Canadian Lakes Yard Waste

Canadian Lakes Yard Waste Information

BY ROGER STOBERT

YOUR VOLUNTEER YARD WASTE COORDINATOR

231-288-0148 spankky@charter.net Canadian Lakes Yard Waste will be open Wednesday, April 3, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and will be OPEN every Wednesday and Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., April through November 30, 2022, except Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022.

As open burning of yard waste is not allowed in Canadian Lakes and to preclude the dumping of these wastes on neighboring lots and common areas, Canadian Lakes Yard Waste was established to provide CLPOC members in good standing with a place to dispose of their residential yard waste.

Canadian Lakes Yard Waste is located on the south side of Pierce Road between 110th Ave. and Tullymore Drive.

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132 W Wright Ave Shepherd MI 48883 989.828.4441 Chris@chriszimmermaninsurance.com

To gain access, you will need a 2022 CLPOC ID, vehicle sticker, or guest pass.

Items allowed to be brought to Canadian Lakes Yard Waste include tree and shrub branches and limbs less than 4” in diameter and plant-based materials normally associated with residential yard maintenance such as grass clippings, leaves, and discarded mulch and plants.

Th e following are NOT allowed to be left at Canadian Lakes Yard Waste: garbage, including food scraps such as rinds, peels, cores, etc., fi replace or campfi re ashes, yard waste containers, including paper or plastic bags, or hanging baskets.

When depositing your yard wastes, please place them as far off the road and on top of or behind previously dumped wastes. Th is helps to minimize the number of times a “push back” is needed, thus keeping yard waste costs to a minimum.

Th e friendly site attendants are all volunteers and are more than happy to answer any questions you may have. If your vehicle sticker is easily visible, the attendant will give you a friendly wave when you enter but will stop you if he/ she doesn’t see the sticker on your vehicle or it is not current.

Please be courteous and drive slowly (5mph or less) when entering and exiting the facility to prevent raising a dust and endangering other depositors.

Should you have any questions related to Canadian Lakes Yard Waste prior to your visit or should you want to volunteer to help at the site, please contact Roger Stobert, Yard Waste Coordinator, 231-288-0148 or spankky@charter.net.

Boating 101

It’s almost boating season Canadian Lakers! It feels like this winter has dragged on much longer than it should have, but we are getting closer to spring each day. Spring in Canadian Lakes is quite beautiful and quite busy. It seems like the whole community is getting ready for summer to begin. Our summers here bring us a lot of boating and a lot of golf. I’ll leave the best practices on golfing to Dennis Wolfe, our Golf Pro, but we should talk about boating safety. Below you will read an article produced by Dale Doepker, chair of the Canadian Lakes Fishing Club and appointed guru of our lakes. Please take a moment to read this article thoroughly, it will outline who can operate boats and at what age per the boat’s horsepower. It’s important for the safety of all Canadian

Lakers on our waters and these things are good to know since the sheriff’s department makes several appearances on our lakes all spring and summer long.

Boater Notice

Notice to all watercraft operators on Canadian Lakes:

Please read this information and be sure to have all other operators of your watercraft vessels read this too.

Who may operate a boat? Those less than 12 years of age: • May operate a boat powered by a motor of no more than 6 horsepower (hp) legally without restrictions. • May operate a boat powered by a motor of more than 6 hp but no more than 35 hp legally only if they: • Have been issued a boating safety certificate and have it on board the boat and ... • Are directly supervised on board by a person at least 16 years of age. • May not operate a boat powered by a motor of more than 35 hp legally under any conditions.

Those born on or after July 1, 1996, may operate a boat legally only if they have been issued a boating safety certificate and have it on board the boat.

Those born before July 1, 1996, may operate a boat legally.

Who May Operate a Personal Watercraft (PWC)? (Jet ski, wave runner, etc.) Those less than 14 years of age may not legally operate a PWC. Those 14 and 15 years of age may operate a PWC legally only if they have obtained a boating safety certificate and • He or she is accompanied on board by his or her parent or legal guardian or by a person as least 21 years of age who has been designated by the parent or legal guardian or ... • He or she is operating or riding the PWC at a distance not more than 100 feet from his or her parent or legal guardian or from a person at least 21 years of age who has been designated by the parent or legal guardian. • Those at least 16 years of age and born after December 31, 1978, may operate a PWC legally, only if they have received a boating safety certificate. • Those born on or before December 31, 1978, may operate a PWC legally.

Life Jacket Rules: Life Jackets Float. You Don’t! Wear It!

