articles from November, 2004 newsletter:
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President's Message
Well, we went from one of the coldest summers on record to a very warm September and beautiful first two weeks of October. The weather forecasters are predicting cold, rain and snow flurries shortly, however. The walleyes are really hitting in spots this fall from the reports I've been getting. Unfortunately, I've been too tied up on other projects to sample this excellent fishing. Soon we'll be chasing the walleyes through holes in the ice rather than from boats. I'm just going to have to make time to try my luck more this winter.
This past summer was a busy one for the SCLV board. First, volunteers were trained by the DNR in the art of inspecting boats for exotic species and then performed boat inspections on several weekends and at several different landings on Lake Vermilion. Second, we have been asked to participate with the Lake Vermilion Resort Association in the Governor's Fishing Opener extravaganza next spring. Third, the Fishing Tournament Rules changes we are proposing have been accepted for inclusion as part of the Vermilion Plan and we are presently planning to have Bob Wilson make a presentation to the Minnesota Lakes Association this winter. Also, we had a large muskie tournament in September that was very well conducted and didn't raise any complaints from residents that we know of. And fourth, we recently learned of the proposed discharge of water from the United States Steel LLC Minntac mine tailings basin in Mountain Iron, MN. We are at present trying to scope the problem that it may present to Lake Vermilion. The article by Marshall Helmberger, managing editor of the Timberjay Newspaper, in this issue of the Newsletter highlights the proposal by Minntac and the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). In our last board meeting, we voted to contract with the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI), a part of the University of Minnesota, to take three core samples for analysis of the state of Lake Vermilion as of this year. These samples will be taken from: 1 ) the Pike River Flowage (above the Pike River dam); 2) a selected spot in the central part of Pike Bay; and 3) from a deep spot in Big Bay. By analyzing the top and bottom layers of the core samples, these three spots will give us a representative sample of what the lake was like before the logging and mining operations occurred and what the lake is like at present. The core samples will be freeze-dried and preserved so that if necessary in the future we can have an even more detailed analysis done. We hope to get samples analyzed prior to the public hearings on the draft EIS that is due out in November 2004 so we will know from whence we speak. Also, our next newsletter in February should have more information.
Our Annual Meeting in August was attended by many of you and we really appreciate your support. Our thanks go to Paula Bloczynski for the arrangements and to all the prize donors for the nice prizes. Our guest speaker, Mr. Tom Chapin, retired Conservation Officer (Game Warden), talked about his book entitled "Poachers Caught." We hope that all enjoyed his talk. Also, at the annual meeting we re-elected three incumbents and elected one new member, Mr. Rick Borken, to the board of directors. We want to welcome Rick and thank the incumbents for signing up for another term and Leon Long for his contributions to the SCLV. Also, at our September board meeting, the present slate of officers was re-elected to serve another year.
At our October meeting, we heard a suggestion from a member to conduct an annual survey of the membership to help guide our activities. We will be considering this further, however, I want to stress that anyone, member or not, is welcome to attend our board meetings and express their concern. All we ask is that a board member be contacted and informed prior to the meeting if someone wants to be included on the agenda for the meeting. This is your club and we need your input.
In early October several of the board and other members (fishing guides) met with the DNR to discuss the desirability of imposing a "slot limit" on walleyes for Lake Vermilion. The main concern of the DNR is to maintain the actual annual harvest close to the projected safe annual harvest to ensure that the fishery does not suffer the same fate as Rainy Lake and both Red Lakes. They were severely over-harvested and essentially reached a crisis mode with walleye fishing curtailed and essentially closed for many years. The proposed "slot limit" is from 17 to 26 inches with one walleye over 26 inches allowed. The proposal leaves the daily limit at six walleyes per day. The change would not be effective until spring of 2006 and there will be several public hearings before implementing the changes. We will keep you up to date in the newsletter.
Another thing the SCLV has accomplished is to convince the DNR to leave the roll-out docks at the Landing, Frazer Bay and Wak-em-up Campground boat launches in the water until at least the end of October. This should make it much easier for fall fishermen and water-access-only property owners to launch and retrieve their boats when the weather cools off. Thanks go to Dale Lundblad for leading this effort.
Thank you all for the support you've given through the year. We wish you a very nice Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.
Thank you,
Walt Moe
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Annual Loon Survey
July 2004
We just couldn't have had a more perfect day for the Loon Count as we did on Monday, July 14. The sun was shining, and no wind...the lake was as flat as a pancake as the 61 volunteers from our club began their slow sweep of their territory at 9 a.m. We divided the lake into 21 territories.
There are reasons the second week in July is best for counting loons. First of all, in May and June they are nesting and incubating their eggs, which must be kept at a constant temperature for 27-31 days. So as one parent slides off the nest, the other takes over, and you only see one of a pair on the lake at a time. I have read they switch about every two hours.
After the chicks hatch, they ride their parents' backs until they get stronger and as a protection against predators. By the middle of July, they are off the parents' backs and large enough to be seen... and stay close to the parents making it easier to count family groups. If you don't see any chicks by this time, it means the nests were unsuccessful or the loons you are watching didn't mate at all.
There were many unsuccessful nests this year, due to a cool and very, very windy spring and early summer. Because loons build their nests so close to the water, high waves can easily wash way the eggs. The east end of Lake Vermilion has large bodies of water, and from Armstrong Bay all the way to Oak Na~ rowS only three chicks were counted. The west end, which has smaller bodies of water, counted 11. This was a disappointing total of only 14 chicks for the entire lake. Last year we had 32.
However, our loon population is very stable. Besides the 14 chicks, we counted 144 singles, and 64 pairs, for a grand total of 286. Last year we had 298, so we're only 12 less than last year. I send my report to Carroll Henderson, the supervisor of Nongame Wildlife for the State of Minnesota, to Maya Hamady, the Regional Director for the DNR, in Grand Rapids, and to Pam Perry with Loon Watch in Brainerd. It serves them well in determining causes of loon population fluctuations.
