The Lake Where You Live

My copy of “Lake Tides” arrived by mail last week with some bad news on the cover.

Many readers of this column receive Lake Tides, the quarterly newsletter from Extension Lakes at the UW-Stevens Point College of Natural Resources. It’s an excellent publication that covers all manner of topics related to lake stewardship and is sent at no cost to lake lovers of all stripes.

Long story short, the bad news is that starting in 2025 Lake Tides will publish only three times a year instead of four. The reason: While the newsletter’s budget allocation has stayed flat since 2018, printing and mailing costs have gone up sharply. So it’s necessary to cut expenses. 

The fine print in the summer-fall edition’s cover story is that more cost cutting will be needed in addition to the reduction in frequency. And to me, this brings up larger questions: How much do we actually care about our lakes? And how much are we willing to contribute to sustain them?

Extension Lakes chronically struggles against budget pressure. So does Wisconsin Lakes, our statewide lake association. So do individual lake associations and lake districts all over our state. So much needs to be done, and yet so relatively little money is available.

For example, the state’s surface water grants program provides some $6 million in cost-sharing to help protect and restore lakes and streams. But when spread across some 11,000 lakes and roughly 84,000 miles of rivers and streams, that starts to look like a pittance, especially given the importance of water resources to our economy and quality of life.

And just try getting a meaningful increase in that funding through official channels. The state has many priorities, taxpayers are stressed, government can’t do everything – I get it. And small lake groups, individual property owners, anglers, boaters paddlers, swimmers, wildlife watchers and other lake users have their limits, as well.

It can be hard to get people to open their pocketbooks. For instance, the Extension Lakes team has asked Lake Tides recipients if they would pay for a subscription. Most said they would not. Lake associations typically set annual membership dues at a nominal $25-30, and yet in many cases half to one-fourth of property owners opt not to join.

Meantime our lakes are beset by invasive species, nutrient pollution, rapid and sometimes unwise shoreline development, and more. So, what’s to be done? There’s no easy answer, but part of the solution lies in each person’s generosity. Sometimes all you have to do is ask.

Case in point: several years ago the Oneida County Lakes and Rivers Association added a sustaining level of membership – twice the standard rate. About three-fourths of members chose and continue to opt for the sustaining rate.

The point is: Maybe if asked to dig a little deeper to help protect something they value greatly, many people would do so. If the great many people who own property on lakes, or otherwise enjoy lakes, were to make or increase contributions to their favorite lake-related causes, we would see a meaningful increase in the funds available for lake protection.

If it turns out that’s not the case, then maybe we don’t love lakes as much as we say we do.

Ted Rulseh is a writer, author and lake advocate who lives on Birch Lake in Oneida County. His new book, “Ripple Effects,” has been released by UW Press. You can learn about it by visiting my website at https://thelakeguy.net.