September 2018

The things I do, the ways I live, have effects that, however small, may be hard to reverse. Any wonder, any treasure, needs loving care. Especially a lake.

~ Ted J. Rulseh ~

Thank you to all who have renewed their membership this year. For those who have not yet renewed, we have enclosed a renewal form to fill out and send in with your check for your 2018 membership. Annual dues are only $25.00 and run from June 1 to May 31 of the following year.

Please encourage your friends and neighbors to join the MWLA. Everyone who loves and enjoys the waters of our township should help support our efforts “to maintain, protect and enhance our water quality, fishery, boating safety, and native habitat”.

We also thank the strong core of volunteers who consistently help with AIS monitoring, the 4 th of July booth and Trout Pond, the Annual Meeting, and Cran-a-rama. We would love to add more names to the list of dedicated volunteers. Please consider giving your time to these efforts.

2019 MWLA ANNUAL MEETING

Get to know your neighbors on the MW Chain by attending our 27th Annual Meeting to be held at the North Lakeland Discovery Center on Saturday, July 28, from 9:00 to 11:30 am. Please note the time change and save the date on your calendar. Sign-in starts at 8:30 a.m. with the business meeting beginning promptly at 9:00. A Continental Breakfast will be provided that includes bagels and cream cheese, an assortment of breakfast rolls, fruit, coffee and juice. There will be a short business meeting to elect Directors and Officers followed by three presentations: Emily Heald will give an AIS

1

update; Tom Kramer will report on Walleyes for Tomorrow and fish habitat; and Laura Hayes from the DNR will talk about the Firewise Program.

There will be an opportunity for you to buy tickets for our raffle of unique items, one of which is an area airplane ride for two donated by Tom Ahonen. Remember to bring address labels for your raffle tickets!

AIS NEWSby Emily Heald, NLDC Water Program Coordinator

Curly-Leaf Pondweed Update

The early season aquatic invasive species (AIS) surveys have been completed on the Chain. Patches of curly-leaf pondweed (CLP) were found on the north end of Rest, Fawn, the southeast end of Island, Stone, Spider, Rice Creek, and the Spider-Island channel. The Fawn location is easily uprooted by boaters and currents. Please be careful when traveling through Fawn Lake and check your prop often. Each location, except for Island and Rice Creek, was pulled by professional divers and Discovery Center interns.

A freshly harvested handful of curly-leaf pondweed.

Wanted: AIS Monitors. Training is easy!

Summer is a great time to get involved in invasive species monitoring on your lake. Visiting family and friends are extra eyes on the water! You do not need to worry about being an expert on plants and animals in order to get involved – you just need to know some of the invasives and learn what to look for.

AIS identification trainings are free and available from 1-3pm at Koller Park on the following dates: July 14, July 24, August 4, and August 14. RSVPs are required.

Once you are trained in what to look for, all time spent observing the water and shoreline on a pontoon cruise or checking out plants as you are fishing counts as volunteer time! Please call or email Emily if you need volunteer time sheets.Emily Heald, 715-543-2085, water@discoverycenter.net

2

Discovery Center intern, Johnny, monitoring for curly-leaf pondweed on the Chain.

Purple Loosestrife

Purple loosestrife will begin blooming soon, and in some places, it’s already blooming! To identify purple loosestrife, look for a square stem, opposite long and pointy leaves, and pink-purple flowers with 5-6 petals growing close to the stem. As in past years, the Discovery Center will continue to monitor purple loosestrife. We clip flower heads to prevent seeds from spreading. We also release “cella beetles” onto large stands of purple loosestrife. Cella beetles eat only purple loosestrife and are a means to decrease overall plant height and seed production in large infestation areas. The Discovery Center rears these beetles in controlled areas and releases them near the end of the summer.

If you are interested in volunteering for purple loosestrife monitoring and control or think you have found purple loosestrife on the Chain, please contact Emily at the Discovery Center.

