articles from December, 1996 newsletter:
President's Message
"Are you ready for winter?"
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? I must have asked or answered that question a hundred times the past few weeks. For whether we plan to stay around or escape to warmer climes, the need to winterize is on all our minds and drives our fall agenda.
The club is "buttoned up" for the winter, too. Our navigation lights have been removed and stored. The docks were lifted at our day-use picnic sites. At the November board meeting, directors wrapped up the club's year-end business, looked ahead to our winter break and began preliminary plans for the spring of '97.
You'll hear from us again in January when Barb Shook sends you a membership card and asks for your annual renewal. Rising costs force choices on us all, but please stay with us if you possibly can. Memberships are our main source of incorrie and we need your support to help fund the club's work around the lake.
On behalf of the officers and directors, I extend warm wishes for a joyous holiday season, followed by the beauty and peace of a Vermilion winter.
Paula Bloczynski
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A Big Thanks to Doug Watt
From the Board of Directors and all the Club members, we extend a hearty THANK YOU to Doug Watt for all he's done for the Sportsmen's Club. Doug has been a member for, as he says, a lifetime, and a member of the Board for over 10 years. He's been among the first to participate in many of the Club's projects - from cleanup projects to navigational light maintainence to shore lunch sites, just to name a few. His leadership and friendly "let's do it" attitude will be sorely missed.
Doug isn't leaving the area though. He'll still be living on the Lake and still working at the US Forest Service and still driving around the area in his Jeep. It's just that two other priorities have risen above that of the club's Board. They are named Lewis (almost 4) and Edison (almost 1). So now instead of changing batteries on the nav lights, we'll see Doug in some quiet bay trying to keep worms on a couple of sunfish poles. And instead of that Jeep showing up at Club activities, it'll be parked at the ball field for all the t-ball games.
Good luck with those two bundles Doug - and again, THANKS!
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New Board Member Elected
At our 1996 Annual Meeting, Steve Anderson from the west end of Lake Vermilion was elected to the Board of Directors. Steve ran for the expired term of Doug Watt. (see accompanying article) Steve's lived on the Lake for several years with his wife Laurie but also maintained a home in the Twin Cities area where he worked in sales. Finally he was able to find comparable work in this area so he severed his ties with the "612" lifestyle and became a full time "218"er.
Steve has been an avid cyclist for a number of years. In 1982 he and a friend set of on a cycling journey to cross all 48 down-under states. The effort in part was to raise money for a then new non-profit organization called the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Minnesota. The two of them traveled 10,000 miles in 7 1/2 months.
Then in 1993 they hatched a new plan. They road hydrobikes UP the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico to St. Cloud Minnesota. Their charitable organization this time was St. Joseph's Hope Community, a home for women and children in Minneapolis. They had planned to finish at Lake Itasca, the headwaters of the Mississippi River, but low water conditions and the discovery that the river was flowing south to the Gulf rather than to Lake Itasca ended their journey. It was then that Steve got involved in the company that makes the Hydrobike and he and Laurie started marketing them through their company - Vermilion Hydrosports.
Two years ago Steve approached the Club with an idea to hydrobike the length of Lake Vermilion as a fund-raiser for one of our projects. The Board decided to use any money to supplement the Scholarship Fund. In 1995 Steve and Todd Bethel, a nephew of Steve's, helped the Club raise over $2,000. In 1996 Steve again offered to raise money. Plans were expanded and along with Steve and several of his friends making the ride, several groups were challenged to ride along. Again, a substantial amount of money was raised.
Now, the Board, in its vast wisdom, decided not to let go of a good thing. We had to nail this guy down somehow so we could tap into that energy and generosity. In one moment of weakness on Steve's part, we jumped him and convinced him to run for the Board. Given his dedication to the goals of the Club and his unique training regimen, he is a natural for his role as a Board member. Welcome Steve!