The 22 consecutive years the Sportsmen's Club has undertaken our loon survey would not be possible but for the enthusiastic support of our members. They set aside a Monday morning and the following Wednesday in the event of inclement weather on Monday to do this.
Some years ago, Carroll Henderson sent me 12 loon patches for our volunteers, but I had 52 people who had worked three years or more. Some folks have done the count every year since its inception. So I wrote him of my predicament, and he readily sent me the balance of 40 more which I distributed. Now there are 11 more who have spent at least three years counting loons and are eligible for a patch. Some of the men who have already received patches have, in later years, been joined by their wives and they are now eligible for their own patch.
The Sportsmen's Club and I want to thank all you volunteers for making this project of ours so successful. For many reasons I sometimes need to call on alternates, so if you would like to take part in our Loon Survey, please let me know.
Again, the total count this year is 286. Thank you.
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EXOTIC SPECIES PREVENTION
by Bob Wilson
Not much new is happening on the Lake with "exotics" right now, but you may find the following items interesting nevertheless. In a recent conversation with a friend about exotic species in Vermilion, he asked if I had ever thought about "duck boats" as a possible source of exotic weed contamination. What a question for me! It flashed through my mind that I should be embarrassed with the little I knew about it. We have duck hunters traveling through our bay and setting up blinds on a little grassy, weedy island right in front of our home every year. The next question you ask yourself is I wonder how many duck hunters sitting in their boats in those blinds are inadvertently collecting weeds on their equipment and decoys and traveling from lake to lake in pursuit of more ducks? I've never heard anyone mention duck boat inspections in either the Sportsmen's Club or in the DNR before. I e-mailed Joe Geis at our local DNR for his take on this situation. Joe said the DNR does have regulations concerning duck boats and exotic species prevention. He cites the availability of educational materials recommending that duck hunters remove all vegetation from their boat, motor, decoys, cords, weights and other equipment. He also said invasive species information and recommended actions are contained in the 2004 Waterfowl Hunting Regulations on page 16 in a section titled Stop Aqu-.tic Hitchhikers. However, since the DNR boat inspectors are for the most part interns hired for the summer when the majority of boats are out, the chances of having duck boats inspected are slim to none. If there are duck hunters among the Sportsmen's Club membership who would like to comment on this issue, send me a note or an e-mail. We would like to hear from you. Do we have a potential problem on Vermilion with duck boats and exotic plants?
This fall the Club inspected boats for "exotics" at the Timbuktu, Head O' Lakes Bay and Hoodoo Point boat ramps. It was roughly an 8A-12 noon attempt in most cases with a board member performing the captain chores along with a few of our volunteers helping out. It wasn't a large effort, and for some reason boat traffic was down. In four different inspections we talked with only 36 boat owners. No exotics were found which is the result we prefer. Last spring we managed to talk with the owners of 261 boats, a much more gratifying effort in terms of educating the public. If you are a volunteer who helped in the spring but didn't get a telephone call from the Ciub this fall, don't give up on us. For next year the Board has voted to try boat inspections somewhere around the Memorial Day weekend, mid-July and the Labor Day weekend. We will be in touch with you. If you would like to participate in this effort for the first time, contact a board member and let him/her know.
Lastly, have you ever noticed how somewhat bland, unobtrusive and small the exotic species prevention and instruction signs are at most of our public Vermilion boat ramps? This seems to be particularly true when the sign is mounted on a rack along with the other warning and information signs. If we had the power to order and control these "exotic prevention" signs, they would be much bigger and brighter than the signs around them. What's more important after all? Well, some would say, information concerning limits on certain fish or "Don't leave your boat unattended," etc. The signs are, of course, "standard" around the state and issued by the Minnesota DNR. As an example of what I mean, the new Hoodoo Boat Ramp in Tower has a series of signs mounted on one board. A picture of the signs is included below. What do you think? Should the exotics sign stand out from the rest? We will be talking with the DNR about this shortly and we will let you know the outcome in the next newsletter. I expect to hear that changing the dimensions and colors of a standard sign will be difficult.
Think hard about keeping our lake clear of "exotics"! Comments/ e-mail: wcr4@yahoo.com or mail: 1501 Echo Point, Tower, MN 55790.
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Checklist for Owning Lakeshore Property
Reprinted from The Minnesota Lakes Association Reporter
As a lakeshorc property owner you have a unique Opportunity to serve as a good lake steward,
while increasing the value ol your property at the same time. A number of studies show that
preserving or restoring lhe natural character of shorelands increases property values. You may
be tempted to clear out the natural vegetation and create a familiar urban environment. But
before you do, think of the positive impacts ot keeping the property in its natural state and
the negative impacts of significantly changing the natural environment. The benefits of
preserving natural shoreland vegetation include: a great variety of colors and textures to
frame your lake views, natural screening to muffle noise and shield your property from those
"busy days" on the lake, habitat for a rich variety of wildlife, protection of your valuable
land from sloughing into the lake (which causes unsightly water quality problems and nuisance
weed growth), and perhaps, even better fishing. Shorelines support fish and other aquatic
populations by providing a critical source of food, cover and natural habitat. By following
this checklist of practices for good lake stewards, you add to the enjoyment of your shoreland
property, increase its value and preserve it for future generations. A series of small positive
actions on your property, added to the same actions by your neighbors and other property owners
around the lake can have a significant benefit to the lake and its water quality.
Landscaping:
- Maintain a natural landscape, i.e., keep or replenish native trees, woody plants, shrubs, wildflowers, native grasses and ground cover of low-growing vegetation.