Boating accident statistics compiled by the U.S. Coast Guard indicate that 90 percent of the people who drown in a boating or water accident would be alive today if they had been wearing a life jacket at the time of the accident. All vessels must be equipped with a personal flotation device for each person on board or being towed. • The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) requires that all vessels have at least one Type I, II, or III personal flotation device that is USCG–approved, wearable, and of the proper size for each person on board or being towed. Sizing for PFDs is based on body weight and chest size. • Michigan’s PFD law permits a vessel that is less than 16 feet long, or is a canoe or kayak, to choose to have either a wearable PFD (Type I, II, or III) or a throwable PFD (Type IV) for each person on board.

In addition to the above requirements, one USCG–approved Type IV PFD must be on board vessels 16 feet or longer and be readily accessible. Michigan law requires all children under 6 years of age to wear a USCG–approved Type I or II PFD when riding on the open deck of any vessel while underway. Each person riding on a PWC or being towed behind a PWC, or other vessel must wear a USCG – approved Type I, II, or III personal flotation device. Inflatable PFDs are not allowed on PWCs, or while being towed behind PWCs or other vessels. Each person less than 12 years of age riding or being towed behind a personal watercraft (jet ski) must wear a Type I or Type II PFD.

All PFDs must be in good and serviceable condition and must be readily accessible. Note: All PFDs must be ready at hand and not enclosed in plastic bags or other containers. The Handbook of Michigan Boating Laws and Responsibilities.

Improper Distance: Improper Distance is not maintaining a proper distance while operating a vessel or towing a person. To maintain a proper distance when you are operating at greater than “slow, no wake speed” (except in channels that are not posted), the vessel or persons being towed must not be within 100 feet of: • A shoreline (if operating in water less than three feet deep) • Any moored or anchored vessel • A dock or raft • Any marked swimming area or person(s) in the water

Improper Direction: Improper direction is defi ned as the failure to operate in a counterclockwise direction except in areas marked by well-defi ned channels or rivers.

Note: Th e above are only a few of the more pertinent Michigan boating laws. Please refer to the complete Handbook of Michigan Boating Laws and Responsibilities (2021 edition) or visit www.boat-ed.com/michigan/handbook/

AdDitional Rules pertinent to Canadian Lakes:

1. All watercraft on Canadian Lakes waters must have a current year Canadian Lakes registration sticker on both sides, which is available only to Canadian Lakes members for watercraft registered in their name. 2. A vessel which has in the past seven days been in another lake should be thoroughly drained and cleaned before launching at Canadian Lakes to avoid exotics such as Zebra Mussels and Eurasian Milfoil being released into our lakes. 3. All waterways within Canadian Lakes, except West Canadian Lake and Canadian Lake are no-wake lakes. Canadian and West Canadian Lakes are no wake from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. daily and all-day Th ursday, unless Th ursday is a holiday. 4. Th ere is a 10hp motor operating limit on Lake of the Clouds. Please refer to plat restrictions for horsepower operating limits on Lake Laura, Fawn Lake and Sunset Lake. 5. Michigan DNR licensing and regulations apply to all boating and fi shing in Canadian Lakes. Minnows must be procured from a licensed dealer and left over minnows must be disposed on land and not in the lake. All fi shermen are requested to practice “catch and release” with all largemouth bass and pike 24” and over and all muskies. 6. It is illegal to harass any wildlife on the lakes, such as loons, swans, geese, and ducks. Th is includes staying clear of loon nesting areas, 7. Be aware of underwater stump areas which are generally marked by a hazard buoy at the northwest end of Canadian and East Lakes. Lake depth maps are available at the CLPOC offi ce, the boat launch, and the member website, members.canadianlakes.org.

Lake Stewards/Marine Patrol

Dale Doepker, Lake Stewards Leader

BBOTH THE MECOSTA County Sheriff Department and Michigan Department of Natural Resources offi cers patrol our lakes periodically to ensure that state boating and fi shing laws are being followed. Our Lake Stewards program, sometimes referred to as Marine Patrol, was established to help assure safety on the waters of Canadian Lakes. Th e Lake Stewards are Canadian Lakes members who periodically patrol our main chain of lakes to observe and report to Canadian Lakes Safety any non-compliance with CLPOC Rules and State Boating Laws.

Th e Lake Stewards also assist boaters in distress and pick up any litter they fi nd. Th ey will not normally hail a boater unless the boater is observed doing something which appears to be an immediate hazard to themselves or others.

Th ere are currently only three (3) active Lake Stewards, and we would like to add several more. Th e Lake Steward’s obligation is to perform a patrol with their own boat at least three times each summer during boating season, displaying the Lake Stewards sign. If you would like to join, please contact Dale Doepker at dtroutman97@aol.com or 972-8663.