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The following letter was inserted with the newsletter.
Dear Ten Milers,
Fall is upon us and memories of this year's nearly non-existent summer at the lake are probably fading rapidly. Nevertheless, the lake is still there, and members of the TMLA are working hard to carry out the mission of the Association.
I want to give you a summary of a major initiative that will be occurring over the next few years and then ask you for some help. Posted on the TMLA Website (here) is a white paper that describes a long-term program designed to make Ten Mile a demonstration project for what it takes to preserve a lake and its watershed in as pristine a condition as possible. Ten Mile is an ideal lake for such an effort for a number of reasons. The lake is still in very good shape, and it has a small self-contained watershed that has few uncontrollable elements. A large amount of data on the lake has already been collected by both the TMLA and a variety of governmental agencies. Finally, the membership of our Association is highly involved and has a great interest in preserving the lake for future generations.
Preserving a lake is not just a matter of dealing directly with the water, but to a great extent it involves care of the land that drains into the lake. A comprehensive preservation program is very complex, and it involves working with a large number of governmental agencies. The above-mentioned white paper outlines 11 program goals. These include monitoring water quality, restoring shorelines, land purchases and conservation easements, wastewater treatment and various types of databasing and dissemination of data. No single agency or source of funds can cover all of these, so we will seek to implement various components of the overall program when opportunities arise.
The first opportunity is upon us now. As of this writing, the Minnesota Board of Soil and Water has issued a call for proposals for projects that would be funded by the Clean Water Fund. A recent meeting with state and county officials identified shoreline improvement as the most appropriate type of project for such a proposal from the TMLA. The reason why this is important is that the condition of the land around the shoreline is one of the most important determinants of the quality of a body of water.
We are outlining a comprehensive shoreline improvement program that would be the subject of our proposal, which will have to be submitted in partnership with Cass County. Specific components of the proposed project would involve some of the following: shoreline erosion, improving the environmental quality of riprap, lawns and shoreline buffers, the causeway to Angel Island, aquatic vegetation and the outlet. One component of the project would be a comprehensive boat-based survey to determine the quality of the entire Ten Mile shoreline, using a new protocol that is being developed by the DNR. This would be done by individuals hired by the Association or Cass County and supported by grant funds. We would hope that interested cabin owners can interact with the folks doing the survey so that they could get first-hand impressions of the condition of their own shoreline.
If our proposal is funded, we will have 2 1/2 years to complete the project. The shoreline survey will be done early in the first summer. We would also like to set up a few demonstration projects of shoreline improvement of individual cabin owners' lots. This would involve taking the results of the shoreline survey and then implementing any recommendations on individual lots. We would like to have professionals working with cabin owners on actual improvement projects. My hope is that any actual costs of improvement would be covered through the grant. Once the first year's demonstration projects have been completed, we would then expand the program to other shoreline landowners.
What we need at this point is individuals who would be willing to volunteer to have their shorelines used as part of the first year's demonstration project during the summer of 2010. It would be ideal to have these projects cover different types of shoreline issues, such as shoreline erosion, improvement of riprap and shoreline buffers for lawns. In past years, some cabin owners had indicated an interest in shoreline improvement, but were uncertain as to what to do and how to do it. By now, there is much more collected experience in this area and more help is available to the landowners. The most important message is that you wouldn't be going it alone, and you would have help, including dollars and actual physical labor, when you need it. If you are interested in getting in on the ground floor and would volunteer your lot as a candidate for a shoreline improvement project, please contact me (Bruce Carlson, brcarl@umich.edu or 763-205-3789) as soon as possible. Because of the short deadline for the proposal, it would be important to contact me no later than Thanksgiving. If we can name specific volunteers in our proposal, the chances of its being funded should be much greater.
Many thanks in advance for both reading through this letter and hopefully for volunteering to participate in the shoreline improvement project. I have seen many lake associations in action, and I am truly grateful to be president of the TMLA, whose membership really cares about the lake and is willing to act positively to preserve the magical qualities of our lake.
