Project timeline
May-June 2008
Town Lakes Committee newsletter alerts lake residents to the upcoming project
July - September 2008
Information gotten out to residents, time for discussion among lake community members about participating.
End of time period for lakes to join the project:
Last day of October 2008.
November 2008 - January 2009 Town Lakes sub-committee and Onterra Lake Ecology firm prepare the application for an AIS Prevention grant.
February 1, 2009
Grant application submitted to the WDNR.
April 1, 2009
Grant approved and project begins! Volunteer hours began to accumulate as of this date.
June 2009
The Kick-off and Planning Committee orientation was held on June 6.
Curly-leaf pondweed and water quality surveys conducted on all lakes.
July 2009
Second round of water quality and aquatic plant surveys conducted on all lakes. Data collected on watershed and fisheries. Volunteer training sessions held.
August 2009
Third round of water quality and aquatic plant surveys to be conducted on all lakes. Volunteer training sessions held.
September - November 2009
Stakeholder Surveys finalized and mailed out to all lake property owners. Responses tabulated as they are received, all to be passed along to Onterra for use in producing lake management plans.
November 2009 -March 2010
Data analyzed, reports prepared.
July 10, 2010 from 8 until noon
Wrap-Up Meeting held at Northland Pines High School to present findings and recommendations to lake property owners. The Gala Celebration was attended by almost 100 people.
April - Fall 2010
Lake representatives previewed the first draft of their lakes’ management plan in April. Feedback from them or other lake residents is welcome up to Labor Day weekend.
CLASS - the Cloverland Lakes Aquatic Species Survey
Lake property owners have been heard!
Of 630 Stakeholders Surveys mailed out last October, over 400 had been filled out and returned by early November, a phenomenal rate of return!
That feedback laid the foundation for lake management plans that were previewed by lake representatives in April and will be finalized over the summer. Management plans will address issues involving the use and condition of your lake -- what it is now and what you and your lake neighbors want it to be in the future.
To pay for CLASS, the Town Lakes Committee was awarded a WDNR grant. It pays for 75% of the project --$140,000. The remaining 25% was to be earned by time people spent attending CLASS-related meetings, participating in training and workshops, and performing volunteer tasks important to the project. By July of 2010, Cloverland volunteers had amassed over 4700 in-kind hours, surpassing the 4500 total needed to meet that obligation!
Aspen
Boot
Bragonier
Brazell
Bullfrog
Camp 12
Chickaree
Cloverland Town Lakes Committee
Vilas County, WI
The 21 participating lakes
Finley
Lotus
Mary
McDonald Muskellunge
Nelson
Perch
Pickerel
Rangeline
Rice
Seneca
Snipe
Sunset
Tepee
ON THE LAKE - Onterra, LLC, founder Tim Hoyman and staff ecologist Brenton Butterfield working from one of the johnboats Onterra used to complete the summer surveys on our lakes.
This page was last updated on July 20, 2010
Onterra completed all of its water quality and aquatic plant sampling last summer, though low water levels made it impossible to do all the surveys on Lake Mary.
Over the winter Onterra processed all the data collected from their on-water surveys, as well as Shareholders Suvey input from property owners on all 21 CLASS lakes. The first review of their findings happened at the lake rep meetings in April. The project Wrap-Up Meeting was held July 10 at Northland Pines High School. Final lake management reports will be coming this fall.
The scope of the project -
Reports to be prepared -
1. A lake specific report and plan for each participating lake
2. A town-wide compilation of all the individual reports and plans, and a Cloverland Lakes Management Plan.
The reports will be based on input and data collected during these five tasks:
1. Lake property owner participation and education
Includes a Kick-off Meeting with Onterra, Planning Committee* orientation and activities, survey of property owners, other information forums and training (*The Planning Committee is made up of one or two reps from each lake.)
2. Watershed characterization
Watershed information will be considered in terms of how it impacts the management plan for each lake
3. Lake water quality
This would be monitored on each lake to identify potential problems and create a water quality database to track long term trends
4. Aquatic plant surveys
Includes Curly-leaf Pondweed assessment and comprehensive aquatic plant survey and mapping on each lake, and volunteer aquatic plant monitor training
5. Fisheries data integration
Compilation of available historic fisheries data, listing known fish species and information pertaining to spawning habitat requirements, nursery areas and food sources.