1. 80 Ring-necked Pheasants have been released in the areas surrounding Evans Lake
2. 200# of seed producing plants to support wildlife release
3. Bluebird Houses, Bat Houses, Wren Houses, Butterfly Houses, Wood Duck Houses
4. Nesting platforms for Mallard Ducks
5. Tree Plantings

What IS a Lake?

       A lake is a depression in the landscape that holds water.  Lakes are formed by glaciers, volcanic eruptions, the movement of the earth's crust, and other processes.  Lakes are also formed by humans when they build dams along rivers and "impound" the water into artificial lakes.  A spring fed lake is one fed by groundwater, while a drainage lake is one fed by water flowing over the land.  The surface area of lakes can range in size from less than an acre to the 31,700 square miles of Lake Superior, the world's largest freshwater lake.

       Lakes are considered temporary features in the landscape because all lakes eventually disappear as they slowly fill in with soil, dead plants and fish, and other materials.  This natural aging process of lakes is called eutrophication.  Eutrophication takes hundreds or even thousands of years depending on the lake's size, surrounding geology, and other factors.

HOW Does a Lake Work?

       Connections is the most important concept to keep in mind when considering how a lake works.  Because of connections, any change in one part of the lake's ecosystem affects the rest.  The symptoms of these effects can range from very subtle ones, like a teaspoon of new algae in an area of the lake that has been clear until now, to drastic ones like floating, dead fish.  To assess your lake's health is to study its connections.

The Lake Ecosystem

    The word "eco" comes from the Greek work oikos meaning home.  Your lake's ecosystem is home to many creatures like frogs, fish, insects, ducks, otters, crayfish, microscopic animals like daphnia, birds and people.  The lake's water, the land surrounding it, the plants, animals, and minerals, all waters draining into the lake as well as the natural processes described below are all part of the lake ecosystem.  These components of the lake ecosystem interact with one another in very complex and interdependent ways.

The Properties of Lakes

       Lakes have interrelated physical, chemical, and biological properties.  Disruptions in one property affects the others.  For example, when rain washes chemical fertilizers off your lawn and into the lake, this alters the chemical properties of the lake.  The altered lake chemistry can result in new conditions in the lake that may, for example, increase the growth of algae and zooplankton and help certain types of fish species prosper while others decline.  Thus the changed chemistry can actually increase the biological productivity of the lake.  This may not be good.  With more fish in the lake, bottom sediments may be more easily disturbed thus affecting the physical properties of the lake such as water clarity.

Lake Cycles and Processes

       Lakes are governed by cycles and processes.  In the hydrological (or water) cycle, water moves in a roughly circular pattern.  Water falls from the air (in the form of rain or snow) to the surface of the land, rivers and lakes.  The water then moves across the land and flows into lakes and rivers or perhaps seeps through to groundwater.  Finally, water returns to the air due to either 1) evaporation from lake or land surfaces or 2) transpiration from plants.

       Plants, especially algae, are the foundation of the food web in a lake ecosystem.  Green plants use sunlight in a process called photosynthesis to create oxygen and sugar from water and carbon dioxide.  Fish and other lake organisms use the oxygen to breathe, and bacteria and fungi use it to decompose plant and animal matter on the bottom of the lake.

What Can go Wrong?

       Lakes age just like people, only their natural life span is much longer.  A lake may start out as a large body of water, but over hundreds or thousands of years it will fill in with plants and debris and gradually get shallower and shallower.  Eventually it will become a wetland, then a soggy area, and finally it will no longer be lake like at all.  This process of natural aging is called eutrophication, a Greek word meaning well nourished.

The Big Danger:  Cultural Eutrophication

       The problem is that lakes age more quickly when humans get involved.  Without realizing it, we can add too much food to our lakes and cause them to age and "die" very quickly ~ in decades rather than hundreds of years.  This is called cultural eutrophication because certain practices in our human culture ~ like adding fertilizers to our lawns and farm fields ~ cause our lakes to age much faster than if we left them alone.  The excess "food" leads to increased productivity in the lake until it is choked with algae and weeds.  The result is an imbalance in the numbers and types of plants and fish, decreased lake clarity, and low oxygen levels.  Not only can your lake begin to look green, but these decaying materials can quickly deplete enough of the oxygen in the lake's water to kill fish and other aquatic organisms because they can no longer breathe.

