The Ripple Newsletter of the Fifty Lakes Property Owners Association Walking in a Winter Wonderland Simply Showshoes Minnesotan’s love outdoor winter activities. Hockey, skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing all come to mind. But, one of the most peaceful ways to get around outside and to get in touch with nature is snowshoeing. Snowshoes work by spreading a person’s weight over a large area. With snowshoes, people can walk on top of even the deepest snow, and people have used snowshoes to help them survive for more than 4,000 years. It is believed that as ancestors of the Inuit and Native Americans migrated from Asia to North Continued on 7 President’s Post Learn about future plans for the Fifty Lakes Property Owners Association. Page 2 Winter Family Fun Spend some family time reading a classic by the fire and find yourself inspired to bake a delicious treat together. Page 3 FLPOA Water Quality Find out about the water quality of your lake. Page 6 FLPOA • www.minnesotawaters.org/group/fiftylakes Winter 2014
Transcript
The Ripple Newsletter of the Fifty Lakes Property Owners Association
Walking in a Winter Wonderland Simply Showshoes
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Minnesotan’s love outdoor winter activities. Hockey, skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing all come to mind. But, one of the most peaceful ways to get around outside and to get in touch with nature is snowshoeing.
Snowshoes work by spreading a person’s weight over a large area. With
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snowshoes, people can walk on top of even the deepest snow, and people have used snowshoes to help them survive for more than 4,000 years. It is believed that as ancestors of the Inuit and Native Americans migrated from Asia to North
Continued on 7
President’s Post Learn about future plans for the Fifty Lakes Property Owners Association.
Page 2
Winter Family Fun Spend some family time reading a classic by the fire and find yourself inspired to bake a delicious treat together.
Page 3
FLPOA Water Quality Find out about the water quality of your lake.
I hope you had a joyous Christmas and New Year with family and friends. Although I admire the pristine beauty of the deep snow, the quiet and sub-zero highs, it is not hard to look forward to spring and summer to enjoy the Lakes, with which we have all been blessed.
In our list of accomplishments, we were able to get an extension from the City of Fifty Lakes for our “Burma Shave” signs. They are a large part of our Awareness and Education program to fight Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS). The 3-year extension was not an easy endeavor, but through the process, I believe we will have a better working relationship with the city of Fifty Lakes. Our mayor, Ken Hersey, has expressed an interest in supporting our efforts to man our boat landings with AIS Inspectors. Adding more hours is probably our most important goal for the upcoming season.
We also have a couple Shoreline Restoration projects scheduled to begin this spring. We would like to encourage anyone with an interest to contact us, as we may be able to help with grant monies and/or coordination of restoration projects.
Until spring, enjoy winter, whether you are here or you escape to warmer climates.
Sincerely, Fred Strohmeier, FLPOA President
Open for just over one year, the University of Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC) is going strong. The Center’s mission is to develop biologically and economically sound solutions to control key aquatic invasive species affecting Minnesota’s waters. View a video about the Center and the Program to learn more. (www.maisrc.umn.edu/) Submitted by Bob Stancer
President’s Post By Fred Strohmeier
FLPOA Mission
It is the mission of the Fifty Lakes Property Owners Association (FLPOA) to:
1. Promote responsible stewardship of our land and water resources by all property owners in the city of Fifty Lakes.
2. Provide information to our members on best management practices of lands and waters.
3. Coordinate and work with other associations, organizations and agencies of government to share experiences and opinions.
. Winter Family Fun . Make snowman, light fire, bake cookies, read story, enjoy life
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After building a snowman, warm yourself by the fire with a little hot chocolate and Jim Aylesworth’s retelling of The Gingerbread Man. This classic tale is sure to make your children and grandchildren grin and giggle.
Gingerbread has been around since the 15th century, and there is documentation showing that gingerbread "people" were served at the court of Elizabeth I as a novelty item.
Gingerbread has always been one of my favorites, and I am lucky to have a grandmother who made special ginger snaps for me every winter, and at age 93, she still does! Submitted by Carrie Bell
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Grandma Carrie’s Ginger Snaps d
Ingredients Cream Together: 1 ½ cup shortening 2 cups white sugar Add: ½ cup molasses and 2 eggs Mix Separately: 4 cups flour 2 tsp ginger 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp salt 4 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp cloves d
Directions Add flour mixture to the other mixture. Roll into balls the size of a walnut. Roll in white sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Cool and frost if desired.
Published in 1999, the retelling of classic story The Gingerbread Man, by Jim Alyesworth, makes for a fun afternoon!
2013 FLPOA Review As we look forward to an exciting new
year, it is also worth taking a moment to reflect on the amazing work we accomplished together in 2013.
