LOONS WILL BE THE SUBJECT AT THE TEN MILE LAKE ASSOCIATION'S ANNUAL MEETING

Springtime at Ten Mile has gotten off to a fast start, beginning with one of the earliest ice-out times ever recorded (April 5 or 6, depending upon what definition is used). The fast start includes many activities of the Ten Mile Lake Association, as well. These activities were reflected in the discussions at the first TMLA Directors’ meeting in May. On a less happy note, the Board offered its respect to the memories of two former presidents, Ross Melgaard and John Alden, both of whom passed away since this column was last written. An article noting John’s contributions to TMLA will be found in the section, “Remembering Our Ten Mile Lake Friends.”

Resource Protection Districts: One of the main topics of discussion at the May TMLA Directors’ meeting was that of Resource Protection Districts (RPD’s). This topic was outlined in my column in the Spring Newsletter. Just as a reminder, a Resource Protection District is a buffer region of land that extends ¼ mile in all directions around what the DNR has identified as an ecologically sensitive shoreline. In such a district, subdivision of currently unplatted (or undeveloped) large parcels of land would be subject to the restrictions applying to a natural environment lake, rather than a general development lake. For any property with less than 200 feet of shoreline, the restrictions on the lot at the time it was properly registered with the County would be “grandfathered in,” that is, they would not be changed, but would continue to apply as before.

The principal issue under discussion was that of the appropriate role of TMLA in the process of establishing a Resource Protection District. Earlier this year, TMLA was proactive in identifying the lot owners whose properties lie within the boundaries of the proposed RPD’s and in surveying them by mail for their interest in or opposition to the establishment of such districts. According to County guidelines, when property owners desire to establish an RPD, at least half of the riparian lot owners (those whose lots abut the water) within a proposed RPD must submit a petition in order to initiate the approval process. Because not all lot owners responded to our survey, in no case did more than half of the eligible lot owners indicate a desire to proceed, even in those proposed districts that had a high percentage of positive responses. The essence of the Board’s May discussion concerned the proper balance between the Association’s mission to protect the quality of the lake and its environs and the Association’s need to respect the wishes of individual lot owners. At this time, the TMLA Board does not contemplate becoming the prime mover behind the establishment of any Resource Protection District on the lake, but if any lot owner or group of owners wishes to pursue the establishment of the proposed Resource Protection District in which their property is located, TMLA will provide logistic support, such as providing names and addresses of lot owners within the proposed District and supporting communication with the appropriate Township and County officials.

Lakeshore Restoration/Improvement: Much continues to happen on the lakeshore restoration/improvement front. Early in June I took Heather Baird, a shoreline specialist with DNR (who gave the talk at last year’s TMLA meeting) on a trip around the lake. DNR has a special grant for funding shoreline restoration in areas of the lake containing endangered species. Heather is presently identifying a small number of critical sites where shoreline restoration could be done if the property owners give their consent. I have also met with folks from Cass County to devise a strategy for shoreline improvement for 2010. Any actual work will likely be done in the fall because of planting requirements, but during the summer, we will identify a small number of pilot projects that can be implemented this year. This will provide us with important information and experience that can strengthen future applications for shoreline restoration funds. Even on a single property, shoreline restoration takes several years to complete, but the long-term goal is to find means to assist any cabin-owners who want to restore or improve their shorelines.

Septic System Inspections: Septic system inspections will continue this year. As has been our custom, roughly one third of the septic systems around the lake will be inspected. Cass County is providing roughly half of the funds needed for this valuable service this year.

Dues Increase: The TMLA Board has voted to increase the annual dues to the association from $30 to $35 per year, starting with the 2010 dues. This is the first dues increase since 2002, and the amount is less than 2% per year, which is well under the rate of inflation for this period. With the dues increase our ongoing expenses will be almost covered by our dues.

By the time you read this, the summer season at the lake will be in full swing. I hope the water will be warmer than at this time last year. Enjoy the lake, and don’t forget the annual TMLA meeting on Saturday, August 7.

