Times and Tides - 2nd/3rd Quarter

Times & Tides A Publication from the Green Lake Association

Inside Executive Director Letter.....2 New Directors.....................3 Retiring Directors................3 Making a Splash..................3 Gala Wrap-up......................4 Gala Thank You...................5 Algae Bloom........................6 Intern Results......................6 CBCW Update....................7 GL Tributaries.....................7 Osprey Nests.......................8

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Green Team Calendar Check our website or Facebook for event descriptions.

Sat., Aug. 20, 9 - 11 a.m.

Reviving the American Chestnut

Sat., Sept. 3, 9 - 11 a.m.

Discovering Lake Friendly Farm Practices Conservation ~ Communication ~ Collaboration

Vol. 39 ~ No.2

Jerry Specht Receives Caestecker Award In 1980, Tom Caestecker began the Charles and Marie Caestecker Award to honor his parents and their love and great regard for Green Lake. Since then, it has been awarded to seven individuals who have done an exceptional job improving Big Green Lake through their abilities, interests, or leadership skills. This year, Tom Caestecker and the GLA Board of Directors awarded Jerry Specht with the Caestecker Award at our annual meeting, June 15 at the Tea House.

Jerry Specht is a long-time member and volunteer of the GLA, along with many other local organizations. He is currently the President of the Green Lake Sanitary District, Vice President of Green Lake Greenways, and volunteers for the Green Lake Conservancy to help maintain trails and raise funds for conservancy land purchases.

In 1988, Jerry and his wife, Judy, purchased a “fixer-upper” on the south shore of Green Lake after exploring many Wisconsin lake communities. They were charmed by the natural beauty, calm peacefulness, and close proximity to Illinois. Like many of our members, Jerry and Judy spent the next 13 years traveling between Illinois and Green Lake.

Since 2001, Jerry has worked continuously to help improve the quality of Big Green Lake and its watershed. He is a pillar in the natural resources community. His upbeat attitude and warm, personable character provide a bridge between the various Green Lake organizations working to protect, conserve and enhance Green Lake. These organizations include the Green Lake Association, Green Lake Sanitary District, Green Lake Conservancy, and Green Lake Greenways.

Congratulations to Jerry for his many accomplishments. We thank him for all his efforts to make Big Green Lake a natural and beautiful lake that can be enjoyed by everyone.

Executive Director Letter We are in the midst of summer and find ourselves in the throes of program work. Eric Evensen, our Clean Boats, Clean Waters Coordinator has returned for a second summer. With nine aquatic invasive species (AIS) educators at our boat launches two days a week, we have made immense strides in providing education to boaters about aquatic invasive species (AIS). At the end of July, nearly 2,000 boaters and 700 boats were contacted and given education about AIS. In addition to AIS education, Eric has been volunteering his time to help the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources complete a thorough analysis of Green Lake’s impaired tributaries, and our interns have completed their projects which you can read more about within this issue.

With support from our members, volunteers, and gala guests our second annual gala, Hot Havana Nights on the Shore of Green Lake, was a smashing success. Revenues from the gala have afforded us the financial resources to help support the Green Lake Renewal’s Deacon Mills Wharf project which has the potential to improve water quality, stabilize the shoreline, enhance aquatic vegetation, and improve fish populace and habitat in the bay. These additional financial resources will help support our newest and largest endeavor, a lake management plan for Big Green Lake.

The GLA, the Green Lake Sanitary District, the Green Lake Conservancy, the Green Lake County Land Conservation Department and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources have begun the process of developing a lake management plan for Big Green Lake which, once adopted, will help guide future management efforts on the lake and in the watershed. This endeavor is a large undertaking and a lengthy process wherein public input is an essential component to the project’s success. Public participation opportunities will occur throughout the process and, in fact, have already begun. The initial workshop was held on July 14th wherein nearly 75 participants packed the room to learn about the project, its objectives, the basic components of a lake management plan, and its importance to Green Lake. Two additional workshops were held at the end of July wherein participants were given opportunities to provide specific suggestions to be considered in the lake management planning process and an opportunity to prioritize concerns. The GLA submitted press releases, mailed postcards, sent e-blast reminders, and made Facebook posts announcing the project and public workshop dates. Additional opportunities for public participation will occur throughout this process, so no need to worry if you missed the initial meetings. Just visit our website, “like” our Facebook page, and/or subscribe to our e-blasts to stay informed about the process. As always, your questions, concerns, and support are welcome and very much appreciated!

