articles from August, 2001 newsletter:

** President's Message
** Rebecca Ann Schoon is our 2001 Scholarship Recipient
** 33rd Annual Meeting of Sportsmen's Club is Friday, August 10 at Fortune Bay Resort
** A craving for crayfish
** Spotlight on Vermilion Legends.. . LAKE VERMILION'S STORYTELLER
** Membership Dues Reminder
** A history lesson: The Shoreland Management Act
** Aquatic plant restoration the wave of the future
** ASK THE PROFESSOR
** Stuntz Bay Boathouses
** Mercury Thermometers
** CLEARING THE AIR
** Erosion Control Standards for Shoreland Development




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President's Message
Your Board of Directors and member volunteers continue to work on several projects this summer. Thanks again to our many volunteers who make the projects of the club possible. Please call one of our Directors if you are available to help.
Several members are watching over the navigational Iights. They are observed daily to be certain that each light is ih place and working. Batteries are replaced throughout the summer. We are also experiencing good operation of the solar powered lights. We all appreciate the increase in safety while traveling the lake after dark.
The loon count was completed during July. A full report will be given during the Annual Meeting which will be held August 10. We will all be interested in how well the chicks survived because of the early high water level. Several volunteers again helped Mardy Jackson. Thank you.
Dr. Christopher Holm continues to be our consulting aquatic biologist. Our pilot study for evaluation of nitrates and phosphates is now in place in five locations.
Five picnic sites are now being maintained for your boating pleasure. Please enjoy.
Our Club has focused on the water quality of Lake Vermilion for several years. The Board has promoted an in-depth study. Last summer at our request, Jesse Anderson, a staff person of the MPCA completed a lake assessment. The primary focus of the study was to evaluate trophic status and nutrient-related trends. Your Board has been studying the final report.
These efforts encouraged Mark Johnson from the St. Louis County Planning Department to seek and obtain a significant Large Lake Planning- BWSR Challenge Grant. Our Club will be one of the partners. During the next two years a more in-depth evaluation of water quality will take place followed by recommendations as to how Lake Vermilion can best be preserved for future generations. We are pleased to be part of this significant study.
Please attend your Annual Meeting August 10, 2001. We will all benefit. And again, thank you to the many volunteers!
For more information, please visit our web site at: www.LakeVermilion.com/SCLV/
Willis Irons, President



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Rebecca Ann Schoon is our 2001 Scholarship Recipient
Rebecca Ann Schoon, a 2001 graduate of Cook High School, is this year's recipient of the Robert B. Olson Memorial Scholarship. Rebecca plans to attend the College of St. Scholastica in the fall, and will begin work toward a dual degree in engineering and environmental studies.
The Robert B. Olson Memorial Scholarship was established in 1991 by the directors of the Sportsmen's Club with the approval of the Olson family. The scholarship honors the memory of Robert B. Olson, a Tower civic leader and Lake Vermilion resident. Bob was an avid hunter, angler and outdoorsman and was serving as a Sportsmen's Club director at the time of his death in 1990.
The scholarship has a value of $1000 and is awarded each spring to a Cook and/or Tower senior who is planning to follow a college curriculum relating to conservation or the environment. The Scholarship Fund is replenished by memorial gifts and donations.
This year's scholarship winner was selected by the board of directors of the Sportsmen's Club at their May meeting. The board reviewed application forms, letters of recommendation, essays and transcripts from this year's applicants, all of whom were from the Cook High School. Their decision was based on leadership qualities, scholarship and career potential.



