Wrong Lake, Wrong Time, Wrong Approach - Presentation to IA House Natural Resources Committee Part 1

On Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 1:00PM Mary Gidel, biology/chemistry teacher at Rockwell City/Lytton High School in Rockwell City and Randy Gray, Network administrator at Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison, Iowa represented hundreds of permanent residents who live in the Twin Lakes area that would like to see a different management plan developed for South Twin Lake. Mary currently lives on the south end of South Twin Lake and Randy grew up on South Twin Lake and spends many weekends there to this day. Randys mother still lives at South Twin Lake each year from May through October.

Residents overwhelmingly believe that the current plans developed by the DNR and Ducks Unlimited for South Twin Lake are being applied to the wrong lake at the wrong time with the wrong approach.

Rather than a partnership --- in 2006 South Twin Lakes was placed in the DNR Shallow Lakes Project without consulting any public or private entity in Calhoun County despite the huge economic and recreational consequences to the area.
The property owners of North and South Twin Lakes, Twin Lakes Restoration Association members, the Calhoun County Board of Supervisors, and residents of the surrounding communities were not involved in the decision to separate the lakes and place South Twin in the Shallow Lakes Project.
I
n this time of budget cuts and fiscal responsibility, do not spend over $250,000 on a project that will turn a beautiful lake into a marsh.
There are cheaper solutions to water quality where everyone would benefit and Calhoun County could keep a unique natural resource.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• South Twin Lake
• Iowa DNR
• Ducks Unlimited
• DU
• draining
• marsh
• Twin Lakes
• Shallow Lakes Initiative