MESSAGE FROM

THE

LLIA PRESIDENT

Dear Lauderdale Neighbors, The winter weather pattern seems to be

close as I write this letter. Just a couple of

weeks ago we enjoyed our last boat ride

around the lake with friends on a cool but

bright sunny afternoon. Then we had to

take the boat out of the water and store it

for the winter season. We all enjoyed an

excellent summer and many of us also

enjoyed a great fall at the lake with many

sunny days and little rain. Now the

Canadian Cold Fronts have begun to arrive

and soon we’ll have snow again and our

lakes will have “hard water”. Our beautiful lakes are great in the summer

for fishing, swimming, sailing, skiing and

boating. Winter brings new opportunities

and ways to enjoy the lakes. Ice fishing is

very popular and good size fish have been

caught through the ice. Sailors bring out

the ice boats and they literally fly across

the surface in the winter winds. Snow

mobile owners love to run the lakes as soon

as the ice freezes to a safe thickness. Dress

warmly and enjoy the winter months at the

lake. This Shorelines brings news about the

Town of LaGrange Spring 2011 election.

The good news is the candidates for Town

Board Supervisor positions do not use TV

advertising. Our next Shorelines will give

you more about the candidates, but see the

article on page 3 for more details about the

election. The Lauderdale-LaGrange Fire Department

fire fighters really appreciated the great

turnout for their Steak Fry Fund Raiser

held at the Landings in August. Turn to

page 2 and read more about the

Department and how they are concerned

for your safety.

The LLIA Fish Committee enjoyed near

perfect sunny weather to stock the walleye

on Sept 28. Read all about the event on

page 3, and the LLIA is very proud of the

10 year stocking program that has added

some 66,000 fish to Lauderdale Lakes. We

plan to do fish stocking again in 2011.

Many of you saw the floating bog in the

area of Middle Lake not to far from the

Landing Restaurant this summer. This may

have surprised you, but it was not a new

event for me. As a youth I observed many

floating bogs on Mill Lake. The entire

southern part of Mill Lake was mostly

shallow and had lots of bogs. The only

way to Don Jean Bay was through a

channel between the north side of Treasure

Island and the south side of the golf course.

That channel is closed now. Much of the

southern part of Mill Lake was dredged

over a 25 year period beginning in circa

1940 and the bogs are gone with one

exception and that bog seems to decrease

in size each year. Read about bog

formation and how they break loose on

pages 5 and 7. The spring’s area of Middle

Lake is the location with the most bogs on

our lakes now.

Take a moment to read how you may use

The Lauderdale Lakes Golf Course during

the winter months. The article on page 8

suggests hiking, cross country skiing and

snow shoeing. Remember the Club House

is closed all winter, so you are on your

own. Snowmobiles and All Terrain

Vehicles are prohibited as the grass can be

damaged.

Many of us have observed the old wood

water tower on the Golf Course. Learn

about the plan to restore the tower by

Lawrence Meyers on page 9.

Another treasure at Lauderdale Lakes is

Island Woods. See the article and pictures

on page 5 that describe the new walking

trail through the woods. The KMLT owns

the property now, however LLIA continues

to monitor the property and owned the

property before the KMLT was formed as

committee of LLIA in 2000.

This is the forth and last Shorelines for

2010. We have already established LLIA

plans for 2011. A major project is the

2011-2013 directory that will be ready for

distribution at the June 11, 2011 LLIA

Annual Meeting. LLIA Board Member

Debbie Ferrari is the Chair and she hopes

you will let her know of companies that

should be advertising in the directory.

Snow will be here soon, stay warm, and

enjoy the beauty of our Lakes during the

winter with the “HARD WATER” and

watch for the ice fishermen and ice boats.

As LLIA President, I wish each of you a

Joyous Holiday Season and the best for

2011. We will be back with our next

Shorelines in February 2011.

Don Henderson

Articles Inside This Issue:

Page

Golf Cart Alert 2

Lauderdale-LaGrange Topics 2

Fish Committee Report 3

KMLT Island Woods Preserve Trail 4

LLIA Web Site 4

Environmental Facts 5

Water Quality Report 5

Kettle Moraine Land Trust 6

Water Safety Patrol 6

Lake Management District Topics 7

Sailing Club Report 8

Lauderdale Lakes Yacht Club 8

LL Country Club Water Tower Restoration 8

Invasive Species Are A Global Issue 9

Ice Anglers Alert 10

A Publication of the Lauderdale Lakes Improvement Association (LLIA)

WWW.LLIA.ORG The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the L.L.I.A.

Shorelines

November 2010 / Volume 33 – No. 4

GOLF CART ALERT

By Rick Callaway

The Walworth county Sheriff’s Depart-

ment will be enforcing the County’s ordi-

nance for non-licensed vehicles driving on

public roads. Primarily affected will be

golf carts.

The Sheriff's office sent an officer

to a recent Town Board Meeting to

report on the complaints received

regarding non-licensed vehicles on

public roads. There are no legal

provisions for these vehicles to be

driven on public roads and the offi-

cer was notifying the Town that the

Sheriff's Department would be issu-

ing citations for violations. The violations

could be for unlicensed vehicles as well

as for Underage drivers. There are vehi-

cles that are open sided and look similar to

a golf cart that are purposely built and li-

censed to be driven on public roads. These

types of vehicles are frequently seen in

vacation areas. But a common golf cart is

not a legal vehicle to be driven on a public

road.