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33rd Annual Meeting of Sportsmen's Club is Friday, August 10 at Fortune Bay Resort
Our 33rd Annual Meeting and dinner is set for Friday, August 10, at Fortune Bay Resort. This is the fifth year we have had the dinner meeting at Fortune Bay, and if you were among last year's attendees, you'll recall that the food was excellent, the room was comfortable and we had a great time. As in past years, the meeting will be held in the resort's second floor banquet room.
We're planning a social hour beginning at 5 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. buffet. Dinner prices are $12.50 for adults and $6 for children age 12 and younger.
Please phone in your reservations by Monday, August 6. The following members will take your reservations: COOK: Barb Shook, 666-2222 or Vi Harris, 666-2300. TOWER: Paula Bloczynski, 753-2107 or Shirley Korpela,753-3034.
After dinner the business meeting agenda will include a review of the past year's club projects, featuring reports on day-use picnic sites, water quality, this year's 18th annual loon count and the recently begun lake assessment program for Vermilion.
Election of board members is also part of the agenda, and this year we will be electing members to fill the 3-year board positions currently held by Leon Long, Harold Korpela, Bill Boril and Paula Bloczynski. Leon and Paula will be seeking re-election. The nominating committee will present candidates for the board positions of Harold Korpela and Bill Boril, and nominations from the floor will also be accepted.
Something NEW this year is a drawing for several really nice prizesa cedar deck swing, trolling motor, framed loon prints, rod and reel. Drawing tickets will be $1 and for sale only to those attending the dinner.
The club's annual dinner meeting is always casual - come as you are in vacation attire - and we'll plan to wrap up the evening in timely fashion so that our boataccess folks have plenty of daylight for their trip home.
This is our one big gathering of the year and a good opportunity for members to bring up matters of personal concern regarding club business or problems around the lake.
We hope to see you on Friday, August 10. Please mark your calendar, phone in your reservation and plan to join us at Fortune Bay Resort for the Sportsmen's Club 33rd annual meeting.



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A craving for crayfish


Move over lobster, but leave your dish of melted butter behind. Minnesotans have discovered something that Louisianens knew about some time agothe taste of crayfish!
In fact, the Minnesota Sea Grant has published a free, 11-page recipe card-sized publication that features 10 recipes for this "delicacy," including instructions on how to transport and prepare these mini-lobsters.
Author and Minnesota Sea Grant Associate Director, Jeff Gunderson, states that crayfish tails are low in calories and high in nutrition. A quarter-pound serving of crayfish tails contains only 82 calories (compared to 242 for the same amount of ground beef). Crayfish are a good source of calcium, phosphorous, iron, and B vitamins.
To order a free copy, order: "A Craving for Crayfish: Minnesota Discovers a Louisiana Tradition," Item C-4. Write to the Minnesota Sea Grant, 2305 E. 5th St., Duluth, MN 55812-1445.


Fried Crawfish Tails


Beat egg, add milk, mustard, and spices. Mix well. In another bowl, sift flour, cornmeal, and baking powder; stir well to blend.
Dip crawfish tails in egg-milk misture, one at a time. Let drain a little, then dip in cornmeal-flour mixture. Put on a plate until you have enough to fry. Drop in deep, hot fat (390 - 400 degree F.) and cook until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Serve hot with catsup or tartar sauce.



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Spotlight on Vermilion Legends.. . LAKE VERMILION'S STORYTELLER


