Calendar Comments

1.    Watercraft Operator’s Permit Training

This year’s Watercraft Operator’s Permit Training, intended for youths 12 to 18 years of age, is scheduled for the Thursday after July 4^th, in the expectation that many families will be in the area that week, making their children available for training. In addition to the usual participants, a Coast Guard representative will be present to speak about inland waterway safety issues. Children 12 to 18 must have a permit to operate high-powered boats, and to get the permit, they must participate in an approved training program. The program includes lunch, hands-on training on boats in the water, and a test for the permit. Call Jerry Mills at 547-1164 or Don Harris at 675-6285 to register your child.

2.    Fourth of July Boat Parades

The north and south shores of Ten Mile Lake will each celebrate the Fourth of July with a 10:00 a.m. boat parade. Decorate your boat (defined as “something that floats” — any kind of watercraft is acceptable) and join the parade. Or dress in red, white, and blue and come to watch. Spectators are important too!

The north shore gang will assemble at the dock for Arthur’s restaurant; the south shore at the public access. Both start at ten a.m. Try to be prompt.

3.    Well Water Testing

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TMLA Maps

Full color maps of Ten Mile Lake can be ordered from Gail Becher (547-3214) or Heidi Hoppe  (675-6255). The maps come in two sizes and include names of bays and beaches, locations of buoys, and local street names. They are printed on heavy paper, suitable for framing.

Maps sized 11 inches by 17 inches cost $5.00. A small number of these are available at this time. Maps sized 24 inches by 36 inches can be ordered at a cost of $40.00. As soon as a sufficient number of these maps have been ordered, a printing will be scheduled.

For an additional cost of $5.00, the maps will be mailed directly to you. Otherwise you can arrange with Gail ( North Shore ) or Heidi ( South Shore ) to pick up your map from one of them.

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FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

By Al Griggs, President, TMLA

      Who was it who told me that winters were “quiet time? This past winter was definitely not quiet. I had a clue about things to come when in mid-November I received both a note and a phone call from Harlan Fierstine, Area Supervisor, DNR Fisheries, asking TMLA to consider partnering with DNR via a donation, to help them acquire the Thon Property at the headwaters of the Boy River . We did, and they did, and the result was a new DNR Aquatic Management Area, which is open to the public. (See article, Page 7.)

      Other significant happenings during this not-so-quiet winter:

·         The Cass County Commissioners unanimously voted to ban controlled access lots (CALS) in the County. The single exception, as proposed by John Sumption, Director, ESD, was to allow an access lot to be shared by adjacent riparian lot owners whose lands abut environmentally sensitive lake shore, e.g. marsh, etc. We vigorously applaud this action.

·         The Breezy Point Property Owners Association filed suit to oppose the 40-unit Antler Ridge PUD under development on Leech Lake . To a substantial extent, this suit illuminated the need for revision of the 2005 land use ordinance governing PUDs. This ordinance revision is currently in process. The TMLA Board approved a $1000 gift to the Breezy Point people as a token of our appreciation of their leadership and achievements which we hope will benefit all of Cass County .

·         On Ten Mile, The Pineway PUD, consisting of nine units to be built in two tiers clustered behind the 120 foot setback on a ~1330+ foot deep lot with 197 feet of shoreline, was approved by the Cass County Planning Commission. We are concerned that this PUD will ultimately create a serious lake safety hazard. The PUD allows for nine boat slips on a single dock in about 30 inches of water. The lake is shallow at this point and young children will be able to wade around and behind the boats; 197 feet of shoreline does not allow for any separation of the boat fleet from the children’s water playground. Sooner or later, some child will be hurt or killed by a boat or by stepping into a prop wash hole and drowning.

·         A lawsuit Was Filed In Opposition to the Pineway PUD< financed by neighbors and sympathetic Ten Milers. It is underway. I am told that private donations to assist with expenses would be greatly appreciated, and can be mailed to the Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation, P.O. Box 455 , Hackensack , MN   56452 . Donations should be labeled “Ten Mile Lake Litigation.”

