President's Corner

       Updated July 13th, 2004

Previous issues: January 2002, March 2002, April 2002, May 2002, June 2002, July 2002, September 2002, November 2002 , January 2003,  March 2003, April 4 2003, April 28 2003, September 2003, October 9, 2003, December 15, 2003, May 14, 2004

PRESIDENT'S CORNER:

STATE OF THE LAKE Address

From the HLPOA Annual meeting 7-10-04

This is my third State of the Lake address. . . and it has been a momentous year for the HLPOA. From success in the courts as aptly described by William Carey . . . to significant progress in the political arena as conveyed by Pat Springstead, Chair of our Political Action Committee.

The HLPOA is as active today in the protection, preservation and enhancement of the quality of Higgins Lake and its surrounding watershed as it was when first founded in 1935 . . . perhaps even more so . . . because of the vast complexity of issues that surface in today's society.

Eurasian Watermilfoil

At last year's Annual Meeting I reported the HLPOA had accepted the leadership role under the Higgins Lake Watershed Management Plan to develop a plan of attack in controlling Eurasian Watermilfoil.

The latest survey conducted by Huron Pines RC&D of Grayling indicated we have approximately ten acres of EWM distributed in some eighty-four locations in Higgins Lake.

You'll recall that at last year's meeting Brad Jensen from Huron Pines encouraged lakefront property owners to carefully "hand harvest" EWM in shallow water areas using garden rakes. And many of you were successful in accomplishing just that it front of your property.

Additionally, we started a program of placing "benthic" or bottom barrier in selected locations as approved by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. We've stepped up those efforts this season with three SCUBA dive teams and soon will have some 4,900 square feet of barrier material in place at five locations in the south basin.

Winter meetings with DNR Parks management resulted in agreement to contract for granulated 2-4D at the three state controlled public launch sites . . . the North State Park, South State Park and the west DNR ramp site in an effort to reduce re-infestation of EWM from outside our watershed. The treatment should occur either this Monday or the following Monday . . . July 19th.

Through the financial support from the Higgins Lake Foundation, with assistance from Huron Pines RC&D and the cooperation of the DNR we designed and printed 10,000 Invasive Species Information Cards for distribution at the State public launch sites to visiting boating enthusiasts. This simple card cautions boaters to "look before they launch" and remove any EWM or Zebra Mussels that might be attached to their trailer or boat.

You may recall my mentioning that the US Army Corps of Engineers had located native milfoil weevils in Higgins Lake in 2002, but it appeared there weren't sufficient quantities to control the spread of EWM. I'm please to announce today . . . as we meet . . . some 10,000 milfoil weevils are being placed at selected EWM sites under a contractual agreement with Enviroscience, Inc . . . an environmental consulting firm located in Stow Ohio.

We believe . . . in addition to the very limited herbicide treatment at the DNR access sites, hand harvesting by lakefront owners, and the continued use of benthic barrier . . . that supplementing our natural milfoil weevil population with implants this summer will prove to be another positive aspect in our integrated EWM management program.

The cost for the weevil project is $20,000 . . . and it's being funded by commitments from the Roscommon County Community Foundation, the Schroeder Foundation, and the Higgins Lake Foundation . . . with matching funds obtained through the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly via the Wege Foundation.

In summation the HLPOA has built a strong alliance through association with other organizations and volunteers in an effort to control and hopefully eradicate this very invasive aquatic plant specie from our lake.

Political Action Committee

Formation of our Political Action Committee was unanimously approved by the membership at last year's annual meeting. To my knowledge we are the only lake association in Michigan that has taken this step in an effort to strengthen political ties by supporting candidates who share our commitment toward protecting and preserving our natural water resource.

Possibly the greatest benefit from this first year of activity was the opportunity to share HLPOA views and positions on a vast array of issues through contact with nearly every candidate for public office in this district at the state, county and local level.

It was extremely time consuming . . . but of great value because in the follow up candidate interviews we had a chance to initiate dialogue and stress our reasoning for support of House Bill 4141 and our concern . . . or perhaps I should say frustration . . . regarding the lack of support by local officials regarding issues which impact directly on Higgins Lake.

It may take some time, but I firmly believe the existence of an HLPOA Political Action Committee will help foster a better understanding of riparian concerns and will lead to meaningful support in the political arena at all levels.

I can assure you the seven members of your Political Action Committee spent countless hours in recent weeks developing and distributing a screening questionnaire specific to HLPOA issues, conducting personal interviews, and reaching final decision in the selection of candidates for support by the HLPOA voting membership.

And now we have an important decision for you!

This is an ongoing process and we thank each of you who have already contributed to its success through your financial support. We also need your support at the ballot box . . . so I feel a need to stress a point: "Give serious consideration to registering to vote here at Higgins Lake". It's with your help that the HLPOA can make a difference!

Townline Road Ramp/Dredging Permit

The initial project proposal within the Lyon Township portion of Townline Road would have resulted in an 18 X 48' ramp and a 4 X 18' seasonal dock with dredging to a depth of 3 ft. at a distance of 124' from the shoreline of Higgins Lake. The DEQ permit request was filed last year by a private citizen in Lyon Township.