- Leave or maintain a buffer zone (30 feet or more) of natural vegetation between the lake and the lawn.
- Consider preserving or re-creating a natural wooded setting. You can have a wooded setting and still maintain a view corridor of the lake.
- Limit paving or sidewalks and driveways to prevent runoff that leads to erosion and pollution of the lake.
- Consider planting a rain garden, which will promote rain watcr infiltration and help control runoff.
Lawn Care:
- Consider smaller lawns with shrub borders or native plantings to replace the lawn area.
- Consider allowing natural vegetation to re-establish itself.
- Choose grass and/or groundcover that minimizes maintenancc, fertilizer and pesticide application.
- Mow only when necessary the ideal height for healthy grass is 2.5 to 3 inches. Ieave grass clippings on the lawn
- Avoid using fertilizers and broadleaf herbicides. If you do fertilize after January I, 2005, it will be the law to only use zero phosphorus lawn fertilizers anywhere in Minnesota.
- Pull weeds by hand in small yards.
- Rake leaves as soon as possible after they fall; avoid allowing leaves to blow into the lake.
Aquatic Plant Protection:
- Preserve aquatic plants. Remove only the plants absolutely necessary for swimming or accessing open water.
- Re-establish rooted, emergent aquatic plants.
- Use organic materials (shrub, brush, logs, etc) combined with plants for erosion control.
- Use riprap only if organic materials are not effective in controlling erosion.
Gardens:
- Locate your garden away from the shoreline.
- Till or weed instead of using herbicides and avoid using pesticides.
- Plant a wide variety of plants and rotate them from year to year.
Building and Remodeling:
- Construct docks, decks and other outdoor structures from sustainable, low-toxicity materials such as treated wood, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) wood, or recycled plastic composite materials.
- Maintain existing elevation of the lot so as lo not significantly change the flow of water from the land.
- When doing remodeling, install erosion barriers near shoreline to prevent sediment runoff from entering the lake.
General:
- Sweep driveways and sidewalks instead of washing down.
- Use zero phosphorus dishwasher detergents. Use other cleaning agents carefully and do not put into septic systems or allow them to wash into the lake.
- Pick up and dispose of pet waste immediately, properly and away from the water.
- Follow recommended maintenance schedule for septic system and operate properly.
- Keep garden and grass clippings and leaves out of the lake.
- Wash your car or truck on the grass rather than the driveway.
- Compost yard and vegetable waste.
Part of this article was excerpted from "Owning Waterfront Property: A Checklist" published by the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative.
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Tournaments need to stop killing fish
By Tim Lesmeister (Reprinted from Outdoor NewsAug. 27, 2004)
I've attended a half-dozen tournaments in 2004. There are still a lot of bass and walleyes being killed by these events. Even with the evidence right before them, the necessary systems aren't being incorporated into the program and most of the tournament organizers still fail to admit that there's a problem. Let me explain.
It's the bags that kill the fish. When a competitor catches a bass or walleye it goes into a livewell. The anglers are extremely responsible when it comes to adding fresh water and recirculating the system to keep the livewell environment adequate for the fish's survival. Many boat manufacturers are even installing additional oxygenating equipment into the livewells to further increase the likelihood of the fish's survival. If a competitor brings a dead fish to the scales there is a penalty attached. It pays to bring the fish in healthy.
The situation turns grave when the fish are taken from the livewells to be weighed. In many tournaments the fish are transferred from the livewells into large bags to be taken to the scales. In the majority of the tournaments these fish can be in those bags for 10 minutes to an hour or more. The bass and walleyes quickly consume the oxygen in the bag of water and are basically brain dead when released. They sink to the bottom and die there only to rot away. The tournament organizers, watching the fish "swim" away, claim to be releasing all the fish when, in fact, most are dead before they get put back in the water. It's called delayed mortality.
A book has been published by Hal Schramm and Gene Gilliland, called "Keeping Bass Alive." Both are research biologists, Schramm from Mississippi State University and Gilliland from the Oklahoma Fishery Research Laboratory. In the book, they performed a study where they took a typical weigh-in bag that holds one to two gallons of water when full of fish and tested how long the fish had sustainable levels of oxygen. Their results illustrate why fish die when bags are used to transport fish at the weighins.
With only five pounds of fish in the bag and water temperature at 68-degrees, the oxygen was depleted in 3.8 minutes. Ten pounds of fish depleted the oxygen in 1.9 minutes. With 15 pounds of fish, the fish were oxygen starved at 1.3 minutes and 20 pounds of fish used up the oxygen in less than a minute.
From less than a minute, to less than four minutes and the bass are dead.
There have been plenty of other studies and all have drawn the same conclusion. Consider the research findings from Queen's University (Canada) fish physiologist Dr. Bruce Tufts. He states, "The weigh-in process at the end of these events is one of the most critical times for fish caught by tournament anglers. Throughout the traditional weigh-in procedure, potential dangers to fish arise from their confinement in water-filled bags while waiting to be weighed. At high water temperatures, the concentration of oxygen in the containment bag decreases quickly, while the rate of oxygen consumption by the fish (its metabolic rate) rises."
Here's what really intrigues me. The tournament organizers of some of the major events have spent thousands on well-oxygenated release pontoons and holding tanks, but they still incorporate solid bags.
What's the remedy? It's simple. Either the bags must be totally flow through and the holding tanks must be well oxygenated, or the fish-holding container must be a perforated box that can be submerged in those well-oxygenated holding tanks.
Will the tournament organizers do this on their own? It's unlikely if they haven't done it yet. Most won't admit there's a problem, even with the vast amounts of research available. It must be incorporated into the permit process.