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State of the Lake. Overall, the lake continues to be in good shape, thanks to the collective efforts of many cabin owners around the lake. The water quality of the bays, however, is not being maintained as well as that of the main lake. The 2009 report from Instrumental Research, Inc., which has been monitoring our water for many years, indicated that for some reason, during last September’s turnover a larger amount of nutrients than normal entered the water column. The nutrients probably came from the lake bottom for reasons not clearly understood. A similar event took place in 2002. Until things settle down, it could mean more algae and lesser water clarity this year than is usual. The early ice-out and consequent longer warm water period will likely accentuate this trend. Interestingly, oxygen determinations taken from the deepest part of the lake show excellent levels of oxygen (over 8.5 ppm) down to 175 feet, but between 175 and 180 feet, the oxygen levels dropped precipitously to levels of 0.4 ppm. Such low oxygen is also correlated with phosphorus release, adding to the nutrient load of the water. Deepwater oxygen levels will be regularly recorded this summer and in the future to better understand the dynamics of a lake as deep as ours.

Shoreline Improvement. The President’s report summarizes some of the major activities and plans involving shoreline improvement, but there are other developments, as well. As this is being written, the DNR is just finalizing a survey instrument, called Score Your Shore, that outlines a means of quantifying the ecological status of the shore of any individual property on a lake. Early versions of the instrument have been used on a few small test lakes. The E & E Committee is hoping that we can score the entire shoreline of Ten Mile to provide a database that can be used as a benchmark for looking at the lake in future years. The data can be converted into a color map that is very informative.

Interactions with Governmental Agencies. We continue to have very productive interactions with individuals at both the state and county levels. All seem to have a genuine interest in our efforts to maintain the quality of the lake, and it has been very gratifying to see the level of cooperation that we are experiencing in working with them. In both the short and long run, this can only be beneficial to the well-being of the lake.

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Each spring the loons have returned to Minnesota in their handsome black and white feathers, ready to find a mate and establish their territory for the summer months. Loons are very territorial and seek to find a specific habitat suitable for nesting and raising their chicks.

This summer we have a lot of adult loons on our lake. Ten Mile is a great lake for loons because of its clean, clear water and the many small fish on which to feed. Some are the established loons, some are rogues that are seeking to mate and establish their own territory. Since young loons have been known to return to their place of birth, it is very likely that the parents are in competition with their own offspring for territory. This lake can support many adult loons but, Ten Mile can only provide so many bays and coves suitable for safe nesting, good fishing, and raising young chicks.

Only one of our platform nests is being used this summer (south of the Island).

All the other five platforms are vacant! There is always hope that a pair of loons has nested in the natural wetlands.

You might be asking, "But why aren't the loons nesting and using the nice platforms more this year?" Maybe these are among the reasons:

1. There are many adult loons on our lake. Young loons are known to return after 3 years on the Gulf of Mexico to the original lake that they were hatched on. This means that we have, no doubt, parents competing with their own young for territory and nesting ground. These young loons are not really welcome on the lake on which they were raised; but this is where Mother Nature and instinct brings them!
   
   Ten Mile Lake can support a lot of adult loons but the nesting success is determined by the loons and their predators. Once paired up and established on a specific bay the "Territorial Loon Couple" will work hard to defend their territory and keep intruders out. They will call out loudly as if announcing their ownership of that bay. With their calls, they are hoping to keep other loons from entering their bay. They will do the penguin dance across the water to scare away any intruder. They will dive and chase underwater predators away. They will stab and poke intruders with their sharp beaks. These intruders may be other loons, raccoons, fox, eagles, herons or humans. Loons will fight physically to keep their place in nature! The ones that are dominant will win the battle. So ― are the OLD established loons just not nesting, or are they no longer productive or are the YOUNG, inexperienced loons not mature enough to mate, or unable to build a proper nest, or not interested in nesting but just being dominant???? Who Knows For Sure!!!
    

2. Eagles dominate many of the same bays and coves that the loons are drawn to. This creates more conflict for territory, nesting and raising loon chicks to maturity.

Humans can help make nest sites available and desirable, but Mother Nature and survival of the fittest will control what the outcome shall be. Enjoy and respect the loons that we have. Singles, pairs, families, young and old ― loons are a lot like you and me. ― Ten Mile is their summer home.

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All the conditions seemed perfect for a great opener this year. We had a very early ice-out, and warm temperatures continued into April and most of May. Water temperatures were 5 - 10 degrees warmer that normal. However, the fishing opener turned out to be tough for the walleye fisherman. But the crappie bite was better than most years, so all was not lost.

