Conservation Lobby Day 2006 to be held January 25th

The Wisconsin Association of Lakes is joining a coalition of statewide conservation groups to bring together citizens from across the state to talk with legislators about clean water, quality sporting opportunities, and Wisconsin’s conservation priorities.

Conservation Lobby Day offers you the opportunity to talk to your legislative representatives about your concerns and hopes for Wisconsin's lakes. Your perspective as a local lake person will help your elected legislator understand the issues that are important to our lakes and vote to protect the things we all value about Wisconsin’s special lakes.

Two of this year’s Conservation Lobby Day priorities focus on issues that negatively impact many of our lakes: polluted runoff, and declining groundwater levels. We feel there are two additional issues of importantance to lakes that our legislative representatives need to hear more about; shoreland protection, and aquatic invasive species prevention and control. The Coalition and the Wisconsin Association of Lakes are developing talking points on each of these issues, which will be available well in advance of the event.

Make your voice heard in the Capitol.

Registration for Conservation Lobby Day 2006 is being handled by the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters.

Priority Lake Issues

Polluted runoff

Despite being the first state in the country to enact strong polluted runoff rules, runoff remains Wisconsin’s leading water quality problem. Runoff is excess water that washes hard surfaces—such as roads and roof tops—instead of soaking into the ground. As runoff water rushes off the land it carries fertilizers like phosphorus, sediments, salts, and other pollutants into our lakes, causing numerous problems.

Groundwater decline and Great Lakes water diversion

Groundwater flow is one of several sources of water for lakes. When the amount of groundwater flowing into a lake is reduced, the total volume of a lake and/or the flow of water through a lake can be reduced, which negatively impacts the lake’s ecosystem, water quality, and recreational uses. Declining groundwater levels—caused by higher water use demands and increased hard surfaces that prevent water from soaking into the ground and higher water use demands— threaten a growing number of our inland lakes.

Aquatic invasive species prevention and control

Aquatic invasive species are costing taxpayers millions of dollars by lowering property values, degrading habitat, and displacing native plants, wildlife, and fish species. Invasive species impact recreation by harming native sport fish populations. Invasive plants often form dense mats that make boating, fishing, and swimming difficult. The costs to control invasive species are extremely high. Individual lakes may spend tens of thousands of dollars per year to simply manage (not eradicate) invasive plant populations.

Shoreland protection

Protecting natural shorelines prevents polluted runoff from entering lakes, helps control flooding, provides fish and wildlife habitat, preserves privacy and natural scenic beauty, and enhances public rights and private property values. Shorelands are sensitive areas and are critical to our lakes' health.

Lake ecology is only one aspect of Wisconsin lakes. Our perception of our relationship with lakes is equally important. How we think about lakes affects how we treat them. Our lakes are special places not only because of their natural beauty, but because of the relationships we form with others while enjoying our lake, and the meaning we associate with being at the lake or “Up North.” All of our lake experiences contribute to a “Sense of Place."

A recent paper by Richard Stedman--Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at Pennsylvania State University—examines the relationship between our sense of place and lakeshore development in northern Wisconsin. He suggests that “Up North,” has an understood meaning as a place of high environmental quality and escape from civilization.

Stedman surveyed over 1,000 property owners in northern Wisconsin's lake-rich Vilas County. Conclusions from this survey include:

• Low levels of development are a perceived characteristic of "Up North" lakes.
• Increasing the amount of lakeshore development causes a decline in residents' perception that their lake is indeed "Up North."
• Increasing amounts of lakeshore development leads to residents feeling less satisfied and attached to their lake.
• Increasing the number of people within a lake community leads to more opportunities for social relationships; positive social relationships can increase residents' sense of attachment to their lake.
• When people feel attached to their lake, they are more willing to act to protect the lake.
• Ironically, when people are satisfied with their lake, they are less willing to act to protect it. This suggests that people are often not willing to become involved in lake protection activities until the lake has undergone significant negative change.

Blue green algae are photosynthesizing bacteria that have existed in Wisconsin lakes for millions of years. In recent decades, excessive nutrients from human activities have fueled worsening algal blooms. In addition to the negative impacts associated with algal blooms— excess algae can block sunlight, deplete oxygen in the water, and contribute to fish kills—blue green algae can produce a variety of toxins that can affect human and animal nervous systems, kidneys and skin.

High concentrations of blue-green algae occurred in 2004 and 2005 in some waters in all regions of Wisconsin, but the algae didn’t always produce the toxins that can pose a health threat to people and animals, according to a new study by the Department of Natural Resources. Not all species of blue-green algae produce toxins, and even those that produce toxins don’t produce them all the time. These findings suggest predicting when blue green algae will be a health risk is more complex than originally thought, and there is no quick and easy way to decide whether water quality is unsafe for water users and local officials.