After November 6, several critical initiatives have been introduced in the Michigan Legislature which could have enormous impact on northern MI.  DLIA doesn’t take political positions, but because these bills are directly bearing on our inland lakes, environmental resources and recreational economy, sharing information about these is important. 

If you are a MI voter, you should contact your State Representative and Governor Snyder’s office (governorsoffice@michigan.gov) to voice your opinion about the benefits or lack thereof of this bill.

Furthermore, at a minimum, 36% of MI streams, which are ephemeral, along with an unknown number of miles of streams due to changing definition of “Water of the United States” would no longer be protected under Senate Bill 1197. Because of the definitions incorporated into this Bill, it is unclear whether any streams or rivers will be regulated in the State.
 
TOMWC warns that the impact of Senate Bill 1211 will be astounding.The Bill is now before the Michigan Competiveness Committee. This Committee is chaired by Lee Chatfield, representative from the Douglas Lake region.Contact the Committee and the Governor’s Office with your views on this Bill.
 
For greater detail about the status and impact of these bills, check the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council web site (www.watershedcouncil.org) and the links provided there for broader scale coverage of these issues on local area in the Petoskey Newspaper.

Above Photo: Final touches of paving on Woodland Rd

Douglas Lake along with many of the inland lakes in Michigan has endured problems with “swimmer’s itch” over the years.  The Michigan Swimmer’s Itch Partnership (MISIP) has pulled together many lake associations and interested individuals to assess the root causes of this frustrating irritation and coordinated with several lakes to test certain ‘source of swimmer’s itch’ and ‘potential remediation of the sources’ research projects.  Some of these may well be ready to offer relief if not 100% solutions.  Our knowledge and understanding of the swimmer’s itch issue seems to be moving to a more sustainable program.  The Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council has recently assumed the Project Manager role of MISIP with several TOMWC staff assuming various functions.  As a publicly funded statewide initiative, TOMWC will be reaching out to regional lakes to seek input and identify opportunities for the MISIP to improve understanding, research and management of the nuisance itch.  DLIA member Ron Witthoff serves as DLIA’s liaison to the Partnership.  We will keep the membership briefed about swimmer’s itch and its relationship with waterfowl, snails, parasite, et al.

Yes, the season is definitely here for a salt discussion. No, we don’t mean strategic arms negotiations.  We’re talking assessing various products available for melting ice/snow from walks and driveways.  The TOMWC recently shared some advice for picking the right product:

Check out the labels on products when next you are shopping for ice melters. [Your DLIA President just can’t resist a good chemistry discussion.There will not be a quiz.]