2017 Fall Newsletter
2017 Fall Newsletter
Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving!
A warm and unusually wet summer has been replaced by snow and frigid temps, although there were some gorgeous fall days and colors in between. The Big Pine Lake Association (BPLA) Board of Directors wishes to again share news, current status and future activities that will hopefully be of interest to our members and other property owners on Big Pine Lake.
Membership – We are delighted to report that the BPLA membership remains stable at a healthy level. There are currently 52 paid BPLA memberships which are effective until April 30, 2018. Membership renewals for 2018 will begin May 1. Membership dues remain $25 annually with additional donations welcomed and appreciated for special projects.
Annual Meeting – A good number of members attended our Annual Meeting on August 19 at the Crosslake Community Center. That meeting featured a guest speaker, Owen Baird, MN DNR Fisheries Management Specialist. Owen shared interesting information on the organization and local operations of DNR Fisheries, as well as, the design and benefits of rock riffle structures which are being constructed to replace aging dams throughout Minnesota. We are currently partners with Crow Wing County, MN DNR Fisheries and Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District, project manager, to re-construct our county-owned rock dam into such a structure. Individual Directors provided updates on that project, as well as, BPLA’s financial status and recent Board activities including, social events, communications, mosquito management and rock dam performance. If you missed that meeting, you can catch up by reading the detailed minutes and viewing the slides which are attached for your convenience.
Board of Directors and Officers – We were pleased to welcome one new member to our Board this year: Scott Eichhorst, a year-around resident on Big Pine Lake, was elected to a two-year term at our Annual Meeting in August. Richard Beck has been a valuable asset to the Board but was unable to continue at this time. He received a Certificate of Appreciation plaque for his recent service on the Board. Dennis Bengtson, Ken Ormsbee and Tom Veeninga were re-elected to new two-year terms. Pam Graves, Ann and Bill Korchick continue on the Board for the second year of their elected terms.
As required by BPLA’s By Laws, the Directors met immediately following the Annual Meeting to elect officer positions for the next year. Current BPLA Board officers and leadership positions are as follows:
Dennis Bengtson, President Bill Korchik, Vice President Tom Veeninga, Treasurer Pam Graves, Secretary Scott Eichhorst, Director, Lake Management Ann Korchik, Director, Social Events & Activities Ken Ormsbee, Director, Communications & Finance and President-Elect for 2018
Please do not hesitate to contact any Board member with a question, concern or suggestion, although you may be directed to another Board member for resolution.
New Lake Management Board Position – The recent alleged discovery of Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) plants below the Pine River Dam in Crosslake and also in the river basin at the entrance to Big Pine Lake is requiring the BPLA Board to focus on Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) issues as never before. While zebra mussels have become a very real AIS concern on the Whitefish Chain, we have received no reports to date of seeing any in Big Pine Lake. In our Board meeting of October 14, we established a new Board position which would consolidate the various individual responsibilities for water quality sampling, floating bog management, and fish stocking with the new AIS management responsibility into a new position called Lake Management. Our Board continues to function as a team with each member contributing as needed, however, we all have areas of leadership responsibility. We are delighted that our newest Board member, Scott Eichhorst, has agreed to assume the Lake Management position. He will immediately take the lead on AIS issues for BPLA and other responsibilities will be transitioned to him next season, as appropriate.
Social Activities and Events – In our 2017 Annual Meeting last August, Ann Korchik, Director, Social Events and Activities, proposed a Calendar of Events for 2018. As shown below, five events are currently anticipated, although others may be added if desired:
Roadway Cleanup – Saturday, May 26 @ 10 AM
Meet at the public access area to pick up bags and team/area assignments. Following completion of the cleanup, brats, hot dogs, chips and beverages will be served. More details will be communicated next spring.
Family Fishing Tournament – Saturday, June 16 8 AM – 1 PM
Details will be emailed to all paid BPLA members in May. Note: this popular event has been moved up from the Independence Day weekend to allow more favorable fishing conditions.
Boat Parade (Independence Day weekend) – Saturday, June 30 @ 2 PM
This is the same day as Crosslake Fireworks. Join the celebration with or without decorating you boat. Format will be similar to 2017.
