Letter from the Executive Director

CONTENTS

02 Letter from the Executive Director By Josephine Roberts

03 Classic Cottages of Walloon By Lauren Macintyre

06 The Taylor Family: A Walloon Centennial Family By Lauren Macintyre

08 Think Small: Avoid the Impacts of Large Boulder Riprap on Your Shoreline By Jennifer DeMoss

09 Greenbelts: Keeping Things in Their Place By Connor Dennis

10 Lake Issues: What’s true and what’s false?

11 The Stewardship of Walloon By Jac Talcott

12 The Parrish Family: A Walloon Centennial Family By Lauren Macintyre

13 Wander Walloon with Us! 14 The WLAC Earns National Recognition

14 Government Affairs Committee Update By Mary Pat Goldich

15 Become a Lake Ambassador 15 Safety First and Village News 16 Walloon Sailors 17 New WLAC Trustees 17 Great Fun, Great Cause: Camp Daggett Golf Outing

18 In Memoriam

20 Recipe By Chef Eric Latcham

Letter from the EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

DEAR FRIENDS,

Happy spring tidings! The emerging greenery, snow (ice) melt and sunshine simply revitalizes my soul and leaves me in anticipation for another great summer season. This year is extra special for me as March has marked my fifth year leading the Walloon Lake Association and Conservancy as its Executive Director. As I started a play-by-play listing of activities and successes for this article, I quickly realized that my 500 word limit for this publication was just not going to be enough! With that said, I thought it would be fun to share with you five things I have loved about my job in these past five years. 1 Walloon Lake. (Enough said) 2 Wallooners. You (and also the sandwich at the General Store, of course). While we protect land and water, the true heart of the

WLAC is the people. You love this lake and surrounding area so fervently, and you pass it onto the next generation as if it were written in your DNA. It is this passion and investment to keep Walloon beautiful, wild and protected forever that fuels the work we do here at the

WLAC. You inspire me every day. 3 The history and heritage. From the legacy of Ernest Hemmingway and all of the family traditions surrounding the lake to classic Walloon Woodies and the watercolor paintings of historic cottages and vignettes of lazy days on the water, there is much to appreciate about our quaint way of life in

Northern Michigan. There is also so much that we want to never end or forget. I consider us lucky to have such an incredible amount of history attached to this organization – both the memories and the actual boxes of old notes from presidents past and black and white photos of events “back in the day.” The nostalgia for Walloon is extraordinary. 4 The staff and volunteers. When I first started my job in 2017, we had 2.5 staffers in the office and have since grown to 6 full-time staffers with multiple seasonal interns. I have so much reverence and respect for all of the staff, past and present. Additionally, it is an understatement to say that the folks that help us accomplish our organizational strategic goals are the best. No, literally. Many of our

Trustees and committee members hail from long, successful careers from a variety of fields from education to the Fortune 500. Our pool of volunteers here would be qualified to run a nation! I like to think that in the last five years working so intimately with captains of industry has earned me, what I call, a

“Walloon Executive MBA.” 5 The wildlife (including the dogs of

Walloon). In 2018, we launched our vernal pool monitoring program where we get volunteers to slosh around muddy puddles with hopes to document various indicator species of plants, bugs and animals. It was a great media story that 9&10 News picked up and I remember being struck by the reporter fact-checking whether or not salamanders actually lived in Michigan. Yes, they do!

Similarly, in a meeting with members of the

Manthei family last summer, one shared the cutest video of otters playing up in Mill

Pond. I have reshared this video with friends and colleagues who were just astounded that there are otters in Walloon Lake! Whether it be the bass nesting in the shallows, woodcocks doing their mating dance at the

Postle Farm Preserve or the young eagles that circle Fineout Creek, Walloon Lake and its watershed is a place where people and nature thrive, together.

Reflecting on the last five years, I am proud to look back at the substantial progress we have made towards sustainable conservation of Walloon Lake. In all truthfulness though, I am most excited about the next five years as I feel we’ve only just hit our stride. All my best,

Josephine Roberts