The View From Your Dock
A Survey of Lac Courte Oreilles Property Owners and Those Who Visit and Cherish the Lakes
Conducted by the Courte Oreilles Lakes Association, October 2020
Overview
The Courte Oreilles Lakes Association (COLA) prepared a questionnaire of 48 questions addressing the mission of COLA, the success of its operations, and the needs of both Big and Little Lac Courte Oreilles (collectively referred to as LCO). The questionnaire was sent to LCO property owners, COLA members, and others who have long-term interest in the LCO lakes such as local businesses, township/county officials, renters, fishermen, etc. The printed survey was mailed to 977 people, and the on-line version was emailed to 631 people, nearly all of whom also received the printed version. The total response was 230, so the approximate response rate was 24%.
The goal of this survey was to encourage all of us to express our views about the LCO lakes and COLA. But first - who are we?
Those who responded to the survey are well distributed across all parts of the lakes. The vast majority own property, 1/3 of which has been passed down from previous generations, and many families (23%) have owned the same property for 50 years or more. Family time, recreation, peace and quiet are the most emphasized reasons for being at the lakes – relatively few (4%) cite investment opportunities as the primary reason to own property. Perhaps unique to this year of COVID-19, many reside on LCO in order to work remotely.
It’s clear that we are involved in many recreational pursuits. Fishing, along with swimming and all such activities involving children and family (pontooning, towing inflatables, playing with kids in water) are the most popular. A significant number – perhaps mostly year-round residents – enjoy cross country skiing, snow shoeing, ice-fishing and snowmobiling. The higher-impact motorized water activities such as wake boating, speedboat cruising, and PWC-jet skiing are less popular.
It’s very clear from the comments that we care deeply for the LCO lakes. Many cite family ties and memories. Others extol the peaceful setting and beautiful scenery. Still others celebrate the recreational opportunities. It’s impossible to summarize the hundreds of heart-felt comments in question #8. Rather, read them yourself – it takes a while, but it’s rewarding.
What are your views about the LCO lakes?
Nearly all (96%) state that water quality is “very important.” Most characterize poor water quality in terms of increased phosphorus, reduced clarity, increased algae growth, excessive “weeds” and “muck,” swimmer’s itch, increased silt, too many snails, decaying/floating mats of vegetation, and unproductive fishing.
A small faction (11%) feel that water quality is moderately to severely degraded near their property, but 43% believe that water quality has changed for the worse over last 10 years. The increase in aquatic invasive species (AIS) has affected the water around many people’s shorelines (45%), and nearly half feel that fishing is not as productive as in the past.
The majority of respondents are well aware of the invasive plants curly-leaf pondweed and Eurasian water milfoil. Many are not as familiar with the Chinese banded snail, the mystery banded snail, and the rusty crawfish. Overall, 99% are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about AIS in the LCO lakes.
Most (67%) have not noticed any changes in recent years in the ability to navigate by boat in the LCO lakes. Those that have feel that the increase in AIS has harmed navigation, hurt fishing and generally hampered overall enjoyment of the lakes. AIS in Musky Bay, Stuckey Bay, the West Basin, and Barber Town Bay are of particular concern.
Based on the comments, there is some misunderstanding about native versus invasive plants, with a tendency to call all aquatic plants “weeds” and a mistaken desire to remove all “weeds” from LCO’s shores. As a general rule, native species should not be removed from the LCO lakes, so there’s a real need to better distinguish invasive from native species.
Swimmer’s itch is also a recurring issue, and there’s no doubt that swimmer’s itch really detracts from our enjoyment of the lakes. It’s also obvious that COLA needs to do more to make people aware of the relationship between ducks, snails, and swimmer’s itch – the parasitic flatworm causing swimmer’s itch relies primarily on ducks and snails to complete its life cycle. But other waterfowl and mammals such as raccoons, otters, muskrats, and beavers may also be involved. Simply put, feeding ducks or any lake wildlife is not a good thing to do if we want to reduce the incidence of swimmer’s itch.
What are your views about COLA?