Have a wonderful winter.
Sincerely,
Bruce M. Carlson
President
Report on Annual Meeting
At the Annual Meeting, Heather Baird, Shoreland Specialist with MNDNR, urged lakeshore residents to consider maintaining or restoring their lakeshore with a natural-state buffer using wildflowers, deep-rooted grasses, and other native plants to hold the soil and protect the shoreline from erosion, as well as to increase privacy, improve water quality, and discourage Canada geese. She presented before and after pictures of shoreline restoration projects that showed how attractive a natural shoreline could be.
The Association presented a plaque honoring Jim Schwartz on the occasion of his retirement after many years of service as Secchi Disk reader, keeping an eye on the clarity of TML waters. The Association also acknowledged the recognition by Cass County of the work of the Committee headed by Jim McGill that led to the designation of Highway 71 as a Natural Preservation Route, and therefore the preservation of the environment surrounding the road. President John Alden also thanked retiring Board members Dave Losby, Heidi Hoppe, and Bob Horn.
When the time came to elect officers, the Association selected Bruce Carlson as the new president, and maintained Ken Regner as treasurer and Lee Sand as Secretary. As directors representing year-round residents, the Association selected Sarah Swanstrom, John Alden, and Teri Gapinski; and representing summer residents, John Hartzell.
A Letter to the TML Association
Forwarded to the TMLA by Megan Speers, mother of Lucy Speers and aunt of Emma Kansas:
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Dear TMLA, This summer, we made arts and crafts and sold them to our family and friends. We earned $35.95 and would like to give it to the Ten Mile Lake Association to help the lake and keep it clean. We love Ten Mile Lake because a long long time ago in the 1940s our Great Grandpa Ray Johnson built a cabin on Long Beach. Now many people in our family have cabins on 10 Mile but we still go to Great Grandpa Ray's cabin because the beach is so sandy and we have so much fun there. We spend time with family, we go tubing, and we swim. Because we love 10 Mile Lake, we decided to give our money to you. From,
Lucy Speers (7 years old) and |
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From the President's Desk
by Bruce Carlson, President, TMLA
I'M WRITING THIS at the end of a glorious week at the lake. Summer finally came after most folks had left for the season, and the water temperature has increased by 5 degrees to something that finally allows swimming for non-polar bears. Looking out over our beautiful lake continually reminds me how lucky we are to have cabins on one of the most pristine lakes in the state. One of the main functions of a lake association is to maintain the quality of the lake, and one of the main goals of my term as president of the TMLA is to work with state and local agencies to try to identify Ten Mile as a demonstration project for a multi-pronged effort aimed at preserving a lake and watershed that is already working well. Typically, funding goes to a project designed to restore a degraded lake. Conventional wisdom suggests that it costs 20 times more to restore than to preserve the quality of a lake, but the numbers to support that assertion are lacking. I'm hoping that by instituting a broad preservation program we can begin to supply such data for use by the state and the county. A starting point for all of this is a white paper outlining elements that should be considered for such a preservation program. For those who are interested in more details, the white paper will be posted on the TMLA Website.
TO FURTHER THE ABOVE GOAL, a group of us is already going to meet in early October with representatives of both the state and the county to determine if it would be worthwhile to apply for state funding for work in areas such as wastewater disposal and shoreline restoration. Other future activities may involve efforts to preserve second and third tier lands around the lake. There are hints that there may be significant state funding for this. As always, nothing in life is certain, but be assured that we will be keeping our eyes open for opportunities to maintain the quality of the lake through whatever programs are available. Some programs, if funded, would require the cooperation and participation of significant numbers of lake residents. Fortunately, Ten Milers have had a long history of willingness to do what is necessary to keep the lake a beautiful place, and I have confidence that this positive attitude will continue. Keep tuned for further information on watershed preservation in future Newsletters or on the Website.