Enjoy your newest issue of Times & Tides, Jen Kaiser

WELCOME GLA MEMBERS The following individuals are new or renewed their membership after the 2011 directory was created: • • • • •

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Gerstein, Robert and Helene Gerstein, Richard and Amy Good, Merle Hall, Eugene and Sandra Tierney, Jim and Debbie

Board of Directors Cynthia Smith, President Phil Burkart, Vice President Rich Dickard, Treasurer Marty Valasek, Secretary Tony Aiello John Lundstrom Kate Mittelstadt John Nelson

Staff

Executive Director Jen Kaiser Outreach Coordinator Ainsley Rubbert CBCW Coordinator Eric Evensen

Committees Finance

Membership Development Programs

Times & Tides

Published by the Green Lake Association 510 Mill Street P.O. Box 264 Green Lake, WI 54941 920-294-6480

www.greenlakeassociation.com info@greenlakeassociation.com

Directory Corrections The following individuals were current members at the time of the 2011 Membership Directory: • • • • •

Chamberlain, Joesph and Ingrid* Eliason, Frans and Ellie** Grout, Lynn Huberty, Patrick and Judith Reichold, Bob and Donna

*Located in residence locator, but not in membership listing. **Located in the membership listing, but not in residence locator.

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New Directors for GLA Board At our June 18 Annual Meeting, the GLA Board of Directors approved two new board members, Anthony “Tony” Aiello and John Lundstrom. They began their three-year term on the GLA Board in June. Their commitment and interest in conserving Big Green Lake, combined with their personal backgrounds, make them excellent additions to the board.

Tony and his family visited Green Lake 17 years ago and fell in love immediately with the lake’s beauty, land, and the homes surrounding Green Lake.

It didn’t take him long to make Green Lake a second place to call home. Just two years later, Tony and his family became seasonal residents after purchasing and renovating a little stone cottage on Tuleta Hill and they’ve been enjoying it ever since.

Tony is a general contractor and attended the University of Miami, FL and Northwestern Illinois University. His special interests are boats, cars, and

Special thanks to retired Board Members

As we welcomed two new board members, we also said good-bye to board members, Leo Duwe and Yvonne Richter.

Leo spent more than a decade serving on the GLA Board, partaking in various committees and activities.

Yvonne shared her talents coordinating and implementing event details for the programs and gala committees, and we are grateful she will continue to serve as a gala committee member.

We want to thank them for their commitment to the organization and the countless hours participating on GLA Committees and volunteering at events. We appreciate the time and dedication they provided during their terms and thank them for their contributions to the GLA.

architecture.

For more than 30 years, John and his family have been seasonal residents in the Green Lake Conference Center. He and his family first began vacationing here in the ‘70s and have always had a love for the lake.

John purchased land and built his Green Lake home in 1982.

He enjoys spending time with friends and family in Green Lake. John retired as President of Lundstrom Insurance Agency and has served on previous boards including the Green Lake Conference Center, Lawsonia Golf Course Board of Directors, Compassion International in Colorado Springs, CO, and the Salvation Army in Elgin, IL.

Making a Splash!

Norton’s of Green Lake Located on the northshore of Green Lake on South Lawson Dr., Norton’s of Green Lake offers a unique dining experience with delicious meals and beautiful views of the lake.

Norton’s of Green Lake was a gold sponsor for our Hot Havana Nights on the Shore of Green Lake gala in July.

Owners, Mike and Jill Havey filled a table at the event with fun and enthusiastic friends and family who were dressed for a ‘50s Havana Night.

