LLPOA LAKE MANAGEMENT
COMMITTEE MEETING
January, 2023 RECAP
inform & educate residents; develop sustainable
lake management solutions
- Eagle Scout signage project – We have a sign design and preliminary parts list. The Mundelein Tool Library has offered their new Woodworking Shop space for us to use for the sign construction. One sign will be at North Beach and the other at South Beach. The Education team is reviewing/finalizing content. The Fish team will review the fish forms. We are looking for volunteers to help with the construction and installation of the signs. Walt T. volunteered to help.
- Geese
-fencing update – John P. has all the PVC pieces cut and ready for assembly on the new geese fencing gates for North and South Beach. Assembly will be in John’s garage, 559 Banbury, this Saturday, Jan 13, at 9:00 AM. Marty, John E and Walt volunteered to help out.
-Geese Away lights – Marty gave a presentation on the geese deterrent product he found at geeseaway.com. These low-level lights are solar powered and flash on and off at night which disturbs the geese. The geese end up leaving after a few nights of this. Marty had excellent conversations with the company that makes them. Van raised a question about the lights effect on other waterfowl. Marty and Van will follow up on this with the company and provide an update at the next meeting where we can recommend whether to pursue this option.
– Luke Emde and Tom are planning to attend the next Fremont Library Board meeting to try and get them to turn off their pond aerator over the winter months. This is currently attracting a very large flock of geese to hang out there. Our main concern is that their pond is part of our lake’s watershed.
- Beaver update – New beaver activity has been seen near the dam on the east side of the pond (not the trees we wrapped but the other side of the pond). LLPOA does not own that strip of property. Tom contacted the village and they do not own it either. They suggested contacting IDOT. Tom will contact IDOT.
- Team updates
-Native Plants – The team is working on expanding the native plant buffer strip at South Beach. They will also be working on a plan for the plants to placed in the floating islands (see below).
-Education – The team is currently working on reviewing the content for the signs for the Eagle Scout sign project.
-Monitoring – Doug will be coordinating the Secchi Reading Team for this year. Anyone interested in helping with the semi-monthly Secchi readings, please reach out to Doug at doug.johnson@douglasmedicalproducts.com
-Fishing – We are looking for fishermen and fisherwomen for this team. We are planning to have this team help the Events team with the fishing derbies as well hopefully some fishing lessons for the community. They will also help track fish populations and make recommendations for fish stocking. Anyone interested, please reach out to Tom at tomcasey@lochlomondlake,com
-Research – Looking for volunteers to continue the research on initiatives such as aerators and dredging (both biodredging and traditional dredging). Anyone interested, please reach out to Tom at tomcasey@lochlomondlake,com
- Lake management 2023 contract
-Spraying for invasive plants – The plan is to continue this with McCloud Aquatics this year. I will have more information on this for our February meeting.
-Add planktonic algae treatments – We are looking to add this to our contract with McCloud Aquatics this year. will have more information on this for our February meeting. 6. 2023 potential projects
-Floating islands – The group agreed to pursue the purchase of 4 floating islands. Initial plan is have the islands off of North Beach, South Beach, Firth Inlet and one other location TBD. These locations are based upon having these islands near our major inlets which is where the majority or nutrients flow into our lake.
-Aerators – Research continues on evaluating this potential project.
-Biodredging – We will be receiving a report from McCloud Aquatics early this spring on the effectiveness of the trial application we did in the fall. Based upon the results we will decide on whether to pursue this option any further.
-Eutrosorb for phosphorus – McCloud Aquatics is looking at newer products and options coming on the market that look more promising than these filters.
-Inlet stabilization – We need volunteers to review the current streams in our neighborhood and the Hey and Associates Long Term Plan and make recommendations. A resident on Highland just redid the stream bank going through their front yard with rock and wire mesh. This is a great example of controlling the erosion on the stream bank. Eric has volunteered to work on this. If you are also interested in working on this initiative, please reach out to Tom at tomcasey@lochlomondlake,com
- Update of Lake County lakes grant application – We are awaiting a decision from Lake County on the combined grant submitted by Butler Lake, St. Mary’s Lake and Loch Lomond to implement a system across the 3 lakes to address the poor water quality issues and HABs. Lake County had indicated they should have a decision in January.
- Spring Lake Management Education Kickoff – We are pursuing holding a Spring Lake Management Kickoff to inform and educate the residents as well as provide some fun activities. We are targeting Sunday May 21. Ideas we are looking at are fishing lessons, boat rides, native plant education, HAB education, lake management plans for the year and a BBQ. Please bring your suggestions and ideas to our February meeting!
- Next meeting – February 7, 2023
- Future meetings: March 7, April 11, May 9, June 13, July 11, August 15, September 12, October 10 and November 14. Mark your calendars!