Managing your lakefront property for fish & wildlife

A healthy lake is a functioning ecosystem. Native vegetation, bottom materials, and natural debris play essential roles in the life cycles of fish and wildlife.

The area near the shore (littoral zone) provides some of the most important habitat for wildlife living in or near to our lakes. Wildlife that use the near-shore areas of lakes are incredibility diverse—from loons and turtles to dragonflies and mink. Many wildlife species find food, den and burrow sites, nursery areas for young, flyways and travel corridors, perching and sunning sites, and protection from weather and predators in near shore areas.

Leave natural features that help wildlife

There may already be many natural features on your property that are valuable to wildlife:

• Large, dead standing or cavity trees (used by many birds for nesting and roosting or dens for some animals)
• Large, dying trees (woodpeckers search for insects and bats roost under loose bark)
• Seasonal pools and wetlands (used by amphibians for breeding)
• Berry “tangles” (cover for many species of wildlife)
• Logs and branches in the water (basking areas for turtles and cover for fish)
• Lakeshore and stream bank burrows (homes of weasels, otters and muskrats)
• Sandy soils with good sun exposure (used by turtles for nesting areas)
• Rock piles (cover for snakes and small mammals)
• Large trees overhanging the water (feeding perches for flycatchers, kingfishers, osprey and other birds)
• Fallen logs on the land (preferred habitat for
  some salamanders)
• High, sandy banks (nesting sites for kingfishers, bank swallows and rough-winged swallows)

By protecting these natural features, you can provide a strong foundation for wildlife habitat on your property.

Let fallen trees lie

Leave fallen trees in the water to provide habitat for fish and wildlife. Fallen wood forms critical habitat for tiny aquatic organisms that feed bluegills, turtles, crayfish and other critters. Many species—such as turtles, frogs, dragonflies, songbirds, and otters—use downed trees as both a feeding area and hiding place. Fallen trees are also an important source of nutrients and minerals for our lakes, and they help protect shorelines from erosion.

Restore your shore

Shorelands are an important part of a healthy lake ecosystem. Near shore plants provide habitat for many wildlife species. Natural shorelines are also wildlife highways, or travel corridors, for animals such as mink. Leaving a buffer area of natural vegetation along the shoreline, property owners can:

• provide habitat and travel corridors for wildlife
• enjoy a natural lake view and increase their privacy
• muffle noise from watercraft
• reduce erosion and polluted runoff
• help maintain water quality

Learn more about restoring your shore....

Plan your pier

The assertion that piers make good fish habitat is commonly repeated, but recent studies are showing that the opposite is true. Piers can shade out plants, which are important habitat for fish, and can "break" contiguous shoreland habitat. In addition to shading plants underneath the pier, property owners often must clear additional plants away from their pier in order to launch boats.

Installing one reasonably sized pier will not significantly affect the health of the lake, however the cumulative effect of installing many piers may impact shoreland habitat and overall lake quality. The larger the pier the more shoreland area it can potentially disturb and shade.

Read complete pier shading study (PDF 171 KB)