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Posts: 1460
Location: Kronenwetter, WI | I thought I heard a DNR spokesperson indicate on the radio today his concern about this program being eliminated. Does anyone have any information about this?
http://dnr.wi.gov/news/mediakits/mk_phosphorus.asp
I hope that's not true as the lake our cabin is on is really struggling with over-abundant weed growth.
Thanks,
Edited by Cowboyhannah 3/7/2011 8:54 PM
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| A lot of programs are being cut but have not heard about this one in particular. I know the lake association for the chain where we have a cottage gets a small grant for clean waters each year, mainly for information packets for boaters and I understand that has been eliminated. It was not a lot of money but it was nice to have a printed brochure to give interested boat owners so they knew what the invasives are and how to clean their boats. All the folks checking boats are volunteers so that won't be impacted. The good thing is that today most fishermen are really up to speed about cleaning boats and not transferring invasives from one lake to another. |
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Posts: 1460
Location: Kronenwetter, WI | Okay, I found it:
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/environment/article_dc7e06ae...
When times are tight things get cut--a real bummer. Maybe someday we can get that reinstated. NOT trying to start a political war, here BTW. |
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| It is an issue and one that has been around for a long time. Last year when the property owners on Lake Winnebago were upset about the tremendous weed growth along the shoreline in Bago, I wondered how much of it was aided by all the big green lawns that run right down to the shore line. Any fertilizer on those lawns sloping toward the lakes and some it has to wash into the lake.
If folks would just leave a strip of undeveloped land near the lake it would absorb a lot of that runoff. You'd have big tall weeds on the shoreline instead of in the lake. |
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Location: Sawyer County, WI | I never really understood why anybody wants a big, high maintenance lawn at the cabin. The last thing I want to do is mow the lawn in the city and then have to do the same thing at the cabin on the weekend. Native grasses grow fine without fertilizer and don't require much care.
Combine native grasses with the buffer zone North of 8 mentioned and you go a long way to stopping/reversing the problem. When we all (politicians included) see the light ? |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Hey let's not forget that septic systems are also a source for phosphorous(P). Ever figure out why the only weed in a Canadian lake was in front of a cottage? Leaching P from the septic systems makes great fertilizer and wham you have weed growth. Don't like weeds in your lake? Build a wasterwater plant to treat the discharge of all the cottages around the lake or rip up the place the place and leave it like it was 100s of years ago. |
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Posts: 258
Location: Mayville, WI | This is more geared towards municipal phosphorus output (from treatment facilities). They are a drop in the bucket compared to runoff, cycling, and other sources. Pretty much all the original bill did was cause these municipalities to upgrade their systems for huge amounts of money (more takes anyone) just to remove a tiny fraction more of P. This will not change the lakes.
As for Winnebago, the P is not what has caused the increased growth of plants. Increased water clarity = deeper light can get = more locations plants can grow = more plants. Anyone remember how far down you could see in Bago 20+ years ago during the summer?
Agree on the buffer zones, but the main problem is from agricultural runoff. But heaven forbid we do anything about that...
sc |
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Location: Not far enough north! | "Agree on the buffer zones, but the main problem is from agricultural runoff. But heaven forbid we do anything about that... "
I am a farmer and am concerned with the negative face that we have in todays world. We as a whole care about the environment just as much as everyone else if not more. I have a degree in Environmental Biology and worked for years in the environmental field restoring wetlands, forests, and prairies across the midwest. I have planted close to a thousand acres of trees, and done hundreds of acres of wetlands and prairies. On my own farm we have over a hundred acres of CRP, buffer strips and timber.
We make our living off the land we love the land and we do everything in our power to take care of our land. As far as nutrients go we do take precautions to keep it in the soil. New technologies allow the fertilizer to bond with the soil particles better than ever before and we are raising more food with less fertilizer and pesticides.
Of course there are always extreme cases were some do not care but that is the case in all facets of life. Something like 95% dont quote me on that number, of all farms are still family operations and we are doing our best to take care of the resource and feed the world at the same time.
Rick |
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Posts: 258
Location: Mayville, WI | I agree Rick, farming has come a long way in the past 20 or so years. A lot of the problem now is from old P in the lakes as it's very hard to remove once it's in there while it keeps cycling. I don't feel the problem is the farmers as individuals, per say, but the lack of regulation for some of these items. WI has historically been very agriculture friendly and there are some items that need to be addressed that just won't b/c they deal with agriculture. It's kind of a double-edged sword. |
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| I understand that fertilizer from lawns is not the main cause of weed growth on Winnibago but used it as an example of those things we can control. Sometimes we focus on what government can do or the other guy can do and forget that each of us in our daily lives can do something, even if it is small thing. I have lake property and the only part of my lake front I do anything with is a board walkway to my dock. I leave the brush and grass grow down by the lake and in return I see all kinds of wildlife. I have ducks resting in the grass, birds in the brush and of course the predators hunting, including fox, mink, coon and raptors. We found out the first summer that if young ducks are hiding in the grass by the dock you can get an up close look at a red tail as it tried to pick off a duckling in the grass. Herons also seem comfortable hunting along the shore if it is largely undisturbed. Once, after a long day of working on my cottage, I was sitting on the end of the dock enjoying a cigar and a manhattan when a great blue heron came walking the shore, crossed over my dock and continued down the shoreline with just a little glance at me. |
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