I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER that when he became president of the TMLA several years ago, someone told Al Griggs that nothing ever happens in the winter so it would be a good time to relax. As far as I know, Al never did experience that "winter calm," and if the first six weeks of my term are any indication, such a period is unlikely to happen soon. Nevertheless, I look forward to the chance to give something back to a lake that I have enjoyed for over a half century. This should be an interesting winter.
The Loon Journal
by Kim Moe, Loon Committee
As early as late August, the adult loons are showing their fall colors and behaviors. The black and white spotted feathers are molting, and the adult loons are rafting in large groups as they chow down on Ten Mile tullibees or ciscos. Loons are no longer fighting for territory, but are fishing together in very large groups.
This past summer Ten Mile was home to four nesting pairs. Two eggs were abandoned on the nest, and six chicks hatched. Four chicks have survived the entire summer and into the fall.
The adult loons will be the first to migrate south. The juvenile loons will be
the last to leave. These young loons need to stay longer so they can eat and
put on muscle and weight. This will allow them to make the long trip south to
the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic coast.
Thanks to all of you who helped with the platform nests and those who watched and protected our loon population on TML. We all must continue to observe these awesome birds from a distance, avoid the nesting areas, keep lead tackle and discarded fishing line our of our lake, report harassment of loons, and work to coexist with the loons. We want to ensure the loons’ haunting calls continue to be heard on TML for years to come.
Septic System Treatment
by Ken Regner
Our Association has a long standing policy forbidding the use of our Association resources to advertise, endorse or recommend products or services. It’s a good policy and I agree with it. Notwithstanding the policy, our Board asked me to write an article for the Newsletter pointing out that Tom Cox and I have agreed to keep for our members a supply of a rather widely used septic system treatment.
Del Hogen is a name familiar to many long term lake residents. He and his firm, Instrumental Research, have done most of our lake water sampling and testing for many years. They also do all of our annual well water testing. Many of you participate in the well water testing program and all of us have benefited from the many years of lake water analysis that Del has done for us.
Del has another company called Clear Water Technologies. This company produces a
product called Septic Solutions which enables septic systems to work more
efficiently and effectively. The patented process is called the “Hogen Process”.
Del Hogen’s test results indicate that the treatment reduces migration of
nitrogen, phosphorus, and nutrients into the surrounding soil, and thereby
reduces the amount of these pollutants flowing ultimately into the lake.
HOW THE PROCESS WORKS
In the Hogen process, an iron oxide compound is added to the septic system along with bacteria that break down the iron compound as they feed on the waste matter in the tank. Essentially these biological organisms breathe iron chemically in the same way that we breathe oxygen in the air. The resulting iron substance binds with phosphorus, sulfur and other nutrients in the septic system, which in turn, significantly reduces the nutrient concentrations reaching the distribution field. Moreover, the process reduces suspended solids, thereby cutting back on sludge and eliminating scum buildup. Evidence has shown that if all goes according to plan, pumping intervals should be greater, nutrient loading to the drain field (and eventually to the lake) will be lighter and the system life should be significantly prolonged.
The product is used by many of our members. Bruce Carlson, Al Griggs and Tom Cox and myself are among the members using the product.
Tom Cox and I have agreed to keep a supply of the product available for those of
you who use it and who need to purchase the product for annual or alternating
year treatments. Full time residents must treat their systems annually and
seasonal residents should treat their systems every other year. We also have a
supply of the materials necessary to treat the systems initially.
Tom and I have volunteered to keep the supply so that members won’t have to
order Septic Solutions from Fridley, MN and have it shipped here. They save a
rather significant shipping cost.
We encourage any of you that are interested in using the Hogen Process to visit
Clear Water Technologies website at
www.cwtiusa.com.
and read about the process. You may also call toll free to 877-538-5787 to
discuss the product or to request information. You can also email me at
tenmileken (at) aol.com and I will email you some literature for your review.
WHY YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN THIS PRODUCT
Because using Septic Solutions makes your system more efficient, it may reduce the frequency of having your septic tank pumped. If you need to pump the tank less often you should save some money. That’s good, but not the most important reason to use the product. Our lake is one of the cleanest and clearest lakes in the state. Many of us believe that the most important thing we can do to keep it clean and clear is to make sure that all of the septic systems on our lake perform well.
