’t something more than "unusual weather." Watchers of Nord Lake have kept score for 36 years, and this is a record!
LICENSE DOLLARS AT WORK
At the Annual Commerce Show in Aitkin last month, Conservation Officer Bob Mlynar handed me a document from the DNR that tells what happens to the hunting and fishing license fees collected each year - how the DNR puts the money to work.
The dollars are deposited in the state’s Game and Fish Fund, which can only be used for fish and wildlife-related work. License revenue pays for fish stocking, population surveys, and habitat projects, as well as a network of conservation officers who protect wild species, snare poachers, and oversee firearms safety training.
This Game and Fish Fund currently receives $90 million annually, and 55% ($49.5 million) is license fees. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service returns proceeds of the excise tax collected on firearms, hunting and fishing equipment to the state under the Federal Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Programs. This puts $22.5 million into the fund (25%). The State Lottery Sales Tax accounts for another 14% ($12.6 million).
The document has a message from DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr, and he thanks us for buying our licenses. He also makes the case for a fee increase that is currently being requested. The last increase was in 2001, and the balance of the Game and Fish Fund has declined to a critical level. Besides tightening belts and increasing efficiencies, game and fish field effort has been reduced. Landwehr says that an adjustment now can assure the quality of modern fish and wildlife management.
You’re welcome, Tom! Thanks for the information.
To get a copy of this document with examples of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Enforcement activities putting these dollars to work, you can stop in at the Aitkin DNR Office in "Southgate," 1200 Minnesota Avenue South, phone 927-3751.
MAKING HISTORY THIS SPRING
Every lake around Aitkin County has experienced its earliest Ice-Out in decades. Minnesota’s many lakes were slow to freeze over last fall. Skaters loved the open ice when snow came even later than usual this winter. The season for ice fishing and snowmobiling was awfully short. The same can be said for snow plowing, usually an added source of winter income up here.
When the ice cover on our lake disappeared on the second day of spring it became hard to imagine that this wasn’t something more than "unusual weather." Watchers of Nord Lake have kept score for 36 years, and this is a record!
LICENSE DOLLARS AT WORK
At the Annual Commerce Show in Aitkin last month, Conservation Officer Bob Mlynar handed me a document from the DNR that tells what happens to the hunting and fishing license fees collected each year - how the DNR puts the money to work.
The dollars are deposited in the state’s Game and Fish Fund, which can only be used for fish and wildlife-related work. License revenue pays for fish stocking, population surveys, and habitat projects, as well as a network of conservation officers who protect wild species, snare poachers, and oversee firearms safety training.
This Game and Fish Fund currently receives $90 million annually, and 55% ($49.5 million) is license fees. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service returns proceeds of the excise tax collected on firearms, hunting and fishing equipment to the state under the Federal Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Programs. This puts $22.5 million into the fund (25%). The State Lottery Sales Tax accounts for another 14% ($12.6 million).
The document has a message from DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr, and he thanks us for buying our licenses. He also makes the case for a fee increase that is currently being requested. The last increase was in 2001, and the balance of the Game and Fish Fund has declined to a critical level. Besides tightening belts and increasing efficiencies, game and fish field effort has been reduced. Landwehr says that an adjustment now can assure the quality of modern fish and wildlife management.
You’re welcome, Tom! Thanks for the information.
To get a copy of this document with examples of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Enforcement activities putting these dollars to work, you can stop in at the Aitkin DNR Office in "Southgate," 1200 Minnesota Avenue South, phone 927-3751.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
FIRE INSURANCE AT THE LAKE
from Outdoors column WATERWORKS by Gordon Prickett, for
the 3/7/2012 Aitkin Independent Age
Cabin owners and guests last summer on both sides of our lake home enjoyed late night bonfires. They collect dead wood on their property in woodpiles and burn it in large bonfires over the weekend. In between gatherings their fire-ring ashes are smoldering until the next load of wood is piled on and ignited. At the end of the weekend the embers sometimes are still glowing. No one is around. They could be out on the lake for one last boat ride or headed back to the Cities.
In late July 2011 national news broadcasts carried a story from the Southern California hills above Los Angeles. High desert wildfires were raging out of control. When fire fighters would encircle an area to limit the spreading fires, they didn’t declare it was secure until they had collected the embers. Strong winds in the area have been known to fan embers into flames that reignited the countryside.
As I pictured the embers being collected above L A, I recalled the recent strong southerly winds in our township that gusted to velocities over 40 miles per hour.
Fire prevention is not very complex, but one does have to be conscious of danger when playing with fire. A watering can full of lake water next to the fire ring is the first step.
Water the ashes. Douse the glowing embers when the party is over. This is the last step. So simple and inexpensive to do. This practice provides the "Fire Insurance" that every lakeshore resident and every responsible visitor needs - to prevent catastrophic losses.
EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT IT
From drought to violent snowstorms in just a few days, the headline writers keep us posted on the changing weather. Some of the heaviest wet snow I can remember has just closed our local schools and finally brought out happy snowmobilers. Snow plows, snow blowers, shovels, and roof rakes are out in force, just a few weeks before the vernal equinox. A meltdown will come soon enough, and early lake levels are expected to be near normal in these parts. I’m ready for ice-out about a month from now.
the 3/7/2012 Aitkin Independent Age
Cabin owners and guests last summer on both sides of our lake home enjoyed late night bonfires. They collect dead wood on their property in woodpiles and burn it in large bonfires over the weekend. In between gatherings their fire-ring ashes are smoldering until the next load of wood is piled on and ignited. At the end of the weekend the embers sometimes are still glowing. No one is around. They could be out on the lake for one last boat ride or headed back to the Cities.
