Manistee Lake Association Meeting Eli Baker Education and Outreach Specialist Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council
Sound Science. Respected Advocacy. Innovative Education. “ “ Our Mission The Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council speaks for Northern Michigan's waters. We are dedicated to protecting our lakes, streams, wetlands, and groundwater through respected advocacy, innovative education, technically sound water quality monitoring, thorough research and restoration actions. We achieve our mission by empowering others and we believe in the capacity to make a positive difference. We work locally, regionally and throughout the Great Lakes Basin to achieve our goals. www.watershedcouncil.org Page 2
Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council Our Service Area Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council's service area includes the water resources in Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet Counties. Water resources in our service area includes: • More than 2,500 miles of rivers and streams • Multiple blue-ribbon trout streams • 14 lakes larger than 1,000 acres (among the largest in the State) • 38 lakes between 100 - 1,000 acres • 184 lakes between 10 - 100 acres • 1,600 lakes that are less than 10 acres • 363,998 acres of wetlands www.watershedcouncil.org Page 3
National Lake Assessment Results and the Importance of Presentation Natural Shorelines Overview What is the Score the Shore Survey? Manistee Lake Results What can you do to improve your score? Michigan Shoreland Stewards
National Lakes Assessment The National Lakes Assessment (NLA) is a statistical survey of the condition of our nation's lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. It is designed to provide information on the extent of lakes that support healthy biological condition and recreation, estimate how widespread major stressors are that impact lake quality, and provide insight into whether lakes nationwide are getting cleaner.
National Lakes Assessment The NLA is designed to answer the following questions about lakes across the United States. • What is the current biological, chemical, physical and recreational condition of lakes? • What is the extent of degradation among lakes? • Is degradation widespread (e.g., national) or localized (e.g., regional)? • Is the condition of lakes getting better, worse, or staying the same over time? • Which environmental stressors are most associated with degraded biological condition in lakes?
Michigan NLA Results 1. Nutrient pollution was not a widespread stressor. La Lake h habit itat co comple lexity, r riparia ian vege egetation c cover er, , an and m d mer ercury i in l lak ake ‐ bot ottom om sediment nt we were t the m most wi widespr pread stresso ssors. s. 2. Microcystin and chlorophyll ‐ a concentrations, and cyanobacteria cell counts were generally lower than the levels of concern established by the World Health Organization. 3. The herbicide atrazine was detected in 13% of lakes, and concentrations never exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) level of concern for plants in freshwater or state water quality standards 4. Based on macroinvertebrate communities, 52% of lakes were estimated to be in the most disturbed condition, compared to 17% based on zooplankton communities. The 2012 NLA results hi highlig ight t the he ne need f for or pr prog ograms t tha hat enc ncou ourage r riparian a and nd s shor horeli line protection, on, impr provement nt, a and r restor oration t on to impr prove a and maint ntain i n inland nd lake wa water q quality. M Michi higan n cur urrently ha has several pr l prog ograms f foc ocused on on shor horelin line q qua ualit ity. The NLA also highlights the need for actions that lead to a reduction of mercury in inland lakes. Many inland water bodies in Michigan are impacted by mercury and have fish consumption advisories.
The Importance of Natural Shorelines • Helps keep the lake clean by slowing and filtering runoff as it moves towards the lake. • Allows more water to be absorbed into the ground than runoff.
• Provides needed shade for keeping the water cooler. • Protects the lake edge from wave and ice erosion when there is a good mixture of native plants both on the land and in the water.
• Provides habitat for birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and fish
High Impac t De ve lo pme nt e line s ? Re moving Natur al Shor Ye s – the r e ar e c onse que nc e s
Natural Shoreline Landscapes on MI Inland Lakes Workshop for Property Owners Chapter 2: Understanding the Shoreline The practice of hardening shorelines with rock rip rap and vertical sea walls has resulted in the cumulative loss of shoreline and littoral zone habitat on MI inland lakes. (O’Neal and Soulliere, 2006)
Seawalls • Barrier for animal movement • Creates scouring effect • Wave flanking
Impacts on wildlife - Loss of habitat for fish and wildlife - Woody debris - Vegetation - Loss of shade - Loss of root structure Geese love it!