Fish Passage Completion Celebration – Saturday, July 21 Time and place TBD
We are hopeful that this timing will work and welcome ideas for making this event special.
BPLA Annual Meeting – Saturday, August 18 10 AM – Noon
Arrive at 9:30 AM to check in and enjoy coffee, pastries and visiting with other lake association members before electing new board members for the 2018-2019 season.
As always, the Board welcomes suggestions and encourages volunteers to help make our social events and activities valuable and enjoyable for all members. Please contact Ann Korchik at (612) 469-5017 if you wish to share an idea and/or lend a hand.
Rock Dam Performance – The completion of Phase I of the Fish Passage Project in mid-June, restored the function and performance of the rock dam so we had usable lake elevations the rest of the summer season. We did have another serious occurrence of floating bogs caused by the 48” bounce that occurred from June 5 to June 20 in conjunction with Phase I construction. Although the huge floating bog caused a new breach in the rock dam, Brad Holmvig, contractor for Phase I, responded almost immediately to remove the bog and patch up the new breach. In mid-July, BPLA held a pizza party at the Wood Tick Inn and presented Brad with an engraved plaque of appreciation for his on-going support.
It is unknown if or when the rock dam may again suffer damage from high flows out of the Pine River Dam in Crosslake, but that remains an exposure until Phase II of the Fish Passage Project is completed.
Pine River Fish Passage Project – As often occurs on large, multi-agency, public projects, progress on Phase II of the Fish Passage Project has been slowed by two unanticipated issues:
First, the DNR Waters Permit, necessary to formally bid the Phase II construction project has not yet been issued, pending completion of a Dam Safety Review of the structure’s final design.
Second, completion of that review has been delayed by the limited availability and high cost of the vast amounts of rock necessary to construct the riffle structure. According to Crow Wing County Engineering, there has been high regional demand for rocks of the type and size our project requires so local availability is limited and prices are high due to the dynamics of supply and demand. A search is underway for a local rock source to reduce transportation costs and consideration is also being given to separately contracting for the material and the construction.
Meanwhile, the SWCD project engineer and DNR Fisheries have been doing some Cost Engineering studies of the original design to find ways to reduce its scale and cost while preserving its essential functions and benefits. However, until the design changes can be finalized, the Dam Safety review cannot be completed nor the Waters Permit issued.
The SWCD Project Manager, Beth Hippert, has assured us that they are working diligently on resolving these issues but it is not possible at this time to predict when the Permit will be available to allow the formal Phase II bid process to begin. We certainly wish we had better news to share at this time but we will let everyone know by separate e-mail as soon as we do hear any news.
Water Quality – Water quality has been a focus of our lake for a number of years now.
- As presented at the annual meeting in August, Big Pine Lake has submitted monthly water samples to the WAPOA (Whitefish Area Property Owners Association) sponsored water quality testing program. For a small fee, we formally joined WAPOA this year when the new monitoring company proposed to analyze the data and present actions to improve water quality. We are pleased to report that the quality of the water has continued to improve this summer, after the east bank dam breach was repaired and the water level rose. We thank all residents who chose to minimize the phosphorus leaching into our lake by moving fire pits away from the shoreline and raking/disposing of yard waste away from the lake.
- We have a Board representative on the larger Crosslakers Water Quality committee. Tentatively, we are committed to collaborating on some quantitative water quality measures to show improvements by 2025. Stay tuned for more information from the Crosslakers groups.
- Shoreline restoration will continue to be a focus of residents with our large lake level ‘bounce,’ or the difference between our high and low water levels that erode the shoreline. The bounce is due to the management of the Pine River Corps of Engineers dam in Crosslake to control water levels on the Whitefish Chain after rains and droughts. Resources are expected to be available in the Spring to fortify your shoreline naturally. Please contact a Board member if you are interested.
We hope this information has been interesting and useful to you. Please let us know your questions or suggestions regarding these and other lake-related topics. Thanks.
Wishing you and yours a very happy and safe holiday season!
Your Big Pine Lake Association Board of Directors