Today you can make the trip from the Vermilion Dam to Tower in a half-hour by boat or snowmobile, or you could jump in your car and drive to Cook in about the same time. But in 1913, Clarence Everett died of appendicitis en route from the Dam to the Tower Hospital on a hand sled being pulled by his brother Bert (on ice skates). Clarence's story and many more from Lake Vermilion's colorful early years are included in three books written by Clarence Everett's niece, Adelyne Shively "Buster" Tibbetts.
Buster Tibbetts' first book, "Down the Vermilion River in 1908," was compiled from the diary of her father, Lloyd Shively. If you boat or snowmobile on the Vermilion River, you'll recognize dozens of familiar places and names, and learn some pretty interesting history. For example, Belgium Fred's Portage on the river is named after a teamster who drove wagons on the early cord road from the Dam to Crane Lake. He was known by the quantity of empty beer bottles left in his wagon's wake. One of Belgium Fred's stops would have been at DeCagney's HalfWay House in Buyck, a combination bar and brothel that is now the Vermilion River Tavern.
Following the success of "Down the Vermilion River in 1908," Buster wrote "Eaton to Ely in 1889" and "Vermilion River Valley," a two-part history of her forbears who came from Indiana in 1889 to homestead near Ely. Buster calls both books historical novels because, while they are based on the very real lives of Ben and Lorinda Everett and their descendants, they are filled with great color and detail rather than a dry recitation of historical facts. By the time you put down "Vermilion River Valley" you see the whole Lake Vermilion Region, from the saloons and stores of Tower to the early resorts on Wolf Bay, in a whole new light.
The Lake Vermilion of Buster Tibbetts' booksa panorama of "fancy ladies," roughneck lumberjacks, illegal booze and high adventureseems light years away from the area we live in today. Fast boats and expensive cabins are replaced by steamboats, horse-drawn wagons and small, cold shacks. But the rough lives of people on the edge of civilization were not all danger and privation; as Buster says, "Many a prostitute married a lumberjack, settled down, and became the progenitor of some of today's outstanding citizens."
I won't give away too many of Buster's great stories, and anyway I can't relate them with her skill, but let me just whet your appetite with a few:
The point on the west side of Wolf Bay as you go toward the Dam is called DeCagney's Point because Camile and Emma DeCagney, owners of DeCagney's HalfWay House at Buyck, operated a landing there. DeCagney's steamboat, the Irma D, hauled bootleg whiskey and other freight from Tower to the landing, and from there it was hauled on the cord road to his saloon at Buyck.
The Irma D burned to the waterline almost 100 years ago, but her propeller still sits out behind Wolf Bay Lodge (formerly Vermilion Beach Resort).
Around the turn of the century, Ben Everett, Buster's grandfather, bought an old lumber camp at the Vermilion Dam and called it "Hunters Lodge." His son Clarence (you remember Clarence, he died in the opening paragraph of this little saga) came back from the Navy and took over. When Clarence died, Buster's parents, Lloyd and Addie Shively, took over. Addie died in 1921, and Lloyd sold the place to Frank Ruzek in 1945. It is now Ed and Julie Tausk's Vermilion Dam Lodge, a great resort with a long and colorful history.
In the winter of 1910 a teamster hauling a load from Tower to DeCagney's tried to pass through Oak Narrows on the ice, rather than on the road alongside the narrows. He and his load went through the ice, so somewhere down there are hundreds of bottles of Canadian beer. Some warm summer night you might want to pop a cold one in memory of that lost load.
Buster Tibbetts and her husband, Lloyd, worked at Hunters Lodge for a few years after they were married. Later they started Tibbetts Resort just west of Hunters Lodge; they ran it for 35 years. It later became Vermilion Beach Resort.
Adelyne "Buster" Tibbetts lives on DeCagney's Point in Wolf Bay, close to places that she and her family shaped over the last hundred years. Her books transform Lake Vermilion from a modern playground to a historical stage, rich in drama and colorful characters. All of us, even Buster, came here as "outsiders," but Buster has transformed us into members of a community with a shared history and a grand history it is.
Tom Morrow - Club Member



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Membership Dues Reminder


Since we do not send out reminder notices - If you haven't paid your 2001 dues, please do so now. The Club needs your support and memberships to help us continue to work together for the benefit of this beautiful lake. Thank you.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
To those of you who have been so generous with extra donations to the Club along with your dues...our thanks...we are truly grateful. Some of the donations were earmarked for specific activities such as the Scholarship Fund, Water Quality Monitoring, Picnic Sites, etc. Other donations were just to be added to the general operating fund to further ongoing projects. We just want you to know we appreciate your continued interest and we as a Board will spend your money wisely... Thank you again.



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A history lesson: The Shoreland Management Act



by Russ Schultz, State Shoreland Management Coordinator Department of Natural Resources
In 1969, it became very apparent that unregulated development was threatening the health and economic values of our lakes and rivers. In response to that concern, the Shoreland Management Act was passed that year. The act is actually two separate pieces of legislation. The original act was passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 1969, mandating counties to adopt shoreland controls. In 1973, the Legislature amended the 1969 Shoreland Management Act to mandate that municipalities adopt shoreland controls.
The Shoreland Management Act required the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to establish regulations which were then to be adopted through county and municipal land use controls (i.e. zoning ordinances). The intent of the act was to provide local units of government with minimum dimensional and performance standards in order to protect and enhance the quality of our surface waters, and conserve the economic and natural resource values of the shoreland of public waters.
Shoreland Management Regulations were established in 1970 for counties to follow in adopting their ordinances. By 1973, all counties had adopted ordinances. In 1976, the Municipal Shoreland Regulations were established. Many cities subsequently adopted ordinances.
By 1980 new development trends such as time shares, condominiums, and planned unit developments emerged. Many resorts were being broken up and many seasonal cabins were being converted to year-round living. There was a serious need to look at updating the county and municipal regulations.
This prompted DNR staff to request funding from the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources to update data regarding levels of development, and to do a thorough program evaluation. This data update led to the basis for the 1989 shoreland rule amendments.
In 1990, all counties and cities with existing shoreland ordinances were notified by the DNR that they had to revise their ordinances to comply with the 1989 shoreland regulations. There was grant money available to cities and counties to help defray the costs of adopting and administering their ordinances. We are currently operating under the 1989 regulations.
Minnesota lakeshores are settled by people who want to capture the amenities of scenery, tranquility, open space, and recreational opportunities. A delicate relationship exists between a life-supporting lake or river and the natural setting of the adjacent shoreland. This relationship can be drastically affected by human activities.
Since the 1970s considerable development has occurred in shoreland areas throughout the state. Fortunately most of the development has followed shoreland standards. The enactment of the 1969 Shoreland Management Act was timely and needed.
Reprinted from Arrowhead Currents