LAUDERDALE-LAGRANGE

TOPICS

By Don Henderson

Lauderdale-LaGrange Fire Department

All the members of the Lauderdale-

LaGrange Fire Department extend their

thanks to the 765 people that attended the

August Steak Fry. The annual event was

very successful this year, and the profit of

$9600 has been designated to purchase

new turn-out gear (the protective helmets,

jackets, pants, gloves and boots fire fight-

ers wear).

This was the first year the Department

worked with the new owners of The Lau-

derdale Landing Restaurant. Fire Chief

Duerst related “The Landing Staff were

very supportive and great to work with”.

All the Fire Department members wish to

extend their appreciation and thanks to the

Healy Family for the use of The Lauder-

dale Landing Restaurant and Grounds for

their Annual Steak Fry Fund Raiser.

Fire Chief John “Curly” Duerst

said, “A volunteer fire department

takes the dedication of many people. The

volunteer staff we have is totally dedicated

to providing the best Rescue and Fire

Fighting techniques and equipment to as-

sure the support and safety of people and

property in this area. The area property

owners and residents are true partners in

this effort by supporting our Department

through gifts and fund raisers. I extend

my personal thanks to all of you for mak-

ing the Department very successful.”

Does Your Home Have An Alarm Sys-

tem?

Many homeowners in The Town have

alarm systems to provide security and also

to send an automatic notification if a prob-

lem occurs while you are away. Alarm

Systems are effective; however it is very

beneficial to have a “Key Holder” near by.

The Key Holder is someone that lives

close to your home, and an individual that

can unlock the home if the Fire Depart-

ment responds to an alarm call. Rest as-

sured that the Fire Fighters have the tools

to enter your home and they will if there is

a fire observed. It is the alarm calls an-

swered where no problem is observed that

it is best to have a Key Holder available to

unlock your home and let the Fire Fighters

in for follow up. Chief Duerst recom-

mends that each home with an alarm have

a Key Holder to help in case of emer-

gency.

Home Fire Safety Tips.

The Lauderdale-LaGrange Fire Depart-

ment Volunteers ask all property owners

and residents to think and practice fire

safety. Test all of your Fire Alarms. Be

sure that an alarm is installed in each bed-

room. Even the fire alarms wired into

your electrical system have a battery

backup. Be sure you have new batteries in

all the alarms every year.

Furnace inspections by qualified techni-

cians assure the combustion process is

correct and the all exhaust gas is going

outside and not into the house. Many

homes have wood stoves and fireplaces

that enhance the ambiance of the home

and also lower heating costs. Fireplaces

and wood stoves are effective, but be sure

your chimney is free of creosote and the

stove vent pipes are not blocked

as you will not want a chimney

fire or a home full of smoke.

Clean them now before you

want to use them in the winter.

The Holiday Season will soon

be here. As you decorate your

home, be careful to keep deco-

rations well away from hot

lights, stoves, fireplaces, and

candles. Also be sure you extinguish can-

dles when you are not in the same room,

as you may forget they are lit and as they

burn down cause a fire to be started. If

you have a decorated Christmas tree, be

sure it is away from the fireplace and other

open flames. Fire Fighters recommend

using low wattage electric lights that will

not ignite the needles.

Be sure that your driveway is clear of tree

limbs and branches. If you have a prob-

lem, you will want the fire truck or rescue

ambulance to reach your house without

being damaged by your tree limbs. And

with winter snow soon to arrive, please

keep your driveways and private roads

plowed wide and frequently so that an am-

bulance or a fire truck may quickly reach

your home during an emergency. The

Town Highway Department plows snow

on all Town owned roads, but many

homes around Lauderdale Lakes are lo-

cated on private roads and/or long drive-

ways. The home owners have total re-

sponsibility for private driveways and

roads. Make your snow plowing arrange-

ments now to assure a clear roadway for

the emergency vehicles to reach your

home should they be needed this winter.

Call 911 if you need to report a fire, medi-

cal emergency or an accident. And last

but not least, have a fire safety plan for

your family. Review it with your family

members and practice the plan so your

family will be safe should you experience

a fire in your home.

(Continued on page 3) 2

The Walworth county Sheriff’s

Department will be enforcing the

County’s ordinance for non-licensed

vehicles driving on public roads.

Primarily affected will be

GOLF CARTS.

(Continued from page 2)

Town of LaGrange Highway

Department

Winter may seem to be far off as this arti-

cle is being written. Often the first snow-

flakes fall in October, but the first snow-

flakes seem to be far away with the warm

fall we have enjoyed this year. Still, High-

way Department Commissioner Pat

Hoffman has been preparing for winter for

several weeks. Road side ditches have

been mown, trees and brush cut back along

the roadsides, and three Town Trucks have

been prepared for snowplowing and sand-

ing.

The LaGrange Town Board passed an Or-

dinance regulating the placement of snow

on roadways by Town Residents in March

2008. Excerpts taken from ordinance no.

2008-01 follows:

SECTION 1 states there shall be no plac-

ing of snow on any roadway in the Town

of LaGrange that would create a hazardous

condition for vehicle travel and persons

shall not plow snow across the roadway

from their driveway.

SECTION 2. COSTS AND PENALTIES.

A. Penalties. Any person adjudged to have

violated any provision of this Ordinance

shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit $50

together with the costs of prosecution per

for each offense.

SECTION 3. ENFORCEMENT AND

BOND

This ordinance may be enforced by a

Town of LaGrange Road Commissioner or

the Walworth County Sheriff Department

issuing a citation pursuant to the provi-

sions this ordinance, as amended from

time to time.

