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CONSERVANCY VIEWS Preserving Water Quality & Scenic Beauty of Our Lakes Winter 2011 www.wacf.com CONSERVANCY VIEWS 3 Send us your email address! Preserving Water Quality PO Box 548, Syracuse, IN 46567 Phone: 574.457.4549 Fax: 574.457.4432 E-Mail: [email protected] We’re on the web! www.wacf.com What if the WACF wasn’t here and you hadn’t given your money to protect this watershed? If WACF wasn’t here, you would have a hog farm just east of Lake Wawasee with it’s runoff and chemicals going into the lake…the odor ruining your days on your precious lake. You would have had thousands of pounds of silt and chemicals running into the lakes ruining the waters with results that could look like Grand Lake in Ohio…smelly, dangerous, and unusable. You could have a 76 unit condo project on the east side of the lake fifty feet above the water with it’s runoff going in to spoil the waters. You would have unchecked weed control with no one monitoring the growth of weeds which threaten the watershed. You would have no legal controls on numbers of piers allowed per foot of frontage because WACF helped support such an ordinance within Kosciusko County. You would have thousands of pounds of fertilizer containing phosphorus ruining the watershed and people still putting their leaves into the lake as in olden days. You would have farming with no filter strips around the farm land to stem the flow of chemicals going into the watershed. You would have no advocacy group rep- resenting your interests at local, state, and national levels, protecting the value of your property. But you are lucky because WACF does exist to protect the watershed and we can only do it with your help. The battle to keep this watershed as clean as we can starts with your donation to WACF. Un- fortunately, this effort will require greater and greater donations by us all. Please consider WACF in your dona- tions as well as in your estate planning to help continue this effort for now and for future generations. So think about it…what if??? Chairman’s Letter By John Holdeman, WACF Chairman T hank you for your continued support in 2011. Your contri- butions are appreciated and used effectively and efficiently to en- hance WACF’s mission: preservation and enhancement of the Wawasee area watershed for the present and fu- ture generations. The attendance at our Annual Meeting was the largest ever. Thank you to all that joined us for breakfast and an update. During 2012 we will be hosting many informative meet- ings to keep you abreast of our activi- ties and the sharing of your watershed concerns. The Cattail Awards are a tradition at the Annual Meeting fea- turing cattail sculptures hand made by Bill and Barb Coon. This year these Environmental Awards were presented to Deborah Flanagan for her leadership and generosity, Jeff Herdrich for his work on the WACF properties, especially the Education Center property, Ian Rolland, and Nancy Brown for her partnership with WACF and the ERRA, and her help with our Lake Talks Bug Catch. Thank you to these outstanding vol- unteers. We welcome new board members Ron Baumgartner, Pam Schumm, and Jeff Wells. We thank retiring board members Betty Knapp, Bob Myers, and Jerry Riffle. Collectively the retiring board members have served over 40 years. In the spring three trails will be open, along with the newly con- structed enhanced wetlands behind the Education Center including new plantings. There will be much to see. If you prefer not to walk, we have golf carts available. Many WACF board members and lake residents attended the DNR hearing on the Oakwood pier re- quest. John Lloyd of the firm Kreig Devault presented our concern for water quality and the preservation of the Conklin Bay wetlands. Thanks to Frank Hoffman, Andrew Buroker, and John Lloyd for the excellent work and presentation. Recently we re- ceived a 30-Day Public Notice Re- port requesting dredging of 827’ across the frontage and channel be- side the Oakwood Inn. We oppose this drastic measure on the lakebed. As you are planning your tax do- nations for the end of 2011, please consider a special gift to WACF to help us meet our mission in 2012 of the preservation and enhancement of the Wawasee area watershed. John Holdeman, Chairman Sam Leman, Vice Chairman Heather Harwood, Executive Director Donn Baird, Treasurer Ronald Baumgartner Daniel Berkey David Brandes Diana Castell Terry Clapacs Robert Fanning Jane Finch William J. Herdrich Betsy Roby Nick Stanger Joan Szynal Pam Schumm Holly Tuttle Jeff Wells Doug Yoder Thomas Yoder OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS Helen Alfrey James K. Allerdice Russell Anderson Cynthia Brumbaugh Jim Brumbaugh Al Campbell Jack Carr Anita Cast David Culp Irwin Deister, Jr. Bill Dixon Gus Duehmig David Eckrich Deborah Flanagan Tobias Richard Freeland Sherman Goldenberg Douglas Grant Richard Green Jan Hackleman Tom Hughes Needham Hurst Harriett Inskeep William P. Johnson Max Kendall Betty Knapp Robert Knudsen Tina Kocher Rebecca Kubacki Eli (Ted) Lilly Vance Lopp William McNagny Gordon Moore Robert F. Myers John Naab Nancy Pickett Bing Pratt Jerry Riffle Edwin F. Rogers Ian Rolland Dick Ruddell Dean Schwalm Howdy Wilcox Jane T. Wilson DIRECTORS E MERITUS www.wacf.com CONSERVANCY VIEWS What If? By David Brandes, WACF PR Chair Coming soon: This holiday season, check out WACF’s new video on our website www.wacf.com. The video will include new photos by Susie Brandes of the beauty in our wa- tershed. Thank you Susie! Deborah Flanagan Tobias, Jeff Herdrich and Nancy Brown Cattail Award winners. Lake Talk and Eats By Diana Castell, WACF Ecology/Education Chair Our first annual education classes called Lake Talks and Eats were a success. Our goal is to open up the WACF Center to be a place where the public could come and explore with us topics of interest to everyone in our watershed. We wanted to provide a consistent time each summer so everyone will know that on the first Saturday of each summer month