Lake Webegoing Case St udy The communit y of Webegoing Est at es (previousl y t he vil l age of Mugwump) on t he sout h shore has t ransit ioned f rom a cl ust er of weekend cot t ages int o a gradual l y enl arging expanse of impressive l akef ront homes. The communit y has a t hriving marina, t hree wel l -regarded supper cl ubs, t wo l arge mot el s, and a number of art sy-craf t sy businesses t hat at t ract t ourist s. Two condominiums have been approved f or const ruct ion and an invest ment group is l ooking at t he communit y as a possibl e sit e f or a resort and gol f course. The communit y?s shorel ine is somewhat rocky, but sl opes quickl y t o deep wat er t hat provides decent navigat ion, a t hriving sport s f ishery, and recreat ional usages l ike jet skiing, wat er skiing, and wind surf ing.
Some Looming Issues LW area resident s and of f icial s f aces some addit ional chal l enges t hat may compl icat e wat er management : -
The invest ment group t hat hopes t o buil d t he resort and gol f course has a t erribl e environment al record in it s past project s. Big But t Oil Corporat ion hopes t o bring a t ar sands oil pipel ine t hrough an area upst ream at Rust y Chain Lake (t he same company experienced a signif icant pipel ine l eak t hat cont aminat ed a river in Ont ario). Ricket y Rail road is increasing rail shipment s of crude oil al ong it s LW nort h shore l ine (such oil t rains have ?bl own-up? several t owns t hey pass t hrough). Porker Packers, a l arge agri-business concern is l ooking t o possibl y sit e a 500,000 hog conf inement f acil it y near Nort h Shore because of avail abl e l ow-cost l abor f orce and l ack of regul at ion on such f acil it ies. A homeowners associat ion in Webegoing Est at es is gradual l y buying up boat l anding and f ishing pier easement s t hat have l ong provided publ ic access on t he sout h shore. The LDW t ribe expect s t o increase it s f ish harvest under t reat ies wit h t he f ederal government (t hey are al l ot t ed 10,000 f ish of f LW under a court set t l ement , but have never t aken more t han 5000)? wat er qual it y degradat ion f rom a cl osed paper mil l has caused t he cat ch in ot her area t reat y-covered l akes t o decl ine.
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