BOATERS on the FRONTLINE Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council’s Monitoring Programs Coordinator Caroline Keson demonstrates how to use lake monitoring equipment at Petoskey’s waterfront.
By Jennifer DeMoss, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council Communications Director
O
nce a week between early summer and fall, Bob Stetler throws an orange kayak on top of his car and heads from his house on Lake Charlevoix to Nowland Lake. He passes through rolling hills and farmland before reaching the boat launch and hitting the water. After admiring flourishing wetlands and looking for nesting loons, Stetler begins his weekly routine. He drops a Secchi disc (a black and white disc attached to a tape measure) into the water to measure water clarity. He takes Nowland’s temperature. Every other week, he drops a cement-weighted bottle into the lake for a water sample. He repeats the same process in Lake Charlevoix’s South Arm from a 20’ Sea Ray, sometimes with family members in tow. Why does he go through all this trouble? An avid boater, Stetler has been a volunteer lake monitor with Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council for the past five years.
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of Protecting Northern Michigan Water Quality
Since its inception, the Watershed Council has been a fan of boaters. While conservation groups sometimes get a reputation for not supporting recreation, that’s the furthest thing from the truth for us and many other organizations. In fact, we depend on boaters. Some of you have been the eyes and ears of our lakes for decades. Stetler has been a seasonal Lake Charlevoix resident for around 40 years, and he has a background in limnology, the study of freshwater lakes. For him, it’s difficult to live within the watershed and not pay attention to the environment. Especially since the lakes and rivers within our service area drain into Lakes Michigan and Huron, affecting an enormous source of drinking water, fisheries, and recreation opportunities. “The biggest thing I’ve noticed is the degree of environmental challenges stressing aquatic ecosystems in Michigan,” said Stetler. “We’ve watched the aquatic flora and fauna change dramatically since we’ve lived here. The effects are visible and real to those who know what they’re looking at.”
We count on boaters and shoreline property owners like Stetler for a variety of reasons. They are on the frontlines of environmental issues that affect the lakes. For instance, an algal bloom in one of our lakes has the potential to harm residents’ well-being and property values. Nutrient pollution from leaky septic systems can contribute to algal blooms. Lawns with deep-rooted native plants near the shoreline can help prevent pollution from excess nutrients, while short lawn grasses allow stormwater laden with pollutants to gush into the lakes. Since the watersheds in our four-county service area drain into Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, these problems are interconnected and go beyond a local scope. “The actions taken by people who use and live on Northern Michigan lakes have a huge impact on lake health,” said Watershed Council Associate Director, Jen Buchanan. “We want boaters and other recreationists to spend time on our lakes and take steps to protect and enjoy them well into the future.” Volunteer Lake Monitor, Dean Ginther,
