Don’t Shed on Me

You may have solved the problem of a shedding dog by making sure all your carpets, furniture, and clothes are the same color as your dog’s fur, but it’s not that simple with a “shedding” shoreline. If you live in the watershed of Rock Lake (and approximately 3000 households do), “fur” from your property may reach the lake. And it doesn’t all match the color of the lake, unfortunately.

Spring is an important time for all to be aware of what actions affect what washes into the lake. If you are planning landscaping at or near the shoreline, call Patricia Cicero at (920) 674-7121 for help in choosing lake-friendly plants. Before you put your pier and boat hoists in, be sure that they are free of rust. Use fertilizer sparingly, being aware of weather conditions that might wash it into streets, other pavement, sewers, or directly into the lake.

If you receive a mailing from RLIA in March or April, you are in the watershed. (If you know that you are in the watershed but did not receive a mailing, please let us know.) It goes without saying that all lakefront property owners are eager to do all they can to preserve the water quality of Rock Lake, but it takes the involvement of more than those few hundred people.

You, too, can get involved. Join the RLIA. Guests are always welcome at the board meetings, the second Wednesday of every month, 7:00 p.m., Lake Mills Library upper room. The next meeting is May 8. A person from the DNR and another from the Audubon Society will be there to contribute to a discussion about the area’s resident Canada geese, who shed an inordinate amount of “fur-tilizer” into Rock Lake!

Making Waves,
May 1, 2002
Johanna Chworowsky