Iron County Lakes and Rivers Alliance, Inc.
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Sunday, March 22, 2020
March-April Water Column
The month of March brings both change and hope. Trumpeter
swans have returned to our waters and bird enthusiasts are watching the migratory
“radar” for the ebb and flow of migrations heading for parts north. All seems
to be going according to plan with rivers opening up flowing ice-free as they
head north to Lake Superior. Historically, spring runoff has been a time when
rivers are most actively evolving. Major runoff events and peak flows change
the course of waterways over time in natural processes where erosion and
sedimentation balance each other out in a healthy watershed.
Unstable banks like this one at Copper Falls State Park
are found along many area streams.
Photo by Diane Daulton
|
Land use changes since pre-settlement times in the Lake
Superior basin have greatly influenced our geologically young landscape,
especially in recent years with significant rainfall events and subsequent
flooding. Why, one might wonder? Back in the 1950’s after a series of large
floods and washouts, the Red-Clay Interagency Committee was tasked with
studying and demonstrating techniques for reducing upland and roadside erosion
and stabilizing river bluffs and streambanks. Most people don’t realize that
deforestation, subsequent farming, and channelization from road building and
culverts forever changed the landscape resulting in a significant nonpoint
source pollution problem that we still face today.
In the upper reaches of Lake Superior’s watershed, red clay
soils and sands resulting from past glacial Lake Duluth shorelines converge in
a steep transition zone of ravines and valleys making for a “perfect storm”.
The increased volume and power of runoff results in an imbalance that fuels
gullying, disconnects headwaters’ wetlands, degrades streambanks…scouring out channels
and perching floodplains, while vast amounts of sand and sediment are
transported downstream. Research Hydrologist, Faith Fitzpatrick, with the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) cautioned that small land use changes can matter. She
explains, “Because of the steepness and clay soils (that promote runoff), a
small change in the amount of runoff, from changing the vegetation type,
decreasing roughness of the land surface, or altering drainage pathways may
easily destabilize a ravine and cause gullying and groundwater sapping.” Although
recent years’ extreme rain events have exacerbated this problem, it is not new,
just evolving…as are efforts to study and better understand the watershed as a recovering
fluid system.
Fitzpatrick has been studying fluvial geomorphology in
our watershed since the 1990’s, looking at historic erosion and deposition, studying
the function of our streams and their interaction with the landscape around
them. One has only to paddle the White or Bad Rivers to see >100-foot tall
slumping banks along bends in the river where mass bank erosion is obvious. Fitzpatrick
noted, “The extreme floods in 2016 and 2018 that hit northern Wisconsin will
likely leave a sedimentary signal that will live on in the geologic record. The
floods caused major geomorphic change over a period of hours. New valleys were
formed and, in some places, more sediment was deposited on floodplains than
that which accumulated over the last 150 years since land clearing and
Euro-American settlement.
Flood events exacerbate unstable hydrologic conditions causing damage. |
Deep sand deposits are clearly visible on N. Fish Creek
downstream of US Hwy 2.
Photos by F.Fitzpatrick, U.S. Geological Survey
|
Mary Jo Gingras, Ashland County Land Conservationist
explains, “The FEMA grant will help inform efforts to repair hydrologic
conditions by analyzing fluvial erosion hazard features, specifically where
flood storage areas have been reduced, or lost, in the upper watershed due to
degraded wetlands or compromised floodplains. In the 2016 and 2018 floods, the
Marengo River watershed experienced substantial flooding; resource managers
have made connections between flood damage to roads, culverts, and bridges and
degraded natural conditions that could have helped mitigate storm damage.” Wisconsin
Wetlands Association Specialist Kyle Magyera warned that flood resiliency in
our area will not take place overnight. He noted, “We will have to let rivers
move and repair themselves naturally, but we can help kick-start the process by
repairing hydrology and reconnecting streams, floodplains, and wetlands to
better control water movement.”
Small changes in land use can destabilize a ravine causing gullying and groundwater sapping. Photos by Kyle Magyera, Wisconsin Wetlands Association |
Recent history has taught us that nature is not always in concert with the latest engineering standards and that, over the years, humans have made costly mistakes either from lack of insight or differing value systems. In the last decade, the Northland has faced threats to water quality posed by increased rainfall events, such as massive culvert failures and washed out roads, but also potential impacts from large-scale agricultural expansions, and long-term implications of iron mining in the Penokees.