Again, our Association does not recommend or endorse the product. Nor does the
Association, Tom, or I make any money by handling the product. At the same time,
just a glance at which of our Association members use the product should let you
know that it is worth your taking a look at.
Tom Cox, 675-6844
Ken Regner, 675-5464
Fishing Chatter
by Bob Horn, Co-Chair, Fisheries Committee
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The TMLA Fisheries Committee met this past August with two DNR fisheries managers. Peter Jacobson is from the Detroit Lakes office, and Harlan Fierstine is our local DNR Fisheries Manager from the Walker office. Mr. Jacobson was invited to discuss his statewide study of Ciscos, also called Tullibees and Lake Herring. TML was one of the lakes selected for this study because of our high concentration of Ciscos, and because, as Jacobson said, “Ten Mile is unique because of its depth and clarity.” Some of Jacobson’s findings are:
In other Ten Mile fishing news, the Walleye “bite” picked up significantly in August. Many reports of good fishing around sunset and later into the night have been rumored. Harlan Fierstine and his DNR crew will be at the public access this fall to release 2600 pounds of Walleye fingerlings into the lake. This is an ongoing effort by DNR and TMLA to maintain a good and healthy population of catchable Walleyes in TML. DNR buys the fingerlings from a private fishery near Alexandria. The stocked fingerlings have to meet specific criteria before they are released into TML. Fierstine also informed the Committee that DNR was trap-netting panfish on TML to compare numbers, size, and varieties. Another DNR study for which TML was selected is a minnow assessment. Representatives of the Fergus Falls DNR office were here in August to seine minnows along the shoreline. The quantity and variety of minnows help to determine the health of the lake habitat. More information about both of the above projects will be forthcoming in the Spring Newsletter after the DNR reports have been completed.
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Jim Schwartz Hangs Up his Secchi Disk
by Tom Moore
After a truly extraordinary contribution to the preservation of Ten Mile Lake’s water quality over the past four decades, Jim Schwartz has decided it is time to retire. He and his wife Toni “hung up their Secchi disk” this spring feeling that they would no longer be at the lake enough, in Jim’s words, “to perform the clarity readings with the regularity and frequency that should be the norm.”
One of Jim’s many projects has been his serving as Ten Mile’s Citizen Lake Monitoring volunteer, taking lake clarity readings at the main lake and Long’s Bay sites. He took over this responsibility 18 years ago from Warren Goss, and in so doing has ensured its continuity since Warren started it back in 1973.
This activity was only a part of Jim’s long service to the environmental goals of TMLA. He was first elected as a member of the TMLA Board of Directors in 1968, and became President in 1984; he was appointed the first Environment and Ecology Committee Chair in 1973. He held this latter position until 2002 and it was the focus of much of his effort on behalf of the lake. Somewhere along the way, he started or restarted the TMLA Newsletter, and served as its writer, editor, and publisher until 2000, when, out of all of his tasks, Sarah Cox took over that one task. Along with his duties as President, E & E Chair, and Lake Monitor, Jim also served on numerous other bodies concerned with the preservation of environmental quality at the County, regional, and State level. In 1998 the Association honored him by establishing the James W. Schwartz Environmental Preservation Fund, into which all undesignated contributions are placed.
In a 1990 Annual Report, Lois Sandel (Association secretary at the time) described Jim as “the person who has given the longest continuous service to the Association. . . twenty-two years.” Obviously he didn’t stop there, and by this spring, the longest continuous service record had grown to forty years. Jim’s retirement is a real loss for TML and its large band of devotees, and if the lake could talk, he would get a roaring thank you.