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SPORTSMEN'S CLUB GOES ON THE INTERNET
At the October meeting of the Board of Directors, the decision was made to put the Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion on the World Wide Web. One of the Directors and past President, Rick Pearson, maintains a web site relating to Lake Vermilion. It was decided to put the Club site within his site. For those of you with internet access, the URL for the site is < http://www.LakeVermilion.com/ >. Link from there to the Sportsman's Club home page. Pearson has indicated that the link to the Club site will be up by the end of the year.
The site will contain everything from general information of the Club to specific information on all the Club's activities. You will be able to browse thru past issues of the newsletter, keep track of results of the loon count and the water quality testing, or check on the latest scholarship recipients. Dates for upcoming events will be posted on the site as soon as they are determined.
Designing and developing a web site is an on-going process so there is a lot of room for suggestions. And the Club would like to hear from you the members about what you would like to see there. Send any suggestions to Rick Pearson at 9129 Hibbing Point Road, Cook, MN 55723 or share them with any Board member.
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Winter Survival Kit
Stay with your car until help or spring arrives - whichever comes first
From the book "How to Talk Minnesotan" by Howard Mohr
THIS WILL TAKE UP MOST OF YOUR BACK SEAT, BUT PEACE OF MIND IS WORTH IT.
- Six long-burning plumber's candles (for heat and cooking)
- Kerosene stove and fuel (for extended stays)
- String
- Extra blankets, sleeping bag
- Dried foods
- 5-Gal. water jug, filled
- Matches
- Deck of cards
- Flashlight (extra batteries)
- CB radio
- Set of cooking utensils
- Wire
- Machete
- Rifle (extra shells)
- Chain saw
- Toilet paper
- Paper towels
- Hunting bow (extra arrows)
- Hunting knife
- Bible
- "Hunting from a Stranded Car" by Jack Jackson
- "How to Field Dress Game Inside Your Car, by Jack Jackson
- Dot-to-Dot puzzles
- Pictures of family
- First-aid kit
- 3 Cartons of cigarettes for bartering
- Twenty-foot fiberglass pole with red flag (car location)
- Wash Basin
- Soap
- Clean underwear
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Salt
- Ketchup
THERE! YOU'RE ALL SET!!
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Lake Vermilion Muskie Stocking in 1996
by Duane Williams, DNR Large Lake Specialist
The DNR Section of Fisheries stocked approximately 4,800 muskie fingerlings in Lake Vermilion this fall, as part of an ongoing program to establish a trophy muskie fishery. The stocked fingerlings were 10 to 12 inches long. They came from fish rearing facilities in Waterville, Detroit Lakes, Hinckley and Little Falls. Fish rearing ponds near fly were repaired this summer, which will now allow some muskies to be reared locally.
Muskies were first stocked in Lake Vermilion in 1968, with other early stockings occurring in 1969, 1972, 1984 and 1985. These stockings were relatively small and were from a strain of fish that originated in Shoepac Lake. Fisheries researchers eventually discovered this strain did not grow as large as muskies native to the Mississippi River watershed. Muskie rearing facilities in Minnesota then converted to rearing a strain of fish that originated from Leech Lake. Approximately 5,000 Leech Lake strain muskie fingerlings were stocked annually from 1987 until 1994. Because the muskie population is now well-established, stocking has been shifted to every other year to maintain the population. All stocked muskie are now fin-clipped, which will allow identification between stocked fish and natural reproduction. By all accounts the muskies are doing very well in Lake Vermilion. Anglers are now coming to Lake Vermilion specifically to fish muskies and most report they are doing weli. The larger fish are now approaching 50 inches.
If anyone has questions about the muskie program for Lake Vermilion, please feel free to call me at the Ely Fisheries Headquarters at 218-365-7280.
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Water Testing Program
Since 1983 the Club has annually spot-tested the waters of Lake Vermilion. This year the samples were drawn on Aug. 6 from 33 different sites around the lake.