·         The Kenfield Pines PUD, which was remanded via a private lawsuit, was re-designed by the developers to incorporate only six units instead of the original eight units. It was approved, and is under development.

·         In May, Hiram Township approved a resolution to initiate “Comprehensive Land Use Planning.” A Notice of Ordinance was posted in the Pine Cone Press, along with advertisements for candidates for the Hiram Township Planning Commission. A valid Plan enables a township to exert a measure of control over new developments within the Township since the Township Planning Commission must approve any new developments/variances before the Cass County Planning Commission will act on them. A separate article on Comprehensive Land Use Planning examines this in more detail. (See article, Page 11.)

·         Last, but by no means least, on May 8, 2006 the Garbisch siblings, Marsha, Marlou, Mimi, and Tom have established the Richard G. Garbisch Conservation Trust Fund of $90,000 in honor of their father, Dick Garbisch’s 90^th birthday. The earnings from this fund will be utilized in conservation-related programs as deemed appropriate by the TMLA Board of Directors, in keeping with the wishes of the Garbisch family. The TMLA Conservation Committee will oversee this fund. (A separate article on Page 7 describes this wonderful gift in more detail.)

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Report of the Ecology and Environment Committee

by Bruce Carlson, Chair

The First Order of Business is to thank Ken Regner, who has just stepped down as Chair of the Committee after several years of highly effective service. His presentation at last year's annual meeting raised the bar considerably for all future committee reports.  Bruce Carlson will be taking over as Chair.

As of the writing of this report, the Committee has not yet had its first meeting of the year, so this report will concentrate on priorities of the Committee for the near future. One of the most important functions of the E & E Committee is monitoring the state of the lake water. This has been accomplished by sampling water from critical areas of the lake and areas of surface inflow and analyzing the samples for phosphorus, nitrogen and compounds indicating the density of microscopic plant life. Over the past couple of decades large amounts of data have been collected.  This information provides valuable insights into the state of the lake, which by most measures is improving in the main lake, although not necessarily in the bays. By now there is sufficient accumulated information to begin to discern long-term trends, but a major issue now is the best way to report the data so that it is easy to interpret and understand. The Committee hopes to get this worked out during the course of the year.

Several Important Activities of relevance to the Committee will occur this summer. One is a planned survey of the aquatic vegetation of the lake by the  DNR this summer. Ten Mile and Woman Lakes are being used as test beds for the surveys, which will examine in detail the aquatic vegetation around the entire lake at 200 meter intervals. This study, which may cost several hundred thousand dollars, will pro-vide an extremely valuable database which can be used as a reference point for any future alterations in the lake. (See John Alden’s report on Page 6 for more information on this project.) Another planned DNR study for this summer is a new analysis of mercury concentrations in Ten Mile fish. (No fish heads will be needed — they intend to catch their own!)

An Important Action Item for the E & E Com-mittee is devising and implementing a plan for dealing with an increased spread of certain types of algae in the area of the lake between the public landing and Angel Island . This is likely to be complex, involving conditions both on the land and in the water. A prime concern is that this area not develop characteristics that would facilitate the rooting of Eurasian milfoil, should any be brought into the lake at the public landing.

The Lake-wide Survey of Septic Systems was completed last fall, and the annual well water testing program will take place on Saturday, July 15. Ten Mile residents should go to the former Woock's store on the South Shore and Jerry Mills' Garage on the North Shore to pick up bottles for the samples and instructions for obtaining the samples. Then the filled bottles should be returned the same day.

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THE LOON JOURNAL

by Bob Moe, Loon Committee

All the loon marker buoys are in place, and the committee hopes that boaters will respect these markers, and keep a good distance from nesting loons. Loons are known to be nesting on the south side of Angel Island , and in Flower Pot Bay . They are assumed to be nesting in the Boy River mouth, and in one or two places on Long’s Bay. A platform has been placed in Robinson’s Bay and may be in use by nesting loons.