Online


A report from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Minnesota Environment 2000 - presents a snapshot of Minnesota's environment, past and present. http://www.pca.state.mn.us/abouVpubs/mnereporVindex.html

The water plants along the banks of your river, lake, stream or pond help keep the water clean - so please never mow to the water's edge. Read up on the benefits of wetlands and vegetation along waterways. http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/lakefaq.html#weeds

A tree is a joy to look at and an energy conservation feature forever. See how landscaping can help you save energy at the U.S. Department of Energy's web site. http://www.eren.doe.gov/consumerinfo/energy_savers/landscaping.html



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Aquatic plant restoration the wave of the future
by: MARY BLICKENDERFER - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION


Imagine taking a summer boat tour around Minnesota's lakes 200 years ago. The scenery would have included lush vegetation on the shore and extending into the water, all of it teaming with critters. Today, on several of our lakes that same tour would offer a very different picture - lawns, beaches, boathouses, retaining walls, and algae blooms - a landscape nearly devoid of native plants and the creatures they support. And a tour in the future. . . will it include aquatic vegetation that once protected and maintained a healthy lake environment? What ingredients are necessary to make this vision a reality?
First, we must understand that "those awful weeds in the water" are absolutely essential to the health of a lake. They serve as a natural wave break. Their deep and fibrous roots protect shores against erosion. They absorb nutrients that might otherwise cause algae blooms. And they provide essential habitat to numerous birds and other critters, including fish. Where aquatic plants have unnecessarily or illegally been removed, they need to be replanted and/or allowed to naturally recolonize.
Secondly, we must expand the commercial propagation and availability of aquatic plants native to Minnesota. Currently, native plants randomly dug from donor beds within the same lake have yielded the highest establishment rate at shoreland restoration sites*. However, as the number of restoration sites increases, the demand for these transplants will soon exceed natural regeneration rates, making commercial plant sources the only sustainable option. To-date, establishing commercially grown aquatic plants at restoration sites has had limited success. But as native plant nurseries continue to develop propagation techniques to produce aquatic plants that can survive the transplanting process, the availability of commercially grown aquatic plants will increase.
Finally, sound and simple methods of aquatic plant restoration need to be developed. Before attempting to restore a site, it is important to decide whether it is an appropriate candidate for aquatic plant restoration. Consider a rocky shoreline on a large lake that receives much wave action. Historically, plants may never have grown on this high energy site and it would be futile to establish aquatic plants here. However, a more protected site where aquatic plants have been removed by a previous owner may be well suited for restoration. Exploring the site history via early aerial photos, observations of adjacent aquatic plant beds, and inquiries of longtime lake residents may provide valuable information on aquatic vegetation patterns at the candidate site.
The criteria for selecting aquatic plants are very different than for selecting flower garden plants. Rather than choosing plants according to desired flower colors and textures and plant hardiness zone and then amending the existing soil conditions to suit these plants, restoration involves identifying native plants that have previously existed on the site and/or are well suited to the current conditions. Plant selection need not be a difficult task. Aquatic plant survey records at the local DNR Fisheries office contain lists of emergent (e.g., bulrush, burreed, arrowhead), floating leaf (e.g., water lilies), and submergent (e.g., pondweed, water celery) plant species for most lakes in the local area. Observations of plants that may be growing in close proximity to the restoration site are helpful to "fine tune" the plant list. Initially, native emergent plants are selected for planting*. Once these plants become established, providing physical structure and protection to the shoreline, many of the floating leaf and submergent species may recolonize naturally. The original source of seed or propagules used to produce the selected aquatic plants should be from Minnesota or adjacent regions of bordering states. Exotic plants may not be used.
As one would expect, planting in the lake bottom is very different than planting a shrub in your yard. One important difference is that a permit must be obtained from the DNR prior to planting*. Once firmly planted in the lake bottom, most plants require additional anchoring to prevent wave action from uprooting them before they become securely established through new root growth. This can be accomplished by placing a ring of rock (existing lake rocks or other clean rocks) around each plant. Another method involves anchoring a biodegradable fiber blanket to the planting area before installing plants. Slits cut in the blanket allow planting, and afterward the blanket helps hold the plants in place. Yet another technique involves rooting aquatic plants in the biodegradable fiber blanket under saturated growing conditions in a nursery. This plant blanket can then be cut into manageable pieces, carefully rolled, and transported to the restoration site where the blanket pieces are firmly anchored to the lake bottom. The plants growing in the blanket quickly extend their roots into the lake sediment below.
Further protection of an aquatic planting may be necessary in areas of high wave energy and likely critter consumption. Temporary wave breaks reduce wave energy that may damage an aquatic planting during the establishment phase (1 - 2 years following planting). These may be constructed from willow bundles, coconut fiber logs, plywood, or plastic construction fence and attached to stakes or fence posts driven into the lake bottom. If carp, muskrats or waterfowl threaten to devour a new planting, the solution is to fence the planting area, exactly as one would fence in a vegetable garden to keep out rabbits, except that the bottom of the fence will be under water.
Additional techniques are constantly being tested as this young science of aquatic plant restoration rapidly evolves. For the most current information,contact the DNR Fisheries, your county Extension Service or the University of Minnesota Water Resources Center. Contact information for these agencies and other shoreland planting information is available on the following web sites:
http://www.shorelandmanagement.org
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/waters/shoreland/index.html
http://www.extension.umn.edu/water/shore/shoreland.html
*A DNR planting permit is required for all projects involving transplantation and/or establishment of plant materials below the ordinary high water level.
An application form for the no-fee permit and other aquatic planting information is available at local DNR - Fisheries offices.
For further reading: Henderson, C. et al. 1999. Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality. Minnesota's Bookstore, St. Paul. 175 p. (To order, call: 1-800-657-3757)
University of Minnesota Extension Service. 1999. Shoreland Landscaping Series -- A guide to natural landscaping and revegetation for enhancing lake quality. (To order, call: 1-800-876-8636)
Reprinted from "Focus on the Waters," May 2001



