News from Oneida County Lakes and Rivers Association
Please share this information and the OCLRA website (www.oclra.org) with the members of your lake association, district and/or friends group and with your personal networks.
The next meeting of the OCLRA Board is Monday, August 14, 9 to 10:30 a.m., at the ADRC building across the parking lot from Trig’s grocery in Rhinelander. All are welcome.
Six-County Lakes Meeting draws record attendance
Oneida County Stewardship Awards Banquet to be held August 10
What can OCLRA do for you?
Slots still available for Oneida County Lake Toolbox sessions
County hires legal counsel to address SPO issues
Vermont looks at tough regulation of wakeboat sports
Support for the Pelican River Forest continues to grow
County Land & Water sets Northwoods LIGHTS OUT! Event
Join OCLRA – add your voice for lake stewardship!
The Magic Goggles: A deep dive into lake secrets
Six-County Lakes Meeting draws record attendance
The 2023 Six-County Lakes Meeting at Nicolet College drew a record 183 participants, far exceeding the previous record of 130 in 2022. Organized by OCLRA and the Vilas County Lakes and Rivers Association, the meeting featured a panel on enforcement of laws and regulations affecting shoreland protection, tourist rooming houses, boating safety, fish and game, and more. A video recording of the meeting will be available soon at www.oclra.org and www.vclra.org.
During the panel, Darren Kuhn, DNR conservation officer, said the state’s boating regulations have not kept pace with trends toward larger and more powerful boats, including wakeboats. “Our laws cannot keep up with technology,” Kuhn noted. “When our boating laws were created, we didn’t have 300-horsepower outboards. We didn’t have tri-toons with twin 300 outboard motors on them. Grandpa’s pontoon is a thing of the past. Wakesurfing is new on the horizon. Our laws can’t keep up. We need to educate our users that the act of one (person) affects more than just them.”
Gretchen Gerrish, director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Limnology’s Trout Lake Research Station, gave an update on invasive spiny water fleas and zebra mussels and their potential impact on lakes in the Northwoods. Mark Naniot, director of rehabilitation with Wild Instincts in Rhinelander, spoke about the impacts of lead fishing tackle and hunting ammunition on wildlife, including loons and bald eagles. He stated, “It’s a very easy solution to get rid of lead in our system, but unfortunately we’re facing a lot of people who don’t want to switch over for whatever reason.”
Oneida County Stewardship Awards Banquet to be held August 10
The Oneida County Land & Water Conservation Department’s 12th annual Stewardship Awards Banquet will be held Thursday, August 10, at Holiday Acres Resort on Lake Thompson, 4060 South Shore Drive, Rhinelander. OCLRA is a table sponsor. Check-in and a social hour starts at 5 p.m., followed by a dinner buffet at 6 and awards presentations at 7:45. Register by August 2 (715-369-7835 or jjewell@co.oneida.wi.us). Admission costs $20.
What can OCLRA do for you?
The OCLRA Board will hold a Focus Meeting from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, September 11, at the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom near Rhinelander. The purpose is to decide on long-term priorities for our organization – where to direct our energy so as to achieve the greatest good given the time and resources available. While attendance will be limited to board members, we would like your ideas on what OCLRA’s priorities should be. How can we best focus our time and energy to help protect our county’s water resources and support the objectives of individual lake associations? Please submit your comments via email to oclra100@gmail.com.
Slots still available for Oneida County Lake Toolbox workshop
Wisconsin’s Green Fire is offering free workshops to help leaders and members of Vilas and Oneida lake associations protect and improve their lakes – even without investing in a lake consultant or management plan. While the Vilas County workshop is already full, slots for The Oneida County workshop (September 11, 13 and 15 at Kemp Station north of Lake Tomahawk on Highway 47) are still available. For information contact Terry Daulton, tdaulton@centurytel.net.
County hires legal counsel to address SPO issues.
Revisions to the county’s Shoreland Protection Ordinance (SPO) will soon be back on the Planning and Development Committee agenda. Karl Jennrich, director of planning and zoning, recently asked the Administrative Committee to approve $10,000 to hire outside counsel to address proposed revisions to the SPO that the DNR has said are in conflict with state law. The request was approved unanimously, and the county will engage attorney Larry Konopacki from Stafford Rosenbaum law firm in Milwaukee.
Last April OCLRA and supporters filled the room for a public hearing before the P&D Committee and generated more than 100 written comments against certain proposed SPO changes. Watch for this issue to show up on P&D Committee agendas in fall.
Vermont looks at tough regulation of wakeboat sports
The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources has given official notice of a rule to regulate wake sports, according to the Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes grassroots group. The rule would prohibit wake sports on waters that do not have at least 50 contiguous acres that are both 500 feet from shore on all sides and at least 20 feet deep. The Responsible Wakes group had asked for 1,000 feet from shore we asked for but considers the ANR’s action a watershed in the progress of regulating these boats. The group says the 20-page filing “forms a rich and convincing essay on why wakeboats need to be restricted to only the deepest part of our largest lakes.” Read the entire report from Responsible Wakes here. Also check out an excellent article under the headline, “If Loons Could Talk,” from the Montpelier Bridge.
Support for the Pelican River Forest continues to grow
The Gathering Waters organization reports that “local governments, nonprofits and businesses, and individuals continue to speak up and show their support for the Pelican River Forest. The Menominee Nation, the Sokaogon Chippewa Community and the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians have passed resolutions supporting the forest,
and eleven local governments have also done so: Rhinelander, White Lake, Shawano County, and the towns of Wolf River, Pelican, Ainsworth, Elcho, Schoepke, Pine Lake, Langlade, and Lake Tomahawk. You can show support for the forest by signing the petition, which already has more than 1,500 signatures.
County Land & Water sets Northwoods LIGHTS OUT! Event
Mark your calendar for the Northwoods Lights Out Event and Milky Way and Perseid Meteor Watch August 12-13. It’s a way of celebrating the beauty of dark night skies. Because of light pollution, 80% of Americans can’t see the Milky Way. Thirty-five percent of outdoor light is wasted, costing about $3 billion dollars a year. Fireflies, hummingbirds, monarch butterflies, and owls are some of the creatures most affected by light pollution. In June, a group joined members of the Land Conservation Team to observe fireflies and learn about firefly biology and habitat.
Join OCLRA – add your voice for lake stewardship!
It has never been more important to step up to protect Oneida County’s lakes and streams. OCLRA invites you to join us in our mission of education, collaboration and advocacy on behalf of these critical resources. You can join for yourself or on behalf of your lake association by visiting https://www.oclra.org.
The Magic Goggles: A deep dive into lake secrets
Kids are sure to enjoy Lynn Markham’s book, The Magic Goggles: Discovering the Secrets of the Lake. The story follows Maggie and her little brother Tate, who are visiting their grandparents’ lake cabin when they discover two pairs of weird old goggles with leather straps in a dusty attic trunk. At the lake with their goggles, the kids discover that the goggles make them light as damselflies and let them see through lily pads to the underwater forest below. Later a wood duck takes them for a flying ride around the lake to get a bird’s-eye view. And there’s more. You can get this book from the University of Wisconsin Lakes Bookstore.