       While humans can't stop the process of eutrophication, we can work to stop cultural eutrophication which hastens the natural aging process.  The key is not to feed your lake nutrients like phosphorus or nitrogen.  Phosphorus and nitrogen are the chemicals in our homes and yard that cause cultural eutrophication.  Phosphorus comes from fertilizers, detergents, and organic matter.  Nitrogen comes from fertilizers, manure, and organic matter.  Phosphorus and nitrogen can over stimulate aquatic plant growth and speed eutrophication.

       If you learn how to keep the chemicals out of your lake, you can begin to help your lake age naturally, not culturally.  In this way your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be able to enjoy a vital, healthy lake, too.

Beware of Toxic Chemicals

      A second key point is don't poison your lake with toxic chemicals.  Toxic materials in your lake can contaminate fish and other aquatic organisms, the larger fish and birds, and even the humans that feed on them, as well as contaminate drinking water supplies.  The amount from one home or yard may not be significant, but when added to the contributions from all the other homes and yards in and around the lake it may lead to a serious problem.

       The main toxic chemicals of concern for lake homes are the gasoline and petroleum products used in the engines of lawn mowers and boats.  One gallon of gasoline can contaminate as much as one million gallons of ground water.  Also of concern are pesticides.  Pesticides not only can be directly toxic to animals and fish, but some types accumulate in the tissue of fish and are passed up the food chain to other creatures, including humans.  Finally, all household toxic materials, including cleaning supplies and paint products are potential problems for your lake.

Protect Your Watershed!

       Every lake has a watershed which is like a bowl surrounding the lake.  The edges of the watershed are the highest ridges around the lake.  Water hitting the far side of the ridge flows away from your lake, but all water falling on the near side flows toward your lake carrying with it soil, chemicals, and other materials which can harm your lake.  This makes your lake very vulnerable to everything lying within its watershed.



Getting Your House and Yard in Order

       There are many things you can do right in your home and yard to protect your lake.  By keeping things out of your lake you can actually prevent problems.  The most important things you can do are:
Conserving Water:  Old Fashioned, But it Works

       Chances are your parents taught you to conserve energy by turning off the light when you left a room and by turning down the heat at night.  The same principle can help save your lake by working to prevent pollution.  When you conserve water in your yard, then less water will reach your lake, carrying with it potentially harmful materials and chemicals.  Also, when you conserve the use of water inside your home, then your septic system doesn't have to work as hard.  This means you can extend the life of your septic system (which helps your pocketbook) while increasing your septics ability to keep nutrient-rich human wastes out of the lake.

Conserving Water Inside Your Home

       Half of the water your household uses is inside your home and the other half is outside in your yard.  Of the half used inside your home, 75% is in the bathrooms so concentrate your efforts there.  To use less water:

• take shorter, less frequent showers
  
• put less water in the tub or take a shower instead
  
• and turn off the water while you shampoo, brush your teeth, and shave
• install water-saving devices: use toilet dams or plastic milk jugs filled with rocks inside your toilet tank (don't use bricks because they can break apart and get into your plumbing)
  
• install low-flow shower heads and water-flow regulators for your faucets
  
• purchase water saver toilets

       The cost of retrofitting your bathroom will be well under a hundred dollars (unless you purchase a new toilet), a worthwhile investment for basic lake protection.

       In the rest of your house you can conserve water by repairing leaky faucets, only running your washing machine and dishwasher when they are full, and by installing water-flow regulators for all your sinks.  Also make sure none of your pipes, such as the drain pipe from your washing machine, flow into the lake.

Conserving Water in Your Yard

       The other half of water used by households is for lawns and gardens along with washing cars.

Use Smart Lawn ~ Watering Techniques

• if possible, don't water your lawn ~ dormancy is a natural progression for cool-season grasses during a drought
• change the way you water your lawn.  Install pistol spray heads
• water in small amounts
• water during the day (water in the evening can promote disease)
• contact your county extension officer for drought-resistant turf-grass recommendations for your area

       Keep your gutters and drain spouts free of leaves.  Clean leaves out of your gutters so that rainwater flows into the down spouts rather than over the edges.  Make sure that rain that runs down your drain spouts soaks into the soil by your house and doesn't run into your lake.

