Successful Clean-Up Event at Sand Point Beach Park

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - November 6, 2018 - News, Prior Lake

Nearly 50 volunteers worked up a sweat while cleaning up Sand Point Beach Park in Prior Lake on Oct. 28. The annual Fall Clean Water Clean-Up was hosted by the City of Prior Lake and the Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District.

Volunteers pitched in to rake leaves and pull buckthorn to help keep Prior Lake clean and local Scouts planted over 50 shrubs at the park around the newly retrofitted stormwater ponds and water-cleaning iron-enhanced sand filter. Volunteers included many neighbors, local community members and local Scout Troop 339 and Pack 339. Many local businesses generously provided door prizes and volunteers were treated to refreshments, including donuts donated by Edelweiss Bakery.

Volunteers removed a truckload of buckthorn and raked over 2.5 tons of leaves. Excellent work in only a couple hours, many hands makes light work! Many photos from the event are posted on the Watershed District’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/PLSLWD/

Why rake up leaves & remove buckthorn? Leaves and other organic matter are carried by stormwater into storm drains and end up in lakes and streams. Once in the waterbodies they release the nutrient phosphorus, which feeds algae. Algae growth is a serious threat to water quality, aquatic life, property values and water recreation. Buckthorn is an invasive, non-native shrub that takes over wooded areas, by outcompeting native woodland plants which leads to more soil erosion and degraded wildlife habitat.

Buckthorn is quite obvious this time of year, as it’s one of the few things in the woods that is still green. If you have buckthorn in your backyard that you would like to remove, now is a good time! The City of Prior Lake even has buckthorn pullers available for residents to borrow at no cost. To check out a puller, contact Barb at the Maintenance Center at 952-447-9896.

Missed out on the fun? The District and the City will be hosting another clean-up next spring. Stay tuned by checking the Watershed District or City websites or email kkeller-miller@plslwd.org to be added to the email notification list.

View Full Article CWCU, Prior Lake, Sand Point, buckthorn, clean up, clean water clean up, volunteer

Crystal Bay Obstruction Removal – Preps Way for Future Carp Seines

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - October 8, 2018 - News, Carp Management, Prior Lake

Due to a last minute schedule change, the Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District has an opportunity to remove some obstructions on the bottom of Crystal Bay TODAY (Oct 8th) in anticipation of a future carp seine (removal) at this location. The District has seen carp group up in this bay multiple times over the last three years, but obstructions on the bottom have prevented any efforts to remove them. The planned obstruction removals for later today will help the District take advantage of the carps’ migratory behavior and aggregations in this bay, and will advance the carp management plan for Prior Lake.

What will be happening?

Jeff Riedemann, the commercial fisherman engaged for this project, will be running a chain along the bottom of the bay, concentrating on the southwest side where carp have grouped up in the past. When they hit a “snag”, they will be pulling the obstruction up and moving it to a different location in the bay that is further away from the potential seine area.

Will any tree branches or debris be removed from the lake?
Since there are zebra mussels (an invasive species) in Prior Lake, the debris will not be removed from the lake to minimize any risk of moving this species to uninfested waters. Leaving woody debris on the bottom of the lake is also beneficial to macroinvertebrates and fish.

Are carp going to be removed from the lake today?

At this time, we do not anticipate that any carp will be removed during the obstruction removals. However, if a large congregation of carp are present in the bay, the commercial fisherman may temporarily trap them with nets in the location to hold them there until preparations can be made for their removal.

What are the next steps for this project?

With Crystal Bay cleared of obstructions, this provides the District with another potential area to seine (remove) carp in Prior Lake. Later this fall and winter, the District will take opportunities as they arise to remove additional carp from Prior Lake. These efforts are part of a comprehensive approach to manage carp populations. More information can be found by clicking here: Integrated Pest Management Plan for Carp.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or check out our carp management website page at: https://www.plslwd.org/projects-and-programs/projects/carp-management/.

View Full Article Crystal Bay, Mud Bay, Prior Lake, Upper Prior, carp, carp seine

Successful Grand Opening Event at Sand Point Beach

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - October 5, 2018 - News, Prior Lake

Many thanks to those who were at the Sand Point Beach Park Clean Water Project Grand Opening yesterday! It was a huge success & it was awesome to see so many smiling faces and helping hands.