The homeowner or renter is responsible

for snow placement, and you are responsi-

ble for the snow regardless if you hire a

person to plow snow for you. Snow on

your property should stay on your property

and it shall not be pushed across the road

when you clear your driveway and walk-

ways. Please inform your snow plowing

contractor if you hire this work.

Please drive with care when following a

snowplow truck

Pat has three snow plow routes and in total

over 63 miles of Town roads are cleared

and sanded with each snowfall. Driving a

snow plow truck is demanding as the snow

often swirls up across the cab and limits

visibility both forward and backward.

Wisconsin law requires motorists follow-

ing a Snow Plow Truck to stay back 500

feet. Town Highway Department employ-

ees ask all motorists to use extra caution

and please stay back the required distance.

This is especially important at intersec-

tions when snow plow trucks often need to

plow around a corner and then back up

before turning to plow the other direction.

Plowing snow off the many winding and

hilly Town roads around the Lakes is the

greatest challenge. Pat asks all of us to

please keep our boats, utility vehicles,

ATVs, cars and trucks, and garbage and

recycling containers well back from the

road side. It is important to have area

along side the road free to plow snow onto

so that the road width is not reduced dur-

ing the winter months.

The garbage and recycling containers con-

tinue to be used, and John’s Disposal Serv-

ice will make the collection on the regular

assigned day which is Monday for most of

the Lake properties. PLEASE ASK A

NEIGHBOR THAT LIVES NEAR YOU

YEAR AROUND TO MOVE YOUR

CONTAINERS BACK TO YOUR

HOUSE AFTER COLLECTION IF YOU

ARE THERE ONLY ON WEEKENDS.

The containers may interfere with snow

plowing and certainly they detract from the

beauty of our property when left next to

the road all week.

2011 Town of LaGrange Election

The Second, Third and Fourth Side Super-

visor positions will up for election in 2011.

Elections are held the first Tuesday in

April, which is April 5, 2011. Candidates

elected to the Town Board serve two year

terms of office Candidates must file for-

mal nomination papers to be on the elec-

tion ballot and the closure date is January

3, 2011. Candidates must be Town of La-

Grange residents. The first day nomination

papers may be obtained from the Town

Clerk, Crystal Hoffmann, is December 1,

2010 and they must be filed with the Town

Clerk before the closure date. Don Sukala

is the current Second Side Supervisor,

Rick Callaway is the current Third Side

Supervisor, and Jeff Schramm is the cur-

rent Fourth Side Supervisor.

FISH COMMITTEE REPORT

By Greg Schindler

& Jim Frenchy

The annual LLIA fish stocking this year

took place on September 28th. This year

stocking was walleye and next year will

again be smallmouth bass. We contracted

for 2700 fish 6" to 8"and were surprised

that a large number were in the 10'' range.

In six trips the fish were released in all

three lakes and Don Jean Bay.

The release was a success with the help of

volunteers: Greg Schindler, Jim Fren-

chy, Don Henderson, John Nason, Bill

Gregory, Justin Jankowski, Larry Cady,

Randy Norris, Ron Mueller, Dave DeAn-

gles, Merle D. Schinke, Charlie Lawrence,

Pete Spaulding, Larry Zerwas. Ron Olejic-

zak and our new Chairperson, Brian

Walsh.

Funds for this year’s fish stocking were

provided by membership donations to the

stocking program and funds specifically

ear marked for walleye from a Tim Walsh

Memorial donation.

This is our second stocking of walleye

and some may now be catchable from our

release a few years ago. If your lucky to

catch one, remember the size limit is 15"

so practice catch and release.

(Continued on page 4)

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

2010

DATE EVENT

11-30 NABA Scholarship App. Due

12-1 Election Nominating Papers

1-3 Closer Nominating Papers.

1-16 LLYC Winter Bowl

2-5 LLMD Dir. Mtg.

4-5 LaGrange Town Supv.

Election.

3

(Continued from page 3)

The committee would like to also thank our

commercial supporters for their donations

of gifts for the “Kids Jamboree in July:

Home Run Inn of Chicago, Carbellas of

Hoffmann Estates and Sherwin Williams

Paint Co.

Big thanks to all who have supported this

effort to maintain and improve our fishery.

KETTLE MORAINE LAND

TRUST COMPLETES AND

NAMES ISLAND WOODS

PRESERVE TRAIL

By Herb Sharpless

During the spring, summer and

fall of this year, Kettle Moraine

Land Trust expanded the trail

located in Island Woods Pre-

serve from 1/8th mile to 3/8th

mile. The trail follows the con-

tours of three larger kettles lo-

cated within the preserve, thus

it is now named the Three Ket-

tle Ridge Trail. The trail starts

just west of the Oak Park Road

parking area where two of the parking

spaces are reserved for trail users. The ex-

pansion connects the trail with both Oak

Park Road and West Shore Drive, enabling

a nice hiking loop around the

peninsula.

Three workdays were organ-

ized to help with the trail ex-

pansion. The first was an edu-

cation activity sponsored by

KMLT and LLIA with Elk-

horn Area High School where

18 Advanced Placement sci-

ence class students and their 4

teachers helped control garlic

mustard along the trail, learn

about water quality testing

from Dave DeAngelis and Bud Vance, and

helped haul wood chips supplied by the

Town of LaGrange from the town compost

site to the surface of the new trail. Work-

ing in shifts, this group covered almost half

of the new trail while learning about ero-

sion control and the native plant habitat

provided by the kettles.