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It was a Hot Havana Night It was a perfect summer evening on the shore of Big Green Lake as nearly 180 guests attended our second annual gala, Hot Havana Nights on the Shore of Green Lake, Friday, July 8 at the Heidel House Resort.

Guests mingled with new and old friends while sipping cocktails and perusing the raffle, live and silent auction items prior to dinner. A three-course Cuban-themed dinner was served and the evening kickedoff with an entertaining game of Heads or Tails, an alternative to a 50/50 raffle. Emcee and Heidel House General Manager, Scott Krause provided energy and excitement as he showcased 15 live auction items.

Featured items during our live auction ranged from a 1-week vacation in Marathon, FL to four Badger football tickets in the W Club Skybox to a Paddleboard Package that included a paddleboard, lessons and a demo. Revenues from the gala has afforded us the financial resources to help support the Green Lake Renewal’s Deacon Wharf project, which has the potential to improve water quality, stabilize the shoreline, enhance aquatic vegetation, and improve fish populace and habitat in the bay. These additional financial resources will also help support our newest and largest endeavor, a lake management plan for Big Green Lake.

Once the live auction ended, Iowa-based salsa band, Orquesta Alto Maiz took to the stage. Guests couldn’t help but get up and dance to the rhythmic beats. It was a fun, summer evening and many guests embraced the vintage Havana theme. Two guests, James Ryan and Jen Kaiser, were each awarded a pineapple for best dressed guy and girl.

We’ve already begun the planning process for next year’s gala, so save the date for the first weekend in July! Join us in this exciting process by becoming a gala committee member. Learn more at www.greenlakeassociation.com.

We’d like to thank everyone who attended, as well as participated in the live and silent auction activities.

Enjoy the following photos from the evening. Want to see more? Visit us on Facebook to see our photo album from the evening.

Gala attendees, Charlie Hunter and Margie Lamb Best dressed winners Jen Kaiser, Executive Director and James Ryan

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We couldn’t have done it without you!

We spent months planning every detail to make this an enjoyable and successful event. From gala committee members to sponsors to donors we’d like to thank the businesses and individuals that contributed to Hot Havana Nights on the Shore of Green Lake. It was with their support that we were able to provide a fabulous 50s Havana night.

Gold Sponsors:

Silver Sponsors:

PGI, Inc.

Additional Support: Heidel House Resort & Spa

2011 Gala Committee: • • • • • •

Linda Burkart Phil Burkart, GLA Board Vice President Julie Jankowski Linda Martens Yvonne Richter Judy Specht

• • • • • • • • • •

Burkart-Heisdorf Insurance Cal’s Electric Jankowski Construction John and Linda Nelson Norton’s of Green Lake/Mike & Jill Havey Chet and Jan Rawson James and Nigella Ryan Shoreline Boat Center Smith Family Jerry and Judy Specht

Corporate/Neighborhood Tables:

In-Kind Donors: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

13dot1 Half Marathon Committee Adeva Salon Anne Gary Audrey Warnimont Brown and Pamela Todd Baubles Burkart-Heisdorf Insurance Casual Living Outfitters of Ripon Dave and Yvonne Richter Dick and Linda Martens Dickard/Caldrone/Koonce Families Friends of Green Lake Green Lake Action Marina Green Lake Bank Goose Blind Ironman Wisconsin Jason Kauffeld Jim Schult Joe and Lauren Norton John and Linda Nelson Kate Mittelstadt Lenz’s Green Lake Meadows Marty and Sue Valasek Mike and Julie Jankowski North Bay Sport & Liquor, Inc. OnEdge Photography Only Her Paddleboard Specialists Phil and Linda Burkart Renard’s European Bakeshop Sarah Piepiorka Sean and Jo Ellen Madden Sue Oakes, Studio Orange Glass Surface & Surroundings Thrasher Opera House Tom and Terri Tyers Village Green Home & Garden Williams-Sonoma

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ALGAE BLOOM Q&A

Last summer we received many calls from individuals concerned about the excess vegetation growth in the lake. This year the main concern and topic of interest is algae blooms. Below are some common questions with helpful information regarding the causes, types, and ways to get rid of algae.

