Yahara Lakes Legacy Partnership

The Dane County Lakes and Watershed Commission and the Yahara Lakes Legacy Partnership (YLLP) will host a public informational meeting on Thursday April 29, from 7 - 9 p.m. at the Alliant Energy Center’s Exhibition Hall -- Kegonsa Room.  The Alliant Energy Center is located at 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way in Madison. Parking is free for this event.

The meeting will begin with a 30 minute presentation about the status of work over the last two years, guided by the Yahara CLEAN (Capital Lakes Environmental Assessment and Needs) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), to assess and model Yahara watershed nutrient and sediment runoff and beach bacteria; and to develop recommendations for watershed improvement that build on past work.

After the presentation, briefing organizers have set aside 90 minutes for public questions, comments, and area resident input on recommendations for improving the health of the lakes.

This is part of the public outreach and input meetings hosted by the Lakes and Watershed Commission and YLLP, leading to the completion of Yahara CLEAN recommendations by June 30, 2010.

Background
The Yahara River’s chain of five beautiful lakes defines our region and is integral to everything we are and do. The quality of these lakes deteriorated significantly over time as our population and use increased. Many public and private organizations have dedicated time and resources over decades and have solved many Yahara Lakes problems, yet new challenges have emerged. Our community is at a critical moment in the health of the lakes.

YLLP was created to coordinate, support, and provide for communication among separate public and private initiatives that emerged independently in the fall of 2007, each responding to identified needs for visioning and planning for the Yahara lakes. One main goal of the partnership is to support the Yahara CLEAN  MOU signed in early 2008 by Dane County, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade < script src="/plugins/editors/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/themes/advanced/langs/en.js" type="text/javascript"> and Consumer Protection, and the City of Madison.  The partnership’s other main goal is to formulate a plan for continued, long-term, broader partnerships aimed at protecting and enhancing Yahara lakes and watersheds.]]>

The Yahara CLEAN MOU stipulates specific goals for identification of major sources of sediments, nutrients, and beach bacteria and of solutions to remediating those sources. The YLLP Coordinating Committee and several technical committees have assessed and modeled Yahara watershed conditions, and are now developing a final Yahara CLEAN report, including recommendations for priority actions, benefits, and associated costs.

Recommendations for reducing sediment and nutrients will likely include a focus on manure management, changes to crop rotations, urban erosion control and stormwater management, and sediment and nutrient removal through in-channel dredging.  Watershed-wide modeling that has been completed enables the partners to focus on recommending practices in subwatersheds with the highest levels of existing phosphorus and sediment runoff.

With respect to reducing beach bacteria, YLLP is focusing first on developing beach clean-up plans to improve conditions at two of six City of Madison beaches listed as “impaired” by the U.S. EPA under the Clean Water Act.  Recommended practices are likely to include stormwater management measures and goose control. Clean up plans for the other four beaches will follow.

Implementation of the recommendations of the Yahara CLEAN report will begin in 2010. YLLP also anticipates continued development of a more comprehensive long-term plan for protecting and improving the Yahara lakes through a partnership of engaged stakeholders.

February 2010 Talking Goose Educates Property Owners About Benefits of Natural Shorelines

Contact: Bret Shaw, (608)890-1878, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Madison, Wis.--Increased development of lakeshore properties in Wisconsin has had a negative impact on natural scenic beauty, water quality, fish and wildlife habitat. A new video featuring a live-action, animated talking goose has been released on YouTube by the University of Wisconsin-Extension as part of a new campaign aimed at encouraging shoreline property owners to adopt more natural shorelines and restore lakeshore habitat.

Recent research in Burnett County by UW-Extension has been exploring new ways to encourage lakeshore properties to maintain more natural shorelines. One insight to emerge from this research was that while property owners may be okay with watching geese flying overhead or swimming in the water, they do not like the birds congregating on their lawns, leaving unsightly and unsanitary fecal matter behind.

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The video communicates that lawn-loving geese will not linger if they fear that natural shoreline vegetation may harbor predators who will eat them, their goslings or their eggs. Restoring natural shoreline vegetation is an important part of the overall maintenance of lake water quality and wildlife habitat in Wisconsin, and the video is intended to reach lakeshore homeowners who may not be focused on these issues.

Sebastian, the talking goose, discusses the importance of preserving and restoring natural shorelines in Wisconsin and conveys the message that by restoring lakefront shorelines, geese will be less of a problem for lakeshore property owners. The video is the first in a series that will expand UW-Extension’s established online presence with a viral marketing format.

Sebastian, the talking goose, was developed as part of a collaborative project headed by Bret Shaw, environmental communication specialist for UW-Extension and assistant professor of life sciences communication at UW-Madison, graduate students Beth Ryan and Travis Balinas from the Department of Life Sciences Communication at UW-Madison, and John Haack, St. Croix Basin natural resources educator for UW-Extension.