Water Quality • Participated in the Whitefish Area
Property Owners Association (WAPOA) Water Quality Testing Program.
• Participated in the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Citizen Monitoring Program.
• Worked with The City of Fifty Lakes to conduct a fly-over by A.W. Research Labs to analyze the water quality of the lakes in the city.
Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) • Maintained the AIS “ Burma Shave
Signs “ on Crow Wing County Roads #1 and #136.
• Conducted AIS surveys at the four public watercraft accesses. Each access was checked for AIS in June and also in September. Results were negative for all the surveys – no AIS were found. For 2014, the association board is considering having surveys conducted and some of the private accesses in the city.
• Participated in a Crow Wing County program to have paid AIS inspectors at the four public watercraft accesses. The association was able to fund this program from membership dues and donations. Inspectors were at each access for approximately 60 – 65 hours. The board hopes to increase the number of hours at each access in 2014.
Non-Profit Status • Obtained 501(c) 3 status with the IRS.
All your contributions are now tax deductible.
Project Grants Received a grant to complete two shoreline restoration projects, one on Kego and the other on Mitchell. There is also one pending shoreline restoration project that will be completed on West Fox in the spring of 2014.
Community Involvement & Communication • Provided an informational booth at
Fifty Lakes Days. • Communicated with the association
members using our website and newsletters.
• Maintained communication with and shared information with approximately 25 other associations, organizations and government agencies in the area.
• Conducted four board meetings and one annual meeting. Submitted by Ken Neihart
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FLPOA Membership
If you are not yet a member of FLPOA, please consider joining. The stronger the membership, the more we can achieve on behalf of our lakes. Or, if you need to renew your membership, please complete the form found on the last page of this newsletter, or go to the FLPOA web site and download the form. Then, make payment to:
The grant is for the conservation and preservation of water quality in the lakes of our city.
We would like to offer a special thanks to Dayton Soby who is a trustee on the J.A. Wedum
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Foundation Board. He was responsible for recommending the grant be awarded to the FLPOA.
Dayton and his wife Ruth live on West Fox Lake. Submitted by Ken Neihart
FLPOA Receives a $1000.00 Grant from the J.A. Wedum Foundation
Did you know that algae are alive under lake ice in the winter? If you enjoy ice fishing, you have maybe seen this occur.
Some species of algae are adapted to survive in cold temperatures, such as the 39º F water under the ice. The growth of these winter algae mainly depends on how much light and nutrients are available to them. The light available depends on how much snow we have on top of the ice.
Algae grow best in the winter in eutrophic lakes because they have more nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) available for them to use as food.
So why does it matter that algae can grow in the winter? When they photosynthesize, they give off oxygen as a byproduct. This oxygen is then available for fish, aquatic insects and other aquatic animals to breathe.
This dynamic is especially important in shallow, nutrient-rich lakes. In these lakes, there is a lot of decomposition going on at the bottom of the lake, which uses a lot of oxygen. During periods of prolonged ice
cover, the lake is sealed off from the atmosphere and cannot be recharged with oxygenated air. The decomposition process and all the fish and aquatic organisms in the lake use up the oxygen, and when it does not get replenished, oxygen levels can get too low for fish to survive.
If the conditions are just right – crystal clear ice and enough nutrients available – you can even see the algae growing under the ice. Next time you’re out ice fishing or walking on the lake, take a look and remember not all algae is bad. Provided by RMB Environmental Laboratories, Inc.
FLPOA Water Quality Trends The following water quality data is from secchi disk readings that were collected by volunteers from six lakes in the city. The secchi disk is a disk that is lowered into the water and measures water transparency or water clarity.
Lake Years Tested Average in Feet Trend Butterfield 1996 – 2007 12.3’ 2008 - 2013 15.2’ BETTER Eagle Main Bay 1996 - 2007 9.7’ 2008 - 2013 9.5’ SAME Eagle East Bay 2010 – 2013 9.4’ Eagle West Bay 2010 – 2013 10.3’ (More data needed for East and West Bay to determine a trend). East Fox 1992 – 2007 16.4’ 2008 – 2013 16.3’ SAME Kego 1998 – 2007 8.9’ 2008 – 2013 7.4’ DECLINING Mitchell 1995 – 2007 8.7’ 2008 – 2013 7.8’ DECLINING West Fox 1986 – 2007 15.5’ 2008 – 2013 14.6’ DECLINING
In most cases phosphate is the determining factor that affects water quality. More phosphate means more algae, which means declining water transparency or clarity.