Test results all showed fecal coliform counts within acceptable limits for recreational quality water. No re-tests were taken this year. Many thanks to volunteers Pat Patrow, Murline Tahija and Rick Pearson who took the samples and a special note of thanks to Mike Gourley for the loan of his boat.
After the samples are collected, they are refrigerated and sent by courier to the St. Louis County Health Department lab in Duluth. The Club is billed $20 per test by the lab, with the exception of those samples taken at public beaches and landings. This year the total cost was $520, and members should be aware that this is one of the Club's lakewide projects that is funded entirely with membership dues.
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WaIleye Fry Stocked in Lake Vermilion
From the July 18, 1996, issue of The Tower News Duane Williams, fisheries specialist with the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fisheries, Ely, reported this week on the stocking of walleye fry in Lake Vermilion.
The stocking on the east end of Lake Vermilion was as follows:
Pike Bay ............................... 1,000,000
Daisy Bay ............................. 1,000,000
Big Bay .................................. 3,000,000
No. of Pine Island .............. 1,000,000
Frazer Bay ............................ 2,000,000
A total of 8,000,000 fry was stocked in the east end of the Lake.
The stocking on the west end, as reported by Mr. Williams, was as follows:
Smart Bay ................................ 525,000
Black Bay................................. 525,000
Wak-Em-Up Narrows .............. 525,000
Wak-Em-Up Bay ................... 1,000,000
Niles Bay .............................. 1,000,000
Wolf Bay .................................. 525,000
Norwegian Bay ........................ 525,000
Head-of-the-Lakes .................. 525,000
A total of 5,150,000 fry was stocked on the west end of the Lake, for a total stocking of 13,150,000 in the entire Lake.
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Way to go Jared!!!
Our sincere congratulations to Jared Esala of Ashland, Wis., who during the month of August 1996 released a total of 515 inches of walleye. He qualified for all three awards . . . decal, patch and plaque. He proved that Catch and Release is alive and well on Lake Vermilion.
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LOON COUNT SURVEY 1996
Report given to the Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion, Aug. 3, 1996
by Mardy Jackson, Loon Count Coordinator
I've been asked many times how we go about taking our Loon Count, so l'd like to explain it to you now. We've divided the lake in half just south of Oak Narrows, the East End and West End. Barb Shook is the coordinator of the west end, which consists of nine territories. I coordinate the east end and its 10 territories. The volunteers usually survey the same territory year after year, and are responsible for getting their own observers. Because loons are territorial, this works rather well, as you get used to the places where you've spotted them before.
A day in the middle of July is selected because of the chicks. They are old enough to have survived most of the predators and are off their mother's back by this time. We avoid the weekends because of the boat traffic, etc.; the lake is usually quieter. We all start at the same time (9 in the morning), going back and forth across the width of our territory about 100 feet apart. You need at least one more person in your boat, and binoculars to distinguish the loons from the diving cormorants and the floating sea gulls. We go very, very slowly, as the loons can stay submerged for 10 minutes at a time. Often they are feeding and remain on the surface for a very short time. We count pairs - singles - chicks. The average length of time it takes for each territory is somewhere between 3-1/2 to four hours. In the afternoon the captains of each territory call Barb at the west end and me at the east end. Barb calls me with her results, and after combining the figures I write a letter to Carrel Henderson, the non-game wildlife specialist for the Department of Natural Resources in St. Paul, and Jack Mooty, the regional specialist for the DNR over in Grand Rapids. They are very interested in our annual survey, as we are the only lake in the state of Minnesota that has a consistent count going for the longest length of time. We began this project of the Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion in 1983. This is our 14th year.