As expected, nearly all respondents are aware of COLA – 89% are members, and a majority have also made additional donations to COLA. COLA is well respected, and most are grateful for the job it does. The roles most valued for COLA are those of monitoring (e.g., water quality, shorelines, septic systems, AIS, fishery status), advocacy (e.g., WDNR, zoning) and education (e.g., communicating about all things water quality). The overall approval rating for these efforts was 90%.
Based on the comments, some people have an exaggerated sense of what COLA can actually accomplish by means other than education and persistent persuasion. COLA has no enforcement authority. Sawyer County along with the Sand Lake and Bass Lake townships enforce setbacks, impervious surface, buffer requirements, and boating regulations. To some degree, WDNR enforces water quality standards on LCO. COLA is still trying to find out who really controls LCO water level and how it’s done – issues of significant and persistent concern.
There is no enforcement of AIS control by any entity. COLA volunteers and individual property owners, along with the help of the LCO Tribe, do their best to rid the lakes of AIS. Most respondents (87%) are aware of COLA’s AIS efforts and support them. In fact, a significant portion (23%) want COLA to be more aggressive in controlling AIS.
Most respondents (82 %) are aware of COLA’s ongoing legal struggle with the WDNR. COLA’s legal strategies seem to be well-understood and supported (91%).
The vast majority receive and read COLA’s eblasts and newsletter (Short Ears, Long Tales), and 61% have visited COLA’s website in the last two years. Nearly all feel that COLA’s communication methods are worthwhile and effective, but some see a need for more timely updates on important issues. While many still want to receive information via the postal service, most want to have it delivered via email. So, if you haven’t done so already, please provide COLA with your email address if you want to stay up to date – contact communications@cola-wi.org.
Most respondents don’t attend COLA’s annual meeting or the July picnic, but those that do find the annual meeting to be more useful since it provides both updates and social opportunities. It’s apparent that most use the LCO lakes for family time and recreation, not meetings. Understood – COLA is very grateful to those who make the effort to keep up with lake issues by attending its meetings. There is some sentiment for more opportunity for social interaction. COLA heartedly welcomes all those willing to help figure out how to respond.
While the LCO Tribe’s role in protecting the LCO lakes was not the subject of the survey, it did seem as if many were unaware that 1/3 of the lake is on the LCO reservation and that the LCO Tribe and COLA work as a team on most matters.
There were a number of negative comments highlighting such things as unsafe boaters, disregard of the 700’ elevated wake limit, noise/loud music, degraded shorelines, excessive fireworks – basically inconsiderate and irresponsible behaviors of all types. Unfortunately, this is part of living on a large and attractive lake. The vast majority of us act responsibly, treat each other with respect, and promote all that’s good for the LCO lakes. Perhaps we need to add another task – when we see something wrong, we do something to correct it. Contact the Sawyer County Sheriff, notify your Sand Lake/Bass Lake township representatives, send comments to the Sawyer County Record, … Make your views known, especially to those in a position to respond.
It’s really comforting that based on the questions asking for an assessment of COLA’s overall value, 94% rated COLA as “somewhat” to ”very” effective. But work remains – of that 94% about half rate COLA as only “somewhat” effective.
The second to the last question, “What do you think lake property owners should be doing as part of their responsibility in preserving the lakes and lake property?” provoked a number of interesting responses. It was clear that poor management of shoreline property – lack of buffer zones, fertilizer use, impervious surfaces, paved lake access, etc., was foremost on people’s minds. It’s great to see this. We’ve come a long way in the last several years, but it’s also apparent that we still have a long way to go.
The answer to the last question on the survey was also gratifying in that the majority (52%) are content having COLA “act on my behalf.” Some (15%) said they hope to volunteer in some fashion in the near future, while others (33%) cited their lack of free time. So, COLA will keep on keepin’ on, but it could be a more effective operation if more were involved.
Now’s your opportunity to dive into the survey results on your own. COLA is very grateful to all who responded and especially for the hundreds of comments you’ve provided. It’s obvious that so many care about the LCO lakes, and the lakes will be better off because of it.