West Wisconsin Lakes Workshop

We held a lakes workshop August 11th in Rice Lake.

Download workshop brochure (schedule, paper registration form)

Register online

Program agenda

9:00 – 9:15
Welcome and opening remarks.

Darren Lochner, UW-Extension Lower Chippewa Basin Educator, and

Meg Marshall, Island Lakes Chain in Rusk County and Wisconsin Association of Lakes Board of Directors.

Developing Nutrient Standards for Lakes: Lessons from Minnesota.
Steve Heiskary, Research Scientist at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Both Minnesota and Wisconsin are blessed with numerous lakes. Cultural eutrophication, or nutrient loading, of these valuable resources is the driving force behind the development of lake eutrophication criteria in both states. This presentation will provide an introduction to lake science, an overview of cultural eutrophication, and share some of the science used to develop lake nutrient standards. Discover how Minnesota’s experiences could be applied to Wisconsin’s lakes.

Human Impacts of Lakeshore Development on Fish and Wildlife Habitat: Obvious Remedies, Yet Difficult Choices. Paul Cunningham, DNR Fisheries Ecologist.

A lake reflects the land around it. Learn how lakes work: how they respond to changes such as shoreline domestication, watershed and shoreland development. Learn about fish and wildlife habitat needs. Discover what we can do to help restore and protect lake habitats that will ensure good fishing and wildlife watching experiences for years to come.

1 A: Alternative Landscape Management to Protect Water Resources: Lake-friendly yard care.
John Barten, Water Resources Manager at Three Rivers Park District.

Soil compaction during urban development is a significant problem affecting both surface and groundwater resources in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area (TCMA). Field research from lawns in the west TCMA suburbs show significant compaction of the upper soil layers, and impaired plant root growth. Turf establishment and maintenance on these compacted soils requires the use of large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides, requires excessive amounts of groundwater during summer months, increases the volume of rainfall runoff, and due to the greater pollutant availability, increases the rate of pollutant export. Recent research has demonstrated that turf areas export significant quantities of nutrients, particularly phosphorus, to lakes and streams in urban area.

Reducing soil compaction, therefore, needs to be a mandatory component of storm water management in urban areas. John will address numerous strategies to reduce soil compaction during and after the land development process, and discuss strategies to replace turf with deep-rooted plant species that will improve rainfall infiltration. These strategies have the long term goal of reducing storm water runoff, reducing pollutant export from urban areas, and reducing the use of groundwater.

1 B Aquatic Plant Management on Lake Nancy.
Dave Butt, Vice President of the Lake Nancy Protective Association in Washburn County.

Discover how the Lake Nancy Protective Association has been successfully containing Eurasian water milfoil over the past 6 years. Lake Nancy is a beautiful 780 acre lake located in the northwest corner of Washburn County. Eurasian water milfoil (EWM) was introduced into the northeast corner of the lake sometime in the late 1980's. Learning on the fly, the association obtained lake grants, conducted a lake study, and determined the best management strategy for their lake. It is likely that without a systematic chemical treatment and monitoring program, EWM would have taken over much of the lake, pushed out native aquatic vegetation and caused navigation problems. Dave has been a board member of the Lake Nancy Association for seven years and vice president for the last five years.

1 C: Communications for Change: How to craft effective communication strategies to foster sustainable behavior. Dorothy Lagerroos, Professor of Government at Northland College, and Patricia Shifferd, Sociologist.

Scientists have long known that merely providing information is not sufficient to get people to change their behaviors. Yet much environmental communication is limited to providing information, or is otherwise ineffective in getting the desired results. This workshop explores how communication can begin to overcome the psychological hurdles that limit the effectiveness of much environmental communication.

2 A: Turf Management to Protect Water Resources.
John Barten, Three Rivers Park District.

A review of land cover in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area shows that the majority of land in urban areas is used to grow turf. Although turf has the theoretical capacity to infiltrate rainfall, soil compaction during and after development significantly reduces this capacity. Compounding this problem is the reality that the focus of most lawn management activities is to optimize the aesthetic appearance the grass, not to maximize the health of the underlying soil. Homeowners spend significant dollars installing automated irrigation systems, but very little de-compacting soils to increase rainfall infiltration.

