Published Monday, August 13, 2009. Outdoor News/Sportman's Weekly

Property owners oppose new access on northeastern lake

By Tim Spielman
Associate Editor

Duluth, Minn. - The state DNR has had opposition to new lake accesses in the past, but this might be the first time residents of a lake have banded together to block an access on the grounds that it could bring invasive species other than plants; they've also demanded a statewide moratorium on access development.

Property owners around Big Pequaywan Lake northeast of Duluth have sent letters to DNR officials - and even the governor - voicing their concerns, according to one of the residents, but they haven't heard back. DNR officials say a response to the group is nigh, but they stopped short of saying what the response would be.

Dan Dexter, who retired this spring after 25 years with DNR Fisheries, has a seasonal cabin on the lake. He said residents along the 420-acre St. Louis County lake are worried about the lake, which so far appears not to be infested by one of the glut of invasive plants and creatures that have found their way to other Minnesota waters.

"Virtually everyone up there is pretty concerned," he said. "We like our lake just the way it is."

Having worked for the DNR in Duluth, Dexter said he realizes one of the department's charges is to provide public access to public waters.

"I think those people in Trails and Waterways (now the Division of Parks and Trails) are paid by us to try to provide more access," he said. "I don't hold that against any of them. It's not their fault that there are exotic species out there."

Dexter said concern about Big Pequaywan was fueled by a possible sale of land to the DNR, and the discovery of zebra mussels in a nearby lake. Infestation of Pequaywan also could mean downstream infestation of lakes like Alden and possibly Island, he added.

State officials say it's their goal to provide public access to all lakes considered public (those in which the lakebed isn't part of a land survey). Private lakes typically are small (50 acres or fewer) and are part of a landowner's land survey, according to Kent Skaar, acquisition and development section leader for the Division of Parks and Trails.

"Our directive is to provide access to the state's waters," he said. "First and foremost are those with no access. Second are those with limited access."

Because of changes over the years, many accesses, too, are in need of upgrades.

In many cases, Skaar said, accesses were developed in the 1950s and '60s, on small parcels of land.

"Rigs (boats and trailers) these days are relatively large," he said. "A lot of sites are too small for rigs now."

Funding for access sites are numerous - from boat license fees, to federal funding (Dingell-Johnson funds), to bonding dollars allotted by the state Legislature.

DNR officials don't deny movement of invasive species from lake to lake is a problem. Enforcement efforts aimed at such transport has been stepped up this summer at several locations following the discovery of exotics in some prominent locations, including zebra mussels in Lake Le Homme Dieu in western Minnesota and Prior Lake in the southern metro area.

In the past, groups have rallied against access development because of the threat of Eurasian water milfoil, Skaar said.

He said state officials might balk at access development on a smaller, undeveloped lake, but likely would proceed with plans on Pequaywan, if land is available for purchase. The DNR may only purchase land for lake access from willing sellers, he added.

"There are no circumstances in the recent past where there's been a lake that's highly developed - like Pequaywan is - where we've had this kind of concern," Skaar said, adding that via private property, boats are coming and going from the lake.

But Dexter said lakeshore property owners have worked together to not only be vigilant of invasives transport, but also to take care of a fishery that's not supported by stocking, because there is no public access. He says there are walleyes, northern pike, crappies, perch, rock bass, and some smallmouth bass in the lake, which reaches a maximum depth of about 35 feet.

Dexter says it's a good lake for fishing, and that residents on the lake voluntarily release a number of fish, expecially spawning-size walleyes, to ensure continued viability sans stocking.

Dexter said he witnessed during his quater-century stint with the DNR the discovery of a number of invasive species in Lake Superior and inland lakes. In many cases, the invaders may have been there several years prior to their discovery.

"We need to start treating every water in the state like it's infested," he said, "because we don't know that it's not."

Lakeshore residents haven't ruled out a lawsuit regarding possible Pequaywan access, Dexter said, but will wait for the DNR's response.

Skaar said new acquisitions for lake access range from about three to a dozen each year. Because of recent high lakeshore land prices, "we're looking at a lot more properties than we're developing."

There are about 1,600 accesses operated by the DNR on state lakes and rivers, Skaar said. Several other accesses are managed by the department, along with a local unit of government, such as a county or township.

Beyond new accesses, much of the program's funding is used for upgrading existing facilities to "bring them up to standards," Skaar said.