SAVE DEADLAKE

[Dano2]

I found this at another site and thought it would be a good idea to post over here, not sure if anyone has brought it up yet, but maybe with more of us knowing about it, more can help some how.,
Its basically a response from this comment below.

," right now a condominium complex is being proposed on the shore of Dead Lake near Dent, MN. They are proposing to build it on the shorelines of some critical waterfowl habitat on the lake and it will be detrimental to many species of game and fish that depend on it :eyeroll: . When I surf the web, why can't I find a website by forward thinking Minnesota sportsmen trying to fight such idiotic proposals? "

Because you werent looking in the right place.
Type in Deadlake.org and you will see the site.

Its not a condo complex. It is a "cluster development" which has been sold as being environmentally friendly.
Its basically a city of about 700 plopped down on a peninsula in the middle of an 8000 acre, shallow lake which is classified as an environmentally sensitive lake.
The development would consist of 130some housing units, restaraunt, gas station, 3 marinas with dockside gas self contained water and a sewer system for the whole thing.
The 260 acre peninsula is surrounded by water that probably averages 3 feet but much of it is less and consists of wild rice, hard stem bull rushes, cattails and loon nests. There is also a bald eagle nest on the peninsula.
The lake is a traditional resting area for diver ducks.
The propery is bordered by two WMAs, some private hunting land and a parcel given to Moorhead State as a wildlife study area.
No brainer you say? That is what we thought. Tell that to the county commissioners, judges and other politicians in this state. (Believe me, many of them will be gone after the next election.

The idea behind a cluster development is that you can get away with packing more people into less area (and make more money).
The alternative would be to lot it off but that would mean that they could only sell 30 -50 lots which cuts into their greed.
They say that one giant septic has less impact than 40 small ones.
The giant one only has to fail once and you destroy the lake. Smaller ones would be new and have to meet code.

My fear (and that of most others with half a brain) is what happens when you increase the population by 700 complete with speed boats and jerk skis on a lake that is mostly less than 15 feet deep?

I just so happen to live on that lake and have been very active in fighting that development. If you think that hundreds of people havent put in hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars doing what they can to keep zillionaires from selling out that lake, you are sadly mistaken. Our lake association is into our lawyers to the tune of over a hundred grand.

You dont see much about this on sportsmens forums. Normally, it is read and written by the same handful of people day in and day out and the opinions and attitudes of those people will not be changed by what goes on here.

The trouble is that the locals in this area are being overtaken by people from the cities who hear about how wonderful it would be to have a "boat up" restaraunt etc... and dont realize A. what that development would mean to the waterfowl and water quality (80 some % is less than 15 feet deep) and that to get to the "boat up"restaraunt, you would have to "boat up" for about 300 yards through 2-3 feet of water and weeds. These people have deep pockets and all that many of them know about waterfowl is that geese sh*t on their golf courses.

Money talks to 80 year old retired farmers who spent their entire lives not making as much from farming as they would off the interest generated by what they are offered for their property from developers.
Pretty tough for sportsmen's interests to shut things like that down.

You figure it out... when this went before the county planning commision, there was time for public input. 116 letters came in asking for and EIS to be done against the development. 1 letter came in in favor of the development. The USFWs sent a letter asking for an EIS. The DNR sent a representitive requesting an EIS. The board deliberated about 10 minutes and granted the go ahead. Same thing happened when it went before the county judge.
Now it looks as though it may end up in the Supreme Court. I hope it does because the county seems to be ready to sell their own mothers for the sake of tax base.

Property values have been increasing as have taxes to the point where the common man cannot own lakeshore anymore. It is only more valuable if you plan to sell and move somewhere else.
DU...the USFWS...MWA...MDNR are all against this thing as well as all other rediculous uncontrolled degradation of what brings people to Mn in the first place. Lack of County experience, planning and forethought is why this development is even a pipe dream.
Try to fight it at the township level and people say "I dont want government telling me what I can and cant do with my land".
They say that until a hog confinement building pops up in their backyard or they cant hunt ducks on the lake anymore.

Deadlake.org

[island guy]

You are so Right!! Hard to believe anyone with any common sense at all would ever approve a project such as this. Unreal. Iwould challenge anyone to take a walk along the beach of this area and envision the destruction this project would do. It's really sad!

[Mark Christianson]

I have talked to people in the Fergus Falls USFWS office about this. They can only do so much.

Bottom line, growth and development reigns more powerful than saving some of natures parcels.

What a frickin joke(IMO).
This is going to continue. I spend a lot of time in Ottertail county, and just look at some of the lakes(small mudholes) that are getting developed. I just hate to see it.

Although, how do you stop progress and population increases?
A double-edged sword indeed.

[Mark Christianson]

Dano

I will also say that I agree with you on most(if not all) of your points.
Thanks for taking the time to put this out here.

I just hope that this can be stopped.
People with deep pockets need to be stopped(or slowed) at some point.

[Dano2]

Naaah, I couldn't ever write that good.
I found this post in another outdoors forum, but deleted some of the guys personal stuff incase he minded

[ChuckN]

It is very sad if this development is granted. Dead Lake should be natural FOREVER, IMO.

It is unfortunate that there are people like this who's greed blinds them from reality and the consequences of what this may do.

[FishandFowl]

I first read about this about a year ago and was disgusted to see that something like this could happen. I don't know if shorline management has gotten involved but when this will generate so much in property taxes for the area it's a hard sell to stop the project. Small farming in the area is shrinking and land prices are skyhigh so it is easy to see how the lure of big money helps along the sell off of property. My parents live in OTC just south of Fergus and 10 years ago theirs was one of 5 homes on the lake now it is pretty much surrounded and backlots are now being offered. Mind you this is a 400 acre lake (WOW). It's easy to see why there are fewer ducks left in the area.

FnF

[B. Amish]

First off, Dead Lake is a specail lake in my opinion because of all of the shallow water and waterfowl habitat! There aren't a lot of lakes like this in the state, of Dead's size, amount of shoreline, bays, islands, etc. This lake should be protected, not developed! Personally i would rather see the whole thing turned into a national wildlife refuge. When will developers see these places as unique wildlife habitat and leave them alone?! If this were happening on another lake, it might not be that big of a deal, but Dead Lake is special, Let's work to keep it that way!

Deadlake.org,
How can I help?

[Jarrod32]

Just a couple points, and I apologize if I seem a bit rude...

First, from the perspective of the County or other local government...they hear, on a regular basis, about the need (desire) of their citizens to keep property taxes from increasing. The way to keep rates down is to increase tax base. When they allow a development of this nature to move forward, it is largely in response to demands of their constituency.

Next, it is time for the groups...lake associations, DU, etc. to step up - be proactive - and buy some of this land before it is purchased by developers. If you want it preserved, take some responsibility, and buy it. And yes, I understand that resources in those organizations are tight...but by the time you spend the money fighting these battles in court, you could just as well buy the land...

Again, sorry if I seem a bit rude...I don't mean to be.

[John Mickish]

Remember this year is an election year, so this summer when your local polititian is out pounding the pavement at the local parade ask them how they stand, and tell them what your thoughts are.

[fishlips]

The larger developments will continue....last fall, I heard about another large plot of land purchased on a small, ecologically sensitive lake within 10 miles of Dead Lake. This practice started in the larger cities several years ago. By buying the large land tracts in advance, the developer has control of everything and maximizes the amount of money made.
Hopefully, Fergus Falls has anticipated this and will allow limited, smart growth so we avoid becoming another Brainerd (too crowded!)
Sportsman's clubs can help by seeking out land purchases or land donations.