Lake Links
The Newsletter of
the Valparaiso Chain of Lakes
Watershed Group, Inc.
Summer 2004
BioBlitz
Plant Detective Reveals his Findings on June 21st
Botanist Dave Hamilla who headed up the plant
identification
team of Porter County’s
first BioBlitz will attend Monday’s meeting to describe approximately
100
terrestrial plants he and his team discovered in the Camp
Lawrence area.
Dave is a professional geologist with 18 years’
experience
in environmental consulting who changed his emphasis from paleontology
to
building botanical collections and ecological studies in the early
1990’s. He
has conducted studies for Tall Tree Arboretum, Shirley Heinze Land
Trust, Indiana Dunes
State Park,
and Coffee Creek Conservancy. Dave has
built the most extensive database with maps of the native vegetation in
the
region.
Dave’s talk will begin around 7:15 PM, June 21st at the Porter
County Administration
Building following a brief
board
meeting beginning at 6:30 PM. The public is welcome.
May 17, 2004 Meeting Minutes
Members in Attendance: Walt Breitinger, Kevin
Breitzke, Eric
Biddinger, Harry and Mary Lou Phillips, Dick and Jane Fryer, Ron
Bedwell, Lee
Peterson, Jim Rowe, Phil Doolittle, Warren Web, Mike De St Jean, Tom
Banaszak.
Minutes were reviewed and approved from the March
meeting.
From the bioblitz, newsletter, a few corrections were made. We
acknowledged
Mike De St Jean for his boatmanship, the VU Storm Chasers for their
presentation and the initial language was changed to acknowledge Phil
Rowe for
“gently persuading volunteers”.
Treasurers Report:
beginning
balance:1850.58
donations
316.00
debits
$137.00
ending
balance: $
2,029.58
Bioblitz Update: Eric
Biddinger spoke on Composting. According to the positive comments we
have been
hearing, he was well received. Participants for the day included both
adults
and area students. Everybody was actively involved in the activities,
which has
encouraged us for next year. In general, the impression was of
increased
interest, possibly due to the amount of options for involvement. The
student
participation was high and a joy to observe. Of NOTE: Alan Resetar and
all of
the other scientists donated their time for the day. Thank You
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IN Lakes.org-is a grant sight that we could
possibly use for
funding to support our future BioBlitz and ILMS has grant money we may
be able
to use for the galerucella beetle project.
Phil Rowe has enjoyed the cards
and all of the extra
attention he has received from his family of friends. He sends his
thanks and
appreciation. Phil has sent a message to be added to the newsletter;
“Remember
that matters of public health and safety, are set in county rules. We
should
not modify septic systems on our own, it is a matter of public health,
so we
should go through the proper channels when making changes on our land”.
Eurasian Milfoil was discussed. A chemical that
could be
used in ponds would be too expensive and impractical to use in a lake
as large
as Long Lake.
The weevils are good on lakes that have places for them to over-winter
with a
lot of natural habitat on the shore, so, Long Lake may be a good
habitat, stay
tuned.
George Smolka continues to work with Mr.Treptow of
Ben
Franklin in raising the purple loosestrife and the beetles that are
feeding on
them. They will soon be released onto the loosestrife in the North
Woods.
Phosphorus is so deadly to the lakes. It’s
nutrients are
promoting the Eurasian milfoil and other aquatic weeds. “Solution to
pollution
is dilution”.
When dealing with communities, generally they
allow
phosphorus when establishing a new lawn or when after testing, it is
determined
that the soil is in need of phosphorus. Lakes of the Four Seasons
presently has
a ban on phosphorus use as well as Shorewood. Our education piece
states
“reduce use of lawn chemicals-fertilizers (use no phosphorus),
herbicides and
pesticides.” Leo’s, McMahon Seed and Chesterton Feed are all suppliers
of
phosphorus free fertilizers.
Phil Doolittle, in talking with Phil Rowe,
suggests a
different way of solving the clean water problem around our lakes-main
problem
is the people and their septic systems. Even with a properly effective
system,
when you are uphill and the lake is down hill, gravity will feed the
nutrients
down towards the lake. Sewer use is the best answer as compared to
septics.
Then the water would be treated and cleaned. Phil Rowe has contacted
Keith
Letta regarding inappropriate septic systems.
4th Lakes Day will be on July 31st
at
Lakes of Four Seasons, 12 noon-6PM for educational activities,
entertainment
afterwards. Their program will be mainly geared to the children of the
community along with their parent support.
Grant opportunity-Lake Michigan
Federation, receiving $2,000.00 for agreeing to come up with a plan to
address
quantity issues with water. Watch for more information.
Friends of Silver
Lake
grant is continuing to be in the works. When the money comes, we will
be their
financial go-between. Hugh Martz, our
attorney, has agreed that our involvement would be agreeable, being
aware of
responsibilities.
Lee mentioned that 501-C-3 information is
available on the
internet.
