03/11/2002 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 11, 2002 County Parks and Recreation Department had identified plants, birds and wildlife in this area that need to be protected. She has observed water skiers on Goose Lake in White Bear Lake who set up their activities with no regard to the water foul. She has witnessed a bare -foot water skier plow right into a group of loons. She did not feel the City should simply expect people to proceed with common sense. Ron Marier stated his property would be located within the proposed no -wake zone. He stated he has witnessed blue herons and eagles coexisting for more than 40 years. He noted a statement had been made that the majority of the Peltier Lake Association members do not want restrictions on the lake, however, he believed the majority of the Association members were looking for some sort of restrictions to protect the natural resources. Mr. Marier noted for years the north end of the island had been protected and there had almost never been human encroachment during the heron's sensitive nestin:. time. However, since the 1990's there has been a great deal of impact to the fragile environment of n. nd of the island through water skiing and other boating activity. Mr. Marier noted the Peltier Lake Association had recomm ® ed two options to address this issue, the use of bog poles to delineate a no -wake zone to the no e island and a no -wake zone beginning south of the island similar to those reco dire by Anoka County. He did not want to risk more years of failed heron reproduction and he . opo that the no -wake zone begin at least 400 feet from the south end of the island. He did not . •ple understood what is at stake and that if this resource is lost, it will be taken away from 1 d • s ts, not just the lakeshore property owners. He indicated there had been a great deal of in ation presented in an attempt to explain the abandonment of the heron rookery and he e e number one reason was human disturbance. He asked that the City Council adopt the • • o d ordinance, including one of the no -wake zone alternatives recommended by Anoka Wayne LeBlanc, 1677 Peltie algae bloom in the southern p portion of the lake has no aquat indicated the aquatic plants in th resented a photo of Peltier Lake and noted the amount of e. He stated this was due to the fact that the southern ts. He noted the clarity of the north end of the lake and ea act as filters. Mr. LeBlanc presented the City Council with a letter from Charles Johnson, Rice Creek Watershed District Aquatic Biologist, which discussed the water quality of the northern and southern halves of Peltier Lake and the need to protect the area north of the island. He felt the no -wake zone should extend to the south of the island in order to protect the entire area. Mr. LeBlanc presented an aerial image of the north end of Peltier Lake, which depicted the damage to aquatic plants caused by the water skiing course. He indicated a large number of plants have been removed from this area, which he felt was a tragedy. Additionally, he noted the heavy skiing in this area also places the sediment in suspension and causes numerous problems, such as phosphorus loads into the water column, and he noted the lake flows north to south. He felt the ecology of the lake is similar to a rain forest and noted 10 to 20 percent of the area has been destroyed by the water skiing course. He felt the lake needed to be protected now in the hopes that the damaged area will recover. 13