There is a rumor that people are attempting to feed a rogue loon in the Lundstrom’s Bay area. The Loon Committee would like to emphasize that FEEDING LOONS IS A BAD IDEA. It can only lead to difficulty and probable death for the loon, which survives best by not getting too friendly with humans. Loons that learn to hang around people end up swallowing fish hooks, getting tangled in lines, and other unhappy circumstances. PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE LOONS (— OR THE DUCKS).

From the Notebook

By Jim Schwartz

THE REFERENCE in my fall column to a 1928 Boone newspaper ad selling Ten Mile Lake lots elicited a tele-phone call from Kay (Tinker Bell) Helscher, a summer resident of the Boone Point area since at least 1915. That’s when her father, C. C. Ball, built their first cabin, a structure that still stands. Mrs. Helscher told me that in those early years, the only access to their cabin (and to other Boone Point properties, was by boat from the North Shore . It wasn’t until 1949 that they finally had a road built to their location. Kay, as she is known to her friends, winters in her Iowa City retirement home, but her summers at Ten Mile continue to be a special joy.

THE IMPLICATIONS OF global warming continue to preoccupy me. Consider: (a) one of the most influential “undecideds” on the issue, MIT scientist Kerry Emanuel, now says the warming trend’s pace is much too fast to ascribe to any natural process we know about and rising ocean temperatures appear to be contributing to increase-ing frequency and intensity of Atlantic storms; (b) glacio-logists are warning that, at the current rate of ice sheet loss, the Arctic Ocean will be ice-free in summer well be-fore the end of the century; (c) 2005 was the hottest year on record since measurements began in the late 1800s; (d) the new year opened with the hottest January on rec-ord for Minnesotans; (e) an article in the journal Science reports that the amount of ice flowing into the ocean from glaciers in southern Greenland has almost doubled in the last 10 years; (f) rising seas already are forcing relocation of some 2000 residents of two low-lying islands in the South Pacific to higher-ground islands.

AS YOU KNOW, Ten Milers have been keeping track of ice-over and ice-out for many years. Now, the Minne-sota Waters newsletter reports that researchers have collected such data on 56 northern lakes from Minnesota to New York over an extended period. The found a clear trend on all toward earlier ice breakup dates — an average of three days earlier each decade. A study in 2000 showed that, from 1846 to 1996, lakes lost 18 days of ice cover. The newsletter report was excerpted from an article by John Meyers in the Duluth News Tribune.

Ten Mile’s ice-out date this spring was April 13, a tad earlier than it has been for the last decade or so. I recall, though, a weekender visit my son, Jeff, a friend of his, and I made to the lake about 40 years ago the first week in May. Much of the lake surface was still ice-bound, with a large open area in the center. Many years earlier, when I was still a teen-ager, some fishing pals and I picked Round Lake north of Deer River to spend the bass season, which was then about June 20. One night that week a sheet of ice formed in the water pail just outside our cottage door. Does anyone out there have data on the late 1930s?

DID YOU KNOW that the earth has no more water now than it had when, millennia ago, it emerged as a planet? True. Only Nature’s remarkable recycling system makes earth habitable. It’s also true, as Minnesota ’s own Freshwater Society reminds us, that the water coming from your faucet may well contain molecules that were once consumed by, hold on now, dinosaurs. Yep.

IN AN E-MAIL EXCHANGE on April 10, Phoebe Alden, a year-round Ten Mile resident and membership guru for TMLA, noted some early signs of Spring: “Temperatures were in the high 60s here today and I heard some solo and chorusing wood frogs while walking the dog. The day lilies on the west side of our house are pushing up about an inch or two. Snow is still found where the sun can’t reach. I saw my first garter snake yesterday. Robins and blackbirds have been plentiful and I heard my fist phoebe this morning. Chipmunks have been active for several weeks and moths provide visual activity in the leafless woods, though various trees are producing catkins. I’ve had several waterfowl sightings, but all have been in-air rather than on-water. Depending on wind direction, the lake ice can pull away from the shore up to six feet. Today a noticeable dark thawing trail appeared in the ice over Flower Pot reef. As daylight dwindled this evening, the lake seemed darker and punkier. My guess is that there will be an early ice-out. . . but I’ve never been the best of predictors.” Next day Phoebe reported the ice on Flower Pot Bay had disappeared and that the loons were back.