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Classy Lakeshore Owner Redefined
"There was a time when your neighbor judged you by how neatly your lawn came down to the lake. That is still true, but the judging has been reversed. Before, you were thought to bne classy if your lawn was mowed right down to the lake. You got extra points for rocks to make a riprap barrier and for dumping white sane. Now your neighbors go "tsk, tsk" if you mow down to the lake, dump rocks or bring in sand. The new idea of classy lakeshore owner is defined by how wild you have left your lakeshore. Neatness is a negative. Neatness shows that you don't care about the lake.
The new, wild definition of classy is part of a creeping responsibility for everything. Before, you were only responsible for your own property. Now you're responsible for the health of the whole lake, and by inference, for the whole world.
There isn't any way to fight creeping responsibility. Increased personal responsibility is the spirit of our time. But there are days when I wish that the definition of what is classy would stay the same long enough so that what was classy for my parents would be the same for my children.
I've let my lakeshore go wild. I've got a dock out, but you can hardly see the path down to the dock. My neighbors love me.
Written by Warren Shaffer, Trout Lake, Coleraine, Minn. (Itasca County). Reprinted from the Trout Lake Assoc. newsletter.
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IT'S CRYSTAL CLEAR
WATER IS EMERGING AS THE COMMODITY OF THE FUTURE by Rick Moore
Reprinted from the University of Minnesota Alumni Publication
Experts suggest that seven gallons of water is the minimum daily need for every person for drinking, washing, cooking, and bathing. But in many parts of the world, access to clean and safe water comes a cupful at a time, and is cherished by the drop.
By 2025, 2.7 billion people will be living in countries with severe water scarcity, according to a United Nations estimate. Outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne diseases plague water-scarce nations. More children in so-called developing countries die from diarrhea as a result of contaminated water than from any other condition, with dirty water contributing to the deaths of 15 million preschoolers a year.
There are as many threats to water quality and quantity as there are brands of bottled water at your average American supermarket. Overpopulation, global warming, deforestation, loss of wetlands, nonsustainable farming, and invasive species are at the top of the list.
Tangential to those threats, but of growing importance, is the burgeoning trend of privatization. More and more, water is being treated less as a fundamental public goodlike fresh airand more as a commodity to be bought and sold. In the sobering 2002 book, Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World's Water, authors Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke point out that control of the world's water supplies is increasingly falling into the hands of about 10 big corporate players, and supplying water to people and industries is already estimated to be a $400 billion annual enterprise.
These threats are variables that have changed and will change over time, but there remains one constant truth: the world's freshwater supply is utterly and frighteningly finite. Of all the Earth's H2O, approximately 97 percent is salt water or otherwise unsuitable to drink, and another 2 percent is frozen in glaciers and ice caps. The 1 percent of the freshwater that remains is all that we have for residential, agricultural, industrial, and community needs. And that 1 percent is not distributed equitably around the world.
In May 2000, Fortune magazine declared that "Water promises to be to the 21 st century what oil was to the 20th century: the precious commodity that determines the wealth of nations." The corollary to that statement, of course, is that nationsand corporationscontrolling water will hold all the trump cards, and water-scarce nations will become increasingly beholden to those who control the supply.
Land of 1O,OOO lakes
The United States is not immune to pressing issues of water quantity and quality. From the Great Lakes to precious wetlands, declining water levels can mean permanent changes in ecosystems. The demands on the Colorado River are such the it often barely reaches its destination, the Gulf of California, an recently the Rio Grande dried u before making it to the Gulf of Mexico.
Underground aquifers, relied on for irrigating fields across America, are being tapped at alarming rates. The Ogallala aquifer covers nearly 200,000 square miles and extends from South Dakota to the Texas panhandle. According to the authors of Blue Gold, the Ogallala provides water for one-fifth of all the irrigated land in the U.S., but is being depleted 14 times faster than the normal process of restoration.
Here in Minnesota, water is more than just the basis of a license plate slogan; it is a part of our cultural and recreational identity. The name Minnesota is derived from the Dakota word meaning "water that reflects the sky." Our state has the most water resources of the 48 contiguous states and more shoreline than any other state outside of Alaska. Its whopping $10 billion waterrelated tourism industry means that Minnesota has a vested interest in water quality as weli as quantity.
While Minnesota is far from being water-stressed, it still faces water issues. A lot of Minnesotans might wonder, "We're not Arizona, we're not Colorado; what's the problem?" says Deb Swackhamer, environmental chemistry professor at the University and co-director of the University-based Water Resources Center.
The problem is, and may increasingly be, that we aren't the only ones in control of our water. At "Minnesota Water 2004: Policy and Planning to Ensure Minnesota's Water Supplies," a biennial conference hosted by the University of Minnesota, researchers and water professionals gathered to discuss threats to Minnesota's water supplies as well as current research and policy developments. (The conference was sponsored by the Water Resources Center and co-sponsored by the University of Minnesota, Duluth's Sea Grant and Natural Resources Research Institute.)
In the 1990s, Minnesota's population increased more than any other state in the five-state area (Minnesota, Wisconsin, lowa, South and North Dakota) and reached the five million mark in spring 2002. State demographer Tom Gillaspy estimates that the state will reach six million residents between 2020 and 2030. While that fact alone may not be cause for alarm, Gillaspy notes that "difficulties with water in some parts of the country may have an impact on Minnesota."
With Southern states experiencing exploding populations and increasing difficulty in finding adequate supplies of water for agricultural and residential uses the likelihood of serious attempts to tap Minnesota's water will only increase. There have already been overturessome from North America and some from abroadto use water resources near and dear to Minnesota, including a proposal to take water from Lake Superior by the tankerful.
If there were an effort by other states to try to divert water from Minnesota, "We would have a major battle on our hands, and I hope that day never comes," says Governor Tim Pawlenty, who spoke at the water conference in support of his Clean Water Initiative. The initiative is designed to protect water, provide safe water for communities, maintain an adequate picture of water issues, and restore Minnesota's impaired waters.