Next Meeting: June 21st.
As a sad addition to our newsletter, we need to
offer our
deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Phil Rowe. He truly was a
man of
vision, commitment, generosity and most of all, a friend to those he
reached
out to.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mary Lou Phillips, Secretary
V.U. Students
Support Silver
Lake Park
The Valparaiso University
Earthtones have composed a letter
in response to the proposed extension of Vale
Park Road. VCW
members might appreciate the time and dedication these young
non-residents
invested in this letter. Though some of
the local elected officials have recently expressed more interest in
protecting
our watershed, many could benefit from the insight and appreciation for
our
lake environment expressed by the Earthtones:
Earthtones
is Valparaiso University’s environmental club.
We recently found out that there are plans
for the city of Valparaiso to purchase property near Silver Lake and build an extension of Vale Park Road over this land. We
are concerned about this proposal because
it would destroy wetlands and other natural areas that would be much
more
valuable to the community than more asphalt.
Instead of building a road, we support the Friends of Silver Lake plan to turn this area into
a preserve and recreation area.
One
of the most important reasons Earthtones supports the Friends of Silver
Lake
plan is the educational opportunities that it will provide. Many of our members are biology and
environmental science students and we have made frequent use of Rogers Lakewood Park for learning about local
ecosystems, trying ecological research techniques in the field, and
conducting
our own experiments. Although Rogers Lakewood Park has been a wonderful place
to learn, we would still benefit greatly from more opportunities to
work and
learn in natural areas nearby. Wetland
ecology and conservation is a very important issue in ecology and
having a
protected wetland nearby would be an excellent educational opportunity. This could also be valuable to geography
students as well. In geomorphology
students take several trips to nearby sites to study features left by
glaciation. Silver Lake would be a great example of
a kettle lake and the wetlands would be a great example of lake
succession for
geography and biology students.
We
are also concerned about the environmental impacts of developing this
area. According to the Chicago Region
Biodiversity Council, over eighty-five percent of Indiana’s wetlands have been
drained or filled. However, wetlands
provide extremely valuable habitat to many species of plants and
animals. According to the EPA, wetlands
are only five
percent of the United States’ land area, but thirty-one
percent of plant species live in wetlands.
Wetlands are also very important to birds; half of all bird
species nest
or feed in wetlands. Unfortunately many
of the species supported by wetlands have become rare from habitat loss. More than one third of species listed as
threatened or endangered live exclusively in wetlands and almost half
of
threatened and endangered species use wetlands at some time in their
lives. The Oak-Hickory woodlands that
would be included in the park in the Friends of Silver Lake plan are
also
extremely important for wildlife. Oaks
and hickories produce abundant acorns and nuts, which are a valuable
food
source for many animals. According to Oak
Forest Ecosystems by William McShea and William Healy, acorns are
a
valuable food source for 90 wildlife species including: deer, grouse,
quail,
squirrels, and songbirds, they are at or near the top of the wildlife
food
list, and are the “staff of life” for many species.
These are just a few of the many reasons we
feel the Friends of Silver Lake plan to preserve this area is much better
ecologically than developing it into a road.
We
also feel that preserving this area will have many benefits to the
community. More green space makes a
place much nicer to for people to live in.
It would benefit the community by giving people a good place
nearby for
exercise and gatherings. The park would
also have many other benefits. Wetlands
are effective at controlling runoff, which would help reduce flooding
in areas
and protect the health of Silver Lake by cleaning up water before
it flows into the lake. Wetlands help to
clean up water before it flows into groundwater, which would help
protect our
drinking water supply.
In
conclusion, Earthtones supports the Friends of Silver Lake plan because
of the
opportunities the park would have for education, our environment and
the
community.
Jonathan
Bauer
Tim
Alles
Earthtones President
Earthtones
Vice-President
Matthew
Van Den Broeke
Tami
McDunn
Earthtones
Treasurer
Earthtones
Secretary
Schedule of Events
June 23-25
Water Quality Conference, Strongbow Inn Contact
Ken Luther, Valparaiso
University 464-5183
July
31st Lake of Four
Seasons Lake
Day 12:00,
Contact Ron Bedwell 574-946-0919
August 16th Valparaiso Chain of Lakes Watershed
Group, 6:30 PM, Porter
Co. Administration Building
Home Composting Course 6:30 PM offered by Porter
County Solid Waste Management District
& Porter Co. Purdue Extension Office. July 21, Westchester
Library, August 26, Kouts Library, or September 22, Porter
County Administration
Center.
Call 465-3694
Note: No Valparaiso
Chain of
Lakes Watershed Group Meeting in July
Our mission is to protect and
maintain our lakes and
surrounding environs through education, conservation, pollution
monitoring,
research, and invasive species control. We are committed to waste
reduction,
recycling and the use of best land-use practices to ensure that our
lakes
remain quality habitats for fish, wildlife, and human recreational use.