Sustaining Lakes for our Kid’s Kids Lawrence A. Baker Water Resources Center

Policy Issues Lakeshore zoning Lakeshore zoning Tailored for specific lakes or even parts of lakes Tailored for specific lakes or even parts of lakes Codes for vegetation screening; impervious surface Codes for vegetation screening; impervious surface Shoreline vegetation Shoreline vegetation What works, what doesn’t What works, what doesn’t Littoral habitat Littoral habitat Protect highest quality habitat from development Protect highest quality habitat from development Nutrient management Nutrient management Whole-watershed P balances to guide policy Whole-watershed P balances to guide policy Governance Governance Greater need for local regulatory control and management Greater need for local regulatory control and management Prediction Prediction Where will growth occur next? Where will growth occur next?

Do we have an obligation to future generations? Constitutional Constitutional Minnesota: Article XIII, Sec. 12. Hunting and fishing and the taking of game and fish are a valued part of our heritage that shall be forever preserved for the people and shall be managed by law and regulation for the public good. Minnesota: Article XIII, Sec. 12. Hunting and fishing and the taking of game and fish are a valued part of our heritage that shall be forever preserved for the people and shall be managed by law and regulation for the public good. Federal: “secure the blessing of liberty… for ourselves and our posterity” Federal: “secure the blessing of liberty… for ourselves and our posterity” Moral Moral Current generation has imperfect duty to future generation; only “content” of rights questionable. Current generation has imperfect duty to future generation; only “content” of rights questionable. Darwinian: Darwinian: Preserving environment assures success of genes Preserving environment assures success of genes Spiritual: Spiritual: Water symbolic of birth; regeneration (many cultures) Water symbolic of birth; regeneration (many cultures) Practical: Practical: Preservation will be welcomed by our kids Preservation will be welcomed by our kids

Problems with Minnesota’s Lakes

Eurasian Milfoil Distribution (2005 Exotics Species Report) Other lake exotics Eurasian milfoil (160 lakes) Curly leaf pondweed (702 lakes) Zebra mussels (2 lakes) Purple loosestrife (2,000 locations) Flowering rush (16 lakes) Spiny waterflea

Declining trophy fish Fuller’s Tackle Shop Fishing Contest, Park Rapids, MN (Olsen and Cunningham, 1989)

Clearly, clarity has not declined! Data from Minnesota Lake Browser Sechi disk

Dan Kramer, U. of Minnesota Survey of MN Lake Associations 245 responses

Current condition % Excellent9 Good47 Fair33 Poor8 Don ’ t know 3 Total100 “ Treasures Under Pressures ” Survey (Anderson, et al. 1999) Overall condition of lakes visited most

More “Treasures under Pressure” Survey Results Excellent/goodFair/poor Water quality 5641 Fishing3942 Scenic quality 7333 Condition of shoreline 6233

ImprovedWorsened Overall1221 Water quality 1124 Scenic quality 918 Keeper fish 830 Motorized watercraft 158 Wildlife diversity 411 Algae scum 534 Direction of change (Treasures Under Pressure)

95% !

growth in lake-rich counties The next 30 years An aging population…

Less of this.. …and more of this.

New Directions

Policy Principles for the Future (from UM Lake Management Discussion Group) 1. Human ecosystems principle. Human actions alter ecosystems, and these alterations impact human well being – either positively or negatively (feedbacks) 2. Consonance principle. Policies that promote ecological integrity (e.g., improve habitat quality) will generally enhance the well-being of lakeshore homeowners by improving aesthetics, increasing property value and reducing social friction. 3. Tailored management principle. Management policies tailored to specific local environments are likely to be more effective, fairer, and less expensive than top-down “one size fits all” policies. 4. Non-degradation principle. It is cheaper and more effective to prevent degradation lakeshores than to restore damage after it has occurred. 5. Cumulative impact principle. Degradation of the shoreline needs to be considered as a cumulative impact. 6. Democracy principle. The goal of policies are not merely utilitarian; good policies promote democratic participation.

Environmental measurement: - Water samples - Field sensors - Satellite imagery Analysis and data processing Steering committee and community Technical expert: interpretation and recommendations Baker et al., 2006c Adaptive Management Research Approach Communication - Newsletter - Joint meetings - Online discussion -

Level 3: agency research scientists; policy analysts Level 1: elected officials; citizens Level 2: technical professionals (e.g., water planners) Lake profile tool Scenario development tool Habitat evaluation index Shoreline Vegetation evaluation Phosphorus Model tool Housing Valuation tool Zoning tools Lake Toolkit to Inform Policy