Significant Events in COLA’s History
1960s – Lac Courte Oreilles Protective Association formed to address concerns about water quality, clarity, water levels, native plants and animals.
1994 – The Courte Oreilles Lakes Association, COLA, was established as the official lake organization for LCO (notes from 1995 organizational meeting and bylaws).
1996 – COLA funded the first study of water quality on LCO (the BARR study) to establish a baseline nutrient evaluation. The Barr study, published in 1998, was the first study on LCO to point out that cranberry marshes are the single largest readily-controllable source of phosphorus pollution to LCO. This was confirmed in subsequent TMDL analyses performed from 2011 thru 2014.
1996 - COLA invited cranberry growers on LCO to its 1996 meeting to address the issue of deteriorating water quality in Musky Bay.
1999 thru 2001 – Historical water quality patterns in LCO were examined by the USGS based on analyses of sediment cores collected in 1999 and 2001. Results showed that since the 1980s, phosphorus levels have increased substantially. Best estimate of pre-development total phosphorus was ~10 ppb or lower.
2000 – COLA filed the Six Citizen Complaint. The Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association (WSGA) demand that formal discovery be permitted. COLA did not have the funds to pay for formal discovery and withdrew the complaint (Sawyer Co. Record article).
2004 thru 2006 – The State of Wisconsin, along with 12 property owners on Musky Bay initiated litigation against William Zawistowski claiming that his cranberry operation was creating a private and public nuisance. This pitted Wisconsin’s "Right to Farm Act” against the claim of an alleged nuisance on a public waterway.
The plaintiffs lost the Zawistowski case due solely to limitations in Wisconsin’s nuisance statutes. But in his decision, Sawyer County Circuit Court Judge Anderson fully supported the plaintiffs’ contention that Musky Bay had been badly damaged by discharges from Zawistowki’s bog as stated in the concluding paragraph of his decision, “…Zawistowski can no longer hide behind a veil of self-imposed ignorance to the effects his cranberry operation is having on Musky Bay. His actions are beginning to interfere with a protected right, and the public is not without the ability to intervene, should the interference reach unreasonable levels. While Zawistowski may continue his operations as is, he does so at his own risk.” The Anderson decision was appealed, but without success.
2006 – The invasive aquatic species curly leaf pondweed first observed in LCO.
2007 – COLA urged WDNR and the EPA to declare Musky Bay an impaired water for total phosphorus under the Clean Water Act. Seven years and three listing cycles later, in 2014 Musky Bay was finally designated as impaired, but of low priority.
2009 – COLA and Town of Bass Lake representatives met with several cranberry growers and Tom Lochner, Executive Director of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association (WSGA). It was the first such meeting between the two groups since the discord over the role of phosphorus loading in the water on Musky Bay began in the 1960s. Closed water management systems, a best management practice for the cranberry industry, were viewed by WSCGA experts as “unpracticable,” according to Lochner.
2009 – Ronald R. Ragatz, DeWitt Ross & Stevens, representing William Zawistowski, sent a “Notice Pursuant to Wis. Stat. 895.05(2)” (notice prior to libel claim) to COLA Board of Directors demanding corrections to “false and defamatory” statements made in the Autumn 2008 and September 2009 editions of the Loon Call. No follow up.
2009 – The Lac Courte Oreilles Foundation, Inc. (LCOFI) was founded as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit. Its mission is to support COLA’s efforts to preserve LCO.
2011 – COLA finalized its Lake Management Plan.
2011 – COLA received its first AIS grant, which allowed treatment for curly leaf pondweed as part of COLA’s new Aquatic Management Plan.
2011 thru 2014 – COLA and the LCO Tribe initiated a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study for LCO. While confident that there would be a final determination that Musky Bay was an impaired water (which did finally happen in 2014), COLA and the LCO Tribe were also certain that the WDNR would delay addressing the problem. Past experience with other impaired waters indicated that WDNR might take up to 13 years or more to initiate a TMDL. COLA, with LCOFI’s help, eventually contributed ~$200,000 for the TMDL, which was finished in July, 2014. The TMDL firmly established that cranberry marshes are the single largest readily-controllable source of phosphorus pollution to LCO.
2013 – COLA conducted a septic survey of lake properties.
2014 – EPA and WDNR designated Musky Bay an Impaired Water. One of the more peculiar decisions made by WDNR was that it considered Musky Bay to be a shallow (non-stratified) drainage lake separate and distinct from LCO and could, therefore, have a less restrictive phosphorus standard (40 ppb).
2014 – COLA’s TMDL submitted to WDNR.
2015 – A closed water system was installed on the Zawistowski east bog. This is the bog that was contributing to the impairment of Musky Bay. COLA paid for a 1/4 page ad in the Sawyer County Record and sent out a state-wide press release applauding the event.
2015 – COLA received a multi-year shoreland restoration grant from WDNR for $100,000.
2015 – A small patch of the invasive aquatic species Eurasian watermilfoil was discovered in little LCO.
2015 – COLA conducted a shoreline buffer study to identify erosion-susceptible parcels.
2015 & 2016 – In mid-to-late summer, there were extensive cisco and whitefish die offs. The August 2016 event was the largest in terms of fish mortality (100s) and duration (>26 days) ever recorded for LCO.
2016 – COLA and the Lac Courte Oreilles Foundation, Inc. set aside $100,000 to assist the growers install closed water-management systems.