The HLPOA filed three formal letters dating back to July of last year . . . objecting to the DEQ even processing this request. In addition, last February we contracted with an engineering firm, Progressive AE, of Grand Rapids, to conduct an ecological review and determine whether dredging could cause potential damage to Higgins Lake. A noted limnologist, Anthony Groves, advised the DEQ that approval of the permit request would not be prudent.

Instead, on May 24th the DEQ . . . on advise from Lansing (we're told) . . . approved the construction of the ramp and installation of the dock with limited dredging necessary to build the ramp. That translates to dredging or removal of lake bottom material out 24' to a depth of three feet.

We anticipate this may be the first of many such requests for construction of ramps in R-1 zoned residential subdivisions surrounding Higgins Lake. For the record, I learned yesterday that another ramp permit request has been filed for Kelly Avenue in Michigan Central Park, 1st. Addition in Gerrish Township by a resident of Dearborn Heights, Michigan.

The HLPOA has never opposed the building of ramps . . . . per se . . . because we believe access to the waters of Higgins Lake. . . at dedicated public road ends . . . should be available to all.

However, we have steadfastly maintained that the responsibility and control of any launch facility at a public road end rests squarely with our local townships. That a feasibility study must be conducted for each and every request to assure that the ecological impact on our lake, as well as, any impingement on riparian owners are given proper weight in the ultimate decision by the DEQ.

In the instant case of Townline Road, our concerns about responsibility and control of traffic, parking, sanitation, children swimming, hours of operation and maintenance have thus far fallen on "deaf" ears at both the local and state levels. Obviously, similar concerns must now be voiced about the Kelly ramp/dredging proposal.

Rest assured, the HLPOA has not lost the battle at Townline . . . we have filed for a "contested case" hearing within the DEQ under the State's Administrative Procedures Act.

Additionally, the HLPOA is joined by the two adjacent subdivision associations and the two riparian owners on either side of Townline Road in a suit filed in Circuit Court this week charging violation of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. We're convinced this Act was not written by the Michigan Legislature with the intent of giving private citizens control over access ramps at public road ends.

We believe the issuance of a ramp construction permit at a public road end . . . to a private party . . . is no different than the "privatization" of public road ends through the use of boat hoists and stored watercraft . . . activities that already have been determined as illegal at the appellant court level in Michigan.

Lake Carrying Capacity

Another issue which tied directly to public access and boat ramp facilities is the watercraft carrying capacity of a body of water. Seemingly, Higgins Lake has exceeded "reasonable" capacity when you view the boat traffic on any holiday weekend such as last Saturday.

Under the 2002 Higgins Lake Watershed Management Plan the HLPOA assumed leadership responsibility in efforts to determine a "reasonable" carrying capacity for watercraft on our nearly 10,000 acre body of water. To this end we've spoken with other lake associations, met with DNR officials to obtain illustrative formulas which they have used on other lakes, and in the past the HLPOA has conducted manual counts of watercraft over the 4th of July.

This past weekend we initiated another approach which included the use of aerial photography in an effort to secure basic data relating to watercraft utilization during a "peak" capacity interval. So, if you observed a plane last Saturday circling the lake and making several passes over our natural resource . . . you witnessed our most recent initiative to obtain actual data toward our goal of establishing a reasonable watercraft carrying capacity for Higgins Lake.

We know we're only scratching the surface in attempting to codify this illusive concept . . . but we believe photographic data will prove beneficial in formalizing a lake carrying capacity in the future.

Keyholing:

I'll close my State of the Lake message by simply emphasizing the importance of the recent Shady View Supreme Court decision. William Carey was modest when he provided the details in his portion of the program this morning. I won't be modest.

In the face of actual resistance from the then township supervisor, and a negative decision from, the then, director of the DEQ . . . and in spite of a Michigan Court of Appeals determination to the contrary . . . the steadfast resolve of two Higgins Lake riparians and the HLPOA as co-plaintives set a president in finally gaining a Supreme Court decision which will benefit all inland lakes in Michigan.

Once again, the HLPOA has taken a leadership role and successfully defended against further degradation in the quality of Higgins Lake by preventing the continuation of a marina operation in a residential area.

Our mission: To Protect, Preserve and Enhance remains squarely in focus . . . as it has been for the past sixty-nine years.

As your President, I want to take this opportunity to personally thank the membership, as well as, each and every member of the Board for your support. I want to especially express my appreciation to Executive Secretary, Bill Case, and legal counsel, William Carey, for the tremendous effort you've given me these past twelve months. It's been truly a "team" effort!

In closing I would remind everyone that membership is the backbone of this volunteer organization . . . so please pick up a copy of our HLPOA brochure when you leave this meeting . . . and give it to a neighbor or acquaintance who is not currently a member . . . then, encourage them to join our organization.

Ken Dennings,

President Higgins Lake Property Owners' Association