First Goal for Watershed Stewardship Project Accomplished

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

The single failure of the culvert and washout of the road embankment at Hwy 2 across North Fish Creek during the 2018 Father’s Day flood resulted in approximately 800,000 cubic feet or 30,000 tons of sediment---that sediment covered the valley bottomland for at least 1 mile downstream with a 1-foot blanket of sand and muck. That sediment, more than the average years-worth from the entire watershed, will likely be stuck in that reach for thousands of years.” In continued efforts to “slow the flow”, Ashland County and their Land & Water Conservation Department, USGS, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the Wisconsin Wetland Association are working on a new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant project in the Marengo River sub-watershed to adapt nature-based flood risk reduction strategies to better fit our landscape.

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.”

Incised headwater streams can damage protective wetlands,

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.

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

Water resources are a huge part of a complex web of life that supports our daily lives, and successful and sustainable communities depend upon more than clean water. We need jobs, homes, food, and infrastructure for staying warm, getting around, and living our everyday lives. Arguably for many of us, living in the Lake Superior watershed adds a superior quality of life…with its beautiful vistas, vibrant tributary streams, and fishing and recreational opportunities. There may be no easy answers, but our hope is that we can insure the health of our waters and habitat with a combination of technology, engineering, citizen involvement, and most importantly, a responsible long-term protective philosophy. After all, our rivers and streams, wetlands, and ultimately the Great Lakes are worth protecting as one of the most important sources of fresh water on the planet.

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.

Please contact us at ironcountylakesandrivers@gmail.com to receive a volunteer sheet and an ICLRAl membership application.

Best regards and stay safe.

Iron County Lakes and Rivers Alliance, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) corporation)

Dave Hall

President

Turtle River Watershed Conference

On Wednesday, January 29^th, 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 

The Water Column 

 by Diane Daulton

The new year brings hope for a new adventure.                                      Photo by Bryan Neuswanger; www.keenai.net 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. “Earthrise” taken from Apollo 8…the blue marble.                                 Photo by NASA, Apollo 8, Bill Anders; Processing: Jim Weigang 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.” Who among us can watch the news or check out social media these days without a sense of profound sadness for Australia and the uncertain fate of iconic koala bears? Think about it - Australia is about the same size as the United States. The 2019-2020 bushfire season there is only half over and has already consumed upwards of 16 million acres (24,000 square miles) of habitat. That’s like completely wiping out the northern half of Wisconsin. By comparison, the 2018 California wildfieres consumed 2 million acres, and in 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires burned 2.2 million acres of land.  Let’s employ empathy…striving to be a kinder, gentler, more caring world. There are countless opportunities to help, thanks to the internet. Do a little research, then just pick one. Let the world see that Americans care deeply!  Let’s employ empathy…strive to be a more caring world.  Photo by Daniel Mitchell; www.Shutterstock.com  On November 15th, 2019 The Madison Cap Times printed a column about the decay of honor in politics entitled, “Plain Talk: A tale of two eras of Wisconsin government.” I noticed an editorial response (written by Carl Landsness, Madison) that reminded readers how parties used to work together. It reiterated the fact that it wasn’t so long ago when Democratic Sen. Gaylord Nelson and Republican Gov. Warren Knowles collaborated to co-create Earth Day in 1970. Landsness asked, “Could we use Earth Day's 50th anniversary (next April) to catalyze a paradigm-shifting healing and synergizing of planet, people and polarizations, exploring more soul-serving (vs. ego-driven) ways to be, do, relate, resolve, serve and steward?” Let’s vote for genuine leaders who will stand with us, and work to get ready for the “new normal"   Solar energy – for a new decade.                      Photo by Bobbi Rongstad 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. Hope from icon Greta Thunberg is “in the people.”                                                                     Photo by Liv Oeian;                                                                                 www.Shutterstock.com  I like to think that Walter “Little Bear” Bresette, Native American icon who fought for the environment with a mind towards not just Greta’s generation but the next seven generations, would be smiling down on the worldwide outcry fueled by a now seventeen-year old Swedish girl. If trees can communicate throughout the forest community via mycorrhizal networks, the science of which we are just beginning to understand, it begs the question…when will we turn over a new leaf? Can we nurture a paradigm shift in society, recognizing our causal and restorative roles in the complex web of life? Throughout 2020, let’s ask ourselves the question, as a cog in the wheel of this amazing, diverse, beautiful, vulnerable planet, how can we act now to restore the beauty and balance of Nature? Let’s resolve to fix it.