       Avoid washing your car near the lake.  You're at the lake so relax and forget about washing your car.  If you must, go to a car wash or use a minimal amount of water to flush off the car and then wash it in an area that will let it drain away from the lake if possible.  Make sure you use low-phosphate, biodegradable products.

Controlling the Use of Toxic Chemicals

       All chemical products in your home or yard have the potential to harm your lake.  If you follow the water conservation and yard-care tips presented here you will be reducing the amount of toxic materials reaching the lake.  Other ways to reduce the risk of toxic chemical pollution in your lake are:

• don't change your car's oil near the lake
• handle all gasoline and petroleum products with extreme care
• keep your boat and motor in good repair
• avoid using bleach, drain cleaners, and other strong cleaning agents and most pesticides and fertilizers
• take extreme care when using paints and paint removers
• investigate non-toxic household products and safe pest control methods with your county extension agent

Reference:
How to Conserve Water in Your Home and Yard, Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Bulletin, No. WQ16.


Managing Your Shoreline

       If properly managed, your shoreline can be an efficient natural buffer system between the lake and the surrounding landscape.  In fact, shorelines are the most important tool you have to protect your lake.  Some specific steps you can take are to:

• leave an unmowed buffer strip along the lake at least 20-feet wide
• set your lawn mower to leave the grass 2 or 3 inches long
• plant steep banks with native vegetation that binds the soil and traps water
• terrace steep banks when possible to further slow water and sediments
• don't tamper with existing wetlands

Less Lawn Care Means More Lake Protection

       If we love our lakes, we need to change our idea about what looks good.  That short, weed-free lawn that many of us admire can actually hurt our lake because it:

• takes more chemicals to keep it green
• does not provide good habitat for wildlife

Less Chemicals:  Excess fertilizers and pesticides can go into the nearest lake, river, or well.  The resulting algae blooms and floating, dead fish remind us that using less chemicals is better.  If you must use fertilizer, have a soil test done first and follow the recommendations.  Try to use phosphorus-free fertilizers, slow-release nitrogen, and leave a buffer area near your lake where no chemicals are used.

Less Waste:  Grass clipping are high in nutrients so you want to keep them out of your lake.  Bag grass clippings and fall leaves and add them to a compost bin or use a mulching mower on both.  Composting is a clean, efficient way to allow these wastes, along with food scraps, to naturally decompose into wonderful rich soil that can be used in your garden.

Composting Your Wastes

       When we compost we mimic nature by setting up a natural system in our own yard to decompose wastes.  The only cost is our time which can vary from a few minutes a week to a few hours depending on our goals.  Composting helps:

• keep unwanted nutrients out of our lake and septic system
• save valuable landfill space
• obtain a constant supply of free, rich, sweet-smelling soil for your garden

"Brown" wastes are dry leaves, twigs, wood chips, and other plants.  "Green" wastes are grass clippings and food scraps.  By keeping each at about 50% of the total you should be able to maintain an active composting bin.  Avoid adding meat scraps or any fat or grease for they do not readily bread down and instead attract animals.

What About Mulching Lawn Mowers?

       Consider a mulching lawn mower because they are designed to return the clippings (and nutrients) to the soil.  Mulching lawn mowers require more frequent mowing but less time because bagging is eliminated.  Just make sure the clippings stay on the lawn and out of the lake.

What About Too Many Trees For Composting?

       If your lake property includes large numbers of deciduous trees, you can leave the areas under the trees as a forest floor and let the leaves decompose naturally.  Otherwise you can plant ground covers such as pachysandra or ivy that can help collect and decompose the leaves in place.

What About Wildlife?

       Remember that your lake's ecosystem is naturally rich with wildlife.  As you adopt the natural look for shoreline, wildlife such as birds, turtles, and frogs will probably increase in numbers.  You can make your yard even more welcoming to wildlife by planting certain types of native vegetation that serve as food and shelter for these critters.  Consult your local county extension office or the National Audobon Society for ideas on how to plant for wildlife.  however, avoid directly feeding certain types of wildlife that can become a nuisance (such as waterfowl)