Death Of a Lake

[jdmidwest]

I have a feeling that me and a buddy will be there also.  It may make a difference.

From reading the story and seeing what little has been done since the drawdown, it seems like the nail is close to being driven in the lid of the coffin.  It will probably end up being a pond choked with lily pads.  Or blown to extinction.  NFS does not restore any fishing to its former self, just lets it grow up and go away.  I have seen a few Tiff Lakes in the area go away also or be drawn down to make the fishing suck.  Access roads go away from streams.  Our kids will have less public access than we had.

[tjm]

I think the national attitude towards public access is it should all be hike in, on public lands and and pay-per view on private lands.

[David Unnerstall]

I managed to attend.  There were, perhaps, forty or so others.  The Forest Service gave us a brief history of the lake, a fisheries biologist from MDC gave us the results of an recent sampling and attributed the increase in redear population to the planting of vegetation and someone who, I believe, represented the community, who discussed amenities at the lake.  The Forest Service admitted that, in the past, they did not engage the public on matters.  I can see why.  There were some in the crowd who were hostile.  The Community Development Specialist, whose only area is picnic tables, rest rooms and the like was pressed on the dam construction.  I guess she just represented government.  But there a lot of thoughtful reasons why the dam should be repaired mentioned, also.

Now, Sheri Schwenke says the decision is hers but we don't have a formal estimate on the cost of the dam and a decision will not be made until then.  A temporary boat ramp will be installed and the lake will not be drawn down any further.

I did take my solo down there on Friday.  I stayed a few feet from the bank and it was easy to get through the vegetation to the main lake. The spatterdock is difficult but if it is adding oxygen to the lake I am for it.  Before the new lock and dam was built near Alton on the Mississippi there was a backwater slough that was full of vegetation.  It was a blast catching largemouth on top-waters.  After the new lock and dam was built it became a sterile wasteland.

[David Unnerstall]

I have still to see anything published on what decision has been made by the USFS.  I had the solo out there last week.  The water is up to the new boat ramp.  I paddled to the dam, got out and looked down.  The dam does have a lot of structural issues.  The new road allows access to the dam and I picked up a lot of beer cans.  It is getting as bad in rural areas as it is in my neck-of-the-woods up here.  Now, that biologist says the redear population has increased because of the oxygen generated by the vegetation.  It is just that I do not have a plan for catching them.  I started catching bluegill -- better than average.  The next day I had a bucket and all I caught were small bass.

I got a kick out of it all, though.

[jdmidwest]

Is it a boat ramp to launch a boat or just a weir to sit and drink beer and make meth on??

I was tempted to run by last time in the area but was afraid of a big let down.  I have not been out there since the draw down.  I was still fighting the radiation and did not have the strength to do battle for the town hall meet.

[David Unnerstall]

They used some of those blocks they acquired for the ramp.  A boat with average draft should be able to launch.

 

[jdmidwest]

Where did they build the new boat ramp?

[David Unnerstall]

The road to it goes through where the picnic tables and fire pits used to be.  It about two hundred feet from the old ramp on the north side of the lake.  

Google Earth shows the lake in the drawn down state but does not show the new ramp.

[David Unnerstall]

There was another public forum on this last month but I was not able to attend.  I just got an 8-page document from the USDA.  I scanned the page that has the gist of the issue.  It appears they are going to repair the dam.

[jdmidwest]

I read another story, there is a movement to remove the dam and return the Crane Creek to its original stream bed.  I will look for the article.