1996-04-25_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

-- ~ a.' ~ ::r t ~ S ,f v~5yr y f3' ~ "~€ y~dr~ - _ -- -~ -- _ f . .x. 'i. t.. ~' t ~ we k. T - ,-N 1 ~ tt s' ~ ~ t, # , ~ Y/ 1 `7 ~ ~ i f ~ 3 ~ s ~ r~ ~~;~ ~f~"j ~"','~jJ ~~ ~ ~s ~~~~''i ~~~~~~ ~ ~ l 1~ .~ f~ r~ ~~ / ~. @ ~` ~ ~~ s ~ ~ ~ , ~ ~ , ~. ~~ ~• r .i~ ~~~ ~'1 t ~ ~ ~ Ev.4 W .~~ ..,~ _ .3,- ^r ~ ~. /;~ Save time, money, and natural habitats with ,~ ~ - -~~~,~~~ these new tips on native shoreline landscapes -~ ~~~~'y~ ~ ~ ~'~ ~" AN OWNQLS OF G\BP75 OR LAKE HOFffS have trim, attractive lake lots and help fish and wildlife, too? Defi- m[ely, say lake and wildlife expects explor- ing new ways to make landscaped lakeshores mote ecologically frie~y. The two visions of a lake la might seem contradictory: Fish and wildlife need native plants on the shore and in shallow water, bur drat nature! growth looks like a cluttered. mess to people striving for a. tidy yard. Yet according m Cartol Henderson who coe- dinates the DNR Noagame Wildlife ~~. P~PIe can plant wildlife-friendly aces, shmbs, flowers. and water plants in ways that maintain awell-kept appeata»ce. "Just because you're now attracting birds and iutterflies doesn't mean yes lawn has to Zook messy," he says. Take the Roves, for example- to 1993, Marlene and het husband Gib, planted ?5 feet of their 7(Yfoe Lakeshore on }?tie take with 17 different native flowers and other plants. "We already had a beach and a boat dock and we wanted to amacf butterflies atx! enhance the natural beauty of out Lakeshore." she says. The couple spent less than $2W on the new plane, which they planted dxm- selves after testing the soil in. various spurs. TWo years later, native species such as wiM iris, prairie blazing star, mradovvsweeL and mountain mint were [fuiving. The native plantings provide habitat fe inset:ts eaten by birds and draw btttterHies and bumblebces. An added bonus: Tate taller plants crow block an unsightly fence along one side of the Roves' property. n1E t:~ ,> For many peoole, the idealized lake la is a trim carpet of blcegrass streuhing down m a wide sandy heath But a lakcshote isn't a golf cotuse, and attempts m impose t~ "putting green" took onto a shore lot tau often rob the lake of features thaz attract people there in the 5rst place. Replacing native plants wilt sand or lawn tiesaoys fish and wildlife habitat andcan attrut nuisance animals. It also increases runoff thaz dirties lake water, feeds antksirable algae blooms, increases lakeshott: eeosio4 and decreases residential privacy.~Add to thaz the irony Hen~rson finds in the long.houts lakeshare owners spend trying m keep their artifitaal Lakeshore lawns healthy and trim: "On Monday I'll ask people with cabins or lake homes, 'How was the fishing cast weekend?' and you'd be surprised how many times they say they never got arotmd w it because they were too busy mowing tyre yam„ Lakeshore lawns do more than coastmme tip; they also displace Dative plant habitat used by songbirds, fish, and amphibians. When multiplied by thousands of lakes ranged by barren yards and denuded shore- lines, traditional lake landscaping has destroyed thousands of miles of critical habitat and degraded lake ecosystems from oce end of the state to the other. That's why Henderson and other biolo- gists advocate a new type of Lakeshore land- scaping. Dubbed. "lake"-seeping, this approach provides Lakeshore owners with lake views and water access-and even some open lawn-while also providing plates for bads. game fish, and. otter valued animals m live. "'t'here are plenty of creative ways to have a neat attractive Lakeshore la that is more in balance with name and acnrally requires less lawn maintenance and little z '~ `g.., "'{~`` :,~ 't fw'.,~~'-~ x 3 ,~, ~_ .r 'tea ~'.