What Causes Algae Blooms?

Excessive amounts of nutrients that enter our lakes leads to eutrophication (accelerated plant growth). Sometimes plant growth may be in the form of nuisance algae that “bloom,” turning the water pea green and sometimes even causing fish kills.

Algal blooms are an unusually dense growth of aquatic single celled plants (algae). They occur, frequently to the point where they discolor the water, when ideal factors combine to promote growth—generally light, temperature, salinity and nutrients.

Algal blooms are a natural phenomenon but their frequency, duration, extent and density are all increased in waters where human activities on land increase nutrient runoff.

Name That Algae

If your algae look like fluffy clouds or cotton candy, there’s a good chance it’s probably filamentous algae, sometimes called “moss” or “pond scum.” Cladophora feels “cottony,” while spirogyra is bright green and very slimy to the touch, and pithophora (or “horse hair”) has a very coarse texture like horse hair or steel wool. As algae grows, it produces oxygen that gets trapped in the entangled strands of algae. This entrapped oxygen makes the algae buoyant and causes it to rise to the surface.

Is Algae Bad?

Algae are necessary for a healthy lake ecosystem, but there can be too much algae.

Algae blooms occur all over the world. Children in When this happens, the grazers who eat the algae can’t keep up. As the uneaten China swimming in the Yellow Sea. Source: cnn.com. algae die off, they sink to the lake bottom and decay. The process of decay requires bacteria, which in turn require oxygen. If there is an abundance of dead algae, bacteria use up too much oxygen, and there isn’t enough left over for all of the animals, like insects and fish. Too much algae can also give lakes an unpleasant green color or a surface scum.

Unlike toxic blue-green algae which is blue-green in color (but can be brown or purple) and appears cloudy or like thick pea soup, Cladophora, pithophora and spirogyra are from the green algae family. Green algae don’t produce toxins but it is still important to think about practicing good hygiene, such as washing off, if you come in contact with it.

Can I get rid of it?

Short term, the best method for homeowners to remove filamentous algae is to rake out the floating clumps and compost these piles or use them in your garden as mulch. Chemical control requires a permit from DNR. Long term, lake property owners and farmers can limit the amount of water and nutrients reaching the lake. Reducing fertilizer use, maintaining septic systems, keeping animal waste out of water ways and storm drains, preventing soil erosion on farms and construction sites, planting buffers along waterways, and keeping leaves and grass clippings out of the streets are just a few of the ways that we can all reduce phosphorus runoff over the long run.

RESULTS FOR PHOSPHORUS IN INTERN’S ANALYSIS

Water quality has been officially monitored and regulated since the implementation of the Clean Water Act of 1972. One major parameter used to determine water quality is phosphorus concentration. Phosphorus is a nutrient required by organisms to survive. However, too much phosphorus can cause organisms within the lake to become over active, which can decrease the quality of the water. Pollution from sources, such as wastewater, agricultural runoff, and residential fertilizers, can increase levels of phosphorus (and other nutrients) within the lake.

2011 GLA intern, Kylie Ainsley, researched phosphorus concentration in Big Green Lake. Her analysis concluded that phosphorus has been slightly decreasing over the past two decades, with concentrations highest in the spring and summer months.

The higher concentrations during these months is most likely the result of increased runoff due to snow melt, the rainy season, and crop planting. While best management practices implemented around the lake have been successful in at least maintaining water quality in the lake, many of Green Lake’s tributaries are listed as impaired waters due to excess sedimentation and nutrients. In addition to further tributary analysis, other water quality parameters, such as Secchi depth, chlorophyll a, and dissolved oxygen, should also be assessed in future analyses to better characterize the overall water quality of the lake and how it has changed over time. Determining Total Maximum Daily Loads, or TMDL, for phosphorus would also help better understand how much phosphorus Big Green Lake could receive and still safely meet water quality standards. View Kylie’s full report at www.greenlakeassociation.com.