A second workday was advertised at the

LLIA Annual Meeting and several

community members came to help.

Walker Johnson and Don Henderson filled

bags with wood chips and Josh DeAngelis

brought some of his baseball team to help

haul chips to cover the steeper portions of

the expanded trail. Ben and Josephine

Johnson helped with the hauling, while

Phyllis Apelbaum welcomed the volunteers

and made sure they stayed hydrated!

Later in the summer, Herb talked some of

his visiting relatives into helping him com-

plete the wood chip trail cover. After sev-

eral hot mornings, the whole trail extension

was covered with a layer of wood chips!

Herb also was helped by Josh Kline from

Whitewater, who completed some of his

high school volunteer service hours by

working with Herb to prepare for each of

the workdays, and supporting Betsy Ingle

with the Fish Jamboree critters displays.

About the time the trail extension was com-

pleted, the property the trail crosses to

reach West Shore Drive was sold. The new

owner is willing to have the trail continue

to cross his property, but he also wants to

limit his liability. KMLT is working with

him to create an easement for the trail area,

enabling the land trust liability insurance to

cover trail users as they traverse the last 50

feet of trail. When this easement is com-

pleted, KMLT will install a second boot

brush station near the trail entrance on

West Shore Drive.

One request to trail users who bring a pet

along for the hike, please keep them on a

leash so they stay within the treated areas

adjacent to the trail. Letting pets wander

through areas not treated, brings seeds of

invasive species seeds into the treated area!

Most of the trail is clearly defined by wood

chip cover, and some trees along the trail

have surveyor tape bands to help mark the

trail location. You will note there are a

couple of brush piles along the trail. These

will get burned during the winter, when

snow cover makes for a safe bonfire.

Please enjoy the trail with its scenic views

throughout the year.

IMPROVEMENT

ASSOCIATION

WEB SITE

By John Antonicic

The last couple of months have been rela-

tively quiet. Most of the activity has been

keeping the web site updated with the cur-

rent meeting notes and shorelines articles.

I have been doing some behind the scenes

clean up on the web site to purge old docu-

ments and some files that don’t seem to be

necessary to the sites functioning. I am do-

ing so cautiously so that nothing gets bro-

ken.

You may have noticed the fourth menu but-

ton looks different. What was FUN AND

GAMES I have changed to SPECIAL

TOPICS. While I have not changed the

contents under the button, I wanted to see if

I could figure out how to make a change in

the button for some possible future use of

this area of the web site.

Don’t forget to check the scrolling marquee

on the home page for time sensitive mes-

sages.

Visit our web site at: WWW.LLIA.ORG. I

can be emailed at: jantonicic@hotmail.

com or telephone 630-964-0393.

(Continued on page 5) 4

(Continued from page 4)

ENVIRONMENT FACTS

By Abe Goldsmith

Credit: Smithsonian Magazine

o 16.1 billion pounds: the total amount

of fish that commercial fleets kill or

fatally injure before discarding at sea

each year.

o 3 pounds: the amount of wild mack-

erel or anchovies needed to produce

one pound of farmed shrimp or

salmon.

o 82.4 percent: decline in the spawning

population of western bluefin tuna

since 1970.

o 33 percent: amount of U.S. crude oil

production from offshore sources.

o 0.7 parts per billion: concentration of

weathered crude oil in seawater that

kills or damages Pacific herring eggs.

o 100 percent: projected increase by

2100 in the number of coastal dead

zones, where bacterial spurred by pol-

lution deplete oxygen from the water

and make it impossible for marine

animals to survive.

o 0.7 percent: proportion of the world’s

oceans that are part of marine pro-

tected areas.

o 15 million years ago: the last time

carbon dioxide levels in the atmos-

phere are as high as they are today.

o 2037 projected year: when the Arctic

will become almost entirely free of

summer sea ice due to melting.

o 2050 projected year: when coral reefs

worldwide will shrink because of in-

creased ocean acidity, as atmospheric

carbon dioxide from burning fossil

fuels dissolves in sea water.

WATER QUALITY REPORT

BY Dave DeAngelis Water testing update

With 17 sets of test results in the books so

far this year, we are close to the end of the

water testing season. One of the most im-

portant tests we run is the Secchi Disc test

for water clarity. This data is collected bi-

weekly from the time the ice thaws until it

freezes. The reason water clarity is so im-

portant is that it affects many of the char-

acteristics of the lake that are important to

us. It not only controls the amount of sun-

light that penetrates the water, but it also

has a direct impact on the algae bloom and

the oxygen levels that are so important to

the plants and fish that live in our lakes.