Several groups helped ‘Plant the Prairie’ groups including: Jr. Naturalists, Boy Scouts and a Robotic’s Team, along with other volunteers. The native prairie plants have deep roots which absorb excess nutrients and provide erosion control. Thank you to all who helped and were willing to get their hands dirty!

The night followed with caramel apples, a wonderful explanation of the project and a ceremonial ribbon cutting with Prior Lake Mayor Kirt Briggs and PLSLWD Board Manager Curt Hennes. The weather held off and we couldn’t have asked for a better evening! Check out our Facebook page for some great photos from the event.

View Full Article Lower Prior, Prior Lake, Sand Point, Sand Point Beach

Shorts Family Stabilizes their Prior Lake Shoreline with Long Roots of Native Plants

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - September 13, 2018 - News, Prior Lake, Spring Lake

Article written by Scott SWCD staff.

Once the water receded after the flooding in 2014, Chris Short went out to survey the damage in his backyard. It was worse than he expected. The retaining wall that was installed in 1990 to keep the shoreline in place, was now sitting in a heap on the edge of Prior Lake. The photo at right was taken in August 2016.

The high-water levels during the 2014 flood caused the wall to collapse, leaving the bank completely exposed. The edge of the lawn that had been against the wall was now breaking off in chunks and falling into the lake. He knew he needed to take action because the erosion was not going to stop on its own. Chris did not necessarily like the idea of putting in another retaining wall because the last one failed when it was needed most.

Chris wanted something that would look nice and require minimal maintenance, plus stand up to flooding, wave action, and overland flow. After asking around to see who could help him with his shoreline, Chris was directed to the Scott Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) in Jordan. He attended a free shoreline stabilization workshop they held in the fall of 2016 and began to work with Scott SWCD employee Todd Kavitz.

Todd proposed reshaping the shoreline to make it less steep, then planting the area to native plants. Native plants have very long roots, which make them great shoreline stabilizers because those roots hold the soil in place. Plus, once established, native plantings have beautiful flowers and are great wildlife habitat. Chris liked the idea because it would “create a natural setting while helping to clean up Prior Lake.” The Scott SWCD worked with Chris to create a design for the shoreline that would work for him and fix his erosion problem.

Scott SWCD assisted Chris in applying for cost-share for 75% of the cost of the shoreline stabilization project, which he received.

The cost-share funds were made available by the Prior Lake Spring Lake Watershed District.

Because of the technical and financial help Chris received, he was able to naturally stabilize his shoreline. The photo at left was taken August 2018. The area was regraded and planted to native seeds in June of 2017. This spring 72 native plant plugs were added near the bottom of the shoreline for additional stabilization. Native plantings take a few years to get established, and just over a year has passed since Chris seeded his shoreline. Chris has had to do some work on his shoreline this summer, including clipping the planting down before the weeds in the planting went to seed. With a few more years of maintenance, the shoreline will become even more beautiful and will continue to stabilize the shoreline for years to come. For Chris, putting in a native shoreline is worth it because the native plants are good for the lake and he gets to see the flowers in bloom.

If you live on a lake and would like to create a more natural shoreline, contact the Scott SWCD at 952-492-5425. They can help you design a native shoreline that works for you, and financial assistance may be available. You can do your part for water quality and beautify your shoreline!

View Full Article Lake, Prior Lake, lakeshore, long roots, native, native plants, restoration, shoreline, stabilize

Loose bog on the lake?

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - May 10, 2018 - News, Prior Lake, Spring Lake

The ice is finally making it’s way off the lakes! On some District lakes, mini floating cattail bogs will occasionally break off from a cattail wetland area or larger bog. This is a natural part of the lake ecosystem and there is nothing wrong with this. These bogs provide important habitat for wildlife.

Last year, the District, City of Prior Lake, Spring Lake Township and the Scott County Sheriff’s office finalized a bog policy which is posted on our website and can be found on the District Reports page. If you spot a piece of bog on the lake, you do not have to take any action. However, should a floating or grounded bog create a nuisance or a hazardous situation, the bog policy outlines responsibility for removal of the bog.

View Full Article Prior Lake, Spring Lake, bog policy, bogs