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ASK THE PROFESSOR ...

Topic of the day: Scum? Dear Professor:

What causes that green floating stuff in my lake that looks like fluffy clouds or cotton candy?
Signed, Joe Curious

Dear Joe:
What you've described sounds like filamentous algae (a.k.a. moss or pond scum). This is a common and troublesome aquatic weed that forms dense hair-like mats. It forms on near-shore bottom sediments or submerged objects in ponds and lakes with good transparency and where sunlight reaches the bottom. As the algae grows, it produces oxygen which gets trapped within its strands. This causes the algae to rise to the surface.
Some of the more common forms of filamentous algae can be identified by their texture. Cladophora feels "cottony," Spirogyra is bright green and slimy to the touch, and Pithophora (or "horse hair") has a very coarse texture like horse hair or steel wool. The best way for lakeshore owners to remove filamentous algae is to rake out the floating clumps and limit the amount of nutrients reaching the water from your property. You can compost the algae or use it in your garden as mulch. Remember, chemical control requires a permit from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. You can contact them at (651) 2966157 or check their web site at www.dnr.state.mn.us

Until next time,
Professor Lim Knowledgy

Reprinted from SECCHI READER -- MPCA -- Winter2001



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Stuntz Bay Boathouses
BY ROBERT ROSCOE -- Lake Vermilion, Minnesota



