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Updating lake management plan

Online video launches Waupaca  effort

By Angie Landsverk


The city of Waupaca is updating its management plan for Mirror and Shadow lakes.

“It’s over a year-long process,” said Andrew Whitman, the city’s parks and recreation director.

The last plan was completed in 2011 and approved a year later, he said.

By Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) standards, it is outdated, Whitman said.

The city became aware of the need to update the plan when it wanted to seek DNR grants to manage aquatic invasive species (AIS) in the two lakes.

Eurasian watermilfoil, curly-leaf pondweed and zebra mussels have been found in them.

Without an updated lake management plan that addresses AIS in the lakes, the city cannot seek those types of grants.

Last year, the city decided to work with Onterra to complete a lake study and plan update.

Onterra is a De-Pere-based natural resources consulting firm.

It provides lake-related services, including lake management plans.

The city’s decision also included working with Onterra to pursue a DNR grant that would help cover the plan’s cost.

Earlier this year, the city learned it received the DNR grant.

The grant is expected to cover 67% of the cost.

Inland Lakes’ funds and in-kind donations from Friends of Mirror and Shadow Lakes are also covering part of it.

Onterra began its work in the spring.

Online presentation

Todd Hanke explained the process in a presentation.

He is a lead field technician with Onterra.

People may watch his presentation at youtu.be/VB3VV8-fJ_k.

Whitman said the presentation would typically be part of a kickoff meeting.

However, the city is not holding large public meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result, Onterra sent the presentation to Whitman.

Collecting data is the first part of the process, Hanke said.

This includes a water quality analysis, watershed assessment, aquatic plant surveys, shoreland assessment and stakeholder survey.

Onterra already surveyed both lakes in June to map curly-lead pondweed, Hanke said.

Shoreland assessments are planned for late summer or early fall.

The survey of riparian property owners and members of Friends of Mirror and Shadow Lakes may take place this fall.

Two planning meetings are being held in the spring or summer of 2021 to study results and set goals and action steps.

A planning committee and the Friends of Mirror and Shadow Lakes group approve the plan’s draft before it is submitted to the DNR.

The final plan is expected to be presented in the summer of 2022.

Whitman sees Onterra’s online, kickoff presentation as a positive.

“We can spread it out and try to get as many people to watch it as possible,” he said.

The time people spend watching the presentation counts toward the in-kind hours, which helps keep the plans’s cost down, Whitman said.

Whitman said the city is fortunate to have so much access to water, and to also have parks with river and lake access.

“The two inland lakes are used by so many users and user groups,” he said.

People kayak, swim and fish on the lakes.

“It’s important to the city and Friends (group) to keep them healthy for the future and the community,” Whitman said.

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