SEPTEMBER 2007

Lake Drawings to be Exhibited at the Library
The drawings about the history of boating on Bald Eagle Lake done by Eldon Coller will be on display at the Brandon Library.

Legal Counsel
Jodie Hall, an attorney, has joined the board as an alternate member and is willing to help out in legal matters. On July 27 she participated in a state-wide conference call regarding access rights to lakes. Bald Eagle Lake was the only small lake to have a representative.

Member Handbook
Our new treasurer LuAnna Deming is working on a membership handbook to be distributed next year. It will include a directory of members. If you do not want your name listed please contact LuAnna.

4th of July Parade
It did not rain on our parade! 

Thank you to the Beach Association for allowing us to use the beach to present the prizes to the winners.  It was very convenient to be able to hand out the prizes right after the parade and the participants were able to find out who won right away.

Next year we would like to have a Grand Marshall to lead the parade.  If you have a suggestion, please email.  What would you like to see for the parade next year?  What would it take for you to decorate your boat?  Please email me at mjgodfrey555@aol.com or call me at 248-627-1044.

Highlights of the Annual Meeting

New Board Members
Guy Mattana resigned from the board after twelve years of service as treasurer. Bea Wilson also resigned, after many years of handling the association mailing list. LuAnna Deming and Mary Coon were elected to the board. LuAnna was elected treasurer at the June board meeting and will be taking over Bea's tasks. Both new board members have a lot of good ideas for our association.

Old Business
Roger contacted the Boat Bar regarding advertising of live bands. After discussion with their attorney, it was determined that one person or duet performers are not considered to be live bands as defined under our agreement. The boat bar agreed that they would not use the term “live band” in their future advertisements. 

Beavers
There are at least three beavers on the lake.  Several of the residents have seen them.  They have been damaging trees but we don’t believe they can damage the lake.

Lake Study Results
We hired Wally Fusilier, Consulting Limnologist, of Water Quality Investigators, of to do an in-depth study of the lake. The recommendations from a follow up letter on the report from Mr. Fusilier are:

• It is not in the best interest of Bald Eagle Lake to be plant free.
• Harvesting is a good method of removing aquatic plants for several reasons:

• The plants are removed, so they don’t settle to the bottom and create additional organic material
• The nutrients in the plants are, of course, removed with them, so they don’t add the already nutrient rich bottom sediment
• No dissolved oxygen is used up to decompose the plants, which otherwise would have accumulated at the bottom
• Harvesting churns up the shallow water bottom sediments, exposing them to oxygen which helps decompose the organic material in the sediments.
• Since harvesting doesn’t remove the entire plant, the remaining part can prevent sediment from being mixed into the water by wind or boat action. Keeping nutrients out of the water will improve water quality

Mr. Fusilier recommends against aquatic herbicides for the following reasons:

• The herbicide kills all plants thus exposing the bottom sediments to wave and boat action which will then result in a deterioration in water quality.
• The dead plants settle to the bottom and as they decay, they use up dissolved oxygen in the water and release nutrients which promote algal blooms. The associated reduction in dissolved oxygen and release of nutrients is worse with the use of herbicides than the natural process of plants dieing in the fall if the herbicide is applied in the spring or summer because the warmer water speeds the decay process while at the same time it holds less dissolved oxygen
• There is a potential health risk associated with the use of herbicides

download the complete report

Solutions

Mechanical harvesting

Herbicidal treatment

Environmentally sensitive methods

How do we pay for this?

2007 Secchi Disk Readings

The Secchi disk readings we take measure the clarity of the water. This year Bill Reinhart took the readings in three areas of the lake. The July and August readings were done on sunny days, the August reading on a cloudy day, which is why there was less clarity.

Download Membership form

If you have a problem downloading this form, please contact BELPOA

OZebra Mussels

We have been very lucky for many years, but it seems that we do have zebra mussels in our lake. Last year there were two reports of zebra mussels being found on docks that were removed from the lake. This was not what we hoped would happen.

Zebra mussels are small and very sharp and they can cause many problems to the lake and watercraft. Because the mussels are very sharp I would suggest that you wear water shoes of some type. They also will attach to any smooth surface by the masses. They are prolific and can reproduce many times a year.

Once zebra mussels enter the lake they are here to stay. There is no known way to get rid of them. They can also cause damage to your watercraft by attaching themselves to the hull and/or motor. If they attach to the motor you could harm it by not checking it often. They can restrict the intake or exhaust, which will harm the motor.

Since zebra mussels are filter feeders the lake will become cleaner and that will result in a little more weed growth. The sun will be able to reach a little deeper into the lake encouraging weed growth.