Chemical impacts of shoreline development In freshwater aquatic systems 1 unit of phosphorus can produce 500 times its weight in algae. (Wetzel, l, Lim imnolo logy, , 2nd 2nd Edit itio ion)
How to tell if your lake is healthy? MICorps Score the Shore Survey The Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps; https://micorps.net) statewid ide v volu lunt nteer monit monitorin ing p prog ogram recently added this parameter. Lake associations, lake residents, and local governments can volunteer to protect high quality shorelines and to be aware of degraded shorelines that could benefit from improvements.
What is the Survey? The process: • starts by taking an aerial map of your lake and dividing it into 1000 foot sections. • Volunteers assess each section separately to provide a section score. • at the end, a whole lake score is defined on a 0-100 scale. Higher scores are calculated in sections with larger ger percen entag ages es of submerge ged o or emer ergen gent v veget etat ation as Volunteers look at: wel ell as as sh shoreline v vege egetation since these are • the number of docks and homes. important habitat for fish, birds, amphibians, and other animals. In addition, less i ss imper ervious s surfac aces es • the percent of aquatic vegetation. and wider er v veget etat ation buffer ers b s between een m mai aintai ained • terrestrial vegetation. lawns an and d the e wat ater’s edg edge help preserve water • erosion control practices. quality by limiting erosion and slowing rain runoff.
Manistee Lake Results The Score the Shore Survey of Manistee Lake was completed on August 30, 2017 in accordance with MiCorps guidelines. • 30 individual survey sites were established around the lake that encompassed about 5.7 miles of shoreline. With the exception to the low-lying wetlands along the northwest end of the lake, much of the Manistee Lake shoreline is developed. Currently, 248 homes and 246 docks border the lake proper, which equates to an average development density of 16.5 structures per 1,000 feet. Manistee Lake has an overall Sho hore S Score of of 55 55 with about 50% 50% of of Manistee Lake ke shor horeland rated poo oor, abo bout 33% 33% fair, and nd 17% 17% good ood. Most of the disturbed shoreland areas occur along developed shoreline areas. Thes ese e data ta sugges est t that t ther ere is a need eed t to both pr pres eserve e and res esto tore e natu tural l shor horeland habi bitat around ound Mani nistee Lake.
What can be done? 1. Don’t use lawn fertilizer or weed killer. 6. Don’t mow to the water’s edge. Instead, allow a strip of natural vegetation (i.e., a greenbelt) to become 2. Help prevent the spread of invasive species! If you trailer established along your waterfront. A greenbelt will trap your boat from lake to lake, wash your boat and trailer pollutants and discourage before launching back into Manistee Lake. nuisance geese from frequenting your property. 3. Water the lawn sparingly to avoid washing nutrients and 7. Infiltrate drainage from your downspouts rather than sediments into the lake. letting it flow overland to the lake. 4. Don’t feed ducks and geese near the lake. Waterfowl 8. Don’t dump anything in area wetlands. Wetlands are droppings are high in nutrients and may cause swimmer’s natural purifiers. itch. 9. Have your septic tank pumped every 2 to 3 years. 5. Don’t burn leaves and grass clippings near the shoreline. Nutrients concentrate in the ash and can easily wash into 10. Don’t be complacent—our collective actions will make or the lake break the lake! Become a Michigan Shoreland Steward!
Michigan Shoreland Stewards program • Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership partnered with Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council to create the Michigan Natural Shorland Stewards Program • Th The e MI MI Shore horeland Stewa wards P Progr gram provides es " "Educ ucation a on and R Recog ogni nition on". It i is designed ned t to: Provide recognition for inland lake property owners for using best management practices to protect their lake. Encourage inland lake property owners to use natural shoreland landscaping techniques and erosion control. Provide educational resources to help manage a property for a healthy lake.
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