The most important environmental and economic assets to Polk County are its water resources. These resources provide us with safe, clean drinking water, recreation opportunities, habitat for fish and wildlife, and intrinsic beauty.

As pressure to develop our shorelines increases everyday with more and more people migrating to our area, it is our responsibility to take an active role in protecting our water resources.

A homeowner must utilize his/her property wisely. If you are a shoreland property owner the state mandates that you maintain 35 feet of native vegetation intact. This "buffer strip" provides habitat for a variety of wildlife, shades the water and keeps it cool for sensitive fish and invertebrates, and reduces runoff reaching our lakes and streams by increasing the soils capacity to hold more stormwater. It’s important to remember that 80% of all endangers species spend at least part of their life in the near shore area. These species are very sensitive to increased light, temperature, nutrients, and other disturbances that occur when native vegetation is removed. Shoreline property owners have a responsibility to maintain said wildlife habitat and reduce pollutants reaching our lakes, wetlands, and streams as the citizens of Wisconsin own the waters they are fortunate enough to live near.

The Polk County Land & Water Resources Department has assisted homeowners, municipalities, lake groups, and schools install over 100 shoreline restorations. These restorations include the removal of turf-grass and other undesirable vegetation in the area and replacing it with showy, ecologically important native vegetation. Most of this can be purchased at local greenhouses and many local landscapes have attended training sessions put on by the department. The department is currently working with organizations to install rain gardens as well

In order to maintain a level of high water quality and biological integrity citizens must take initiative to protect and restore this sensitive ecosystem. Cost sharing is available to restore and maintain shoreline property and install rain gardens.

OTHER LINKS:
USGS 
UW-Extension
Rain Gardens 
Wisconsin Rain Gardens
Riparian Zone
Riparian Zone Bibliography
Science of Buffers
Plants Native to Polk County
List of Native Vegetation to be used in Shoreland Restorations.

Adopt-A-Stream

An emphasis has been placed on aquatic insect and other macroinvertebrate studies over the last three decades. These organisms are very useful indicators of biological integrity and water quality as they are found in nearly all aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats. They are relatively easy to collect and tell scientists and citizens of a resource’s conditions, they are the proverbial "canary in the coalmine" and in fact one of the more famous biological indexes was created right here in Wisconsin, and in fact some of the initial studies were conducted in Polk County.

Aquatic invertebrates have become the dominant animal form used in freshwater investigations of basic ecological questions. They can tell us more about water quality and habitat conditions than most other organisms. Some survive in only pristine environments while others can tolerate severe levels of pollution.

Aquatic invertebrates do not move much, so they must adjust to their habitat. While some prefer woody debris, submerged logs, and leaf packs, others prefer loose sediment and undercut banks. Their habitat also includes the food that’s available, the predators, and the velocity and temperature of the water around them. If one or more of these conditions changes, some invertebrates will die or be unable to reproduce, whereas others may expand their population and immigrate into an area.

This is one reason to study invertebrates. Other reasons may include an interest in natural history, teaching children about them, becoming a better fly fisherman, or simply enjoying a day by the creek. Other more sinister reasons exist as well, such as disease control and prevention, and some species such as black flies and horse flies are considered a nuisance to those who enjoy the outdoors.

The Polk County Adopt-a-Stream program provides county scientists with valuable water quality and habitat information and aims to educate citizens on the importance of aquatic macroinvertebrates in aquatic ecology and water quality biology.

Other Links:
Chironomid Research Group
Electronic Taxonomic Key
EPA Site - Inverts as Indicators 
Links to other Invert sites
Freshwater Benthic Ecology and Aquatic Entomology
University of Minnesota Insect Collection  
The Saskatchewan Aquatic Insects Page
Leeches and Worms
North American Benthological Society
Trout Stream Assessment
Water Action Volunteers

Macrophytes

Aquatic macrophytes (not weeds) are higher order vascular plants - that is they have connecting cells to transport nutrients and liquid through their stems. They convert sunlight into useable energy for other species, providing a substrate for periphyton to grow, and provide hiding places and ambush sites for fish and invertebrates. Macrophyte growth is controlled by many factors, including temperature, light, sediment texture, sediment slope, and hydrostatic pressure.

Most rooted macrophytes obtain their nutrients from the bottom sediments rather than the water and are restricted to shallow water in the littoral zone by light availability. The littoral zone is defined as the area of the lake at and above the one percent light level (the amount of light needed for aquatic macrophytes to grow).

Another aquatic macrophyte called duckweed (Lemna spp.) is not rooted in the sediments but floats on the surface. Duckweeds float with the wind, currents, or the influence of boat traffic and are not dependent on depth, sediment composition, or water clarity.

Many times people refer to all rooted aquatic plants as weeds and their lake management is to eradicate the weeds. This thinking is shortsighted and disregards the importance of macrophytes to the ecosystem. The aquatic macrophyte community and all their positive attributes make the littoral zone the most productive and important aquatic habitat in freshwater lakes.

Aquatic plant communities protect the shoreline from erosion by reducing the impact of waves (and wakes) and stabilizing soils and sediments. • • •

Aquatic macrophytes provide habitat and spawning areas for fish, waterfowl cover and food, habitat for macroinvertebrates (e.g. mayflies and crayfish), and hiding places for zooplankton (which eat algae).

Many species, such as water lily, pickerelweed, and water buttercup are aesthetically pleasing.

The introduction of exotics is of concern though. Curly-leaf Pondweed and Eurasian Watermilfoil threaten the lakes of our areas. These plants displace native species, deplete the level of oxygen in the water column available for fish, and often grow to nuisance levels that make navigation and recreation impossible. The treatment of these exotic invaders is quite costly, often as much as several thousand dollars per acre.

Therefore, producing stable, diverse aquatic plant communities should be a primary lake management goal form an environmental and economic perspective.

Other Links:
Aquatic Macrophytes
Fish Response to Removal of Aquatic Macrophytes
Interactions Between Fish and Aquatic Macrophytes in Inland Waters

____________________________________________________________________

Balsam Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District   
Bone Lake Management District   
Church Pine, Round and Big Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District
Deer Lake Improvement Association 

If you wish to become involved, or desire more information, contact:  
Jeremy Williamson
Polk County LWRD
100 Polk County Plaza, Suite 120
Balsam Lake, WI 54810
(715) 485-8639
jeremyw@co.polk.wi.us