This presentation will address soil compaction issues during and after lawn establishment, and discuss turf management practices to reduce compaction, promote increased plant rooting depth, increase soil organic matter, and increase soil moisture holding capacity. Implementation of these practices will improve turf growth, reduce weed growth, and reduce chemical inputs to improve rainwater infiltration and decrease runoff volume and pollutant export.

2 B: Aquatic Plants: How to identify them and their role in healthy lakes.
Susan Knight, UW-Madison and UW-Extension

This session will introduce people to five groups of aquatic plants: pondweeds, water-milfoil and others with thread-like leaves, floating-leaved plants, short "turf-like" plants, and other common species. Learn about the value of these plants in lakes, their neat adaptations and characteristics, and how to use the UW-Extension publication, Through the Looking Glass, to identify aquatic plants in your favorite lake.

2 C: Developing a Communication Strategy for Your Lake.
Dorothy Lageroos, Professor of Government at Northland College, and Patricia Shifferd, Sociologist.

This session provides concrete steps for lake associations and others that will lead to effective communication with members and non-members. It builds on the previous session, but welcomes new participants as well.

Dorothy Lagerroos teaches Environmental Communication and other courses at Northland College in Ashland. She has a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has been active in environmental politics for over 30 years.

Patricia Shifferd is a Sociologist with interests in sustainable community development, the social aspects of environmental affairs and the place of
the arts in community life. After teaching at Northland College for many
years, she joined the staff of American Composers Forum, directing a program in community-based arts. She lives on a small Wisconsin lake and is active in her lake association.

3 A: Grants to Help Your Lakes: How to successfully apply for and manage lakes and rivers grants. .
Carroll Schaal, DNR Lakes Program.

This talk will provide an overview of the lake planning and protection, aquatic invasive species control, and river planning and protection grants available from the State. Qualified lake and other conservation organizations and local governments can apply for these grants. Learn about the kinds of projects that are funded, application requirements and deadlines, cost share, eligible costs and financial details. You’ll also receive tips and resources to help you plan good projects that will protect and improve our waters.

3 B: Nature Mapping: Citizens observing and documenting nature. Frogs in Your Face: Why frogs are excellent species to monitor.
Sara Schmidt, Beaver Creek Reserve Citizen Science Center Director
John Haack, UW-Extension St. Croix Basin Educator.

Lakes are homes for many species of Wisconsin wildlife. Lakeshore residents often have stories to tell about a curious bear, interesting tracks, or favorite waterfowl. These stories of common and uncommon wildlife observations become valuable data with the Wisconsin NatureMapping Program. NatureMapping is a statewide survey program for people of all ages and educational backgrounds. School children, citizens, community groups, and other city, county and state organizations are all invited to help collect wildlife-related information. The program provides an opportunity for students and volunteers to perform field studies that contribute to the state's biological databases. By helping collect this data, NatureMappers become more aware of their surroundings, deepen their sense of place, and strengthen their connection to the environment.

There are many compelling reasons to monitor frogs. Their unique life cycles make them excellent indicators of the health of their habitats. Three of our Wisconsin frogs are shoreland dependant species. That is, they only live in and entirely depend on they area where water meets the land. Many people (especially kids!) have an interesting affinity for frogs. Frog songs are easy to learn how to identify, and monitoring them is fun for all ages. The two presenters in this session will offer many examples and resources to help you start observing and documenting the wildlife in your favorite lake community!

3 C: Working with Local Governments: Examples of innovation in Wisconsin towns and counties.
Eric Olson, UW-Extension Center for Land Use Education,
Buzz Sorge, DNR Lakes Coordinator.

Examples of county lakes classification projects, town lake committees, and local land use planning initiatives illustrate how lakes groups and local governments are working together to achieve lake and watershed protection. This session will share examples from Adams and Vilas Counties and others that are creating new partnerships and leveraging funding from local, state and federal sources to accomplish lake and watershed protection at the county and town levels.

Adams County, for example, is gathering lake data to create lake management plans and set water quality goals for all the county’s lakes. A combination of different lakes grants are used to create lake management plans and fund implementation activities. This comprehensive approach uses the lake classification tool to link lake-specific plans and implementation projects for all of Adams County’s lakes.