Okoboji Protective Association Non-Profit Org. PO Box 242 U.S. Postage Okoboji, Iowa 51355 PAID Okoboji, IA 51355 Permit No. 242 ctiv ote e A r ss P o i c j i o a b t i o o k n O S ince 1905 OPA Mission and Goals “The Okoboji Protective Association is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the ecological health of West Okoboji Lake and the entire Great Lakes watershed.” Our Goals: 1. To prevent invasive species. 2. To preserve and protect the wetlands in the Iowa Great Lakes watershed. 3. To participate in the control of lake development to prevent environmental threats. 4. To promote sustainable urban and agricultural development that won’t upset the delicate balance of the lake and its watershed. 5. To inform the community of ecological concerns and actions that must be taken to act on those ecological concerns. Vol. 33 No. 2 Fall/Winter 2019 ctiv ote e A r ss P o i c j i o a b t i o o k n O EWSLETTER N S ince 1905 Inside this Issue Page number, Article 2. President’s Message – Greg Drees 3. Why does my lake look like pea soup? – Mary Skopec 4. Tall Grass Prairie – Kiley Roth 5. Ace Cory Conservation Award – Steve Weisman 6. Festival Follow-Up – Steve Weisman 7. Festival Collage 8. Benefi ts of Aquatic Plants – Mike Hawkins 9. Sanitary District and Wastewater Issues – Steve Anderson 10. The North Shore Project – Anita O’Gara 11. What About Those Farmers? – John Wills, Making Real World Connections – Jane Shuttleworth 12. Meneyata Park Wetland Restoration – Bryce Origer 13. Clean Water Panel – Steve Weisman 14. Export the Okoboji Clean Water to Greater Iowa – David Thoreson Address OFFICERS ear partners in water quality, P.O. Box 242 GREG DREES – President OKOBOJI, IA 51355 Why does my lake look like pea soup? MARY SKOPEC - Vice President Summer has vanished. Autumn is slipping away. Winter looms By Mary Skopec BARBARA MENDENHALL – Secretary on the horizon. The seasons come and go with such rapidity. BARRY SACKETT – Treasurer Executive Director of Iowa Lakeside Laboratory 2019 will soon be in the books, whisked away into the calendar PAST PRESIDENTS Darchives. For the Okoboji Protective Association, it has been a busy and Summer in Iowa brings many wonderful things STEVE AVERY intriguing year. such as long, warm days fi lled with ample recreation GREG DREES opportunities (swimming, biking or kayaking). JOE FITZGIBBONS Extreme weather events continue to leave their marks on our BRAD JONES landscape. The winter of 2018-19 was brutal and seemingly However, summer days often bring a less than BARBARA MENDENHALL never-ending. We all watched as heavy spring rains made dock building a HANK MIGUEL desirable phenomena – green and scummy water. While DICK MONTGOMERY worrisome affair and fears of shoreline erosion prevailed. Fall has been fi ckle Iowans are somewhat accustomed to this sight, they PHIL PETERSEN as well, with eight inches of rain in October and early blizzards ravaging our are often unaware of what causes the green water and JIM ROSENDAHL prairie neighbors to the north and west. BARRY SACKETT whether or not they should be concerned about it. JANE SHUTTLEWORTH As a duck hunter, I have always had my eye on the weather. The green water is most likely the result of a PAUL SIEH JOHN SYNHORST Even as a youngster, I would cling to my Dad’s sleeve while we watched the “blue-green algae” bloom. Technically, blue-green algae JUDY THORESON weatherman predict the morrow’s conditions, yearning for those northwest are not algae at all. The organism is really a type of JOHN WILLS winds that would ignite the migration. Of course, those were pre-Weather photosynthetic bacteria, which means the bacteria ELECTED DIRECTORS Channel days, and forecasts were nothing more than unsophisticated guesses. contain pigments that allow it to capture light and conduct Today’s weather demands 24/7 national attention. Blue-green algae bloom on Little Spirit Lake 2019. Wahpeton photosynthesis like a plant. The “blue-green” algae often TERRI RIERSON The point to all of this is that weather is a capricious maiden, and we contain blue or green pigments (hence the name). Photo by CLAMP volunteer, Tom Gronstal TOM BATCHELLER AMY SCHLEUTER are all beholden to her. We can complain and even wail about the weather, Like plants, blue-green algae thrive on inputs of but we will never change it. What we can do, as a group like the OPA, is nutrients. They grow rapidly in the presence of excess West Okoboji adapt to weather’s offerings and react creatively to its scourges. Take the nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen and become AUBREY LAFOY TRACY EVANS challenges that we face with high water events, for instance. Simply put, we so abundant that they form scums or blooms. can complain or comply. Complaining has no benefi cial