In the mid-1960s, the United States Steel Corporation, a major iron-mining company on northern Minnesota's Iron Range, built a string of boathouses along the shore of Stuntz Bay. The bay lies at the east end of Lake Vermilion, which is located half a mile from the company's deep shaft mine at Soudan. Lake Vermilion's name is derived from "Onamunii," the Ojibway word for the lake, which translates as the sky's red and gold reflection on the water's surface at sunset.
U.S. Steel leased the boathousessimple corrugated-steelclad structuresto its employees as a reward for years of hard work in the local mines. For employees unable to afford a lake cabin, these boathouses provided easy access to Lake Vermilion's extensive waterways, numerous islands and irregular shoreline.
Flotation tanks built into each boathouse's understructure buoy it in the water; one end of the boathouse is affixed to shore, while large hinged doors on the other end allow boats in and out. Today most of the boathouses continue to be used by the families of the original minerlessees. They value their handed-down leases as an inheritance, as well as an opportunity to continue a tradition of family boating.
Some years ago, U. S. Steel terminated iron-ore mining operations at the Soudan Underground Mine and the company donated approximately 1,200 acres to the State of Minnesota, including the shoreline of Stuntz Bay where the boathouses are located. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) currently manages the area, known as Soudan Underground State Park.
The land is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of the mine and the area's contribution to the development of iron-ore mining in this region of Minnesota. The boathouses, however, were not included in the historical designation because they were not associated with mining activity.
Meanwhile, the structures are in various states of care and disrepair. Many boathouses are well-maintained, many are in an average condition, and several are extremely dilapidated and in danger of collapse, with potential damage to adjacent structures. Some of the most dilapidated boathouses have been razed in the last few years. The DNR has targeted a few others for removal.
Why are these boathouses important? David Salmela, AIA, Salmela Architect, Duluth, is a native of northeastern Minnesota and well-known for his sensitive interpretation of Scandinavian-vernacular architectural forms. Salmela says he finds a kinship with the boathouses as representations of "a pure archetypethe repetition of simple gabled-roof forms in a closely knit linear alignment serving elementary functional needs while achieving beauty."
Scandinavian coastal villages, Salmela continues, display series upon series of roof gables that form a straightforward geometry. The Lake Vermilion boathouses possess this characteristic as they hover at the water's edge against a backdrop of balsam, aspen and birch trees. In addition, these structures have remained true to their utilitarian origins: their strict footprints have not been extended with ancillary sheds of added-on, vinyl-canopied boatlifts, and their walls and roofs are still unadorned, metallic-gray corrugated metal.
There is hope these boathouses can survive a while longer. The DNR is considering a management plan that would continue the lease legacy for a specified period of time, and mandate consistent boathouse maintenance and repair by each lessee. In the past, the vague wording of the informal lease agreements resulted in inconsistent maintenance and lack of incentive for repair. A report to the State of Minnesota's Senate and House Environment and Natural Resource Policy Finance Committee, according to Steve Kariack, DNR realty supervisor, will give the Minnesota State Legislature an opportunity to codify past lease practices into law and allow the DNR to oversee compliance.
What about historic recognition? Mining companies have donated, or built by special tax, many high-quality school buildings and other public facilities on the Iron Range and placed them on the National Register of Historic Places. Such donations reflect a corporate contribution to the well-being and history of the region. The Stuntz Bay boathouses should be no different.
Salmela describes the construction of the boathouses as an example of "process thinking," in which a culture employs a pragmatic shape or building style that, over time, becomes a tradition. Such forms are later recognized from a cultural viewpoint as vernacular art and form. The notched-log structures of Finnish builders in northeastern Minnesota, for instance, are an example of a vernacular architecture that's been given historic designation.
Likewise, the simple process thinking that went into crafting these boathouses, and the resulting significance of these structures, deserves further merit. Built to engage the state's 10,000-lake resource and commend the workers of our legendary mining industry, the boathouses subsequently initiated and fostered a family recreation tradition that has become a part of our regional heritage.

