Natural lake shores getting destroyed

[andy j]

I saw something on the news about the mercury levels in Minnesota lakes are getting worse, it didn't get into much detail but it doesn't surprise me. It frusterates me to see all the natural shoreline off our lake being destroyed by lake property owners. all the rock, sand beaches, killing the weeds is getting out of control. I don't think that they relize how they are hurting their and our lake. I think everyone thinks rock is great because it reduces erosion but it does not filter runoff. Natural shores lines( reeds, etc.) act as a filter (sponge) to runoff into the lake. Do people really need a 100 foot beach. Taking away natural shoreline also takes away fish spawning areas. I just can't believe there aren't laws. I don't hate lakefront owners, in fact a plan to own one someday but don't destroy the shoreline. AJ

[taxmancommeth]

Well said...

[bottomfeeder]

Probably easier said then practiced if your not a lake shore owner.

My parents own 100ft on Chub Lake. 30ft is weed free with a small sand beach and a rock retaining wall to prevent erosion. The rest is weeds, cattails, stumps, fallen trees, etc... They also maintain 70ft of woods between the shoreline and their lawn.

Don't see why a person can't have their cake and unmolested shoreline to boot.

[Mark Christianson]

The lakeshore association on the lake where my parents have a cabin, is concerned about water quality. The complaint is that there are weeds in areas where there wasn't weeds before, and the clarity seems to be less..... They wanted the DNR to jump in and help out in some way last year.

These same people complaining of poor water quality are probably the culprits to the problem. Mowing grass right to the shoreline, spreading fertilizers on those lush beautiful lawns, turn on that weed roller to rid the beach of weeds, etc.....

Ridiculous. People are the main cause of the problems, and then they want someone else to come in and clean it up for them.

PS - Crusher, great point on that litter piece too.

[bigg edd]

Mercury is only going to get worse as the price of oil goes up and we are forced to use other sources of energy such as electricity. Coal is abundant and is used to produce electricity and we are going to start burning more and more of it.

[Crusher]

I ‘m a lake homeowner and I’m also concerned about our lakes quality. I have 120’ of lakeshore and 80’ of it is cattails. It will always be cattails. It’s a great natural filter for runoff. Catches some of the lawn fertilizers that the people uphill and off the lake spread on there lawns. As for the Mercury, I believe that most of this comes from coal burning power plants. Next time take a look around the house, is there a lamp, TV, stereo or something else on that doesn’t need to be? I think we ALL need to take a hard look at what do day to day to try and make a difference! One last comment is that during the ice fishing season I don’t believe it’s that lake home owners that leave there trash laying all over the ice. I do however see my neighbors out picking it up!

Crusher

[Ufatz]

Somebody in here said "there ought to be a law."...well, there is. Or are. A lot of them. If you have tried to build a cabin on a lake in recent years you know all about the various local and state regulations involved. Frankly, they can become a PITA because, as usual, somebody wants to go overboard with them. From my perspective much of the problem comes from the older places, built before we were as "smart" as we are now. Now that we have become a nearly "perfect" society we can fix everything, as long as it belongs to somebody else. There are good laws. There should be. There has been too much destruction already. Now that we have found a way to save the shorlines, how about we save some #$%$#% wetlands!
For the record: I own about a half-mile on a small lake. Only 50 feet of it is my launch and dock area. Rest is full of natural vegetation, mallards, wood ducks, mink, raccoons etc.

[Slyster]

Good for you all who are striving to keep things natural! You are doing a great thing!

[This message has been edited by Slyster (edited 08-22-2004).]