Impacts of Watershed and Riparian Health on Cazenovia Lake

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Impacts of Watershed and Riparian Health on
Cazenovia Lake

• Scott Ingmire
• Madison County Planning Department
• 366-2498
• scott.ingmire_at_co.madison.ny.us

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What Makes a Natural Lake so Beautiful???
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What is a Riparian Zone?

• Transitional zone between land and water.
• Often exhibit characteristics of both upland and
  water areas.
• Often support many more species in a small area
  than upland or lake systems do.

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Grass Lawns and Retaining Walls Have Replaced
Much of the Native Plants that Once Grew on the
Shores of Cazenovia Lake
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Stormwater Sediments Eurasian water-milfoil

• Sediments bring nutrients (P)
• In pulses
• exploited by fast growing plants.
• Eurasian water-milfoil grows
• from root crowns
• like asparagus.
• Sediments
• smother native plants
• facilitate EW milfoil dominance.

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Impervious Surfaces Increase Sediment Flow

• Precipitation not penetrating soils
• rolls down hill
• with increasing velocity force
• pushing sediments nutrients
• to Lake.

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Construction with Nonfunctional Siltation Fence
Water Body Siltation May 2004
Driveway down steep slope
Gentleman rotilling
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1. What are the Benefits of a Natural or Restored
Shoreline as Opposed to a Shoreline with an
Extensive Lawn?

• Improved wildlife habitat
• Improved erosion control
• Nutrient and Stormwater runoff buffering capacity
• Enhanced aesthetics?
• Deterrent to Canada Geese
• Minimal maintenance requirements

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Water Quality Has a Significant Impact on
Property Values!
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Mississippi River Headwaters Study

• Water quality was shown to be a significant
  explanatory variable of lakeshore property prices
  in all lake groups in both versions of the model.
  Water quality has a positive relationship with
  property prices.
• In other words, buyers of lakeshore properties
  prefer and will pay more for properties on lakes
  with better water quality.

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• For example, if one could see down an extra 3
  feet (down to 13 feet) on Leech Lake, a 40-foot
  lake property's value would rise by nearly
  17,000. If the lake's clarity is reduced by more
  than 3 feet, that would cut values by 23,760

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3/19/06 Syracuse Post Standard

• Even the once-feared zebra mussel may have
  helped boost development by filtering out much of
  the algae in Oneida Lake, which is much shallower
  and warmer than other Central New York lakes
• "Oneida Lake is so underdeveloped compared to
  other lakes," Oot said. "I don't always think it
  was the Mecca like Skaneateles and Cazenovia. I
  think it's coming, though. The water's cleaner,
  the clarity of the water's better - whether
  that's the zebra mussels, I don't know."

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A planted shoreline can often serve as an
excellent deterrent to nuisance Canada geese
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2. Examples of Designs and Restored Shorelines
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Cazenovia Lake
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Shoreline Restoration Project
Before June 1999
After August 2000
Anvil Lake - Vilas County 1999 - 2000
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Ready to Plant - Anvil Lake, Vilas County
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One year after planting
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Native Refers to organisms (plants or animals)
that originally occurred in an area and are
adapted to the climate and environmental
conditions.
Restoration Action taken to repair or return a
plant community or habitat to its former natural
condition.
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Native shrubs, herbs, and grasses often have
much deeper root structures than turf lawn
grass.
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What are the End Goals of a Shoreline Restoration
Project?

• Depends on the Landowners desires and interests.
• Depends on the starting conditions of the
  project.
• Depends on the time scale in which you frame the
  project (1 year or 50 years?).
• It Depends on how the project is maintained
  afterwards.

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CAPP Action Plan Issue Number 2-- The loss of
natural vegetation for shade and cover for fish
and animal habitat and of erosion is most
critical in the riparian(shoreline) zone.

• Land Use regulations should be modified to
  explicitly include a riparian buffer zone around
  Chittenango Creek and expand the buffer zone
  around Cazenovia Lake.

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Helpful Links

• http//www.dnr.state.mn.us/shorelandmgmt/index.htm
  l
• http//www.shorelandmanagement.org/
• http//www.dnr.state.wi.us/