2016 – In November, a first-ever blue-green algae bloom of this kind developed on Stuckey Bay and lasted for five days. Fortunately, no traces of algal toxins above detection limits.
2016 thru 2019 – A Site Specific Criterion (SSC) proposal for reducing the phosphorus concentration in LCO from 15 to 10 ppb was submitted to WDNR in March 2016 by COLA and the LCO Tribe. After a protracted legal struggle, the Dane County Circuit Court on July 2, 2019 ordered WDNR to finally take action.
2017 – COLA and the LCO Tribe requested that the EPA and WDNR list all of LCO an impaired water based on both high phosphorus concentrations and low dissolved oxygen.
2017 – COLA funded the development of a hydrodynamic model to better understand how water flows into and out of Musky Bay. Results showed that there is a 50% mix of water from Musky Bay to a large portion of the rest of the lake in as little as two months. Clearly, Musky Bay is not a separate and distinct water body from the rest of Lac Courte Oreilles.
2017 – COLA and the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point completed an erosion study of the Upper Couderay River Watershed. The erosion study was designed to assist Sawyer County in the identification of “priority farms” in the county that may benefit from implementation of erosion control best management practices that would conserve valuable topsoil and prevent soil sediment and phosphorus from entering area lakes. As a result of this cooperative effort, COLA received the “Outstanding Partner Award” from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Geographic Information System Center.
2017 – COLA develops Land Use Policy for LCO and works with Sawyer County Board and Zoning Committee on zoning requests.
2018 – EPA and WDNR approved the inclusion of all of LCO on Wisconsin’s list of impaired waters based on low dissolved oxygen.
2018 – COLA and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Geographic Information Systems Center completed an analysis of potential contributions of sedimentation and phosphorus transport from timber management practices to surface waters in the Upper Couderay River Watershed.
2019 – WDNR finally complied with the Dane County Court’s ruling and proposed a revised NR 102 including a 10 ppb phosphorus limit. But they confused the issue by including an option B – the status quo of 15 ppb – for discussion at the public hearing for the rule change.
2019 – The WDNR held a hearing in Bass Lake Township on Nov. 8 on the proposed new phosphorus standard for Lac Courte Oreilles. Prior to the meeting WDNR received many comments (165 comments in support of 10 ppb, 18 in opposition. For a thorough account of the hearing see Terrell Boettcher’s article in the Nov. 14 edition of the Sawyer Co. Record. (Contact COLA if you’d like to review a hard copy of this article.)
2020 – WDNR announced its decision recommending a 10 ppb SSC for LCO shortly after its Jan. 8, 2020 deadline to do so. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board still has to approve WDNR’s decision. Then the Governor must approve it, and finally the state legislature must vote on the decision. Fortunately, all this must be completed by mid-February, 2020.
2020 – WDNR's recommendation for 10 ppb phosphorus criterion for Lac Courte Oreilles was denied by the Natural Resource Board (NRB) after a tie vote. For a thorough account of the hearing see Terrell Boettcher’s article in the Jan. 29, 2020 edition of the Sawyer Co. Record. (Contact COLA if you’d like to review a hard copy of this article.)
2020 – WDNR delisted Musky Bay as an impaired water. COLA and the LCO Tribe filled comments in opposition to this delisting.
2020 – COLA received approval as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, and the Lac Courte Oreilles Foundation ceased operation. COLA began its own fund-raising activities.
2020 – COLA and the LCO Tribe again requested that the WDNR revise its water quality standards for LCO and presented a revised SSC rule-making petition specifying a phosphorous criterion of 10 ppb. WDNR granted COLA's second rule-making petition and prepared a revised scope statement for review by the Natural Resources Board recommending that a 10 ppb phosphorus criterion proceed to administrative review. The Natural Resources Board approved the review process in 2021.
2020 – The Eco-Harvester funding campaign reached its $100,000 goal that allowed purchase of the Eco-Harvester, trailer, and other needed equipment.
2020 – Kevin Horrocks, COLA’s President, issued COLA’s 2020 State of the Lakes Report. It provided up-to-date commentary on issues facing big and little LCO.
2021 – COLA revised its Aquatic Plant Management Plan. This provided COLA’s continued eligibility for WDNR aquatic invasive control grants and guided COLA, LCO Tribe, Sawyer County, and the WDNR in aquatic plant management for the lakes through 2025.
2021 – The "View From Your Dock" survey was completed.
2021 – The Eco-Harvester was purchased, delivered, and put into operation for both curly-leaf pondweed and Eurasian watermilfoil.
2022 – COLA installed the Internet Landing Installed Device Sensor (I-LIDS) at the Hwy K ramp. I-LIDS is a real-time video inspection system for boats.
2023 – WDNR awarded COLA $150,000 for AIS management in the LCO lakes in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, WDNR provided a $4,000 grant to fund the Clean Boat/Clean Water boat launch inspections, along with a $1,400 grant for I_LIDS video cameras.
2023 – The site specific criterion (SSC) of 10 μg/L (= 10 ppb) for phosphorus was unanimously approved by the State of Wisconsin.
2023 – COLA and the LCO Tribe served cranberry operator William Zawistowski with notice of intent to file a citizen lawsuit under the Federal Clean Water Act for discharging phosphorus into Lac Courte Oreilles. View 60 day notice here.
2024 – COLA and the LCO Tribe filed a citizen lawsuit under the Clean Water Act against Zawistowski cranberry operation to stop phosphorus pollution of Lac Courte Oreilles.