Shoreline Living in the Land of 10,000 Lakes
Angie Hong
Shoreline Living in the Land of 10,000 Lakes
Here in Minnesota, shoreline living is not limited to the rich and famous. According to the MN DNR, MN has 11,842 lakes and 69,200 miles of natural rivers and streams. We have over 13 million acres of lakes, streams, and wetlands, which is equivalent to one quarter of the area of the entire state. Correspondingly, 200,000-225,000 lucky Minnesota families own lakeshore homes, and countless others live along rivers, streams and wetlands. In Washington County and northern Dakota County, shoreline homes can be found along the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers, circling large lakes like Forest Lake and White Bear Lake and dotted here and there around smaller lakes like McKusick, Jane, Colby and Edith, not to mention the folks that own homes along Valley Creek, Brown’s Creek and other trout streams.
Living close to the water provides many benefits to residents, including a beautiful view, easy access for water recreation and higher property values. The advantages of waterfront living, however, also come with the responsibility to maintain the health of the lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands so that those of us not so lucky to own shoreline property can still enjoy clean water for fishing, boating, and other forms of recreation.
The water quality data for developed lakeshores can be quite alarming. On average, the development of a lakeshore lot reduces aquatic vegetation along that lot by 66%. There is a direct correspondence between the amount of aquatic vegetation and the number of fish able to live in a lake, and studies have shown that even small changes, paving over or building on 8% of the land on a lot, for example, can impact water quality and fish survival rates.
Shoreline property owners have perhaps more to benefit than anyone from maintaining healthy water bodies, and the most important thing they can do to protect their property investment is to minimize impervious surfaces and maximize native vegetation.
Often, there is pressure from neighbors to maintain a tidy yard by mowing the grass down to the water’s edge or removing tall vegetation from the shoreline. Many people are afraid that their property values will decrease if they plant native vegetation, however, recent planting projects in the local area have shown that a natural shoreline can actually be quite beautiful. Deep rooted plants and trees also help to control erosion, a major problem for many shoreline properties. In most cases, a buffer of native plants is actually more effective at limiting erosion than a retaining wall and has the added benefit of discouraging geese from visiting and dropping “presents.”
At first, some people are resistant to planting native vegetation along their shoreline because they are afraid it will limit their access to the water. It is fairly easy, however, to design a yard plan that allows for a dock and a trail to the water while still keeping a healthy buffer along the shoreline. For sample shoreline planting plans and step-by-step instructions for doing a shoreline project, visit www.BlueThumb.org. For information on local cost-share grants to assist in shoreline planting projects, give me a call.
Angie Hong is an educator with the East Metro Water Resource Education Program. She can be reached at (651) 275-1136 x. 35 angie.hong@mnwcd.org
Posted: November 30, 2007