Phosphate enters a lake many different ways. We all need to find ways to prevent the intrusion and release of phosphate into the lakes. For more water quality information, other tests and other test results visit the following web sites. Submitted by Ken Neihart
• Fifty Lakes Property Owners Association www.minnesotawaters.org/group/fiftylakes/welcome
• Whitefish Area Property Owners Association www.wapoa.org
Get out the shovels and snow blowers, and welcome the season of snow removal from our roads, driveways and sidewalks.
To make the roads and sidewalks safer, we usually use some form of road salt and/or gravel. When salt is applied to ice and snow it creates a brine that has a lower freezing temperature than the surrounding ice or snow. Salt is good for
America, they brought snowshoes with them. European settlers in North America quickly learned to use snowshoes. And, everyone had snowshoes, not just hunters and trappers. Farmers, loggers, police officers, soldiers, teachers, and nurses all used them, too.
Early snowshoes were modified slabs of wood, but as they improved, the primary materials utilized in the construction were wood (white ash) and rawhide. These wooden snowshoes are generally categorized in three different styles or shapes. The oval shaped Bear Paw was designed for use in forested conditions where maneuverability was most important. The truly long (46+ inches) Yukon snowshoe was developed for traversing deep powder-covered open areas, common in the Northwest. The Beavertail seemed to take advantage of the best features of both the bear paw and the Yukon, and has been utilized in all types of snow conditions.
From an environmental perspective, snowshoeing provides a welcome relief to non-hibernating animals, as the snowshoe trails harden up overnight, making it easier for animals to traverse a region the following day. Additionally, the slow speed of snowshoeing does not startle wildlife in the same way as cross country skiing and snowmobiling.
Snowshoeing a great way to get out and enjoy the beauty of nature, and it is an activity that the whole family can do together. Snowshoe rental is only $6 per day at state parks and there are many group snowshoe events available. (See: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/snowshoeing.html) So, grab some snowshoes and enjoy walking in our Minnesotan winter wonderland. Submitted by Carrie Bell
Walking in a Winter Wonderland…continued
1899 Wooden Snowshoes and Hunting Equipment Photo by H.C. Barley
de-icing because it is readily available, inexpensive, and easy to spread. But, what happens to that salt after the ice on the road melts?
Because chloride from dissolved road salt is not removed from water by chemical or biological processes, all of the chloride applied as road salt is expected to reach surface water or groundwater. Once chlorides enter the ground or surface water, they never go away.
The chloride in road salt is toxic to aquatic life in moderate to high concentrations. In low concentrations, it can interfere with reproduction and survival of young. When dissolved in water, anticaking agents in the road-salt mixture dissociate and release a form of cyanide that is extremely toxic to aquatic creatures and interferes with a fish’s breathing mechanism.
Chloride also is toxic to plants, both aquatic and terrestrial. In soil, salts reduce the availability of water to plants, and significantly increase water stress during spring and summer months. This effect has been referred to as chemical drought. Salts deposited directly on foliage may also burn and kill the affected parts, or the entire plant. This is commonly observed where salts from winter maintenance damage evergreen trees and shrubs adjacent to roadways.
So what can you do about this issue? The first step is to be aware of the effects of chloride in the environment. Next, consider the following: 1. Shovel first. The more snow you can remove from the sidewalk or driveway, the
less salt you need. Try to keep up with each snowfall. 2. Let the sun work for you. With the snow mostly removed, even the weaker winter sun has enough power to help melt and dry pavement. 3. Limit the salt! More salt does not make the snow melt faster. If you must salt, it is recommended that you use less than four pounds of salt per 1,000 square feet. Need a mental picture of that?
• An average parking space is about 150 square feet
• A 12 ounce coffee cup will hold about one pound of salt
4. Is it 15 degrees or colder? If so, salt will not work. Use sand instead. 5. Sweep up extra salt. Once the pavement is dry, remove all visible salt. Re-use it later or place it in the trash. Any extra salt you see on the pavement will eventually end up in the lake, creek, or river and negatively impact water quality. Submitted by Carrie Bell Sourced from RMB Environmental Laboratories, Inc. and Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board
Membership Fee/Dues are $20 per year. Please make checks payable to FLPOA, and mail to: P.O. Box 206, Fifty Lakes, MN 56448 Name:___________________________________________________________
Newsletter Stories We hope you enjoy the new look of the FLPOA Newsletter, The Ripple. Your comments and story ideas are very welcome! Submission deadline for the next edition is March 14, 2014. Please send stories to Carrie Bell at [email protected]
Photo Contest Although we are in the thick of winter, we are looking for a “First Sign of Spring” photo. The winning photo will be featured in the Spring Edition of The Ripple. Photo Contest Rules:
1. Photos must be submitted by by 5pm on Friday, March 14, 2014.