Below is a recap of how the water clarity

trends compare dating back to 2006. The

data below reflects the average readings

taken during peak season (July-August). Comparison of water clarity readings

(seechi disc) in lauderdale lakes 2006-

2010 Green Middle Mill

2006 8.9 7.1 5.0

2007 8.1 9.0 5.8

2008 11.0 8.2 6.5

2009 11.3 8.5 5.1

2010 9.1 7.5 6.1

Note: Quantities are in FEET While the 2010 data seems to show the wa-

ter clarity has declined in 2010, the wonder-

ful weather this past summer (and fall) made

for a busy year on the lake. Boat traffic,

while always busy on weekends, was espe-

cially busy during the week days this sum-

mer as well. I suspect that with fewer “quiet

days” on the lake this past summer, the sedi-

ment in the lake didn’t have a chance to set-

tle, causing the clarity readings to be slightly

lower than 2008 and 2009. On more than

one occasion this past summer, I had diffi-

culty taking readings during the week due to

severe wave action caused by heavy boat

traffic. The most recent readings taken October

23rd are as follows: Green Lake – 16 ft,

Middle Lake – 15.5 ft and Mill Lake – 12.0

ft. Clearly (no pun intended), the water clar-

ity in all three lakes has rebounded back to

the readings we saw in spring suggesting

that the lakes are in very good shape. Bog, bubbles and more bubbles! While the hot summer made for a busy boat-

ing season this past summer, it also caused

some interesting phenomenon. Over the past

summer, we’ve seen more than a few sec-

tions of bog come loose from the bottom of

the lake. In August, a couple of bog sec-

tions made a jailbreak from Bubbling

Springs and floated their way into the open

waters in Middle Lake. Fortunately, the

folks at the Lake District were able to scoop

up the bog sections and safely relocate them

on the edge of the reeds in Bubbling Springs

where they seem to be staying put. I was

fishing in Bubbling Springs a few weeks

ago and came upon a large section of bog

that was nearly blocking the entire channel.

Earlier this summer, another section of bog

came loose and blocked the channel in the

exact same spot. Another related phenomenon you may have

noticed this past summer involves large

amounts of bubbles escaping from a large

area of the lake floor all at once - kind of

like a giant lake burp. A neighbor described

this to me in late July and I wasn’t quite

sure what they were talking about. A few

weeks later, I was fishing off my pier on a

rare quiet late afternoon. Suddenly, thou-

sands of bubbles erupted like a Jacuzzi

across a large area (50 ft X 50 ft). If you’ve

not seen this, it only lasts a few seconds, but

it really takes you by surprise. I couldn’t help but bounce this off of some

of my contacts at the DNR. Initially, I

thought they’d have little or no explanation,

but as usual, they had an explanation. Ap-

parently, the warm summer made for warm

water in our lakes, especially in the shallow

areas. These warm temperatures enhanced

the rate of decomposition of the dead plants,

leaves, muck, etc. at the bottom of the lakes.

As this material decomposes on the bottom

of the lake, gasses are formed – primarily

carbon dioxide and methane. The muck on

the bottom of the lakes does a good job of

trapping these gasses until enough gas forms

and it escapes to the surface. The natural

water currents in our lakes, along with the

water being pushed around by boat traffic,

causes both warm and cool layers of water

to glide above the lake bottom in the shal-

low areas. When warm water is involved,

the sudden change in temperature causes the

gasses to expand and ultimately escape from

the muck. The combination of a large area

of warm water sweeping over an area with a

lot of gas accumulated in the muck causes

lots of bubbles to escape all at once. When I mentioned the bog chunks coming

loose, they attributed that to the same phe-

nomenon. The accelerated rate of decompo-

sition can rot the root system that holds the

bog to the bottom of the lake. The resulting

gasses accumulate under the bog and even-

tually launch it upwards.

I hope you had a great summer! Bring on the

ice!

(Continued on page 6) 5

(Continued from page 5)

KETTLE MORAINE LAND

TRUST

By Jerry Petersen

Herb Sharpless has discussed our new Is-

land Woods trail extension elsewhere in

this issue of Shorelines, so I’ll just mention

a couple other activities of the Trust.

1. We continue to partner with the

Lake District to protect the native

plants on their Don Jean Bay wetland.

At the same time, we fully support the

municipal uses (including the ski

shows) on the property. We are work-

ing with the District on a five year na-

tive plant restoration plan. This plan

calls for boardwalks to protect the

plants. Boardwalks are the interna-

tionally accepted “best management

practice” for public access to wet-

lands. A 48 inch wide boardwalk

from highway 12/67 to the shore

(shown above) was completed this

summer. We plan to continue work-

ing with the District to get County ap-

proval for this boardwalk, as well as

for the repair/replacement of the sec-

ond boardwalk used by the water

safety patrol and weed harvester

teams. This repair/replacement is des-

perately needed.

2. The Trust has recently moved into

our new permanent office in the Lake

District’s Community Center on Ster-

lingworth Drive. This is the building,

near the 8th tee of the golf course,

which was originally the caretaker’s

home. As shown at the right, our of-

fice will be in the eastern portion of

this building. We will share the build-

ing with the Water Safety Patrol, Dis-

trict Chairman, and the Lake Improve-

ment Association. We greatly appre-

ciate Lutherdale’s willingness to house

us temporarily this summer until this

space became available. This new

office provides both more space, and

greater community access. We ex-

pect to have our new sign on the

building by mid-November. Drop in

when you see activity there to examine

the space and to greet Maggie Zoell-

ner, our Program Manager, who will

be there when she isn’t out in the field.

Maggie and I both have desks there.

Our mission is “To preserve the

natural heritage of the southern

Kettle Moraine lakes area and

nearby lands through partnerships

in land conservancy and resource

management.” We continue to need

your support. As you make your year-

end donation decisions, please keep us

in mind. Our regular donor card is

printed below.

WATER SAFETY PATROL

By Nestor Dyhdalo

As many lake homeowners are storing their

boats for the winter, so is the water patrol.

We are also in the process of moving our

office to the district-owned LakeView

property. This will provide more office

space, access to high-speed internet and

sleeping facilities for officers that work

patrol shifts into the early morning hours.

