Aren't All Our Lakes Recreational?

Posted Wednesday, January 13, 2010, at 1:20 PM

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources wants to hear from you about new standards to protect recreational uses for Iowa lakes. They will be holding a public meeting on THURSDAY, JAN 14 at 6pm at the Waitt Bldg at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory.

I have a conflict and can't attend, so I especially want you to go and be eyes and ears for me. You can read about the rules at http://www.iowadnr.gov/epc/09nov/8.pdf.

The biggest red flag is the rules apply only to lakes that average 3 meters ( about 10 feet) or more depth.

That eliminates Little Spirit, Silver Lake, Lower Gar Lake, and 6 other Dickinson County Lakes, as well as other popular and well known Iowa lakes such as Clear Lake and Storm Lake that certainly have high recreational use, be it for swimming, boating, fishing or other uses.

As the DNR why!!

People may make oral or written comments on this proposal at any of the public hearings. Written comments will also be accepted through Jan. 23. Send written comments to Chuck Corell, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Wallace State Office Building, 502 E. Ninth St., Des Moines, IA 50319-0034; or by e-mail to chuck.corell@dnr.iowa.gov. And let me know what you found out at the meeting, and what you think!

Waterblogger

Jane Shuttleworth

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ABOUT ME: I live in Okoboji with my husband Hank Miguel in a wonderful house he built mostly himself, located 3 land-ward tiers away from the summer cottage on Des Moines Beach where I grew up visiting my grandmother during the summer months when school was out. The cottage is still in our family, and was initially purchased by my great grandfather F. C. Gilchrist, and remains the heart of family reunions and summer escapades. When I was 10 years old, I walked around Lake West Okoboji with my brother and the neighbor kids. It took us 12 hours, but we lolly gagged along the way, and enjoyed a ride on the roller coaster at Arnold's Park before it was all over. I remember we had to wade our way around the undeveloped shoreline where Iowa Lakeside Laboratory is located, through dark swarms of baby bullheads. I was both fascinated and scared of them, but they did not hurt us. I looked up from the shore across the expansive lawn crowned at the top by the Lakeside dining hall, and wondered what madness went on in that place. Little did I suspect then that I would study, and then work at Lakeside Lab! Today I am the Environmental Education Coordinator at Lakeside. One of my duties includes the coordination of the Cooperative Lakes Area Monitoring Project, a volunteer lake monitoring program that samples nine lakes in Dickinson County, and is the longest running lake monitoring program in the state of Iowa. I am a Commissioner and one of the founders of the Dickinson County Water Quality Commission, a cooperative entity between county and municipal governments that provides grants to fund water quality projects. I am a past president and currently serve on the board of the Okoboji Protective Association, and am proud to have served previously on the boards of the East Okoboji Lakes Improvement Corporation and the Spirit Lake Protective Association, and am a volunteer with the Dickinson County Clean Water Alliance.

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