Report of the Watershed Coordinator
by John Aden, Watershed Coordinator
In January 2005 the Cass County Commissioners and the Environmental Services
Department requested that I present recent developments for shoreland protection
and, in particular, land use controls and concerns for surface use on the lakes
in Cass County. The Board of Commissioners and Cass County department chiefs
attended a retreat at Deep Portage Conservation Reserve on February 12, 2005. I
made the following points in my presentation:
 | Lake Management Plans - The Initiative Foundation in Little Falls, MN has
been instrumental in providing both funding and training for lake
associations to develop individual Lake Management Plans. In Cass County,
more than 100 lake association members have participated in training
workshops. Eighteen lake management plans have been completed.
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| Environmentally Sensitive Shorelands in the County - The Geographic
Information System "Upland Functional Model" (initiated by TMLA)
has been completed and will be an important tool to identify environmentally
sensitive shorelands. These areas may be reclassified as Special Protection
Areas.
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| Collector Sewage Treatment Systems - Cass County promotes and supports the
implementation of neighborhood/local community waste-water treatment
systems. Mapping of these neighborhoods that may have limited physical space
for future sanitation needs is available on the County website. County
personnel are very willing to provide an initial assessment for septic waste
planning.
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| Stormwater Management - The Environmental Services Department is
implementing stormwater management planning for all development projects
that have more than one acre of disturbed land. The purpose of this planning
is to identify over-land flow patterns of storm runoff in order to protect
septic systems and provide erosion controls for water quality in lakes and
streams. |
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