Along with the rights and privileges of owning shoreline, also comes the responsibility to protect, improve, and enhance the quality of the water for your enjoyment and that of future generations. The water itself is a public resource for everyone to enjoy. Stewardship is an individual’s responsibility to manage one’s life and property with regard for the rights of others. Here are some simple ways you can become a “Lake Steward”.

Apply fertilizer sparingly. Use zero-phosphorus lawn fertilizer-It’s the Law in Minnesota. Since 2005, Minnesota homeowners cannot use fertilizers containing phosphorus, except for exemptions for new lawns or if a soil test indicates a need for phosphorus. When shopping for fertilizer, buy a formula that has a middle number of zero i.e. 22-0-15.

Do Not Dump Yard Waste. Grass clippings, leaves, and aquatic plant material that wash up on shore all contain phosphorus, which is released when plant material decomposes. Try composting instead! Composting improves soil structure, reduces erosion, and provides drought protection.

Locate Fire Pits Away from the Shore and Dispose of Ash. The leftover ash from burning wood is very high in phosphorus. In Douglas County, open burning is prohibited within 100 feet of the shoreline. You may have a fire pit or campfire that is 3 feet in diameter or less and that is contained by a fire ring to prevent ash from washing into the lake.

Plant a Rain Garden. A rain garden is a shallow basin, designed to collect runoff from driveways, roofs, and other hard surfaces or sheet flow from lawns. The collected water is then infiltrated into the ground instead of running off to the lake. Rain gardens are planted with hardy, water-loving native perennial plants that have deep roots that work to filter pollutants from rainwater.

Install a Rain Barrel. A rain barrel is any type of container used to catch water flowing from a downspout and store it for later use. You can capture as much as 60 gallons during a 1” rain fall event off of just 100 square feet of roof! It’s great for watering plants around your house.

Adapted from Becker County Shoreland Guide to Lake Stewardship, 2009.

For more ideas on how you can become a Lake Steward, contact the Emily Siira at the Douglas Soil and Water Conservation District, 320.763.3191 Extension 3.

Phosphorus – What’s the Big Deal? Phosphorus is a naturally occurring nutrient found in all water. However, excessive amounts of phosphorous in lakes can lead to algae blooms and can ultimately result in low levels of dissolved oxygen which can make it difficult for fish to survive.

The best projects are not overly large or expensive, they are the ones that evaluate the site well, use existing features, keep up with maintenance, and examine the whole area, from the land out into the water. Effective buffer zones should be along at least 75% of a property’s water frontage and extend 16 to 25 feet or more from the water’s edge onto the land. The wider the buffer zone the better it will function.

Lakeshore restoration begins with evaluating what you want out of your shoreline. Determine what uses are important and necessary to properly enjoy your shoreline by asking if you like sitting by the water, watching sunsets, or really only want a walking path to your dock. Once you decide what you need for your uses, evaluation of your site’s physical conditions can begin. Examine sun and moisture conditions and determine the size of your planting area.

When selecting your plants for your design, keep in mind that shore land is a continuum. That is, there is generally a gradual elevation change in water depth, soil moisture and elevation as you move inland from the water’s edge.

Even though a restored shoreline is lower maintenance alternative to traditional lawns, some maintenance is still needed to preserve your investment. Frequent watering immediately after planting is just as important as continued weeding after establishment. Be sure to keep a few of each plant type labeled so it will be easier to identify your plants from any invasive species that try to take advantage of your shoreline.

For help planning your lakeshore project, call Emily Siira at the Douglas Soil and Water Conservation District at (320) 763-3191 x 3.

Why plant a Rain Garden?
The Rain Garden is one of the most popular new perennial garden designs for three reasons
1. Rain Gardens make good use of rainwater runoff, thus conserving precious water supplies and helping protect the water quality of downstream lakes and rivers.
2. Rain Gardens are planted with native wetland and prairie wildflowers and grasses. These perennial plants naturally grew here when the first pioneers rolled across our land-so they’re hardy and low-maintenance, not to mention beautiful!
3. Rain Gardens provide food and shelter for many interesting birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects-mosquitoes! -and they’ll provide you with many hours of enjoyable bird watching.

How do I make a Rain Garden?
Size, soil type and vegetation are important factors when designing a rain garden. Rain gardens can be designed in any shape. Long and narrow ones may best fit between houses and sidewalks. Typical gardens are 100 to 300 square feet. For roof top runoff, place rain gardens at each down spout, at low points in the lawn. Each garden should be one-third the size of the roof area being drained. To control driveway and sidewalk runoff, apply these same concepts.
For rain gardens to infiltrate runoff, soil needs to be porous enough to quickly soak up water-ideally emptying within 48 hours. This helps prevent plants from drowning. It also prevents gardens from becoming mosquito breeding grounds.

Where should I put my Rain Garden?
Rain Gardens should be at least 10 feet from buildings to prevent foundations and basements from being damaged by water. They should be 35 feet or more from septic system drain fields, and 50 feet or more from drinking water wells.
Other Questions?
Contact the Douglas SWCD at (320) 763-3191 x 3 for more information or help with garden designs.