Purple loosestrife flower (source: Michigan DNR) Discovery Center intern, Braden, standing with the purple loosestrife beetle rearing plants

3

Critter Corner: Water Bears

This native animal can survive in temperature below -400 degrees, endure the extreme radiation of outer space, and can last several years without eating. Sound like something out of a science fiction film? This animal actually lives in Wisconsin – the Water Bear. Sometimes referred to as tardigrades or moss piglets, these eight-legged micro-animals (about 0.5 mm long) are found everywhere from alpine environments, to deep seas, to tropical rainforests, to right here in Wisconsin. They are the most resilient known animals. There are over 1,000 different species of water bears, and they can be found living in moss on trees, among plant life in lakes and rivers, or in any area that is generally moist. They serve as a food source for many other small organisms. Think a cockroach is most likely to survive until the end of time? Think again – it’s the water bear.

Water monitoring interns teaching about AIS at the Manitowish Waters 4th of July Celebration (From left: Braden Westerhoff, Johnny Behrent, and Colby Durre)

Workshop on Healthy Lakes & Controlling Erosion:   Tips for Waterfront Landowners

When:  Friday, August 3, 2018; 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Where:  North Lakeland Discovery Center - 14006 Discovery Lane, Manitowish WatersIf you missed our first workshop in Eagle River, here’s your second chance! 

One of the best ways to keep lakes and streams healthy is to keep soil and other pollutants out. Join us for an afternoon this summer to learn about different ways to repair and prevent soil movement on your property. Vilas County Conservation staff will talk you through the various methods available to address erosion caused by storm water runoff and how you can receive financial assistance to help cover the costs! For More Information:  Carolyn Scholl, County Conservationist at (715) 479-3682.

WALLEYES FOR TOMORROW by Tom Kramer

Stocking of the remaining 7,200 extended-growth walleyes in the MW Chain will take place this summer. Walleyes that were stocked previously are coming back and being caught - many of them 11” in length. The DNR is going to do a study of fish populations in the MW Chain in 2019. Tree drops (fish sticks) are being placed off State property on the Chain. Chuck Kramer has hauled two fallen trees from a private property on Rest Lake and dropped them off Fox Island.

4

More information on Walleye stocking and fish habitat will be presented at the MWLA Annual Meeting.

DEAD PIKE LAKE REARCH UPDATEby Gale Wolfe, Dead Pike Lake Association

“Top Scientists Participate in Dead Pike Lake Recovery Program.” That could well have been a media headline this past week as four specialists from the environmental firm of Applied Ecological Services spent several days recording data on the lake’s historic water levels. Their objective was to determine the lake’s OHWM (Ordinary High-Water Mark) and stake its elevation for each of the 23 private parcels on the lake. This will allow each property owner to become aware of the approximate water level that will hopefully be stabilized, as called for within the state-approved Lake Management Plan.

Benefits from such control will significantly reduce the iron inflow to the lake while also assuring residents that their waterfronts and docks can be maintained with assurance of a predictable water level. Obviously, the latter is a feature that those on the Chain can readily appreciate.

WATER SAFETY PATROLby Dan Cardinal, OIC

I hope you had a Happy 4th of July. This busy holiday came and went without any reported incidents. The recent rains have brought the Chain water levels up significantly, although caution is always recommended. Please educate yourself about Wisconsin boating laws. Copies are available at the MW Chamber Office. Here is the link to The Handbook of Wisconsin Boating Laws and Responsibilities:

https://www.boat-ed.com/wisconsin/handbook/page/1/Introduction/

New 2018 law changes and SNW changes.

1) Water-skiers will not have to have an observer in the boat if there is a mirror that provides the driver with a clear view of the water skier.

2) As the boater leaves Fawn Lake toward Stone lake there is a new Slow-No-Wake zone down to the channel markers. The area within the channel markers in NOT a slow no wake zone. The purpose of this new SNW zone is that the distance between the little island and the mainland is too narrow for PWC’s to maintain the 200’ distance and the boats have to be in the middle of the channel to maintain the 100’ distance from shore.