It has been a busy year for the patrol from

both a training and activity standpoint.

This years marks the 10-year anniversary

of the Lake District’s start-up of a water

patrol. Here is a recap of some of the

highlights of this past year:

• The joint oversight and funding of the

patrol by the Town of La Grange and

the Lake District continues to work

well

• On June 3, we participated in a mass

casualty tornado training drill with the

LaGrange Rescue Squad at Lutherdale

• Taught three DNR-sanctioned boating

safety classes

• Sent two officers (max allowed) to the

DNR boating regulations training

• Participated in Operation Dry Water, a

program organized and endorsed by

the National Association of State

Boating Law Administrators

(NASBLA) and the DNR for OBWI

(Operating Boat While Intoxicated)

awareness and enforcement

• Were able to dispatch five boats on

(Continued on page 7)

KETTLE MORAINE LAND TRUST (KMLT) Yes, I’d like to contribute to the KMLT effort to protect our lakes. All contributions are tax

deductible.

Name _________________________________ ________________________ ( Permanent Phone ) Permanent Address Street ____________________________________________ City, State, Zip __________________________________________________ Lake Address Street _________________________________________________ City, State, Zip _________________________________________________________

Pier # (e.g. LL#) ________ E-Mail _________________________

Matching funds requested Amount of contribution

$________

Please make check payable to:

Kettle Moraine Land Trust

Mail with this form to:

KMLT

P.O. Box 176

Contribution Category:

Environmental Leader ($1000 and above) __

Environmentalist ($500 to $999) __

Guardian ($250 to $499) __

Park Ranger ($100 to $249) __

Naturalist ($50 to $99) __

Conservationist ($25 to $49) __

6

(Continued from page 6)

Lauderdale Lakes during the evening

of the annual fireworks display: two

from our lakes, one from Pleasant

Lake, the fire and rescue boat plus a

boar from the DNR; we hope to re-

peat this next year but will be tweak-

ing the positioning of these vessels

differently at the conclusion of the

fireworks display

• Experimented with stationing at offi-

cer at the public launches on one of

the holiday weekends, the cost of

which was underwritten by the Town

from the boat launch fees; we plan to

expand this program next year

• Added series of stairs from the lake to

the road on our property near Ster-

lingworth bay; previously this had

been just a dirt path going up to the

road, and a very treacherous one at

that especially when wet

• Sent an officer to an U.S. Coast

Guard accident investigation training

class in Milwaukee, paid for by U.S.

Coast Guard, NASBLA, and the

DNR.

• Sent the above officer to a U.S. Coast

Guard boat accident reconstruction

class held in Virginia; class was

funded by Town of Delavan Police

Dept, U.S. Coast Guard and our pa-

trol

• On the good news/bad news front, we

did not make the DNR metric in terms

of the number of citations per total

patrol hours; we were short by about

8%; the good news in that it under-

scores the focus of the patrol officers

on safety, education and service but it

also means that we will not receive

the level of reimbursement that we

were expecting from the DNR.

As we finish packing, we are also prepar-

ing for the DNR audit in February and

after that, spring is right around the corner

and we get to do this all over again.

$1,000 Boating Safety/Enforcement

Scholarship Available to College Students

The Northern Association of Boating Ad-

ministrators (NABA) scholarship applica-

tions are due November 30, 2010 for the

spring 2011 semester. NABA annually

awards one or more $1,000 scholarships

to outstanding student(s) from colleges

and universities across the northern states.

To qualify for the scholarship, students

must be full-time college or university stu-

dents majoring in a recreational boating

safety-related field such as, law enforce-

ment/criminal justice, natural resources/

environmental science, education, public

relations/marketing or journalism.

To find out more about this scholarship

opportunity and how to apply, visit the

NABA Scholarship brochure at: http://dnr.

wi.gov/org/es/enforcement/DOCS/

NABAscholarship20102011.pdf

For more information, contact Roy

Zellmer at 608-264-8970.

Information supplied by: Wisconsin

Department of Natural Resources (mailto:

widnr@service.govdelivery.com]

LAUDERDALE LAKES LAKE

MANAGEMENT

DISTRICT TOPICS

By Peter Van Kampen &

Scott Mason

Leak in the Lake

The same engineering firm that did the

work for the new culverts has

been engaged to help with a

permanent solution to the

potential of the lake washing

out. The shore that holds

some of the Sterlingworth

Condos is of poor soil quality

which resulted in a serious

threat of washout last year.

We will be working with the

engineering firm as well as

the Town, and Sterlingworth

Assoc. to come up with a

permanent fix to this situa-

tion. It will take some time

however since permits may have to be is-

sued by the DNR, County etc. We’ll keep

you posted.

Legal News

The same party living on Plantation Road

that caused the Lake District and the Lau-

derdale Aqua Skiers to go to court has

gone to the county with a new complaint

on the Lake District. This complaint has

resulted in at least two citations from the

County, a court appearance in October

and a trial date in December. The com-

plaints are for the bleachers used by the

Aqua Skiiers and the repair of a board-

walk to access the Water Patrol Boat and

the Weed Harvesting equipment. These

people continue to pressure the County to

act on their behalf because they don’t

want skiers and they don’t want the patrol

boat or weed harvesting equipment across

from their property. All of these activities

were present before this party purchased

property on the Lake. It’s like moving

next to an airport then complaining about

the noise. Since we have no alternative to

using this property for the patrol and the

weed harvesting we will continue to have

these court costs.

