The Wisconsin Association of Lakes (WAL) is a non-profit group of citizen, organization, and business members working for clean, safe, healthy lakes for everyone. WAL is the citizen arm of the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership.

Learn more about WAL and our lake policy and lake education programs.

News from the Wisconsin Association of Lakes

June 2008 

Natural Resources Board approves major mercury reduction rule

On June 25th, the Natural Resources Board gave the nod to a new mercury rule that aims to slash the amount of mercury released into the atmosphere from Wisconsin coal fired power plants by 90%.
 
Coal fired power plants are the largest source of mercury, which is a released when coal is burned to generate electricity. Mercury settles into inland waters as it floats back down to earth, and as it mixes with rain and snow to wash into our lakes and rivers. 
 
Much of this mercury is converted by bacteria in the soil and sediment into its toxic form, methylmercury. Methylmercury is easily absorbable by animals and works up the food chain becoming more and more concentrated as it progresses to larger species. Mercury levels in Wisconsin fish have necessitated a statewide fish advisory warning for all inland waters that urges consumers--especially children and women of childbearing age--to limit consumption of fish such as walleye or northern which tend to have higher levels of mercury.
 
The rule would target emissions from utilities and offers two options for meeting the 90% reduction requirement. Under the first option, which targets only mercury, coal fired power plants have until 2015 to meet the 90% reduction. The second option gives a longer window for meeting the mercury reduction (2021), but also requires dramatic reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide are the three pollutants most responsible for smog and fish consumption advisories.  

The administrative rule now progresses to the legislature, where it may pass or environmental committee chairs may call for additional public hearings or request further changes to the rule requirements.

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VHS kills thousands of round gobies: virus now found throughout Lake Michigan
In late May, a fish kill washed ashore thousands of round goby bodies at Grant Park beach in South Milwaukee. Analysis confirmed that the fish kill was caused by the invasive virus Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS).
 
Round gobies are an invasive species, first discovered in Lake Superior's Duluth/Superior harbor area in 1995. As with many of the 185 invasive species now present in the Great Lakes, the fish was likely introduced when trans-oceanic ships discharged ballast water into the lakes.
 
While gobies are an invasive fish, they are food for Lake Michigan yellow perch, brown trout, walleye, lake trout and bass. Gobies also eat invasive quagga and zebra mussels, important because these invasive species can affect the amount and quality of food available to young fish.
 
The VHS virus has been moving throughout the great lakes since 2003 and was first documented in Northern Lake Michigan in Spring, 2007. The May 2008 round goby fish kill confirms that VHS is now found throughout Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan.
 
The only documented occurrence of VHS in Wisconsin inland waters was in Lake Winnebago.
 
It is now more important than ever that  anglers and boaters follow all of Wisconsin’s laws designed to limit the spread of VHS from Lake Michigan to inland waters (a summary of Wisconsin’s VHS rules can be found at  http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/).
 
Because Lake Michigan is a VHS-positive water, those laws include requirements that anglers and boaters
  • Drain all water from their boats and remove all vegetation when leaving any state waters, banks or shores, or entering Wisconsin over land.
  • Do not transport any live fish or live fish eggs away from any state waters. (There is an exception for minnows obtained from a Wisconsin bait dealer or registered fish farm.)
Great Lakes Compact moves forward in Ohio, Michigan
On June 10th, Ohio became the sixth state to pass the Great Lakes Compact, a regional agreement to protect Great Lakes water from being tapped to satisfy booming water demands in parched southern states.
 
The Compact has been ratified by the two Canadian provinces and by Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin. Michigan’s governor is poised to sign her state’s compact bill. In Pennsylvania, it has cleared House and awaits a Senate vote.
 
After approval by all eight states, the Compact will be referred to Congress for ratification. If Congress ratifies the Compact, then the Great Lakes Region would have the legal underpinnings to set terms of use for Great Lakes water and establish serious resistance to distant diversions.
 
Passing the Compact has taken on a heightened sense of urgency in light of prolonged droughts, mounting evidence of climate change and, closer to home, declining Great lake levels. States in the South and West stressed by years of straining their own water resources and prolonged drought have prompted renewed talks of water diversions to make up for their depleted water resources—and many are eying taking large portions of water from the Great Lakes as a solution for western water woes. 
Lake Planning workshop presentations now available online

The Wisconsin Association of Lakes co-sponsored a workshop focused on Lake Management planning on June 26th. Thank you to all the lake folks who took time out of the their day to attend this event!

Lake Management Planning is an important topic for many of our lake groups, and we have posted PDF versions of the following workshop presentations on our website (http://www.wisconsinlakes.org/Events/08lake_planning.htm):

  • What does the future hold for our lakes?
  • Why does your lake need a lake management plan?
  • An overview of Lake Management Planning
  • Lake Management Planning: It's not as easy as you may think 
  • Lake Julia Stewardship Project: 2002-present 
  • Preserving our Lake for future generations: Cloverleaf Lake Long Range Comprehensive planning

Working with you for clean, safe, healthy lakes

The Wisconsin Association of Lakes is the only statewide organization working exclusively to protect and enhance the quality of Wisconsin's 15,000 lakes.

We represent citizens like you who care about Wisconsin's lakes as a natural resource, and who also recognize the value healthy lakes bring to property values, tourist economies, and overall quality of life.