Preserving and protecting Lake Charlevoix for future generations is everyone’s right and responsibility.
The challenges are many. For starters, the water must be kept clean of pollution. We need to watch out for chemicals that can be dumped into the lake, for fertilizers that can seep into it from lawns and farms, for oil washing in from storm sewers or roadways. We need to be alert to air-borne pollutants like mercury or industrial dust that can fall into Lake Charlevoix from upwind electric and manufacturing plants.
We need to be careful that we don’t introduce new species of plant, marine or animal live that could threaten the native species. The Lake Charlevoix Association is currently leading an effort to control the spread of phragmites australis, an invasive grass that is flourishing on our shorelines and overwhelming native plants. Every lake user ought to make sure he or she isn’t dumping ballast water that could contain foreign organisms.
We also need to keep an eye out for threats to the lake’s natural beauty. While many of our local governments have adopted rules to prevent drastic change on the shorelines, builders and landscapers sometimes skirt the rules, clear-cutting beachfronts and dropping “decorative” boulders below the high-water mark that ought to be the boundary. We need to side with local officials in their efforts to enforce the rules designed for everyone’s protection.
The same is true for threats like noise pollution from unmuffled large motors, often in combination with boats that are exceeding safe speeds on the lake. The sheriff’s marine division can issue citations if we are active in bringing violations to its attention.
We enjoy this lake because earlier generations were careful not to abuse it. We owe the same care to the generations to come.
For more about these subjects, please follow these links:
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