Pawlenty says now is the time to address water issues in the state. "We still have a lot to do," he says. "The stress of the population is going to be increasing the strain on resources. Just treading waterno pun intendedis not going to cut it."
In addition to supply issues, the state faces continuing challenges around contaminationsuch as mercury and bacteriaas well as the protection of public drinking water, the preservation of wetlands, the infiltration of invasive species of fish, and global warming.
Like water supplies, water quality is often influenced by outside forces. Mercury, for instance, comes primarily from airborne coal and materials-processing emissions. But Minnesota-generated emissions account for only about 10 percent of the mercury in the state, says Jeff Jeremaison of Gustavus Adolphus College.
Similarly, invasive species of current concern in Minnesotaspecifically, zebra mussels, Eurasian milfoil, the spiny water flea, and Asian carpare by definition not native to the state. Doug Jensen, invasive species coordinator at Minnesota Sea Grant, says that there are about a dozen recent invasive species found in the Great Lakes, and they have the potential to cause millions of dollars worth of damage.
According to Swackhamer, in recent years invasive species have been limited by increased ballast control measures on Great Lakes ships. "Hopefully, we have finally begun to close the barn door," she says.
"There may be a horse or two left." Likewise, she says, the Great Lakes in general are doing better than they were 10 or 20 years ago, but are no longer improving at as great a rate. Toxic chemicals are still present at sublethal levels, enough to cause birth defects in bald eagles.
Then there is global warming, the subtle yet insidious phenomenon that is finally starting to make people sweat. The naturally occurring greenhouse effect, which keeps heat in our atmosphere, is being exacerbated by an increased concentration of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
Already, the Earth's average temperature has increased by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1 860s, glaciers are receding, and sea surface temperatures are rising. One scientist projects that in Minnesota, temperatures will continue to climbby as much as 5-10 degrees during the winter and 5-15 degrees in the summerover the next century. In addition, winters will be shorter and there will be more extreme rainfall events and a shorter duration of ice cover. This could result in reduced summer water levels and groundwater recharge levels, declining iake levels (including Lake Superior), an increased probability of flooding, and a shift in aquatic ecosystems.
Ultimately, some of our water woes will require global solutions with a heavy dose of local input. And lest these litanies of statistics sound like too much doom and gloom to overcome, it's refreshing to know that people all over the world are diving in to help.
In western India, johads, or earthen dams, are being built by the thousands by local villagers to trap monsoon rains for drinking water and irrigation. Closer to home, cities across America are conserving water by repairing infrastructure and updating plumbing fixtures in homes. And sometimes collaborations and solutions cross cultures. The U's Water Resources Center is part of a unique collaboration - the Mekong-Mississippi Partnership - whose fundamental goal is to help Mekong River Basin countries make better decisions on river development based on lessons learned along the Mississippi.
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'YOUR NEIGHBOR, THE ARTIST'
by Tom Morrow
A few months ago, we were looking for a gift that would tell a longtime friend how much we appreciated his frequent help over the years. We wanted it to somehow reflect Lake Vermilion because our friend was about to make his first visit here. My wife suggested the work of a local artist, Doug Wallace. "Doug is an artist?" I asked, having known him for several years, but not as an artist. "Haven't you ever noticed his photographs at Silent Prints?" my wife replied, not really surprised at my ignorance of all things even mildly cultural. And so I began a brief journey into the artistic side of our community.
Doug had never mentioned his interest in photography, much less formal training in painting and sculpture, so the image of Doug the artist didn't immediately register. But when my wife brought home the picture she had selected for our friend, I was struck by how well it meshed with my old image of Doug the outdoorsman and Doug the environmentalist. As with most of Doug's work, it was a spectacularly-composed lakescape, with an island and a loon setting off the serene beauty of Lake Vermilion.
Like most of us, Doug began taking photographs to record memories of the people and places in his life. With a minor in Studio Art from the University of Minnesota, and excellent oil paintings and sculptures to his credit, his artistic talent and training helped him move quickly from snapshots to photographic art. It is almost as if he sees and, more impressively, can capture on film, a different scene from the one others see. You might recognize the location of one of Doug's photographs, but it is as if you were seeing it for the first time. In answer to the "how do you do it?" question, Doug gives the impression that it's a simple matter of scheduling and composition. "I only shoot in the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunse,, because it's the only time the light is right; and even though the picture may cover a large area, having the right elements in the foreground is what makes the picture." Any of us can get out early and put an island in the right foreground of our pictures, and they might be good snapshots, but they probably won't be art. Doug's photographs are definitely art.
Susan Reitmann and her husband, Ed, bought the island opposite Moosebirds store in Spring Bay last year, but, like Doug Wallace, their ties to Lake Vermilion go back many years. Susan was born in Hibbing, and other than an "almost unbearable" stint in Tucson, has always lived in Minnesota. But it was that nasty five years in the Southwest that led Susan to stained glass art. In their only home away from Minnesota, the desert and the absence of lifelong friends left Susan casting about for something to fill the void.
She took a community college course in stained glass, and she had no trouble picking up the concepts, both technical and artistic. Her first few projects turned out really well, and the help of a teacher who let Susan "hang around" his studio helped her learn fast. She soon mastered the foil method, in which thin strips of copper are wrapped around each piece of glass, then soldered into the overall pattern. The older method had been to use lead between the pieces of glass, but lead wouldn't bend at sharp encugh angles to allow really intricate designs, so most fine art is done with foil. Lead is still used as a reinforcement to divide larger pieces into sections and strengthen the overall piece.