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CBCW Program Mid-Summer Update The Clean Boats, Clean Waters (CBCW) Program on Green Lake is off to a great start in 2011. This is the second year of a three year program geared to educate boaters on Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS). With half of the summer still left we have inspected more than 686 boats and contacted more than 1900 people. We are on track to surpass, even double, the 2010 inspection numbers.

This summer we have nine AIS Educators working at area boat launches. Each weekend, they educate boaters at Deacon Mills, Sunset Park, Horner’s Landing, Canal Street, and County Park. The team of individuals includes Ripon and Green Lake High School graduates Ashley Himebaugh, Stephanie Shaub and Frankie Helbach. They are joined by current Ripon and Green Lake High School students Aby Grasee, Ashten Bartel, Laramie Kegler, Hannah Henderson, Jeffery Grinde, Jr. and Ashley Zahnow.

Along with boat landing inspections and boater education, the CBCW Coordinator will be working on other aquatic invasive species projects. AIS placemats are being developed and will appear in local restaurants. The placemats will help educate visitors and local residents in identifying AIS and tips to help protect Big Green Lake and its watershed. Eric is also constructing informational kiosks to place at boat landings to provide better information on AIS, boating laws, and general lake information.

DNR Project focuses on tributaries

Throughout the summer Eric Evensen, our CBCW Coordinator, has been assisting Wisconsin DNR’s Ted Johnson, Water Resource Biologist, with a tributary analysis for Green Lake. This project mainly focuses on the following impaired tributaries: Silver, Hill, Roy, and Wuerches Creek because previous research has already focused on Dakin and White Creeks.

Water quality data was collected from each creek twice throughout the summer along with the creek flow. Data included water temperature, dissolved oxygen content, specific conductivity and water clarity. Water samples were also collected during each testing session for further lab testing. This information is valuable because when water quality data is paired with water flow rate, one is able to determine the amount of nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) flowing into the lake from any given tributary. Although there is a requirement to leave a 20 foot buffer zone between farm fields and each side of any given creek, many of these streams weave their way through fields collecting manure, pesticides and herbicides along the way, hence improper field setbacks along each stream were also noted.

Fish species present in a stretch of stream can also be a good indicator of stream health. Therefore, all the streams in the study will be shocked to discover the various fish species using these tributaries. Using backpack electro shockers, fish will be stunned for a few moments giving researchers a chance to determine the species of fish and its approximate length. This data can be used as another way of determining overall stream quality as certain fish are only able to live in high quality water while others are characteristic of poor water quality.

The health of these small, but vital streams, greatly impact the overall health of Big Green Lake so the data collected will be crucial in developing ways to improve the health of these streams and the overall water quality of the lake.

Healthy tributaries are one of the first steps towards a healthy lake!

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Green Lake Association Conservation ~ Communication ~ Collaboration

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Ripon, WI Permit No. 100

510 Mill Street P.O. Box 364 Green Lake, WI 54941

Osprey Nest in Green Lake This past spring, two of Green Lake’s bird experts, Tom Schultz and Dr. Eric Ratering, observed osprey in the city of Green Lake and near the east end of the lake. Soon after, a pair of osprey were found nesting on top of a light pole at the Green Lake baseball diamond. Conditions were not ideal for this nesting pair and they quickly abandoned their nesting efforts.

Osprey, sometimes known as fish hawks, build large platform nests with sticks atop high structures like light and electrical poles. Three osprey platforms were constructed (but are not yet on poles) in July thanks to volunteers Jerry Specht, Ed Schulte, Doyle Hickey, Tom Schultz and John C. Nelson (Blackbird Point) with lumber provided by Doug Caldwell from Caldwell Lumber of Columbus. Alliant Energy will provide the poles for the constructed osprey nests in Green Lake and contributions from the Steve Wood Memorial Fund will be utilized for additional components for the osprey project.

Please contact Jerry Specht, 920.229.4468, for more information.

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Photo Credit: Dennis Malueg