-~-,. a-~- '"".,~-^u-r to no fertilizers or .~,,,„~,~~~ ~._ `~ ~- ~` herbicides," says Hen- n Though natural lakescaping does 1E4~ trace P!~g ro team which plants work best in a Lakeshore set[iag, it can actually be cheaper than traditional landscaping. says Henderson Tf lakeshee owners don't remove native plants in the first Place, there ate no planting tests. And even purchased native plants requite less maintenance over the Tong haul than a blue- grass lawn betxrtse [hey ate adapted m the Lakeshore soil and climate. "One Dice thing about native plants is drat they don'[ need mowing." Henderson says. '°ITtat leaves a lot of exna time for fishing:' Not just fishing, but fishing for more fish. On many lakes, the so-called water weeds have been cut, poisoned or ptdled to make open swimming or boating areas. These native aquatic plants prevem shore- line erosion and provide habitat for wattt insects, game fish, and forage fish. as well. as [testing areas for loons, glebes, ducks, and other water-loving birds. Natural lalrescaping can restore these habitats and lead to an increase in fish numbers. Among the other problems caused by traditional landscaping: • fad of wildlife habitat: The native trees. shmbs, wildflowers. and moist soil plants along lakeshores are among. Min- nesota's richest and most biologically diveise habitats, says Henderson. Song- birds, woaipeckers, ratites, mammals, and amphibians abotr~ where land meets water along the naaaai lake edge. "When these plants are taken out to make room for lawns, the wildlife that used them are left withotn a how;' he says. • IDltthr water. In midsummer, many takes rum. a soupy green from algae fed by fertilizers and other pollutants draining off sunotmding lawns. On a aansal shorelice, only l0 ptsseat of rain and snow rates off lino the lake; the rest is herd by native plants befixe evaporating a seeping doom through the gro®d. But on a "hard" tumat- utal shotelice such as a lawn more than half (55 percent) of the water heads directly to the lake. The nmoff ca¢ies pet waste, lawn clippings, leaves, fertilizers, and other pollutants that make the lake too fertile- "The excess nutrients feed algae that consume oxygen needed by tish and odrer -~ ~_~~-~ _ -+..-- aquatic organisms;' says Cazolyn Din-. 'dorf, a timnologfst for the Hennepin Conservation District • More wildlife-related problets: Traditional lakeside tawny attract grazing waterfowl that. leave behind messy drop- pings. fn. one week, a single adult Canada goose can produce IS pounds of drop- pings, which foul [he lawn for outdoor activities and eventually wash into the lake, adding to the nuttier !qad. ~othg 66Thero are plenty of creatsve ways to have a neat, ract've lak ore lot that is more In balance 'th n tt4.ee99 --Carnal Henderson, Coordinator, DNR Nongame ~Idlife Program hindrance:. muskrats, which burrow into the banks of lakes, creating underground tunnels that collapse as lawnmowers move overhead. - "pcopk call and ask how they can get rid of mttskxao," says Mike DottCarfos, DNR forbearer program coordinate: "I remind them that the muskrats were there first a~ that the problem comes from mowing too close to dte bank." DonCazlos says that whw he explains to lakeshoce owners the test a~ troubk of trappivg otu mus6rau, mast agree that a oanaal btrffc zone along the shoteiine sounds tike an attractive ~~ • More ern: Water plants such as buanshes and t:attails soften [he blow of waves along the shore. The tkep roots of native pees. shrubs, and grasses on Itil]sides anchor the soil. When these plants ate removed, the shoreline txn begin washing away inm the lake. The erosion setoffs silt inm spawning arras of walleyes and. other fish. where it covets and suffocates eggs. _- _~. i< -~.. c- ~- ..t, _- ~