By the end of May the walleyes were hitting much better. According to Dave Ferris at Happiness Lodge, many 17-20 inch walleyes were boated the week after the opener. Dave said his patrons had a good start to the season. Rick Grewe from Quietwoods also stated that the weekend after the opener was good to excellent with the same size walleyes being caught. Early on, the crappie bite was very good in both Long’s and Lundstrom’s bay.

THE DNR WILL AGAIN BE ACTIVE ON TEN-MILE LAKE THIS SUMMER. THE FOLLOWING SUMMARY OF THESE ACTIVITIES WAS PROVIDED BY THE LOCAL DNR STAFF:

A lot of sampling was conducted on Ten Mile Lake (TML) in 2009, and this sampling will be conducted again in 2010 and 2011. TML is part of the Sustaining Lakes in a Changing Environment (SLICE) project which is a joint cooperation between the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). This project consists of 24 lakes across Minnesota. Samplings have consisted of

Also, a side project by several researchers (MN DNR and University of Minnesota – Duluth) will be looking at some deepwater sampling for ciscoes and lake whitefish in 2010, and our office will be conducting a gill net assessment in 2010 targeting the walleye, yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker, and rock bass population.

Spring electrofishing targeting largemouth bass was conducted in areas in Long’s Bay, along the North shore of the main basin, and in Lundstrom’s Bay. Historical information using spring electrofishing has been limited to largemouth bass. However, fish up to 19 inches were sampled. The size distribution of largemouth bass between 2008 and 2009 samples was similar. This sampling has already been conducted in 2010 but the data have not been analyzed. Due to the large acreage of TML, there is a habitat preference between largemouth and smallmouth bass which resulted in few smallmouth bass sampled during the past three electrofishing surveys. In the future, additional areas might be targeted to sample the expanding population of smallmouth bass.

The near-shore community sampling targeted the non-game species in the lake. The IBI score for TML was 132 which is extremely high. A high IBI score usually indicates a balanced and diverse fish community with a high proportion of species intolerant to disturbance and a low proportion of tolerant ones. Some non-game fish species sampled were banded killifish, blackchin shiner, blacknose shiners, bluntnose minnow, brook stickleback, central mudminnow, Iowa darter, Johnny darter, least darter, log perch, longnose dace, mimic shiner, pugnose shiner, and spottail shiner.

Trap net assessment was conducted in August, and was used to target the bluegill population. Beside bluegill, other fish species captured were black crappie, bowfin, brown bullhead, largemouth bass, pumpkinseed, northern pike, rock bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, yellow bullhead, and yellow perch. The bluegill catch rate was similar to historical catch rates and fish over nine inches were sampled.

Our research suggests that coldwater resources in TML are excellent. TML has outstanding coldwater habitat because of its depth and excellent water quality; maintaining that water quality will be critical for sustaining high quality coldwater habitat for ciscoes and lake whitefish in the lake in the future. Preliminary results show that the ciscoes (Habitat Suitability Index of 100 [Scale of 0 to 100]) could survive and were well away from the lethal niche boundary. Additional cisco sampling with the MDNR and University of Minnesota Duluth researchers will be conducted in late July or early August 2010 using vertical gillnets and hydro acoustic.

If you have any questions about the Ten Mile Lake fisheries, feel free to call the Fisheries Office at 218-547-1683.

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Did You Know That TMLA will match gifts you make to The Hackensack Fire and Rescue Department (which now includes the former First Response organization) when you make them through the Association? Yes! TMLA will match member’s gifts up to a total of $1,000 when gifts are made to TMLA and marked “Hackensack Fire and Rescue.”

In Recent Years, Hackensack First Response has merged with the Hackensack Fire Department. The Hackensack Fire and Rescue Department is an organization of trained and certified volunteers who respond to emergencies on Ten Mile and elsewhere. These volunteers are required to undergo rigorous training, and to maintain certification annually.

They Are Equipped with up-to-date technology, such as defibrillators. To maintain this level of readiness they depend on community support.

If You Would Like To Support what is now the Hackensack Fire and Rescue Department through the TMLA matching gifts program, please make your check payable to the Ten Mile Lake Association, indicate on it that it is designated for Hackensack Fire and Rescue, and send it to the Association (P.O. Box 412, Hackensack, MN 56452). The treasurer will send a check to Hackensack Fire and Rescue for double the amount of your contribution.

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