WACF would sponsor an interesting and exciting activity. This past summer, we had a variety of activities and speakers for our First first Saturday of June, July and August. In June, we had Anna Burke, program director for Kosciusko Lake and Stream telling about their ‘Lake in the Classroom’ projects. Aquari- ums are placed in 4th grade classrooms along with books about water, watershed and animals that de- pend on the water. WACF sponsored one of the aquariums last year and will sponsor two this year. Alex Hall, an intern for Tippecanoe Valley Water- shed, discussed phosphorous free yard care and a web site, ClearChoicesCleanWater.org, that is an ex- cellent source of information and where you can record your commitment to be phosphorus free. Kent Hare, a local fisherman and taxidermist, brought his catch of the day, several very nice blue gills. Kent gave a fisherman view of the watershed that was informative and full of humor. On July 2, our Bug Catch brought Nancy Brown, Elkhart Soil and Water District manager and Hoosier Riverwatch trainer, to help teach kids about water bugs. Why you might ask? Because water bugs can tell you about the health of our wa- tershed. Grandparents brought their kids ranging in age from 2 to 16. We would wade in the lake with special nets digging them into the bottom of the lake and dumped our findings in white pans. Nancy helped us identity these very small critters. And which ones were important for a healthy lake. We learned to tell lefty from righty snails and why one is more important to the water quality. Who knew! We all learned about these important creatures. August 6th, Nate Bosch, Grace College professor, joined some of the WACF board members for a round table discussion. Nate gave power point pres- entation about the how the lake water moves from the bottom to the top. Personally, I have read about this and have seen other presentations but Nate’s presentation was excellent and now I do understand this process. John Holdeman and David Brandes helped answer questions from the audience. Topics ranged from WACF’s mission, water testing, and protecting the watershed from confined feedlots. Look for more Lake Talks and Eats the first Saturdays next summer. By Nick Stanger As one of the 5 Dis- trict Directors and Vice President of the Knapp Lake Area Conservancy District (KLACD), I can report that the sewer project is back on track. All paperwork for the grant has been submitted and ap- proved. Three environmental studies have been provided. However, since the federal government and USDA still do not have a 2012 budget, we antici- pate receiving the Letter of Conditions in March 2012, which will stipulate the amount of the grant. The KLACD sewer project is 4th on the list for funding; Mike Novac’s of- fice, USDA Rural Community Assis- tance Program (RCAP), anticipates reduced back to the 2008 level, but with our project’s position on the list, funding is now virtually assured. Jack Chronister of the Noble County Health Department will write a letter stating again the need from an envi- ronmental perspective, and water test- ing of several previously failed septic systems will be conducted again to ver- ify results and prove the need. The cost for the infrastructure is es- timated at about $5 million; however, the number of residence continues to be reduced (homes torn down or mo- bile homes moved) so we still hope to have about 195 or so (including the campground which is equal to 7 resi- dences) over which to spread the cost. The county will also apply for a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), so combined with the USDA grant and 20 year low- cost loan from State Revolving Loan Fund for the difference, we should meet the USDA’s ‘breakpoint’ of $60- $65 per month per residence. Wastewater will be collected using a low pressure system with 158 packaged grinder pump stations. The Town of North Webster will provide treatment and handle the billing. Knapp Lake area sewer project update – November 2011 At this time of year most of us re- ceive several solicita- tions from various worthy organizations and charitable serv- ices. In a down econ- omy it is even more important to remember that many nonprofits strug- gle to fulfill their missions because funding has been reduced. The matter is further complicated because demand for services provided by nonprofits generally increase during tough times. As you review your planned giving for the balance of tax year 2011, please give strong consideration to the many good organizations that depend on you for donor support. We hope WACF is included among your phil- anthropic priorities as we continue to work to protect the valuable blessing we have in the Wawasee watershed. The WACF has a documented record of positive actions taken to pre- serve our lakes. Since its inception only 20 years ago, WACF has focused on education, land acquisition, and land management. We have acquired over 700 acres of property within the watershed and protected nearly 10 miles of shoreline. On its properties, WACF has reconstructed wetlands, designed and implemented sediment control measures, and adapted erosion control practices. WACF has invested more than one million dollars in specific projects and activities aimed at improving the Wawasee area watershed. Funding for these efforts has come from grants and the support of more than 400 annual giving partners. But there is more work to do if we are going to protect our environment. Educational pro- gramming must grow and the WACF needs to continue to implement its long range land acquisition plan and acquire critical wetland properties. Please consider making an annual gift before the end of 2011. Also please consider making the WACF part of your estate plan. A simple letter stating your intent will begin the process. Someone from WACF will contact you immediately. Thank you for your consideration and all of us at WACF wish you a wonderful Holiday Season. How You Can Help By Terry Clapacs, Development Committee Chairman