More Info on the Floating Bogs

This season we saw several large bogs

floating in Middle Lake near the Land-

ings. These bogs are made up of plant

roots that have accumulated for hundreds

of years. This area of the Lake was 3-4

feet shallower before the dam was in-

stalled and grew marsh grasses like you

see at the west end of Don Jean Bay, the

area that was never dredged. The flooding

of the area when the dam was installed

changed the type of plants that now grow

in this area but the roots of the former

flora remain. The reasons that they come

the surface after all this time is that the

water warms up in the late summer and as

the bogs are slowly decaying tiny gas bub-

bles are accumulating in them. These gas

bubbles expand in the warmer water and

begin lifting the bog. Once loosened from

the bottom the boat wake contributes to

the breaking loose of the bog. The District

has devised a plan for dealing with the

bogs which involves you. If you see one

contact the water patrol, 742-4300. They

are now carrying flags on the patrol

(Continued on page 8) 7

(Continued from page 7)

boats to mark the bogs. The Water Patrol

will notify the weed harvesting crew who

will move the bogs to a area away from

boat traffic. The bogs will breakdown

over the winter. It is important to mark

these bogs since they can be very large,

(one this season was 4 feet thick and over

20 feet long) and weigh many tons. A boat

going fast is likely to skim over the top,

hook the motor shaft to the bog and come

to a very quick stop. This could throw the

occupants about like a head on car crash.

So do your part and immediately call the

water patrol if you see one.

Lauderdale Lakes Golf Course winter

concerns

The Lake District is requesting that no one

drives on the golf course or the Don Jean

Bay wetlands with snowmobiles or any

other motor vehicles this winter. We just

did a major restoration on some of the

Don Jean Bay shoreline and snowmobiles

will kill the new plants and damage the

shoreline buffer.

Last winter, the golf course sustained

damage by snowmobiles spinning their

track and using the sides of greens as a

jump. Not only do the tracks of these high

performance machines quickly burn

through the snow cover and tear out turf,

but the compaction of snow on greens and

tees kills the delicate bent grass beneath.

The Walworth County Sheriffs department

understands that snowmobiles are not per-

mitted on any nearby golf courses includ-

ing Lauderdale and will enforce trespass-

ing and vandalism violations if observed.

On the other hand the Lake District en-

courages our residents to enjoy the golf

course during the winter. The community

is welcome to hike, sled, cross country ski

and snow shoe. Bear in mind that no staff

is on site and these activities are at your

own risk.

LAUDERDALE LAKES

SAILING CLUB

By Peter Van Kampen

We had another great sailing season this

past summer. Lots of boats turning out,

lots of nice comments from specta-

tor boats on how nice it is to see all

those sailboats on the Lake on Sun-

day mornings.

Des Johnson was named Sailor of the

Year for his consistent high performance,

never missed a race this year and has been

sailing with the Club for over 35 years.

Des is 85 this year proving that sailing is a

sport that you can enjoy for a lifetime. We

have a saying in the Club, “when I grow

up I wanna be like Des”

Results of the 2010 Sailing season are as

follows:

• Yacht Club Regatta Series: Peter Van

Kampen, Skip Cartland, Mike Jaeger,

Joe Kavarik

• Season Series: Peter Van Kampen,

Mike Jaeger, Jack Sorenson, (tie) Jim

Johnson & Rob Paddor

Thanks all to a wonderful season.

LAUDERDALE LAKES

YACHT CLUB

By Commodore Barry Lutz

We had beautiful weather for our golf out-

ing at Lauderdale Lake Country Club on

Saturday August 21st. There were forty

four golfers, they could only use four

clubs in a scramble which made the game

interesting. Eighty four were there for din-

ner served by the Lake County Food Pan-

try and it was outstanding. A fun day for

all while raising money for the Elkhorn

Food Pantry. After dinner we held the an-

nual meeting and elected the officers for

2011. Commodore, Barry Lutz, Vice

Commodore, Nancy Thelen, Secretary,

Audrey Keller, Safety and Education, Jean

Henderson, and Treasure, Loretta

Auchinleck.

Our final event for the summer was a din-

ner dance held at Geneva National. We

had 82 fun loving people attend. After an

hour of mingling and cocktails we had

dinner while listening to the Just Friends

Band. After dinner the dance floor was

full all night since the band played the

type of music everyone loved to dance

too.

Our plans for the winter event have been

finalized. We are going to shake the win-

ter blues by having a bowling party at

Two Seasons Bowl in Elkhorn, Sunday

January 16, 2011, at 6:30 PM. Non mem-

bers and non bowlers are welcome, so

bring your friends and join us, we will

have a blast. Call Barry Lutz or Jeri Lutz

at 262-742-4676 by January 10, 2011.

I want to thank everyone for all their help

this year. Without a lot of hard work from

so many people behind the scenes, the

Yacht Club events would never happen.

Thanks again, we are looking forward to

the 2011 season .

LAUDERDALE LAKES

COUNTRY CLUB'S

WATER TOWER

TO BE RESTORED.

By Lawrence A. Myers

The Lawrence A. Myers' family, long time

residents of Lauderdale Lakes, have set up

a corporation (L.L.C.C. Water Tower Res-

toration Corp.) to restore the water tower

that sits midway on the 8th fairway of the

Lauderdale Lakes Country Club. Mr.

Myers stated "I want to restore the water

tower in memory of my Grandfather, Ed-

ward H. Ravenscroft, who owned the golf

course from the mid 1930's until just after

the Second World War." When Mr.