MINNESOTA IS blessed with an abundance of fresh water, perhaps its most valuable resource. Because of its geology, though, the State turns out to be primarily an ex-porter of that prized commodity: the mighty Mississippi flows to the Gulf, carrying with it the waters of many tribu-tary streams, including the Minnesota and St. Croix Rivers; the Red River of the North and the Rainy River have Hudson Bay as their destination; the rivers that emp-ty into Lake Superior reach the Atlantic by way of the St. Lawrence River. Any importation would be through preci-pitation; most of that is lost to evaporation, transpiration, and river flowage.

IF YOU’RE CONCERNED about the pressure being put on Northern Minnesota lakes and wilderness areas, prepare for a lot more. A UofM study calculates that popu-lations Cass and Crow Wing Counties will jump 60 percent by 2030. Fueling the boom will be retirees, second home seekers, and the “techies” working from their digs. All will be searching the area for buildable property. Commerce, of course, must expand to serve these customers. Sustainable development? Commitment to that goal has never been more critical.

Fish Chatter

by Bob Horn, Co-Chair, Fisheries Committee

2006 Opener on Ten Mile — In spite of the cold and rainy opening weekend, fishing was tolerable. Dave Ferris, owner of Happiness Resort, indicated an average opener. Walleyes in the 16"-20" size were the norm, but one 27" was caught and released in Long’s Bay. Lundstrom Bay was busy as usual with crappies and walleyes the most common fish boated.

The Northern Pike Experimental Regulation will end March 1, 2008 . DNR will hold a public meeting in August 2007 to take input on the possible retention, modification, or elimination of the 20-inch maximum size limit. TMLA has been assured that we will have some input in the final decision.

DNR Will Be On Ten Mile in August of this year to conduct a gill net survey. The last survey was three years ago. The net survey is important to show size, number, and kind of fish species in Ten Mile Lake. The gill nets are placed in about 12 different locations around the lake, The results will be in the Newsletter when DNR makes them available to us.

DNR Will Continue to stock TML with walleye fingerlings in odd-numbered years. Last fall 2600 pounds of these small walleyes were placed in the lake. It has been determined by DNR that “Walleye fingerling stocking has been contributing approximately 50 percent of the walleye fishery in TML.”

Where Did The Smallmouth Bass come from? Each year, more Ten Milers are catching this sporty fish. DNR has not stocked these fish in the lake. In the 2003 gill net survey, DNR netted five smallmouth  bass, averaging a pound and a quarter in weight.

Lake Trout — According the the fishery people, TML has many of the characteristics needed to support a population oflake trout. MNDNR would “consider” stocking lake trout fingerlings in Ten Mile if  Ten Mile fisherman expressed the desire for it. This is a subject that the TMLA Fisheries Committee will be looking at this summer. Roosevelt Lake near Outing has been stocked with lake trout; the committee will be in contact with them.

A Study of Aquatic Vegetation in Ten Mile Lake

By John Alden, Watershed Coordinator

The Cass County Department of Environmental Services established an Intralakes Land Use Committee in 2004. The purpose of this committee, comprised of lake and land use technologists, was to provide new approaches to the protection of water resources that would incorporate recently developed applications such as GIS mapping and Upland Models for environmentally sensitive areas near lakeshores. Because TMLA has very similar goals, I have been meeting with this committee and I believe that it is making serious progress.

A continuing problem for the committee has been the lack of specific information about the amount and variety of environmentally sensitive aquatic vegetation along the littoral zones — for TML, in water less that 30 feet deep. Now we have learned that  Donna Perleberg and Paul Radomski, staff of DNR/Waters Division, have acquired funding from DNR to conduct a major environmental and biological study of Ten Mile Lake and Woman Lake .