The Honor Roll
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From time to time, we include in the Newsletter an Honor Roll of those Ten Mile Lake residents who have upgraded their septic systems or installed new systems. We honor them because maintaining effective and safe septic systems is one of the most critical components of our ongoing effort to “preserve and improve . . . Ten Mile Lake and its environment.” To the right we list those families who have improved, replaced, or built new septic systems since we last published the Honor Roll. We thank these residents for doing their part to protect the health of the lake. |
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The E & E Committee Report for 2009
by Bruce Carlson, Chair, E & E Committee
2009 LAKE WATER SAMPLING
Generally speaking, the lake has held its own during the past year, with readings of phosphorus and nitrogen not differing greatly from historical values during most of the summer. Secchi disk readings have been quite variable, with some main lake readings dropping considerably from those ear-lier in the summer. Nevertheless, there were no major algae blooms. Overall, in the three bays tested this year (Long’s, Kenfield and Robinson) readings of dissolved nitrogen, phosphorus and chlorophyll a did not deviate substantially from previous years. The water temperature was cold (68-69 degrees at the surface) most of the summer; only in mid-September did it warm up to 71-72 degrees. As expected, dissolved oxygen at 30 meters has steadily dropped throughout the late summer to a reading of 2.58 ppm on September 17. Nevertheless, this reading is borderline passable for fish life, and the dwarf ciscoes continue to congregate in this depth.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
The well water sampling program continued, with almost 50 residents submitting samples to be tested for E. coli. Water from the test wells was tested for arsenic. Only one was over the recommended upper limit, but water from that same well tested within normal limits in the previous testing 5 years previously.
The DNR has issued a final report identifying sensitive shorelines in Ten Mile Lake, but to date the County has not taken action on it.
During the lake water testing period in September, a survey of aquatic vegetation was conducted, as usual. No exotic species were noted, and the extent of a number of beds of Chara and native milfoil was reduced, suggesting that there was increased binding of phosphorus in the water during the summer, so that there were fewer nutrients for plant growth.
Overall, the lake remains in good shape, and thanks to the efforts of many volunteer members of the E & E Committee, we should be able to identify any rapid changes in the quality of the lake.
The Committee is preparing plans for dealing with exotic species of plants or animals if they are found in the lake, but by far the best way to prepare is not to let them enter the lake in the first place. Residents of some lakes are required to pay from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to try to control exotics, such as Eurasian milfoil, so prevention is definitely the way to go. If you are transporting a boat or anything else from another lake to Ten Mile, be sure that there are no foreign visitors attached.
ARSENIC IN WELL WATER
Over the past couple years, some Ten Mile residents have contacted the E & E Committee with concerns about the possibility of high levels of arsenic in their well water. Arsenic is a tasteless and odorless semi-metal that can cause health problems after long exposure to higher than acceptable levels. As part of its overall water-testing program, the E & E Committee sends samples from 7 test wells of various depth around the lake for analysis of various constituents of the water. This gives some indication of the state of the ground water that supplies our wells. Twice in the past decade the water in these wells has been tested for arsenic. Only one of the wells has had a reading higher than the acceptable limit on one testing, but at another testing the levels from the same well were fine.
Recently enacted Minnesota legislation now requires all new wells to be tested for arsenic levels. According to the folks at Freeman well drilling, who do most of the well-drilling around Ten Mile, high arsenic levels have not been a problem in this area. Nevertheless, because of the nature of the underground water supply here (because we are located over glacial deposits), the only way to be sure that your well water does not contain overly high levels of arsenic would be to have it tested. One option for doing so would be to submit a sample at the usual time of well water testing in mid-July. This year, the charge for arsenic analysis of a single sample was $35. If you are interested in having your well water tested, please contact Bruce Carlson (brcarl@umich.edu) before next July so that Instrumental Research will have some idea of how many sample bottles to bring up.
For "official" information on arsenic, you can contact the EPA at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/arsenic/index.html.
An official Minnesota contact is Richard Soule (651-201-4676 or richard.soule@state.mn).