The most famous name in stained glass, of course, is Louis Tiffany, whose lamps gave stained glass many technical innovations and a place beyond church windows. Modern stained glass ranges from fine art to manufactured imports; Reitmann's work clearly fits in the former category. She does only custom work, starting with a drawing (called a "cartoon" by artists), then hand cuts every piece of glass. Although this sounds like serious stuff, and her large windows are things of great beauty, many of her subjects are great fun. Among the hundreds of pieces she does every year, Susan has done everything from weather vanes to night lights.
Working out of her studio in the couple's 1 OO-year-old house in Shorewood, she does some teaching, but prefers to spend her time making art.
Unlike Reitmann and Wallace, Steve Callaghan is a relative newcomer to his art. When he retired a few years ago after a career in engineering at Honeyweli, he visited the Northern Clay Center, a Minneapolis studio/ gallery/teaching facility. Although he had no experience in pottery, he "just got hooked" by one of Michael Wisner's pots. He took an introductory course from a local potter and discovered the combination of technical and artistic challenges appealing. In 2003, he traveled to Colorado to take a course from Juan Quesada, one of the great masters of Southwestern pottery, and Michael Wisner, a student of Quesada's whose work had originally inspired Callaghan's interest. When I talked to him in late September, he had just returned from his second round of study under the master. Clearly the sort of person who goes all out, Steve has compressed a lifetime of learning into a few years.
The contrast between Cailaghan and Quesada is striking. One grew up in Minneapolis, studied electrical engineering and electro optics at the University of Minnesota, and was a key player in projects like the laser gyro that is used in commercial airliners' inertial navigation systems. The other was one of many children in a very poor family in a tiny village in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, had very little formal education, and even had to learn pottery - in a community with no practitioners of this ancient utilitarian art form. And yet somehow they share a passion for the traditional pottery.
Callaghan is quick to point out that this is not the pottery technique most of us visualize. It is not thrown on a potter's wheel, but shaped by hand from "ropes" of clay. It is not glazed, but is polished and decorated with carving or clay paints; although he does both, Callaghan focuses more on carving than painting. Steve digs his clay in his Minneapolis garden and processes it by soaking it in water, separating out the sand, and drying the resulting material in a flat pan to make his raw material. The color comes from the clay itself, and natural coloring agents like iron oxide.
Steve has pieces on display at the Kess Gallery in Ely and at Silent Prints in Cook (which also displays and sells Wallace's photographs). While Quesada's pieces sell for as much as $15,000, Callaghan's are more in the $40-$100 neighborhood (he said that his primary reason for selling his work is that he has to do it to keep the house from getting cluttered). Like his fellow artists, Steve has a long history in the area, having spent part of each summer on Lake Vermilion for more than 40 years. Now that he's retired, he spends as much time as possible at the couple's cabin overlooking the islands of east Frazer Bay.
The dictionary defines an artist as "A person whose work shows exceptional creative ability or skill." The writer must have seen Doug, Susan and Steve's work.
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Native Bluegills Versus the Invasive Rusty Crawfish
The invasive rusty crawfish has become an unwelcome invasive presence in many Minnesota lakes. First introduced as live bait, their destructive habits are multy-faceted as they cut through protective awuatic plants and ravenously eat fish eggs. One of the primary negative impacts of the crawfish invation is the displacement of native fish populations. The rusty drawfish is indigenous to the Ohio River Basin, but has recently been found in waters as far reaching as New Mexico and Ontario, as well as Minnesota.
"Despite being banned as live bait in 1983, the crawfish have conquered Wisconsin and much of Minnesota. Like unwelcome houseguests, little can be done to get rid of the crawfish once4 they're here. But University of Wisconsin-Madison research suggests we can control crawfish populations just be helping the bluegills that eat them."
Research conducted through UW Madison, on northern Wisconsin lakes, uncovered an interesting observation: some lakes are infested with crawfish and other nearby lakes contain very few. All of the lakes researched tended to be one extreme or the other. According to lead researcher and limnologist, Steve Carpenter, the presence of crawfish depends primarily on the predator population. "If the predator population density reaches some critical abundance, they'll eat every crawfish they see."
One of the predator fish eating the invasive crawfish is the bluegill. The presence of both populations in a lake essentially results in a war between the two species. If the bluegill can maintain a strong presence they will continue to control, perhaps eradicate, the crawfish population. However, if the crawfish presence grows quickly, taking a toll on lake vegetation, they can out-compete the bluegill. According to Carpenter, there can only be one winner.
The UW Madison research is ongoing. Carpenter and his research team are hopeful as they deployed hundreds of rusty crawfish traps in one northern Wisconsin lake. This theory suggests the protec tion of native predatory fish, along with the ytrapping of rusty crawfish, could trounce the invasive species. Still, the best form of protection is always preventing the initial introduction.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Mine Seeks Discharge to Lake Vermilion Tributary
Reprinted with permission by Marshall Helmberger - Managing Editor, TIMBERJAY Newspaper
Plans by Minntac to discharge millions of gallons per day of excess water into Lake Vermilion's primary tributary will be the focus of a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) to be released this fall. The project calls for releasing a total of 8 million gallons a day from Minntac's massive tailings basin north of Virginia, into the Pike River as well as the Dark River. The Pike River is Lake Vermilion's largest tributary while the Dark River is a feeder to the Littlefork River.
The draft EIS has weighed a number of ISSUE related to Minntac's proposal, but perhaps the most significant for Lake Vermilion is the question of the impact of the sulfates in the tailings water. According to John Elling, who is overseeing the project for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minntac's tailings water is high in sulfates which poses a potential problem with higher mercury in the Pike River and Lake Vermilion food chains.