Another noticeable change this summer will be a new patrol boat. The blue and white boat started to have problems last summer and with the help of Greer’s Pier a new boat was purchased.

The Town will be going back to the Vilas County Court System this year.

While there seems to be fewer complaints about SNW violations, this complaint is still the most common and this includes operating too close to shore - 100 feet for boats and 200 feet for PWC’s.

Improper use of dock lights is also the most common complaint at night. Dock lights are not to be used like headlights when under way.

A law change in 2017 was the elimination of any blue lights that are visible outside of the boat. This has created confusion between recreational boaters and Law Enforcement boats.

It's the Law - Discharge of Trash - It is illegal to dump refuse, garbage, or plastics into any state or federally controlled waters. You must store trash in a container while on board and place it in a proper receptacle on shore. Please help to keep our lakes and rivers free of trash and if you see any floating in the water, please pick it up and dispose of it properly.

All complaints or good experiences should be reported to the Town Office either by Phone 715-543-8400 or email - Dana Hilbert; Clerk@mwtown.org You can also call the County Sheriff’s office who will then radio complaints to Zak.

June Police Boat report: 669 boats, 114 hours, 13 verbal warnings, 1 written warning, no citations.

5

With everyone’s help, we continue to look forward to a safe and enjoyable summer.

TOWN SIGNAGE REGARDING LARGE WAKES

The MWLA Board of Directors voted unanimously at their June board meeting to recommend to the Town Board approval of signage at all Town boat landings that contains information about creating large wakes when boating. The language below was approved at the Town Board meeting on July 10, 2018.

Boat courteously and legally - Please watch your wakes

Wisconsin state law prohibits using a motorboat that creates hazardous wave or wake conditions and states that the operator of a motorboat is liable for any damage caused to the person or property of another by wash or wake. Manitowish Waters interprets this to also include erosion to property. Please boat courteously and be aware of the property of others, fishermen, and those swimming, canoeing, paddle boarding, kayaking, and the shoreline nesting areas of waterfowl. Please remember to observe slow-no-wake rules within 100’ of all shorelines and other boaters, in channels and anywhere buoys indicate a slow-no-wake area. Our Township waters are patrolled. Thank you for your cooperation.

Give the Lake a Brake!by James A. Brakken

Technological improvements in recreational equipment have changed the way we use our waters. Outboard motors, that, statewide, averaged 4 horsepower in 1950, exceeded 80 hp in 1975 and 120 hp by the year 2010. Water skiing, jet skiing, and other aggressive recreation activities, unimagined in the time of Ole Evinrude’s “knuckle buster” outboard motor, are commonplace on many lakes today. But ownership continues to mount, although the number of boat landings remains the same, putting more and more boating pressure on our waters.

What you can do: Slow down for safety and protection of shorelines, shorebirds, native plants, and bottom sediments. Limit your high-speed boating and water skiing to deep water only, and then, far from shore. Avoid “jack rabbit” starts in shallow waters and over aquatic plant beds. Obey the 100-foot-from-shore slow-no-wake boating laws on all Wisconsin waters. When power boating, use common courtesy when canoes, kayaks, and sail boats are present. Remember the

100-foot rule is a minimum requirement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check out our website at www.mwlakes.com to access board meeting minutes, lakes-related articles, information on aquatic invasive species, past e-newsletters, and many other interesting topics.

The MWLA Board of Directors appreciates your continued support.

Bob Becker Paul Puccinelli Eleanor Butler Jo Ann Miller President Vice President Treasurer SecretarySpider Lake Rest Lake Alder Lake Sturgeon Lake 715-543-2219 715-904-0951 715-543-8401 715-543-2389

Karen Dixon Mary Bowlus Greg Holt Angela Dombrowicki Past-President Rest Lake Benson Lake Alder LakeManitowish River 715-543-2896 715-543-8168 608-234-0403715-543-8141

Tom Kramer Delp Schafer Bob Stowers Dennis Wilm Hwy. 51 Rest Lake Manitowish Lake Spider Lake715-543-8000 715-543-2370 715-543-2284 715-543-2378

6