Reprinted from Architecture Minnesota, July - August 2001



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Mercury Thermometers



Are you planning to go through your medicine cabinet? Chances are you will find an old mercury fever thermometer lurking in the cabinet. There has been a lot on the news lately about mercury thermometers. What is going on?
Each mercury fever thermometer contains about a half a gram of mercury. While that does not seem like much, it is enough to contaminate a sizable lake if all the mercury got into the fish.
To do your part, do not buy new mercury thermometers. There are several non-mercury choices available. Some contain other liquids and some are digital. When you are ready to dispose of an old mercury thermometer, bring it to a household hazardous waste collection site. If it is thrown in the trash, it will surely be broken and the mercury will escape into the air as it is transported to the landfill or slowly seep out from the landfill.
If you break a mercury fever thermometer, DO NOT VACUUM the mess! A vacuum is a bad place for mercury. You will contaminate the vacuum and spread mercury all over the house. Instead, use paper to scrape up the mercury and broken glass and put it in a glass jar with a screwtype lid. Put the paper in the jar, too, as well as any paper towels or tissues that you use to dab up the remaining mercury. Then take the closed jar to your local household hazardous waste collection center.
The worst situation is to break a mercury thermometer on carpet in a child's bedroom. Mercury is hard to get out of carpet and exposure to mercury for long periods of time could be harmful to the child. If this happens, you may have to remove the carpet. In a recent case in Minnesota, several fever thermometers broke on a carpet. The MPCA did some monitoring that showed unacceptably high mercury levels in the air in a home occupied by a pregnant woman and young children. The carpet was removed as well as the vacuum (which had been used on the spill) and levels quickly dropped to a safer concentration.
In some places, most notably the city of Duluth, sales of mercury feverthermometers have been prohibited. Bills banning the sale of thermometers statewide are being proposed during this session of the Minnesota Legislature and some other states are considering or have already passed similar legislation.
Minnesota already has a law that prohibits people from knowingly placing mercury bearing products in the trash. This not only includes thermometers, but lots of other mercury products as well.



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CLEARING THE AIR



What you can do, right here, right now to reduce the environmental impacts of your vehicle
The MPCA's report, "Air Quality in Minnesota: Problems and Approaches," has a three-point plan for reducing air pollution. The shorthand version:



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Erosion Control Standards for Shoreland Development
(How to protect construction sites from becoming costly problems)
The following are published guidelines of the St. Louis County Planning Department



Site erosion can be costly
Soil erosion from construction sites is a leading cause of water quality problems in St. Louis County and other places throughout the Arrowhead. One acre of soil exposed during construction will contribute as much phosphorous to the water as 8 to 10 acres of maintained lawn.
Solving erosion problems caused by sediment from construction may include the following measures:

Dredging
Dredging sediment from lakes, harbors, and channels.

Removing nuisance growth of weeds and algae
Sediment carries fertilizers that fuel the algae and weed growth. This not only causes weed problems, but may also harm aquatic animals.

Preventing erosion is easy
Planning ahead is the most important step in preventing or minimizing erosion due to runoff from home site construction or other developments. The following materials are needed, easy to find, and inexpensive: Usually only a few erosion controls are needed on a site, including: Location of soil piles
Saving topsoil is usually a necessity in site development. The soil can be used later to establish sod or seed on the property. However, measures must be taken to prevent the soil from being washed away.
Locate soil piles away from any down slope, driveway, water bodies, ditches, or drainage ways.
Planting temporary seed (annual rye) is recommended for topsoil piles.

Diversions
For information on installing diversions across a slope, contact the St. Louis County Planning Department for a copy of "Erosion Control; Standards for Shoreland Development."

Construction entrances paved roads
Rock access pads should be used by vehicles entering or exiting property that is under construction (to prevent tracking dirt to paved roads). Downspout extenders
Downspout extenders can be attached to rain gutters to prevent erosion where the water exits the downspout, by extending the downspout further away from the construction area; route it to a paved or grassed area. Extenders: Revegetation
Seed, sod, or mulch bare soil as soon as possible.

Preserving existing vegetation
Wherever possible, preserve existing vegetation.
To prevent root damage to trees, do not grade, place soil piles, or park vehicles near trees.
Place plastic mesh or snow fence barriers around trees to protect the area below the branches.

The Shore Impact Zone
The area nearest the shoreline is typically the most environmentally sensitive part of any shoreland property. This shore impact zone is typically 50 feet inland from the shoreline of most county lakes. Lake Vermilion has a shore impact zone of 50 feet. Within this zone, these restrictions apply: Vegetation Removal Standards
The removal of vegetation in St. Louis County's Shore and Bluff Impact Zones is restricted in all shoreland zone districts. No permits are required for removal of trees, shrubs, or plants providing the following provisions are not exceeded. (If they are exceeded, a variance is required):