According to Elling, sulfates are believed to encourage the formation of methyl mercury, the form of mercury that is most toxic and which is most readily accumulated in aquatic food chains. According to several studies, sulfates encourage the growth of socalled sulfur-reducing bacteria, which grow in the oxygen-free portions of lake and river sediments. Those sulfur bacteria facilitate the conversion of less toxic forms of mercury, such as elemental mercury, into the toxic methyl mercury. Methyl mercury accumulates in each step up the food chainwhich leaves top aquatic predators, such as walleye and northern, with potentially dangerous concentrations. This mercury"bio-accumulation" has already prompted fish consumption advisories for dozens of lakes in northern Minnesota. The prospect of more sulfates entering the Lake Vermilion watershed has already raised alarm bells with some.
"Mainly, were concerned with what it would do to the fishery here," said Walt Moe, president of the Lake Vermilion Sportsmen's Club. "That's a big part of our economic base on the lake."
But Elling stresses that the link between sulfates and increased production of methyl mercury is a complicated one. He said pH and water temperature also play a role in determining the effect of increased sulfate. The impact also appears to vary with the level of sulfate. Studies have shown that more sulfate increases the creation of methyl mercury up to a point. If sulfate levels get too high, it can actually impede the methylation of mercury.
Other factors can play a role as well. If the discharge contains a large amount of fine particulate matter, it could exacerbate the mercury problem, according to scientific studies.
Also at issue will be the potential for impact to the Dark River, which is a state- designated trout stream. According to Elling, the EIS examines issues such as the impact of increased water flow on the stream bed, effects on trout habitat and microorganisms. According to Elling, such questions are analyzed in detail in the EIS on the Minntac proposal. He said the EIS examines a number of alternatives and lays out the impacts of each. Elling called the EIS a planning tool, which will help Minntac and MPCA staff determine the best way to achieve the company's objective, and to mitigate potential impacts.
Once the EIS is released, the MPCA and the company will hold an open house for the public to learn more. A 30-day comment period will also be provided on the draft. A further 1 0-day comment period will also be provided once the final EIS is released. If the MPCA board finally approves the EIS, agency staff would begin working with the company in developing a permit.
The company is seeking to discharge water in order to draw down the water level within its 7,900 acre tailings basin. The water discharged from the company's taconite plant to the basin contains large amounts of sediment, which has slowly filled in the basin, displacing large amounts of water. Currently, the mine discharges enough sediment in a day to displace 8 million gallons of water, and Minntac is hoping to discharge an equal amount of water into an area river or rivers. The company estimates that about 2 million gallons per day are lost from the basin through seepage into surrounding watersheds. That seepage is currently allowed under a federal permit.
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Eurasian water-milfoil found in Leech Lake
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently announced that Eurasian water-milfoil has been discovered growing in Leech Lake in Cass County. The non-native, invasive aquatic plant (note: the new name for exotic species) was discovered in several harbors from Stony Point to Rogers Point on the southern shore. "Some bays of Leech Lake like those in the northern and eastern parts of the lake support stands of cabbage and other native submersed aquatic plants. Most of the other parts of the lake support few, if any, submersed plants," said Chip Welling, DNR Eurasian water-milfoil coordinator. "As such, it is likely that the plant will take hold only in those parts of the lake where native aquatic plants are already growing."
Eurasian water-milfoil was discovered by a citizen while swimming at a beach near the Whipholt Public Water Access on State Highway 200. The citizen, who was familiar with the plant, noticed a piece of what he suspected was Eurasian water-milfoil on the beach and soon found additional fragments. He then delivered the suspected Eurasian water-milfoil to the DNR. The DNR is considering herbicide treatments in areas near boat ramps, both public and private, to reduce the amount of milfoil and thus reduce the likelihood that boaters might accidentally carry the plant from the lake on trailered watercraft.
Eurasian water-milfoil can form dense mats of vegetation and crowd out native aquatic plants, clog boat propellers and make water recreation difficult. "The DNR has more than 15 years experience with attempts to eradicate milfoil from Minnesota lakes," said Welling. "We also have learned a lot from watching efforts in other states. Milfoil can be managed, but complete eradication is not a realistic goal."
Boaters who use Leech Lake are urged to be extra thorough when looking for and removing aquatic plants from their boats, trailers, nets, anchors and other equipment. It is unlawful in Minnesota to transport aquatic plants or prohibited exotic species on public roads or to launch watercraft with them attached. Eurasian water-milfoil has now been discovered in 146 lakes and seven rivers or streams in Minnesota.
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Beware of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning on Boats
Information from the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Center for Disease Control, as well as a news report on KMSP Channel 9 revealed that CO (carbon monoxide) poisoning can be present in deadly concentrations behind ski boats, cabin cruisers, and even personal watercraft.
Ski boats and many boats manufactured in recent years incorporate a swim deck off the back of the boat. Boat occupants often sit on the swim deck while the boat idles or travels at slow speeds. The swim deck is directly over the exhaust ports on the boat and the highest concentrations of CO form under and around the swim deck. Some people have been known to participate in an activity called "teak surfing" or "dragging" in which they hold on to the swim platform as the boat pulls them, then body surf the boat wake. Boat exhaust is more dangerous than the exhaust from cars. Catalytic converters on cars reduce CO concentrations by more than 90 percent; boat engines do not have the same emission controls. For a TV spot on Lake Minnetonka, levels of CO were measured behind various boats. Levels were 385 ppm (parts per million) behind a small fishing boat motor; 1,000 at the back of a 2-cycle jet ski; 400 ppm standing on the swim deck of a larger boat; and 1,000 ppm at the water level of the same boat. The maximum level of CO allowed by the EPA outside for one hour is 85 ppm; levels at 1,200 ppm are immediately dangerous to life and health. The U.S. Coast Guard ran tests 20 feet behind a boat moving at seven miles per hour, where they found the average CO readings reached 135 ppm and peaked at over 400 ppm.