Source: www.enbridge.com |
While these issues are dormant for the moment, the effort
to re-route Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline is bringing back the age-old dichotomy
of clean environment versus the economy. Opinions are sharply divided amongst
people living in the watershed and many landowners have already signed
agreements with Enbridge to lease their land in perpetuity or to sell outright.
According to Enbridge Energy, a multinational Canadian company, “Line 5 is a
vital link to propane and other energy supplies for the upper Midwest. Every
day, this 645-mile-long, 30-inch diameter pipeline plays a critical role
transporting 540,000 barrels of light crude oil, light synthetic crude oil, and
natural gas liquids to a regional network for this area.” Since the Bad River tribe
has requested removal of the existing pipeline on the reservation, the
company’s plan “B” is to skirt around that approximately 12-mile section by
moving further upstream in the watershed. Common sense suggests that this
alternative neither benefits the Bad River Tribe or Ashland County, as it enlarges
the watershed that would be at risk. Further, the project could put groundwater
aquifers at risk, as little is known about the exact path of local groundwater,
except that it provides drinking water for many rural residents.
Aerial imagery shows historic movement of Bad River channels and resulting oxbow lakes where the river intersects with existing pipeline corridors. Google Photo courtesy of Joe Bates |
According to Enbridge’s Public Service Commission of
Wisconsin Public Interest Determination
Application (Feb 2020), the proposed 41 mile-long re-route for the pipeline encompasses 182 new river crossings, along with 86.6 acres of wetland impacts, all of which are still located within the Bad River (Lake Superior) watershed. Under stable conditions rivers naturally change course over history cutting themselves off, forming oxbow lakes, and evolving in ways we may not anticipate, so why would we take chances under less than stable watershed conditions? It seems self-evident that we owe it to future generations to carefully consider the risks and economics of any endeavor that requires a commitment in perpetuity.
Application (Feb 2020), the proposed 41 mile-long re-route for the pipeline encompasses 182 new river crossings, along with 86.6 acres of wetland impacts, all of which are still located within the Bad River (Lake Superior) watershed. Under stable conditions rivers naturally change course over history cutting themselves off, forming oxbow lakes, and evolving in ways we may not anticipate, so why would we take chances under less than stable watershed conditions? It seems self-evident that we owe it to future generations to carefully consider the risks and economics of any endeavor that requires a commitment in perpetuity.
For landowners interested in learning more about Line 5, facts
and disclosures regarding easements, and how to make informed decisions for
their property
and the watershed. Midwest Environmental Advocates has partnered with Wisconsin's Green Fire (a nonpartisan group dedicated to management of natural resources) to produce a series of guides that educate the public on the various regulatory processes involved with the proposed reroute of Enbridge's Line 5. Links can be found at www.wigreenfire.org or www.midwestadvocates.org under the "issues and actions" tab.
Lake Superior is a freshwater inland sea worth protecting. Photo by NOAA |
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Dear Friends of the Turtle River Watershed,
This may seem to be an insignificant concern considering the
global pandemic, but eventually things in the Northwoods will return to normal.
In the meantime, we have another serious situation regarding a very aggressive
invasive species that is threatening the entire Turtle River Watershed – including
the Turtle Flambeau Flowage.
The Bottom Line; The invasive species is called Curly Leaf
Pondweed (CLP). It’s already established in Rice Lake, and has moved down the
Turtle River recently reaching the edge of Pike Lake. If we don’t aggressively
fight this, it will migrate to Lake of the Falls, and the Flowage – and
probably fairly soon. CLP drops floating seeds in mid-summer and the current of
the Turtle River will certainly move those seeds along. Poisoning, or cutting
the plant isn’t feasible because of the shallow waters and the current, hand
pulling is our best approach. So we need volunteers, and we need many of you….
Background; Several
years ago, Curly Leaf Pondweed (CLP) was discovered in Rice Lake which is part
of the Turtle River watershed. Efforts
to control it via have failed and the plant has continued to migrate downstream.
It is now in the Turtle River below Rice
Lake and there are pioneer plants in Pike Lake.
Following Pike Lake is another section of the Turtle River, then Lake of
the Falls, and then the Flowage itself.
CLP is currently a tragedy on Rice Lake, as it would likely
be on any of our lakes in the Turtle River Watershed (including all of the
Flowage) because most of our lakes are ideal environments for this plant –
relatively shallow, many bays, etc. This plant overruns native plant species
and spreads itself over the surface, eliminating fishing, and navigation in worst
cases. Not only would that be a horrible blow to arguably the most unspoiled
watershed left in WI, it will also be a serious blow to the economy of Mercer
and Iron County. Property values, in particular in the shallower bays would
likely take a serious hit as well.