1992 – April 13
1993 – April 19
1994 – April 16
1995 – April 24
1996 – April 26
1997 – April 25
1998 – April 5
1999 – April 8
2000 – March 25
2001 – April 24
2002 – April 16
2003 – April 13
2004 – April 7
2005 – April 9
2006 – April 9
2007 – April 17
2008 – April 30
2009 – April 20
2010 – April 4
2011 – April 20
2012 – March 24

Lake Froze Over                                       Ice Out
1979                                                               May 2nd
1982                                                               April 24th
1984 Dec. 4th
1985                                                               April 19th
1986                                                               April12th
1987 Dec. 16th
1988 Nov. 28th
1989 Dec. 6th—opened up again?              April 23rd
1990 Dec. 17th or Dec. 18th
1991 Nov. 25th                                              April 12th
1992 Dec. 5th                                                 April 9th
1993 Nov. 29th                                              April 21st
1994 Dec. 13th                                               April 17th
1995 Nov. 28th                                              April 26th
1996                                                                April 29th
1997                                                                April 24th
1998                                                               April 5th
1999 Dec. 21st                                              April 8th
2000 Dec. 8th                                              March 25th
2001 Dec. 26th                                            April 25th
2002 Dec 3rd                                               April 16th
2003 Dec. 11th                                            April 13th
2004 Dec. 14th                                            April 7th
2005 Dec. 2nd                                             April 16th
2006 Dec 1st                                               April 7th
2007 Dec. 3rd                                             May 1st
2008 Dec. 7th                                             April 30th
2009 Dec. 10th                                          April 22nd
2010 Dec. 3rd                                             April 2nd
2011 Dec. 6th-opened Jan. 18th             April 21st
2012                                                             March 20

The County passed a resolution on August 9th, 2011 requiring a 300 ft. “NO WAKE ZONE” on Lake Latoka. Effective immediately NO WAKE signs will be placed at the public accesses.

Other area lakes included in this ruling are: Jessie, Burgen, Victoria, Geneva, Ida, Maple, Red Rock, Oscar, Rachel, Irene, Cowdry, Brophy, Carlos, Darling, Le Homme Dieu, Lobster, Louise, and Mill. The Sheriff Department will be installing the signs.

The Big Lake- The West Side
The west side of Lake Latoka was hard to get to when I was growing up. When you
went up the hill past the beach and went around the corner the cabins ended
where West Latoka Drive starts today.  The cabin that belongs to the
Hollingsworth family was pretty much the end of life for quite some time. You
actually had to continue west and turn down Town Hall Road to get to the west
side.  West Latoka Lane provided the only access to the lake on that end. That
was the area first developed.  One of the first families to move out there that
I knew were Mickey and Dorothy Quist and their three kids, Mike, Peggy, and
Terry.  They lived next to my cousins when they were in town so I grew up
playing with them.  There were a few driveways along Town Hall Road that had
apparently thrown Dorothy off track a few times on her way home so Mickey
installed a giant sign high up on a telephone pole that said “Dorothy Quist turn
here!”  It became a fairly famous sign.  Mike and Terry live across the lake on
Bradford Bay today.

The west side was also the location of a few abandon farm sites that we always
referred to as “haunted houses.”  We actually had a pretty large selection of
these houses all over Douglas County that we visited on a regular basis. We
would find a few cute girls and convince them that they weren’t cool unless they
had been to a haunted house and survived the visit.  Of course all visits to
these houses were conducted by candle light as a flashlight would be out of
character.  If you knew the house well enough and if the wind was strong enough
from the right direction you could approach an open window and reach out with
the candle in front of the window.  When the wind blew the candle out the girls
would scream and grab on to you so tight you could hardly breathe which was the
point of the whole exercise.  We did have a few scary run ins but that would be
a whole other story.

Most everything I did as a kid on the west side was away from the lake. There
were some great hills out in the country in an area we called “Little
Switzerland.”  Usually we took toboggans out there but one time we took one of
the great sleds of all time.  If you remember my description of the 1947 Buick I
learned to drive in you will remember I said “the hood was as long as the rest
of the car.”  Well that hood opened from the sides and if you opened both
latches you could remove the hood completely from the rest of the car.  We had
purchased another “Woodie” just like the first one which really didn’t run that
we used for parts.  We would take the hood out to the beach in the winter and
tie it on behind the car with a long rope, fill it up with kids, and then drag
it around the ice at a high rate of speed.  If we had ever hit a fish house we
would have gone right through it.  Which brings me back to “Little
Switzerland.”  One time we took the hood out there and dragged it to the top of
the highest hill.  Since hoods are hard to steer gravity took over and we went
were the hood wanted to go.  We left quite a collection of fallen trees behind
us by the time we stopped.  As usual we laughed ourselves silly.

The LLPOA held it’s annual picnic on Saturday, September 18^th at Fireman’s Lodge. This year something special was added…a Pig Roast! The menu consisted of hot pulled pork that was catered by Ray Rutten of Osakis. We also had corn on the cob, ice cream treats, and best of all the dishes brought by the attendees. There were 32 people who attended this gala affair and the food and fellowship were wonderful. Next year’s annual picnic will be announced in the LLPOA newsletter and on the website. Attending the picnic is a great way to get to know your neighbors on the lake. Hope you make plans to  join us next year.