Monday, July 15 dawned a beautiful, calm, sunshiny day, no need to consider our alternate day. Here is how the count stacked up against last year:
- LAST YEAR WEST END OR COOK END -- 85
- LAST YEAR EAST END OR TOWER END -- 163
- TOTAL -- 248
- THIS YEAR WEST END OR COOK END -- 92 (+7)
- THIS YEAR END OR TOWER END -- 145 (-18)
- TOTAL -- 237
- TOTAL PAIRS = 44 (88)
- TOTAL SINGLES = 111
- TOTAL CHICKS = 39
One territory at the East End which normally yields 16 loons, only counted 2. This captain lost the observer at the very last minute, but went bravely out anyway. I think this points out how necessary more than one pair of eyes are.
The difference of 14 loons in this area would have brought us up to last year. I conclude the population is pretty stable.
Rick Pearson, our past president, made us a graph of the Loon Count starting in 1983 through 1995, showing how it has fluctuated. It's rather interesting; in 1983 there was a total of 166; two years later in 1985, our all-time low, 132; and eight years later our all-time high of 331. We've maintained over 200 in the last three years.
This year we had a total of 35 volunteers giving a total of 53 hours of their time towards this survey. I want to thank you all for joining together to make this Loon Count on Lake Vermilion possible. This year, for one reason or another, I had to get a few substitutes for our territories. I was grateful for our waiting list of volunteers. If any of you would like to add your name to this list of volunteers, please call me, my name is in the telephone book.
Again, my name is Mardy Jackson, and our total loon count this year, 237. Thank you.
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"Exotic Aquatics" Learning Kit Available in March
The University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program has developed a new tool in the fight against exotic species -- a traveling trunk full of treasures that can help teachers and youth leaders inform youngsters, junior high age and up, about the threat these plants and animals pose.
Exotic species are a real environmental threat. Without natural predators, they often displace native species and impact recreation, water quality, pollutant cycling and habitat.
The "Exotic Aquatics" trunk contains museum-quality preserved exotic species, books, maps, posters, a complete curriculum with nine lessons and an awardwinning 20-minute video produced by the Minnesota DNR.
The Sportsmen's Club will have the traveling trunk available for loan from March 13-20, 1997. Club volunteers will be using the trunk on Saturday, March 15 as a part of the Club's display at the Environmental Fair in Virginia at the Thunderbird Mall. The remainder of the seven-day period that the Club has the trunk, it will be available on loan to teachers and group leaders. Please call Rick Pearson at 666-2353 if you would like to reserve it.
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Thank You to Water Clarity Volunteers
The Club would like to thank the volunteers who generously donated their time and expertise over this past summer, taking Secchi Disc readings and compiling water clarity and other associated data. This represents a considerable commitment of time and resources and the Club would like to recognize them. They are: Dr. Raymond Sampson, Richard Wullschleger, Mel Hintz and Pattie Borgstrom. The program coordinator is Dale Lundblad.
The volunteers collected data in 12 locations across the lake. The areas surveyed are as follows: Head of the Lakes Bay, Wak-Em-Up Bay, Niles Bay, Wolf Bay, Smart's Bay, West Frazer Bay, East Frazer Bay, Moccasin Point Narrows, Daisy Bay, Big Bay and East Pike Bay.
A summary of the data will be published in the next newsletter along with a graph which shows the correlation between water clarity, surface temperature and relative lake levels. In general, the data for 1996 showed similar water clarity values to those collected in 1995.
With just two years of data to compare, it is too early to predict any trends with certainty, but as the study continues we expect to see patterns develop. The purpose of this long-term study is to accumulate a body of data which will enable the Club to identify significant changes in specific areas of the lake and address them. Factors which can reduce water clarity, such as high levels of algae, can indicate a pollution problem.
