07/31/11

Welcome!

The Peltier Lake GREAT BLUE HERONS are doing okay. In 2009, 27 new chicks from 54 nests made their way into the world.

In Jan, 2010, 61 nests were counted, a gain of 7. This is a great trend.

On June 10, 2011, a small group checked on the colony. The noise and squawking of the chicks and general activity was the the best in years. It was all very encouraging. Some trees had more nests, others less. A rough estimate is 35 active nests with possibly 70 new chicks (estimating roughly 2 chicks per nest). But a very encouraging new event is the presence of great egrets. Two adult great egrets were seen near nests. Unfortunately, a couple great egret chick feather piles were also seen. We don't know if any great egret chicks survived. A winter nest count should tell more.

Click the "Herons" button above to get more information. Data on years 1997 through 2009 with counts in Jan/Feb 2010 is included.

See the latest information on the proposed:

"Bad" Watershed bill (Click the "Bad Watershed Bill" button)

In my opinion, a proposed bill to change wathersheds will ruin our ability to protect and improve our water resources. Please tell Sen. Ray Vandeveer (sen.ray.vandeveer@senate.mn, 651-296-4351) and Rep. Bob Dettmer (rep.bob.dettmer@house.mn, 651-296-4124) to withdraw SF756 and HF880. For more information, click the "Bad Watershed Bill" button above or send an e-mail to Mail@PeltierLake.Org. More information is below. This picture shows our watersheds need help!

To Ruin Our Watershed Districts?

Proposed legislation could cripple our watershed districts and our ability to protect and improve our water resources. Water is unaware of political city or county boundaries. The purpose of a watershed district is to cross those boundaries and find solutions that work even when the problem is in one place and the solution in another. But legislation proposed by Sen. Ray Vandeveer and Rep. Bob Dettmer would impose artificial political boundaries. Essentially, the legislation would move budget decisions from the watershed board (people dedicated to analyzing the whole problem) to the (usually) multiple counties and their respective county commissioners (usually dozens of people who have special interests in their own counties).

The Red Lake Watershed District, for instance, has 10 counties! All respective county commissioners would have to be brought up-to-speed on all watershed issues and all commissioners would have to somehow magically switch hats and analyze an entire watershed instead of just their county (a highly unlikely proposition). Imagine the gridlock with this added bureaucracy! What works better to solve problems: 5 knowledgeable people familiar with the issues or 50 people with little knowledge of the issues and conflicting interests of their own? The proposed legislation is exactly contrary to the purpose of a watershed district. In my opinion, if SF756 and HF 880 pass, the state may as well abolish watershed districts and forget trying to improve our water resources. (I conclude this from the perspective of a common citizen wanting improved water quality in our state.)

The MnDNR says that about 40% of waters assessed fall short of at least one water quality standard. Our water resources are in trouble. Look at the picture of Peltier Lake with its scummy smelly algae, a common sight in the summer. It is identified by the state as an “impaired water,” as are many others. It needs help that only the Rice Creek Watershed District can give it. Our watershed districts with their no-nonsense, scientifically (not politically) based  solutions are our only hope to protect and improve our neglected water resources.

The mandate of the people of Minnesota is clear with the passing of the Clean Water, Wildlife, Cultural Heritage, and Natural Areas amendment. The people want more resources devoted to preserving our environment without cutting existing programs.

Please tell Sen. Ray Vandeveer (sen.ray.vandeveer@senate.mn, 651-296-4351) and Rep. Bob Dettmer (rep.bob.dettmer@house.mn, 651-296-4124) to withdraw SF756 and HF880. For more information, visit www.PeltierLake.Org or send an e-mail to Mail@PeltierLake.Org.

Troubled Waters at Peltier Lake

Wikipedia describes the former pristine condition of the watershed before houses, farms, and roads. It certainly isn't that way anymore!

"According to the Minnesota Historical Society, Rice Creek was named for Henry Mower Rice, one of the first pair of U.S. Senators sent to represent Minnesota upon its statehood, who acquired extensive lands near the lower course of the creek in 1849. Early surveys conducted by Joseph Nicollet record the name of Rice Creek as "Ottonwey River" or Atoonowe-ziibi in the Ojibwe language meaning "River for making Canoes." However, its Ojibwe language name has also been recorded as "Manominikan Sibi" or Manoominikaan-ziibi, meaning "river full of wild rice," which is known to have grown plentifully in the lakes of the watershed. Nicollet described the creek as: "At 2:45, as we left the islands behind, a rivulet about thirty feet wide entered the river from the left. Its shores are adorned with beautiful white lilies. Chagobay told me that it winds back to the vicinity of the Falls of the St. Croix River, being separated from the latter by only a short portage. Its course links several alkes, while irrigating a land abundant with wild rice where the Sioux gather their yearly provisions. The Sioux call it in their language Wild Rice River, and the Chippewa Manominikan Sibi, which means river where one reaps wild rice. "Manomin" (wild rice) was also the basis for the naming of the former Manomin County, which later was incorporated into Anoka County and ultimately became, in part, the city of Fridley, where the creek joins the Mississippi River."

"Archaeological evidence exists that suggests ancestors of the Sioux hunted and fished in the vicinity of Bald Eagle Lake (approximately present-day White Bear Township) in the Rice Creek watershed, and had a summer village in the present-day city of Centerville as early as 2000 B.C."

For more information, click the "Troubled Waters" button.

This site provides information on Peltier Lake, the Great Blue Herons by Peltier Lake, the Chain of Lakes in Lino Lakes, and other environmental information.

Peltier Lake is located in Anoka county in the cities of Lino Lakes and Centerville, Minnesota, about 15 miles north of Saint Paul.

This site is maintained by Wayne LeBlanc. He does volunteer lake sampling for the Rice Creek Watershed District, MPCA, and the Sentinel Lakes Program. He monitors streams with the Stream Health Evaluation Project, has nearly 30 years of experience with lake issues, and helps monitor the Great Blue Herons. He serves on the Rice Creek Watershed District Advisory Committee. He has completed the Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer program.

If there are any questions, send email to Mail@PeltierLake.Org.