Please be on the lookout for these mussels and report any findings to a board member. We need to follow this. We keep in touch with the people who are doing research on this problem.

Rob Rohde, Vice President

WATER TESTS 2004

WATER TESTS 2003

WATER TESTS 2002

Mechanical Harvesting
A lake service representative stated that annual cutting does not eliminate weeds as they grow back with more vigor. They actually prefer this method since it produces a steady year after year income for their business. A discussion with a harvester indicated that the cutting encourages the weeds to grow stronger stems as more nourishment is forced down to the remaining weeds. We use this same procedure with our plants by cutting some back to created fuller blooms of flowers and larger fruits and vegetables. Expenses associated with this option are discussed later.

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Herbicidal Treatments
This method uses chemicals that destroy all weeds. The plants will rise to the top and float to the shores. Swimming is not allowed for a number of days after the chemicals are applied. Some fish may die due to the lack of cover. A conversation with a homeowner on Houghton Lake stated that he spent a day a weekend raking and removing the dead weeds from his shoreline. This option is not without environmental consequences. Aquatic Nuisance Specialist Laura Esman said in the June 28, '04 issue of The Citizen: "The DEQ says in most cases chemicals are also a temporary treatment and impact the biodiversity of the lake environment, including killing the fish."This option too, involves considerable expense, which will be discussed later.

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Environmentally Sensitive Methods
There are three no-cost actions residents can take to improve the water quality in the lake and control weed-growth: proper septic maintenance; ditch-drainage control from Bald Eagle Road; and fertilizer elimination/reduction. Details follow:
Septic Maintenance: Have your septic system cleaned and inspected at least every three years for part-
time residents and every two years for full-time residents.
Ditch-Drainage Control from Bald Eagle Road: Petition Oakland County to eliminate direct drainage from the Bald Eagle Lake Road ditch at the south end of lake.
Fertilizer Elimination/Reduction: Eliminate or greatly reduce the use of fertilizers that make our lawns greener. A recent article in The Citizen quotes Todd Losee, an Environmental Quality Specialist from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality: "phosphates, the active ingredient in lawn fertilizers cause excessive growth of both native and non-native water plants in lakes and wetlands…Fertilizer runoff increases nutrients to aquatic plants life, causing a disruption in the natural cycle of life in lakes and wetlands."
These nutrients that wash into the lake with every downpour assist weed growth in the lake and are usually unnecessary. In actuality, most of the soil types found in our area do not require fertilizer at all. Residents who insist on lawns are advised to have their soil tested to learn how much fertilizer, if any, is needed for a healthy lawn. By finding a way to control the use of fertilizer, we could make real progress toward ridding our lake of unwanted weeds, and there would be no cost associated with this option.

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How do we pay for these alternatives?
Mechanical harvesting and herbicidal treatments must be paid as a special assessment on all owners. Our association cannot provide this service since we do not have 100% membership of all owners. It is unlikely that everyone would voluntarily contribute to the cost.

Through their Lake Board Lake Louise residents are assessed an annual amount of $32,900 for the next five years for harvesting and chemical treatments for 30 to 50 acres. If we treated only half our
lake the yearly cost would be approximately $50,000.

Under the environmentally sensitive option (choosing not to use fertilizer), there are no additional costs incurred for the lake property owners. But residents cannot be coerced into this alternative without government involvement.

How does the government get involved in any of the above methods?
A Lake Board, such as that which now governs Lake Louise, must be established in order to assess the
costs of mechanical or herbicidal treatments.

An article in the July, 2000 issue of Oakland Lakefront Magazine published an extensive article titled "Establishing a Lake Board."The article stated : " ...establishing a board required two-thirds of the lakefront property owners whose property actually abuts the lake to sign a petition asking to form such a board. Once the petition has been signed by the appropriate number of lakefront property owners, the petition is forwarded to the local governing body where the lake is located. The local governing body…must then pass a resolution within 60 days to establish the lake improvement board." This allows the costs to be included on the property tax bills.

With a decision to voluntarily govern our own use of fertilizers and maintain our septic systems, there would be no need for government involvement. To get 100% cooperation in this option, the township would need to pass an ordinance regulating the use of fertilizers in lake areas, or throughout the township.

We have some difficult decisions ahead of us. We need to explore every available avenue and think carefully about the direction we choose. Most are in agreement that something must be done. Our hope is that over the coming months, some consensus will develop among Bald Eagle Lake residents so that whatever we decide to do will be the best possible solution for ourselves and for our lake.

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updated 6-30-05