In late July 2011 national news broadcasts carried a story from the Southern California hills above Los Angeles. High desert wildfires were raging out of control. When fire fighters would encircle an area to limit the spreading fires, they didn’t declare it was secure until they had collected the embers. Strong winds in the area have been known to fan embers into flames that reignited the countryside.
As I pictured the embers being collected above L A, I recalled the recent strong southerly winds in our township that gusted to velocities over 40 miles per hour.
Fire prevention is not very complex, but one does have to be conscious of danger when playing with fire. A watering can full of lake water next to the fire ring is the first step.
Water the ashes. Douse the glowing embers when the party is over. This is the last step. So simple and inexpensive to do. This practice provides the "Fire Insurance" that every lakeshore resident and every responsible visitor needs - to prevent catastrophic losses.
EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT IT
From drought to violent snowstorms in just a few days, the headline writers keep us posted on the changing weather. Some of the heaviest wet snow I can remember has just closed our local schools and finally brought out happy snowmobilers. Snow plows, snow blowers, shovels, and roof rakes are out in force, just a few weeks before the vernal equinox. A meltdown will come soon enough, and early lake levels are expected to be near normal in these parts. I’m ready for ice-out about a month from now.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Peace Garden Writer: Writer Spotlight: Author Candace Simar
Peace Garden Writer: Writer Spotlight: Author Candace Simar MUST READ for Minnesotans to learn of the Dakota Uprising - what drove the Dakota to violent acts, and how settlers were driven back east. -Gord, a fellow Heartland Poet
WILD RICE LAKES
From WATERWORKS, an outdoors column by Gordon Prickett for the February 1st Aitkin Independent Age
News from the state’s Outdoor Heritage Fund, also referred to as "Lessard-Sams," has included a project for the protection of more than a hundred shallow wild rice lakes across eight north-central Minnesota counties, including Aitkin. We know that there is a lot of pretty good wild rice in the county, and that quite a few folks harvest and process it locally. But until this project got developed and approved in St. Paul, I wasn’t aware of which lakes were important to our rice gatherers.
Shoreline protection will be acquired by means of voluntary land preservation agreements. Ownership will be retained by private land owners, but the development rights will be restricted, in exchange for payments of 60 percent of the estimated market value of each parcel around the wild rice lakes.
We have 17 lakes eligible for this project, according to DNR-Wildlife. The list includes these lakes:
Flowage, Mallard, Moose, Moose River Pool, Mud (01-0194), Newstrom,
Rat House, Rice (01-0005), Rock, Sandy River, Section Ten, Shovel, Sjodin,
Spruce (01-0151), Twenty, Waukenabo, and White Elk.
Watch for a news release about how to participate in this 2012 conservation project.
MORE ABOUT INVASIVE SPECIES
If you traveled the lake country in Minnesota last year you were sure to see billboards and public messages about "Stopping Aquatic Hitchhikers!" with red octagons. A new law was passed and went into effect July 1st (just as the government was shutting down for three weeks). A vigorous lobbying campaign had helped to write the law, intended to prevent the transport of aquatic invasive species - by trailered boats, bait buckets, moving boat lifts and docks.
Now in 2012, all "lake service providers" who repair boats, install and move docks and boat lifts commercially, will need certification and training in identifying aquatic invasive species and in all the required actions for their prevention.
Plan now to attend the Aitkin Area Rivers and Lakes Fair at Rippleside School in Aitkin, on Saturday, June 16th, for an up-to-date briefing on the threats and new rules concerning Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) in all forms.
News from the state’s Outdoor Heritage Fund, also referred to as "Lessard-Sams," has included a project for the protection of more than a hundred shallow wild rice lakes across eight north-central Minnesota counties, including Aitkin. We know that there is a lot of pretty good wild rice in the county, and that quite a few folks harvest and process it locally. But until this project got developed and approved in St. Paul, I wasn’t aware of which lakes were important to our rice gatherers.
Shoreline protection will be acquired by means of voluntary land preservation agreements. Ownership will be retained by private land owners, but the development rights will be restricted, in exchange for payments of 60 percent of the estimated market value of each parcel around the wild rice lakes.
We have 17 lakes eligible for this project, according to DNR-Wildlife. The list includes these lakes:
Flowage, Mallard, Moose, Moose River Pool, Mud (01-0194), Newstrom,
Rat House, Rice (01-0005), Rock, Sandy River, Section Ten, Shovel, Sjodin,
Spruce (01-0151), Twenty, Waukenabo, and White Elk.
Watch for a news release about how to participate in this 2012 conservation project.
MORE ABOUT INVASIVE SPECIES
If you traveled the lake country in Minnesota last year you were sure to see billboards and public messages about "Stopping Aquatic Hitchhikers!" with red octagons. A new law was passed and went into effect July 1st (just as the government was shutting down for three weeks). A vigorous lobbying campaign had helped to write the law, intended to prevent the transport of aquatic invasive species - by trailered boats, bait buckets, moving boat lifts and docks.
Now in 2012, all "lake service providers" who repair boats, install and move docks and boat lifts commercially, will need certification and training in identifying aquatic invasive species and in all the required actions for their prevention.
Plan now to attend the Aitkin Area Rivers and Lakes Fair at Rippleside School in Aitkin, on Saturday, June 16th, for an up-to-date briefing on the threats and new rules concerning Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) in all forms.
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