One of the goals of ICLRA and the new Turtle River Watershed
Stewardship Project is to fight this infestation. A three-year plan has been developed in
cooperation with the Rice Lake Association, which has borne the brunt of this
problem for the past seven years, with the incredible assistance of the people
at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and with the Iron County Land
and Water Conservation Department
There are two components to this plan. Each year we will:
·
PRIORITY 1; STOP THE FURTHER SPREAD via finding
and destroying the pioneer plants in the Turtle River between Rice and Pike
lakes and in Pike Lake itself. A grant
application (attached) has been filed with the DNR as of this date to fund this
effort. The Rice Lake association is the
sponsor of this Aquatic Invasive Species Rapid Response (AISRR in DNR terms) grant. In May, professional limnologists will survey
Pike Lake and the river to find the plants.
Going along will be volunteers in canoes or kayaks who will pull the
weeds as they are identified. A process
for on-going surveillance of the section of the river will be established to
continually keep it in check. The funding for equipment and expertise for this
project will be funded 75% by the DNR and 25% by the Rice Lake
Association. The DNR credits the Rice
Lake Association for our volunteer hours greatly helping cover their 25%.
·
PRIORITY 2; ATTACK THE SOURCE via a
hand-pulling effort on Rice Lake. This
is a low-tech, high man-hour project.
The DNR is funding the entire cost of the limnologists who will do the
required identification and reporting activities. The rest, as of this moment, is up to
us. We need as many people in boats and
along shore lines as possible. Pulling, collecting and disposing of the weeds
is a huge effort…..but if we don’t do it this year, next year will be that much
harder, and at some point it simply becomes unfeasible. We cannot ignore
this. Also, please note that this will not be done in one year – this
will need to be an on-going effort. The project training is currently scheduled
for May and the pulling activities for May and June obviously dependent on the
Coronavirus issues.
WHY THE LOW TECH PULLING PROCESS?; Chemicals won’t work because the current in
the lake/river which moves the poison off of the target plant. Plus, chemicals can hurt native plant
species, fish and even humans. Mowing is
too expensive and just spreads the plants down-stream.
So, please consider volunteering….and please reach out to
your friends and neighbors to volunteer. If you’re not physically able to pull
weeds, or you don’t have a canoe or kayak, there are other ways to participate.
Training regarding plant identification
will be offered this spring via the DNR.
Best regards and stay safe.
Iron County Lakes and Rivers Alliance, Inc. (a 501(c)(3)
corporation)
Dave Hall
President
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Turtle River Watershed Conference
On Wednesday, January 29th, fifty-four people
attended a conference sponsored by the Iron County Lakes and Rivers Alliance
(ICLRA) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) at The Great
Northern Hotel in Mercer to address a first-of-its-kind grant program. For many years grants have been issued to
individual lakes to respond to problems of declining water quality, pollution
and aquatic invasive species (AIS) infestations. The conference introduced a new program to
issue grants on complete watershed basis with an additional focus on
prevention. The Turtle River Watershed Management program will be administered
by ICLRA.
While the current Lake Management program has been very
successful, it has had implementation problems in sparsely populated areas such
as Iron County.
George Meyer Wisconsin Wildlife Federation President |
In his keynote address, former WDNR secretary, George Meyer,
described Wisconsin’s Public Trust Doctrine.
That legal concept, first introduced in the 1800’s, specifies that the
navigable waters of the state are the property of all of the state’s citizens –
not of the owners of the shoreline.
Riparian owners may not modify the lake in any way or prevent the public
from free use of the waterbody.
In seeming conflict with the Public Trust Doctrine, the Lake
Management program puts the cost in time and money for addressing problems on a
lake squarely on the shoulders of the lake’s riparian owners, sometimes to the
tune of tens of thousands of dollars. This is especially onerous in Iron County where population densities on
the lakes are low, causing financial burdens on individuals to be very
high. Further, because of other
requirements, problems on lakes without incorporated lake associations or
without riparian owners, are not addressed.
This is especially problematic in connected lake systems such as the
70,000 acre Turtle River Watershed in southern Iron County.