end result. Better to GAYLE GOODSON While blooms are unappealing visually, they embrace bank stabilization and shoreline protection techniques – which the can also create other problems. Many blue-green Arnolds Park OPA has endorsed – and thus reduce erosion and other damage caused by PAULA HENRY algae species produce toxins that can be harmful to high water and strong winds. MIKE THORESON pets, wildlife, and humans. Ingestion of toxins during Okoboji We are extremely fortunate here in the Iowa Great Lakes to have a swimming is of concern to public health offi cials, and the OWEN PRIMAVERA brotherhood of organizations dedicated to natural resource enhancement Department of Natural Resources has been measuring BABS LIESVELD and preservation. The list is long but includes the IGL Clean Water Alliance, the levels of the microcystin toxin at state-owned beaches PAULA DUNCAN the Dickinson County Water Quality Commission, the DNR and, yes, the for 15 years. However, the DNR monitoring does not No Town OPA and its sister lake protective groups. include many popular swimming areas in the Iowa Great LOU HASENWINKEL Nowhere across Iowa will you fi nd a citizenry more dedicated to clean water, Lakes. STEVE ROSE soil, and air than here in Okoboji. But lest we lose focus and begin to rest on KATE EBINGER To assess the potential exposure to blue-green our laurels, there is much work yet to be done. At Large algae toxins in the IGL, Lakeside Laboratory began a CRAIG CAMOZZI It has been an honor to serve a second term as OPA president. research project in 2017 to document the existence of STEVE CARLSON Thank you for the opportunity to head a group with more than a century of blooms near swimming areas. The map at the right shows ANDREA WAITT CARLTON conservation leadership. The organization continues to be at the forefront of RICHARD COFFEY the presence of moderate to severe blooms in areas BOB DEKOCK our most important environmental issues. We can take pride in the fact that the not traditionally monitored (Little Spirit Lake and Silver DARREN DOTSON OPA lends a history of credibility to its endeavors. Lake). As a result, Lakeside added microcystin testing JOHN FIESELMAN WALT HOMAN I cannot think of a more capable person to assume the OPA to its long-running Cooperative Lakes Area Monitoring PAUL JOHNSON presidency than Mary Skopec. She brings experience, passion and vitality to Program (CLAMP) in 2018. JIM KECK KATE MENDENHALL the offi ce. Welcome, Mary, the stage is all yours. Sample data showed relatively low levels MARY JEAN O'HAIR of microcystin with a maximum concentration of 5 HERMAN RICHTER Gregory Drees micrograms per liter in Silver Lake. Action levels used by MARY SKOPEC KIRK STAUSS OPA President the DNR use 20 micrograms per liter to alert the public against swimming in a waterbody. These low levels are good news; however, Lakeside Lab will continue to collect samples in the future to document the status and trends of Visual assessment of blue-green algae bloom severity. An organization for the protection and preservation of the waters of West Lake Okoboji microcystin in the Iowa Great Lakes. and the Iowa Great Lakes Watershed. www.okobojiprotectiveassociation.org 2 Okoboji Protective Association Newsletter Vol. 33 No. 2 Fall/Winter 2019 3 3. Native plants help drivers in the winter. Wills expressed his appreciation for Tall Grass Prairie Native vegetation acts as a snow break in the Ace Cory Conservation Award By Kiley Roth By Steve Weisman Boettcher’s efforts as a lifelong farmer, who is winter, the longer grasses and wildflowers stopping DCCB Community Relations Coordinator OPA Publicity Director a leader in agricultural conservation practices. the snow from constantly blowing over roadways “Congratulations to John for all of his efforts to Iowa was one of the first states to establish and providing better visibility to drivers. In Iowa’s Jeff Wallace/Elizabeth Wallace and John do what is right. He has been conducting his an Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management wide-open spaces, this is incredibly important and Boettcher were co-recipients of the 2019 Ace operation in a more sustainable manner over program. Since its inception in the 1970s, more also helps landowners by reducing the need for Cory Conservation Award presented at the the years and has made the point to promote than 50,000 acres of federal, state, county and city natural or plastic snow fences. annual Okoboji Protective Association’s (OPA) and educate others as to what he is doing to roadsides have been planted to native grasses 4. Native plants are important to pollinators annual meeting on Saturday, August 10. show fellow farmers that you can make a living and wildflowers. Dickinson County began its IRVM and other wildlife.