The Threat is Real

Sure...when you wake up in the morning, the sun is shining and the sky is blue, but do not let these familiar comforts lull you into the belief that this fragile serenity is not under constant threat of total destruction. Plant, animal, and mineral; the threats to our community are numerous and take a variety of guises. They attempt to undermine the very foundations of our society by dividing our community. They pit lakeshore owners against his neighbor across the street, they split anglers from their recreational counterparts, and worst of all they place us, the people, in contention with our very own Lake Minnetonka.

You should never bite the hand that feeds you, and our Lake still needs a few band-aids
click on topics for more information

Eurasian Milfoil (currently infested)
A blight on our Lake for the past 30 years, this bad boy can grow an inch for each hour of sunlight received. The negatives to this plant are far reaching, and its solitary and highly debatable positive is that the bass seem to love it. Well, I am happy for the bass, I really am, but that bass has yet to offer assistance in pitchforking the two tons of milfoil that washes ashore daily.

Zebra Mussels (not yet)
Check your boat over every time you bring it from one lake to another. On the selfish side, check it twice before you drop it into our Lake. I say this because zebra mussels will completely destroy our Lake. The ecology will be obliterated, recreation will be almost non-existent, and property values will plummet.

VHS (not yet)
This is the Ebola virus for 25 different varieties of fish. It's spread via bodily fluid and can survive in water for upwards of fourteen days. Although they say you can still safely eat these fish, I personally would not consume a fish that was being eaten from the inside out.

Hydrilla (not yet)
This threat from the old world was set upon our Nation by some yahoo in Florida who didn’t like his guppy. This noxious nuisance is often referred to as the perfect weed (Yes, my friends, something worse than milfoil). It needs no outside assistance to reproduce, and can survive in a fragmented, unrooted form. It thrives in clear water, but loves it dirty too. Economic activity that revolves around the use of the water will be devastated, home values will plummet and we will experience an economic crisis that will turn us all into Dollar Menunaires.

Excess Phosphorus from Lawn Fertilizer
I am not stumping for a grass free world, I just want you to use common sense and a phosphorus free fertilizer.

Animal Waste
Mother nature is more than capable of taking care of a few toxic chemicals contained in animal feces. The problem arises when the land is required to deal with large amounts of continued toxins. The Canada Goose exists in such rampant uncontrolled numbers that even far more lenient hunting practices could not contain this phosphorus factory.

Littering
There should be a stronger word for this type of offense. How about trashing? I think that trashing provides a far more representative visual. There is nothing more self-centered and uncaring than tossing your Red Bull can out the driver’s side window or flicking your cig butt over the gunny; and you are trashing our Lake. This isn’t the 1970s people, we all know McDonald’s cups do not readily biodegrade.