Dave Hall President, ICLRA |
Dave Hall, ICLRA president stated that the ICLRA and WDNR
have been working on a watershed-wide management proposal since last October. He said the program will distribute costs and
produce more scientifically valid results. The new system also recognizes that
problems on one lake affect conditions upstream and downstream. Lakes with few or no residents will now be
under the care of the watershed-wide system
.
Carroll Schaal Natural Resource Program Manager WDNR |
At the conference the WDNR’s Natural Resource Program
Manager, Carroll Schaal, and Lakes and Rivers Team Leader Dr. Alison Mikulyuk delineated
the rules and opportunities for grants within the watershed.
Dr. Allison Mikulyuk |
Dr. Mikulyuk is excited
about the group’s idea to write a watershed-based protection plan. “Many of the
lakes in Wisconsin are still in really good shape,” she said, “but they are
vulnerable. Implementing a protection plan now will make sure they stay clean
and healthy for generations to come. I am excited to work with Iron County
Lakes and Rivers Alliance as we take a bold step toward better watershed
protection.”
Eric Olsen |
UW-Extension Lake Specialist and Director, Eric Olsen,
presented concepts from the “Wisconsin Watershed Planning Guidance”
publication. He also distributed
documentation on a consortium of local stakeholders, DNR, county and city
departments to address problems in the Red Cedar River watershed of
northwestern Wisconsin.
Iron County’s Land and Water Conservation specialist Zach
Wilson conveyed his excitement about the program and suggested components of a
successful watershed plan. Mercer DNR
station fisheries expert, Zach Lawson stated the advantages of considering a
whole watershed for fish management.
The meeting closed with public discussion of plans for
resolution of a serious AIS infestation on Rice Lake which threatens Pike Lake,
Lake of the Falls and the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage downstream of Rice.
Iron County Lakes Alliance was formed in 2000 and became the
Iron County Lakes and Rivers Alliance in 2012. The purpose of the organization
is to protect county waters through education and communication and to advocate
for riparian owners and lake and river associations in county and state
government. Membership is open to lake and river associations as well as to
individuals. Programs are free and open to the public. For more information or
to make your voice heard by joining ICLRA, Inc., email ironcountylakesandrivers@gmail.com
Thursday, February 13, 2020
The Water Column
Here we are welcoming in a new decade and who could believe it’s already 2020! A new year presents opportunities for self-examination, usually followed by resolve to turn over a new leaf. While folks here wait to see if we’ll have a January thaw or a polar vortex, it also remains to be seen if Lake Superior will feature the deep blue hues of open water or the opportunity to explore spectacular ice caves along shore. Personally, my fervent hope is that this new decade will inspire a paradigm shift. If a teenage girl from Sweden can spark the world, perhaps the world can respond by embracing environmental stewardship, and not just for lakes, streams, or drinking water, but for the planet.
Remember astronaut James Irwin’s quote about his experience viewing the Earth from space? He said, “As we got farther and farther away it diminished in size. Finally, it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful marble you can imagine. That beautiful, warm, living object looked so fragile, so delicate, that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart." Perhaps it’s time to adopt some simple rules for a changing world before his thought becomes a reality. Since water is a huge part of our big blue marble, this month’s message hopes to inspire readers to think over and act on positive solutions for our future.
In Time Magazine’s feature story about “2019 Person of
the Year” Greta Thunberg, I was struck by how obvious it is that we can
and must change our future – and soon. Greta was fearless in laying out
the case for future generations. Her forthright challenge to leaders… “Entire ecosystems
are dying…we are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk
about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth…how dare you?!?”
Greta’s message also reflected hope, and a common-sense notion that resonates with
all parties, races, religions, and families everywhere around the globe. She
said, “I think the hope, right now is in the people; I’d like to tell my grandchildren that we did everything we could - and we
did it for them, for the generations to come.”
Just for the sake of argument, imagine a world in 10 years without fossil fuel, or with it, but at ten times (or 100 times) the cost of today. Readers might be surprised to know how much has been done recently to shift our focus to renewable energy. After all, in the Chequamegon Bay area, northlanders have already won statewide kudos for recent solar group buy efforts. Local Bobbi Rongstad, retired energy consultant, has been actively engaged in energy conservation efforts for 30 years. She recently added both solar electric and solar hot water to her home as an investment in their family’s future, but more than anything, for her, “It was the right thing to do…and we can now appreciate lower energy bills that will help us to age comfortably in our home.” Regional leader, Chequamegon Bay Renewables website asks us to, “Support renewable energy in every way you can; your own home, your workplace, the way you vote. Together, we can make a difference!” Thinking to the future, it looks like 2020 will offer opportunities for both businesses and individuals; for info on 2020’s “group buy”, check out www.cheqbayrenewables.org or https://nextenergysolution.com.