For boating safety:
1 ) don't allow any activity around the stern of your idling or slow moving boat;
2) tube or ski more than 20 feet behind the boat;
3) educate your passengers on the dangers of CO;
4) maintain your boat exhaust system;
5) and don't confuse CO poisoning with seasickness, intoxication or heat stress.
CO is odorless, colorless, and tasteless. If someone onboard complains of rapid onset of headache, fatigue, nausea, or dizziness, seek medical help immediately and move the person to fresh air.
(Excerpted from Sugar Lake News, July 2004)
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THREE NEW SHOT TYPES APPROVED FOR WATERFOWL HUNTERS
by Bob Wilson
On Aug. 9, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved three new non-toxic shot typestungstenbronze-iron, a new formulation of tungsten-iron, and tungsten-tin-bismuthfor use in waterfowl hunting.
The approval was published in the Federal Register on Aug. 10. This action brings to 10 the number of non-toxic shot types available to waterfowl hunters.
"Protecting our waterfowl populations while ensuring waterfowl hunting opportunities are two things we take very seriously," said Service Director Steve Williams. "With each new shot type approved, hunters will have a wider range of choices as they continue to play a key role in the conservation of waterfowl and its habitat."
International Nontoxic Composites Corporation's application of tungstenbronze-iron shot, ENVIRON-Metal Inc.'s application of tungsten-iron shot and Victor Oltrogge's application for tungsten-tin-bismuth shot have all been approved after being subjects to a rigorous testing protocol.
Previously, hunters were allowed to use steel shot, bismuth-tin, tungsten-iron, tungsten-polymer, tungsten- matrix, tungsten-nickel-iron and tungsteniron-nickel-tin. For more information on toxic and nontoxic shot, go to .
Efforts to phase out lead shot began in the 1970s and a nationwide ban on lead shot for all waterfowl hunting was implemented in 1991. Canada instituted a complete ban in 1999. Waterfowl can ingest expended lead shot and many then die from lead poisoning. In addition, predators that consume waterfowl may ingest the shot.
A study in the mid-1990s found that the nationwide ban in the United States on the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting has had remarkable success. Six years after the ban, researchers estimated a 64 percent reduction in lead poisoning deaths of surveyed mallard ducks and a 78 percent decline on ingestion of lead pellets.
The rule published in the Federal Register is available at: . The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95million-acre National
Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
Rich Sprouse
Public Information Officer
Minnesota DNR Enforcement
15011 Highway 115 (Camp Ripley)
Little Falls, MN 56345-4173
richard.sprouse@dnr.state.mn.us
320-616-2511
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SPORTSMEN'S CLUB WORKS TO INCREASE SAFETY FOR LATE SEASON BOATERS
Many residents and visitors enjoy our beautiful lake late into the fall season. With milder weather over the years, sportsmen have been using their boats for fishing and hunting well into November. DNR Trails and Waterways maintains many of these public water accesses and does a great job of providing convenient and safe spaces to launch boats and park. The safety issue has presented itself at a number of these public water accesses which have removable launching docks as opposed to the permanent ones at such places as Moccasin Point and Timbuktu.
Because the staff at DNR Trails and Waterways is a small one with a broad spectrum of responsibilities which include pre-season snowmobile trail maintenance during late October and November, it has, in the past, been necessary for them to pull out the removable docks in early October. This has been unfortunate for boaters who desire to launch and remove boats at these sites after that time. Many have slipped into the lake and gotten a cold, wet foot or much worse trying to launch or retrieve their boat.
Since one of the primary objectives of the Mission Statement of The Sportsmen's Club is to promote safe boating practices, the board decided that this issue required its attention. Board member Dale Lundblad discussed the the situation with Tower Area Trails and Waterways Supervisor Scott Kelling. Working together, an agreement was reached on a pilot project, in which the removable docks at three public accesses (Head-0-Lakes Bay, Wak-Em-Up Bay and Frazer Bay) would be left in. Sportsmen's Club volunteers have taken responsibility to remove these docks at an appropriate time before "ice in." If successful, the project may be expanded to include more public accesses in other areas of the lake. The Board thanks Scott Kelling for his cooperation and leadership. The Club has always enjoyed an excellent relationship with our local DNR officials.
The Board would like to hear your opinion of this late season boating safety effort. Please send your comments to:
Dale Lundblad - Board Member
Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion
P.O. Box 1165 Cook, MN 55723
e-mail: Lundblad@Rangenet.com
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BOATS AND HOSTS NEEDED FOR GOVERNOR'S OPENER
by John Zwieg
The Governor's Opener will be on Lake Vermilion next May 14, 2005. We have been asked to have about 125 host boats available for this event. You do not have to be a professional guide to be a host, but have some knowledge of the lake and a desire to be a good-will ambassador of Lake Vermilion. Your boat will need to accommodate two guests, be fully safe, and insured. We also need some nonfishing boats to escort media around the lake. Requirements include attending a host dinner on Thursday evening, May 12, attend the pairings meeting on Friday evening, May 13, and of course all day Saturday, May 14. If you would like to apply to be a host, contact:
Joe Dennie (218)753-3904) or Jim Boesen (218)666-5601) or John Zwieg (218-666-5008).
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WHERE WAS SUMMER?!
SO, just how cool was our summer.
May, June, July and August average temperatures were well below normal all over the state. Highs on Tuesday, Aug. 10, struggled to reach 60 degrees in the Twin Cities, which is a rarity for August, occurring only nine times in the last 114 years!
Is there a connection between cold summers and cold winters? Although there is no conclusive research linking the two, National Weather Service statistics indicate some correlation. Most of the years experiencing a cold August in Minnesota have been followed by a very cold meteorological winter. So, the stats point towards either a snowier or colder winter than normal. We shall see.......
For more information consult the National Weather Service: http://www.crh.noaa.gov.
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