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Hypothermia Prevention Tips
Fall weather brings with it prime conditions for hypothermia. Hypothermia is a condition where your body can no longer warm itself enough to keep its core temperature at 98.6 (often called "freezing to death"). Hypothermia can occur both in the water or on land. Water, wind and cold (or a combination of those factors) can cause hypothermia. Most often people pursuing outdoor activities in spring or fall are caught by a sudden change in the weather. The day may start out pleasant and sunny, then change to windy and rainy or blowing snow -- and catch people unprepared. The symptoms of hypothermia include continual shivering, numbness, poor coordination, slurred speech and personality changes. In some cases, hypothermia can take hours or even days to creep up on victims.
On the other hand, cold-water immersion hypothermia usually happens very quickly. Remember the following tips when you are hunting, fishing or hiking this fall:
* Be prepared for a change in the weather -- carry rain gear and a warm jacket and hat.
* Your body's ability to keep itself warm is fueled by the food you eat. A good breakfast can help keep you warm all day.
* 70 to 80 percent of your body heat can be lost through your head -- if you're cold, put on a hat!
* Recognize and be aware of changing weather conditions --- rain, snow, falling temperatures, or cold wind can create conditions for hypothermia.
* If you begin to shiver, get to shelter and get warm -DON'T WAIT!
* Watch for signs of hypothermia in your companions too.
Being aware and prepared can save your life.
For more information. contact Boat & Water Safety,
Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources,
500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155-4046
or call 1-800-766-6000.
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ATTENTlON CLUB MEMBERS!
We Need to Know Your Opinion About Personal Watercraft Use on Lake Vermilion
As your Club's board members, one of our most important functions is to address your concerns regarding matters which impact Lake Vermilion. Over the past year, we have had a significant number of our members express concern and displeasure with the increasing numbers of personal watercraft on the Lake, the manner in which they are being operated and the level and type of sound they produce.
The purpose of this article is to solicit input from our members and the Lake Vermilion community in order to determine if there is a real problem which requires some action by the Club and what type of action that might be. The Club is not, at this point, taking any position or making any recommendations regarding personal watercraft.
Some of the concerns and problems as reported to the board by our members are as follows:
1.) Reckless operation of personal watercraft threatening the safety of boaters.
2.) Operation of personal watercraft too close to shore, threatening the safety of swimmers and generating excessive noise, thereby depriving residents and visitors of their right to the quiet enjoyment of their property.
3.) Irresponsible operation of personal watercraft resulting in the harassment or death of loons and other waterfowl.
4.) Irresponsible operation of personal watercraft resulting in the harassment of fishermen.
5.) Rental of personal watercraft to the public without adequate instruction to the operators by the rental business.
It is unknown whether the incidents causing the above concerns and problems are few and isolated or many and widespread. This is the reason we are asking you to complete the questionnaire below and return it to us. The board will then evaluate the response and determine what action by the Club, if any, is necessary.
Thank you for your help and involvement in this effort.
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PERSONAL WATERCRAFT (PWC) QUESTIONNAIRE
( ) I feel that there is not a significant PWC problem on Lake Vermilion.
( ) I feel that there is a significant PWC problem on Lake Vermilion and have personally witnessed incidents which concern me. (Optional) I attach a description of the incident(s).
( ) I feel that it is not necessary for the Club to take any action on the PWC issue at this time.
( ) I feel that with the increasing numbers of PWC being operated on Lake Vermilion there is adequate reason for concern which requires the Club's ongoing vigilance.
( ) I feel that it is important that the Club take immediate action on the PWC issue.
(Optional I attach a list of possible actions the Club could take to address the situation.
PLEASE MAIL TO:
SCLV
8721 Raps Rd.
Cook, MN 55723
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Membership Notes
This is the last newsletter before we send out the billing statements in January for the coming year. I have over 150 names in the file who have not paid dues in over two years and those will be removed from the mailing list. In some cases it is a "do later" chore and "later" never comes. We need your support to continue our many projects.
Our dues will remain the same. The $5, $8 and $10 dues are still a bargain, folks ... Please, when you get your billing statement, answer as soon as possible ... we really need to be able to count on you to help us protect all of what we enjoy on this beautiful lake.
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