Retired
US Fish & Wildlife biologist and friend Pam Dryer recently reminded me how
fortunate we have been to have had leaders who paved the way to restore our
lands and protect our waters. She noted conservation giants who gave us the
means to help ourselves: among them, Robertson-Pittman’s groundbreaking tax on
firearms and ammunition to fund wildlife management, the Sport Fish Restoration
Act that placed an excise tax on tackle to support fish management, and
Wisconsin’s Managed Forest Law, that created landowner incentives to manage
forests sustainably. She said, “I thought I would not see the effects of
climate change in my lifetime, but shorter and warmer winters, and two 500-year
floods in three years have made me realize it’s affecting us now and that these
effects are universal. I believe that climate change is our next natural
resource challenge that requires visionary solutions.” Now we must do more than
adapt, we must deliver leaders and promote ideas (like our predecessors did) to
mitigate climate change.
|
Sunday, April 28, 2019
Northwoods Land Trust Proposes Shoreline Preservation in Iron County
The Northwoods Land Trust works with private landowners
who wish to protect their natural lake and river shorelines.
Thanks
to a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Lake Protection program project,
owners of large stretches of natural shorelines on lakes and flowages in Iron
County are now being encouraged to consider lasting, voluntary protection of
their lake properties. According to Northwoods Land Trust (NWLT) executive
director Bryan Pierce, the lake project is based on highly-successful private
lake shoreland protection projects conducted over the last ten years by NWLT in
Vilas, Oneida, Forest, Florence and Price Counties.
“The
DNR’s Wisconsin Lakes publication
indicates that there are a total of 494 lakes in Iron County,” said Pierce.
“These include 217 named and 277 unnamed lakes. The grant project is utilizing
NWLT’s geographic information system (GIS) computer technology to identify all
remaining privately-owned lake parcels with a minimum of about 500 feet of
natural shoreline frontage.”
Pierce
explained that the project uses tax parcel maps and other data developed
through the Iron County GIS Office. Digital parcel maps and aerial orthophotos
are overlaid where needed to determine the extent of natural versus developed
frontage.
Naturalist John Bates conducts an ecological assessment for Meta Reigel Brandt for her 215-acre conservation agreement granted to Northwoods Land Trust. |
“The
parcels are then linked with the Iron County tax roll database to generate a
mailing list of these landowners,” Pierce stated. “Copies of NWLT’s Landowner’s
Conservation Guide will be mailed this spring to each of these identified lake
property owners. As with our previous projects, volunteers are assisting us
with assembling all of the landowner packets to prepare them for bulk mailing.”
Pierce
noted that the lake protection project runs through the end of 2020. NWLT
provides on-site technical assistance to any of those lake property owners who
wish to permanently protect their land along these natural shorelines.
“We
have already been successful in completing six conservation easement donations
with interested property owners in Iron County. Those projects have included
permanent protection of over 27,000 feet (5 miles) of natural lake, river and stream shorelines and
680 acres of shoreland, woodland and wetland habitats. These
successful projects have already leveraged well over $1 million of charitable
contribution values through those conservation easement donations.
“With
a conservation easement, the natural shorelines are protected in perpetuity,
but the land remains privately owned and managed and it is still subject to
property taxes,” said Pierce. “The lands can be sold or passed on to heirs, but
whoever owns the land in the future must retain its conservation values. Any
access to the property for outdoor recreation is still up to the consent of the
individual property owners.”
The Northwoods Land Trust also
purchased the 38-acre Interstate Falls property just west of the intersection
of U.S. Highways 2 and 51. That scenic property was then gifted to the Town of
Kimball to remain a valuable scenic tourism attraction and conservation area in
perpetuity.
The
Northwoods Land Trust is a volunteer and member-supported nonprofit
conservation organization. For more information on the Iron County lakes
project, contact the NWLT office at (715) 479-2490.
Springstead Lake.jpg – About
3,800 feet of natural shoreline on Springstead Lake was protected in perpetuity
by Meta Reigel Brandt through the Northwoods Land Trust.
The
Northwoods Land Trust works with private landowners who wish to protect their
natural lake and river shorelines.
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