Flower Pot Bay Purchase By TMLA Not Consummated
by Jim Miller, Chair, and John Hartzell, Vice-Chair, Conservation Committee
We reported at the TMLA annual meeting on August 1, 2009 that TMLA had reached an agreement to acquire the property in Flower Pot Bay from the Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation (LLAWF). The property is considered a Critical Habitat and includes 18 acres and 1,650 feet of shoreline. It had been donated to LLAWF by the Kay White and Ted Kolderie family with the intent that a conservation easement would be placed on the land.
On July 29, 2009, TMLA and LLAWF agreed TMLA would purchase Flower Pot Property from LLAWF for $450,000 with a contingency regarding agreement on a Conservation Easement (CE) agreeable to all parties including donors of funds to be used for the purchase. Loydee and Glen Stonebrink were providing most ($400,000) of the funding for the purchase. The Kolderies agreed to fund $20,000, TMLA $20,000 and an anonymous donor $10,000. The tentative agreement was subject to approval of TMLA Board of Directors on or before October 1, 2009.
The negotiations related to this proposed purchase had been going on for months. All parties to the negotiations proceeded in good faith and the process was good. In the end, all parties could not reach agreement on what qualified organization would hold the CE and monitor the provisions of the CE and whether the CE would cover all 18 acres.
It seemed as though if we were a football team, we made it the other team’s five
yard line and couldn’t get the ball over the goal line. When it became evident
we couldn’t complete the transaction by October 1, and after consulting with
LLAWF, the Stonebrinks and the Kolderies, we recommended to the TMLA Board that
we cease negotiations and have all advances reimbursed.
Among the positive things to come out of our negotiations and process are the
following:
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We have a new appreciation for LLAWF and Tom Buss and Ray Payne who represented them. We believe they will continue to make sure the “Flower Pot Property”-Kolderie gift stays in its present state for the benefit of all of us. |
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Barrett Colombo, attorney and Conservation Committee member, drafted a very restrictive CE which could be used in the future. |
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Cass County came through again by volunteering to hold CE. (Cass County reimbursed $5,000 of CE monitoring cost of $10,000 TMLA paid to Minnesota Land Trust for our seven TMLA parcels of land in 2008.) |
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Donors came to the plate with big dollars. |
We were all truly doing what we felt was best for Ten Mile, and in a broader
sense, for the Leech Lake Area Watershed. Those of us who own property on Ten
Mile Lake are truly blessed.
Qualified Conservation Easement Opportunity
We call your attention to the opportunity our members might be interested in to permanently conserve a portion of their property in its current state and also have some potential estate, real estate and income tax savings. The Ten Mile Lake Association website (www.tenmilelake.org) has a document titled “Qualified Conservation Easement Opportunity” under the Conservation Committee link. We encourage you to read this document and consider whether you might use it for any of your property. Contact any member of our Conservation Committee if you’d like to discuss.
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Ten Mile History: 200 Years It has come to our shocked attention that not everyone on TML has a copy of the History Book. How can that be? We ordered enough for each cabin, plus all your relatives and close personal friends, and a copy for your winter homes in far off places so you could show it off there. For your belated receipt of this magnificent 400-page, hard bound book, send an e-mail to: tenmile@tds.net or phone 218-675-6183. … Promptly. Thank you. Sue Eikenberry, Chair History Committee
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IN MEMORIAM – 2008 - 2009 |
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Early in each year’s TMLA Annual Meeting, time is set aside to remember Ten Milers who have died since the previous year’s meeting. At our meeting this past August our Membership Secretary, Phoebe Alden, spoke the following words: “Once again I have solemn duty to read to you the names of Association members and/or long time visitors, as well as friends of Ten Mile Lake who have passed away since our last membership meeting. At the conclusion of the list I would ask that you contribute any additional names if I have omitted anyone.” Phoebe then read these names: |
Bernice Brown Stahler Barbara Sigrid Galdames Mary Virginia Campbell Walt Kane Greg Gits Martha Hamilton Dickey Don Prior Jean Brooks Elizabeth Nelson
Phoebe concluded: “Let us now take a few moments to reflect on those good souls who are deceased, but in their lifetimes experienced the clear and sparkling waters of Ten Mile Lake. Thank you.”
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