01/30/2002 Env Bd Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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July. I have seen him drive his boat right next to fishermen when the whole lake was clear (at least now someone has a chance at reading a registration number). I was fishing once myself when he drove by within 50 feet pulling a skier. He happened to come back near us and my daughter called out to him, "Can't you see we're fishing here ?" He said, "There aren't any fish there." I said, "No, not anymore." Do these actions show respect for regulation or for other people? In the spring of 1999, I was canoeing around the island when I discovered a float just under the surface. I pulled it up and saw it was part of the slalom water -ski course from 1998. I looked around and saw another, then another. That's when I stopped looking. I don't know how many more were there, but it seemed like there was already an intention to return. Permits do not extend through the winter. All material must be removed from the lake. In August of 2001, I watched them take down their course in the main part of the lake in the evening. In every case I observed, they only removed the top float. They left all the other apparatus in the water overnight (which is illegal without a permit). They set their course up in the only place where I have ever caught a walleye in the lake. With all kinds of lines, concrete blocks and who knows what down there, I wouldn't go fishing there. And even if they had a slalom water -ski course that sunk when not in use, there would probably be over 1,000 feet of hose, lines and other apparatus under water so you couldn't fish there. My opinion is that strict enforcement of new clear regulations as described before are required to protect the Heron rookery, the environment, and normal users of the lake. Details — The Rookery Peltier Lake contains a large wilderness island that used to be home to Black - crowned Night Herons and a large number of Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, and other birds. The shoreline areas of the lake to the north, east, and west of this island are also essentially wilderness. These areas are rarely frequented by people because the waters there are only 3 to 4 feet deep with a loose silty mud bottom and the area is packed with mostly beneficial aquatic plants. It is an ideal rookery. On July 7, the day I encountered the slalom water -ski course in use north of the island, I did not see any Herons or Egrets north, east, or south of the island (I could not see west of the island). On July 8, the course was again in heavy use. On July 25, I did a careful survey and could not find any Herons or Egrets anywhere on Peltier Lake west, south, or east of the island. The Herons and Egrets seemed essentially gone for the season. There may be some here and there but for 22 years previous to 1998, I have always seen Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, and Black - crowned Night Herons from my house from spring to fall essentially every day. They land on the dock or fly to the delta at Clearwater creek about 'h mile away from my house. From my house since July 7, I did not seen any Black- crowed Night Herons, Great Egrets, or Great Blue Herons for at least 3 weeks. Most significant, however, the Black - crowned Night Herons disappeared 3 years ago, exactly corresponding to the establishment of the first slalom water ski course. The summer of 2000 also saw abandonment of the rookery sometime in June. There was speculation that it might have been the I35W road reconstruction, however, it is also worth considering the possibility that there was slalom water -ski activity north of the island. This area is not easy to see from the main part of the lake (which is why the birds like it so well). North, east and west of the island, most vegetation consists of native beneficial aquatic plants such as coontail. An image showing the course cut through these aquatic plants is available to anyone via www.mapquest.com. Type in "Peltier Lake" with zip code 55038, pick one of the results and recenter upward (northward) to the top of the island. Click on the "Aerial Photo" tab. Right click it and do a "save as" and lighten the image to better see the track. The ski track is almost horizontal just north of the island angled slightly upward (see dashed line in figure on page 1) and the right hand end has a counter clockwise curl where the ski boats turn around. Details — Slalom Water -ski Course Impact Almost everyone on the lake lives south of the island with the western shore belonging to Anoka County Parks. The area south of the island is narrow and small. Refer to the map of Peltier Lake with a slalom water ski course drawn to scale. In the center, is the course (with its 22 to 28 buoys) and two turnaround ends. Surrounding it all is a buffer of 150 feet. The total estimated impact footprint for a course with a short turn around is about 2,320 feet by 448 feet and for a course with a long turn around, 2,580 feet by 448 feet (course data from www.iwsf.com). The surface area depicted is for the smaller course and has a impact size of about 25 acres.