Ravenscroft bought the course that was

owned by a group who also owned the

Sterlingworth Hotel. The group was about

to default on notes held by State Bank of

Elkhorn so he stepped in to prevent the

golf course from going into bankruptcy.

He is also responsible for designing of the

current layout of the course.

Other projects contemplated by the Myers'

family are the construction of a park next

to the water tower which can be used as a

place of relaxation and for small events.

They plan to restore the shelter behind the

2nd tee plus update the tee boxes and peri-

scopes located at the 1st and 9th tees. As

for the water tower itself, it is projected

that the tank will be replaced and the cat-

walk around the tower restored. Lighting

will illuminate the tower at night. There

are plans to have a weather warning sys-

tem at the top of the tower to warn boaters

when a storm is approaching. Larry stated

that since he has retired, golf has become

a more important part of his life. Along

with plenty of happy memories playing at

L.L.C.C. as a child and the family rela-

(Continued on page 9) 8

(Continued from page 8)

tionship to the history of the course, all

make this an attractive project to under-

take. Work has already started, and they

hope to finish before the golf season starts

next year.

Mr. Myers is asking for anyone who has

pictures or articles regarding the golf

course or water tower from the 1920's,

30'S or 40's to please contact him at

Myers1231@MSN.com or

847-757-2099.

INVASIVE SPECIES ARE A

GLOBAL ISSUE

By Audrey Green

Thanks to lake protection groups and con-

cerned municipalities, there were Clean

Boats, Clean Waters (CB,CW), watercraft

inspector teams working at boat launches

on Lauderdale Lakes, Pleasant Lake, Pot-

ters Lake and Delavan Lake throughout

the summer. As the County Lake Special-

ist, I worked at 11 different launches

around the County. In addition, we had

help from the DNR Water guard staff. All

totaled, Walworth CB,CW watercraft in-

spectors were able to spend 775 hours at

boat launches and talked to over 6,000

people about aquatic invasive species

(AIS) prevention.

Every watercraft inspector worked hard to

educate the public about AIS and help

boaters and anglers understand the new

laws that will help protect our lakes and

streams from introductions of new aquatic

invasive species (AIS). We all answered

lots of questions too. People were very

interested in which AIS are in Wisconsin

and Walworth County and which species

we are most concerned about that are not

here.

One question that people often ask about

AIS is; “where do they came from?” In

fact, many invasive species we see in Wis-

consin do originate in Asia or Europe.

However, some invasive species in Wis-

consin are native to a different part of the

United States. This surprises some peo-

ple, but it happens more often then you

would think. Another fact that many

people find interesting is that other coun-

ties are experiencing invasive species

that have been introduced from the

United States.

Large mouth bass is an excellent exam-

ple. As one of our highly valued native

sport fish it may be hard to imagine that

they could be anything but good. Ac-

cording to the Global Invasive Species

Database, countries world wide felt that

our Large-mouth Bass would be an excel-

lent addition to their own fisheries and

they decided to stock them. While many

anglers have no doubt enjoyed the excite-

ment of landing these tasty fish, they have

also caused some big problems by out

competing native fish which in some cases

resulted in large population declines.

Other fish native to the U.S. that are con-

sidered invasive species in Europe are

Brook trout and Red Shiners. Another sur-

prise is that some of our local native fish

like Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Northern

Pike, and Bass are causing issues in other

States. While they may not be as big of a

problem as some AIS, according to the

2001 Oregon Aquatic Nuisance Species

Management Plan, they can compete with

native species for food and space. They

can also hybridize and prey on

natives and may introduce

pathogens.

Several of our native aquatic

plants that have been used in

aquariums and ponds have also

been introduced to other coun-

ties where they are now consid-

ered AIS. Coontail and Elodea

are two examples. Both are na-

tive to Wisconsin lakes and while

they can be a valuable part of the

lake community, they can also grow to

nuisance levels here. When they are intro-

duced to a new area they can become an

even bigger issue.

As I have mentioned before, there are a lot

of different AIS to be concerned about,

over 185 in the Great Lakes and others

moving towards Wisconsin from other

states. These numbers only reflect the

aquatic species of course. If terrestrial spe-

cies are counted the number climbs much

higher. Here in Wisconsin, we definitely

have our share of problems with invasive

species and it can be over whelming at

times. But it may help to realize that every

state in the U.S and most counties

throughout the world are also dealing with

the problems associated with invasive spe-

cies.

Here is Wisconsin, we will continue to

protect against new invasive species.

When we lose a battle, and a new lake is

found to have zebra mussels or some other

exotic species is discovered, we will feel

that loss. But, when you consider the huge

number of invasive species in the world,

compared to the number present in Wis-

consin, I think that we are making a posi-

tive difference.

9

Bud Vance, Shorelines Publisher / Editor 847-459-8127

Lauderdale Lakes Improvement Association Officers

Don Henderson, President, 262-742-4970

Ron Mueller, Vice President 847-635-5668

Herb Sharpless, Treasurer, 630-497-5152

Patricia Cady, Secretary, 262-742-4190

Floyd Pochowski, Executive Board, 262-742-3568

Dave DeAngelis, Executive Board , 847-223-6268

PRESORTED

STANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

SKOKIE, IL.

PERMIT NO. 245

Lauderdale Lakes Improvement Association

P.O. Box 542

Elkhorn, WI 53121

Shorelines

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