For TML, the funding will be used to sample and identify the aquatic vegetation on a 200 meter grid basis around the shoreline of TML during the summer of 2006. DNR personnel in DNR boats will use rakes and line hooks to collect samples. They will analyze the samples and codify the information next winter.

The TMLA Ecology and Environment Committee has long desired this kind of information, but did not have the resources needed to go after it. You may observe DNR staff in the process of collecting samples during the summer. The TMLA Board is delighted that this study is going forward and that we were not required to provide any financial support to make it happen.

Thon Property Becomes DNR Aquatic Management Area

Supported by TMLA's Gift of $5000

by Al Griggs, President, TMLA

In December, 2005, Bob McGillivray of the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) announced the acquisition of 64 acres of land including 1375+ feet of shoreline on the Boy River bay and encompassing the initial 1500+ feet of the Boy River headwaters. This tract was conveyed to DNR, who will manage it as an Aquatic Management Area, open to the public. DNR has no plans to develop this tract, according to Harlen Fierstine, Area Supervisor, Division of Fisheries.

This acquisition represents the conclusion of a lengthy effort to acquire the Thon property, which came up for sale in 2004. In mid 2004, the Ten Mile Lake Association was approached by Pat Moran of Moran Realty, and Ted Mellby of the Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation (LLAWF), with a plan to acquire the Thon Property for DNR. This plan involved having TMLA deed the two Kenfield Bay properties to the DNR in exchange for RIM credits which would be used to acquire the Thon tract for the DNR.  This effort failed largely because the Ten Mile Lake Association was not willing to give up the Kenfield Bay lands  without assurances that they would be protected from future development, either via conservation easements or a reverter clause, which would prevent any subsequent sale of these properties by the DNR.  Neither of these was protections was in place.

LLAWF (represented by Ted Mellby) and DNR then approached TPL and asked their help.  TPL responded and acquired an option to buy the property.  A deal was worked out including using TPL RIM credits, Critical Habitat License Plate funds, and a North American Wetland Conservation Act Grant to DNR which required positive support, via donations, by local area organizations. The TMLA Board of Directors voted unanimously to donate $5000 to DNR, to be matched with RIM Credits. Other donors included LLAWF ($1000), the North Star Sportsmen’s Club ($500) and the Birch Lake Association ($500).

Much credit is due to Harlan Fierstine, Ted Mellby, and Pat Moran, all of whom played major roles in making this land preservation  happen. Thanks to them we have a new aquatic management area, which will remain undeveloped and pristine.

The Richard G. Garbisch Conservation Trust Fund

A Generous Gift to Ten Mile Lake

by Al Griggs, President, TMLA

Prior to May 8, 2006, Marlou Garbisch Johnston, Mimi Garbisch Carlson, Marsha Garbisch Harbison, and Thomas R. Garbisch donated $90,000 to the Ten Mile Lake Association to establish the “Richard G. Garbisch Conservation Trust Fund” in honor of their father, Dick Garbisch’s 90^th birthday. The earnings from this fund will be utilized in conservation-related programs as deemed appropriate by the TMLA Board of Directors, in keeping with the wishes of the Garbisch family. The TMLA Conservation Committee will oversee the fund.

This wonderful gift had its inception at the 2005 Annual Meeting, when Mimi Carlson approached then President Tom Cox about the possibility of gifting the Association to establish a Conservation Endowment Fund in honor of their father’s upcoming 90^th birthday. Through the ensuing months the details were worked out with the Garbisch siblings and approved by the Ten Mile Lake Association Board of Directors. 

A critical facet of the proceedings was to maintain absolute secrecy with regard to everything relating to the establishment of the Fund, as it was to be a surprise birthday gift to be presented to their dad at his private birthday party on May 8.  A Proclamation establishing the Fund on May 8, 2006 was prepared by the Ten Mile Lake Association and copies were mailed to each of the four siblings prior to the party.  Mimi has told us that their dad was completely surprised and overwhelmed by his gift!

