Pickerel Lake and Little Clear Lake

[Dean]

www.stormlakepilottribune.com/story/1614366.html

[wschac1]

Any clue what Lizard Lake O2 levels are? The article also did not mention Ducks Unlimited helping with that lake, is the DNR venturing away from using DU for shallow lakes now as well?

[Dean]

I have not seen any reports about Lizard Lake oxygen levels. They probably did check it though. That's if the roads ever got plowed. Little Clear Lake was checked which is west of Poky. The low oxygen levels in these lakes shows that dredging is needed to restore these lakes, not "shallow lakes management".
Shallow Lakes Mngmt would cause MORE frequent winterkills.

[commonsense]

Dean,

Actually, lake restoration that causes increased vegetation, which is why I believe you and everyone else on this forum are concerned, helps increase O2 levels in shallow lakes. Plants are oxygen producing through the photosynthesis process and therefore more plants = more O2 = less chance for low oxygen winter kill. Increased O2 also improves fishing as the increased O2 allows fish to breath easier due to a higher oxygen content and increased aquatic microorganisms that the fish feed on (or that organisms feed on that then become forage for fish) that also rely on O2 for survival, not only during the winter under the ice, but year round. Have you notice that the fish that you catch at the lake (of the same species) are all about the same size, more or less, and don't ever seem to have any girth to them?

These plants that I speak of that oxygenate the water are not cattails as cattails conduct their CO2/O2 exchange mostly above water, (also, cattails will not grow beyond 3' to 3 1/2' in water depth.) they are submergant vegetation that would take hold throughout the lake if drained. The spores of these plants are still found in the sediment of the lake can stay dormant for years and decades. They only need a chance to re-emerge and can only get that chance through the sediment layers exposure to the atmosphere. Remember that mother nature was managing these lakes long before we (humans) were and she would occasionally dry up these shallow lakes through natural droughts. Look up the history of the natural glacier lakes of Iowa and read about the stories of the first settlers talking about the diverse plant and animal/aquatic life and clean, clear water.

Food for thougth..... literally. Ever eat cattail? Common cattail was a staple of the Native American culture because it was easy to harvest, required no cultivation, quite tasty, and highly nutritious. Who knew!!!

Just my 2 "sense" worth.

[Dean]

Here is something I found on the internet that was published by the Government of Alberta, Canada.

"Winter kill occurs in frozen lakes and ponds where the exchange of gases between the water below the ice and the air above is not enough to maintain oxygen levels that support fish.

During the winter, oxygen normally enters the water of a frozen lake through inlet water streams, cracks in the ice, and slow diffusion through the ice. A thick snow cover on a lake can reduce the amount of oxygen passing through the ice.

Fish and other aquatic plants and animals use oxygen throughout the winter. Despite this steady use, if lakes are deep enough, they may contain a sufficient volume of water to maintain oxygen above lethal levels. But in shallow lakes where the water volume is low, winter kill will occur.

Depending on the length of the winter, the amount of snow cover, the amount of fresh water entering the lake, and the number of fish and other life in the lake, winter kill may occur only every few years. Like summer kill, it may only occur in certain shallow areas of the lake where fish are unable to escape to deeper and more oxygen-rich water."

This is why I believe that these lakes should be dredged.
I do agree that more aquatic vegetation would be beneficial to the lake but not to the extent that is being proposed by "shallow lakes management".
Why did they dredge Storm Lake and Clear Lake? Why not drain those lakes as well?