Tag: water quality

MN DNR designates 12 more AIS

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Dense patch of lilies

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has classified 13 high-risk invasive aquatic plants, fish and invertebrates as prohibited invasive species. All but one (jumping worms) are AIS.

Here are the 13 new AIS: mitten crab, Nile perch, snakehead family, walking catfish family, yellow floating-heart, tench, golden mussel, marbled crayfish (marmorkrebs), golden clam, tubenose gobies (any fish belonging to the genus Proterorhinus), and eastern mosquitofish.

For more information on these new AIS, you can check out the DNR’s website.

Add your Point-Intercept data to MAISRC’s database

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UMN MAISRC logo

MAISRC is seeking your point-intercept (PI) aquatic plant survey data to add to their statewide database. If your lake or river association have done or are doing lake surveys and are using a point-intercept approach, please follow this link to get more information about the MAISRC database.

Vermont wakesports regulation moves a step closer

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drawing showing woman on a wakesurf board

Vermont ’s Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) recently filed its “Final Proposed Rule” for regulating wakesports on the state’s inland lakes under the heading “Final Rule Documents Submitted to LCAR.” The filing triggers another step in the process whereby the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) reviews the proposed rule. The Committee will be considering this proposed rule on February 1, 2024. If “adopted” the proposed rule will be filed with the secretary of State to become effective on the “effective date”.

The final version of the proposed rule retained the requirement for wake boarding to be done a minimum of 500’ from shore despite overwhelming public comments asking for a 1,000’ minimum. If the LCAR votes to adopt the rule, Vermont will have the most restrictive regulations in the country for wakesports. The final proposed rule includes a 500’ minimum distance from shore, a minimum depth of 20’, a ‘wakesports zone’ as having a minimum of 50 contiguous acres, and a “home lake” approach to help reduce the potential for wake boats to spread AIS from residual water in their ballast tanks.

Stay tuned!

Michigan releases new guides for shoreline improvement

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Michigan EGLE title block with a shoreline pictured on the right

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has developed a variety of new resources to assist individuals who want to improve their shoreline and learn more about bio-engineering and other inland lake best management practices. While Michigan’s regulations may be slightly different from Minnesota’s, the concepts for shoreline protection are the same, and anyone wanting to improve their shore can benefit from a review of this material.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has developed a variety of new resources to assist individuals who want to improve their shoreline and learn more about bio-engineering and other inland lake best management practices. These have recently been published on EGLE’s Shoreline Protection website.

Five new fact sheets: 

Six new documents have also been created with illustrations and corresponding plans to implement best management practices for shoreline protection and lake health.

Note: these documents are consistent with Michigan’s shoreline regulations. While Michigan’s regulations may be slightly different from Minnesota’s, the concepts for shoreline protection are the same, and anyone wanting to improve their shore can benefit from a review of this material.

Vanishing natural shorelines hurt lake quality

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Image of the front cover of the report

In June 2022, Paul Radomski from the MN DNR presented the ideas from this newly released paper at our MN COLA Annual meeting. This was one of the sessions in our Lake Resiliency series.

Now the Vanishing Natural Shorelines paper has been published and you can read the whole story of how the loss of natural shorelines contributes to the degrading of lake quality. Tom Nelson, MN COLA Secretary and Itasca County SWCD Board member, was a key contributor from MN COLA. We encourage you to read and disseminate this document.

As Steve Kloiber from the MN DNR has written: “The Minnesota Natural Shoreline Partnership was formed around the idea that regulatory approaches to shoreland protection have not been sufficient to stop the loss of natural shoreland. This group has chosen to focus on the idea that there is a need to change social norms around how people think of their shoreline.”

We should individually and collectively do everything we can to stop the loss of natural shorelines and reclaim lost shorelines. Let’s change the social norm so natural shorelines are preferred.

Metro legislators rocked by surfing

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MN COLA President Joe Shneider along with MLR Executive Director Jeff Forester and Marina owner Gabe Jabbour took several legislative leaders out on Lake Minnetonka in late August to see wakesurfing in action. From left to right are MN COLA President Joe Shneider, Environment and Natural Resources Committee Chair Rep. Rick Hansen, Rep. Larry Kraft, Sen. Kelly Morrison, MLRA’s Jeff Forester, and Marina owner Gabe Jabbour.

ACCL deploys new AIS cleaning tool stations with Cass County

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The Association of Cass County Lakes (ACCL) developed a low-cost AIS cleaning station and is deploying it with help from Cass County. Nick Bluhm from ACCL and Steve Henry from Cass County presented their best-practices solution at the September MN COLA meeting.

A summary of the solution and the program to deploy is linked below.

Lakeland PBS recently broadcasted a new segment covering the project. Watch it here.

Email Nick Bluhm at cleaningstations@acclakes.org for more information including how you can adapt the solution for your use.

Michigan Fisheries Division releases report on wake impacts

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The Fisheries Division of the Michigan DNR released a literature review and recommendations regarding the effects of wake boats on aquatic habitat. An earlier version sparked controversy and it was relabeled as a draft. This July, the final report was released.

Recommendations in the report were couched as “voluntary best operating practices in support of the continued use of wake boats while minimizing the effects on natural resources. Their recommendations are copied below:

  1. Boats operating in wake-surfing mode or wake-boarding mode, during which boat speed, wave shapers, and/or ballast are used to increase wave height, are recommended to operate at least 500 feet from docks or the shoreline, regardless of water depth.
  2. Boats operating in wake-surfing or wake-boarding modes are recommended to operate in water at least 15 feet deep.
  3. Ballast tanks should be completely drained prior to transporting the watercraft over land.

Further, the Michigan report “recommended that awareness and voluntary adoption of these best operating practices be encouraged through outreach actions and materials to educate wake boat operators.”