Ten Mile Lake is indeed fortunate to have the Garbisch family, and to count them among those who love our lake and exhibit the foresight and generosity to preserve its quality, beauty, and natural environment for the generations to come.  To the Garbisch family: we thank you and applaud you!

ICE-IN, ICE-OUT

by Jim Schwartz

Although we have only about 18 years of data — certainly not enough to establish trends — TML has experienced slightly earlier ice breakups and later freeze-overs recently. We will continue to add data to this record and see what happens.

Water Level Report

by Tom Cox, Chair, Water Level Committee

Ten Mile’s water level at the season’s beginning was high again this year.  Here are Walt Kane’s statistics from his first reading of the season on May 15:

May 15 Water Level  — 1379.75 feet (or 1,379 feet, 9 inches), 1.4 inches higher than one year ago, and 2.5 inches higher than on last November 1.  This first reading was also 3.96 inches higher than the average level of 1379.42 feet for the period since 1973, but 5.64 inches lower than the record high of 1380.22 feet recorded on June 14, 2001 .

The current high water is due in some part to heavy rains in mid-May, and, of course, to the beaver dam in the Boy River .  Again this past winter, with the support of the TMLA, the Birch Lake Association contracted for trapping and removal of beaver from the dam site.  It is reported that five animals were removed.  But as of the Memorial Day weekend, the Beaver dam looked intact.  Dam raiding party, anyone?

Many complained of high water last year, and with good reason, though the level never reached its record high.  We started off an inch and a half higher this year than last, but contrary to last year, as of May 23, at least, we were on a definite downward trend.

Hiram Township Comprehensive Land Use Planning

by Al Griggs, TMLA President

At the Hiram Township Board of  Supervisors meeting on May 9, a resolution was passed to initiate  Township “Land Use Planning.”  Ted Mellby, Town-ship Supervisor, subsequently  posted a notice of Ordinance in the Pine Cone Press establishing a Hiram Township Planning Commission, and submitted an advertisement for candidates for this job.

This Action Was in Response to a request by the TMLA Board to the Township Board in April that the Board initiate “Comprehensive Land Use Planning” for Hiram Township with special emphasis on shoreland regulations. The next night, Sharon Peterson, TMLA VP and Ted Mellby presented a similar request to Shingobee Township , which was already debating initiation of a Plan.

Previously, Ted Mellby, Isobel Brown of Pine Lake Township , and the author met with Wabedo Township ’s Craig Anderson, and Kathy Miller, Chair of the Sky Blue Waters Consortium of Townships, to discuss the merits of comprehensive land use planning. Sky Blue Waters has a protocol for developing the Plan, and Craig Anderson related Wabedo Township ’s experiences with its Plan. By and large, their experience has been positive, with the Cass County Planning Commission supporting Wabedo Planning Commission decisions.

The  Plan  requires  the township  to  develop  a Township Planning Commission, which will  maintain close communication with the County Planning Commission. With the Plan in place, new developments and/or variances within the township are presented to the Township Planning Commission for approval before being considered by the County Planning Commission. Thus a Township is able to maintain a substantial measure of control over future development. State statutes require that a township plan  be somewhat more restrictive than county plans; otherwise it is wasted effort.

Costs Are Always a Consideration, since these are ultimately passed on to the property owners via property taxes. For this reason, zoning is not recommended since the required enforcement is expensive.  Developing a Land Use Plan accrues a one-time cost of perhaps $4-5000, but operating costs tend to run perhaps $2-3000 per year to support the planning commission and to contract with the county for such enforcement and services as may be needed.

More and More Townships are taking up the issue of township planning. As more development encroaches upon our area the need for better control of our own destiny is becoming paramount!  I urge you to support township planning at  township meetings.  The relatively minimal expense will be money well spent!