LAKE MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR WILDWOOD LAKE November 9, 2009 This is just a quick note to let you know the status of the LMP.  The Board met on Saturday (11/07/2009) and I am happy to report that our contract with Lakeshore Environmental was  thoroughly reviewed, changes made and should be ready for signature shortly.  The draft contract to be used in signing a chemical applicator was also reviewed and approved with changes. This is the one that will be sent out when the contractor bidding begins. The bad news is that the DEQ still has two big projects they are working on ahead of our draw down permit.  However, we still believe the permit will be approved and are still planning on lowering the lake this year.  We also reviewed the first draft of a newsletter called the "Wildwood Lake Management Plan News" that will be mailed to all riparians yearly, the first one will be mailed as soon as we receive the Lake draw down permit.  It does not replace the WVPOAC News and Views which will still be published to members only.  Stay tuned!!! Moving ahead,  Jim November 10, 2009 I'm not sure what changed between my email to you yesterday morning and last night, when I received a phone call that told me I could come to the DEQ office on Tuesday 11/10/09 and sign the lake draw down permit. It is officially approved and signed and the lake draw down will begin immediately.  Let me assure you the Lake Committee has a process to monitor both the lake level and downstream outputs, to assure we are following the permit guidelines.  We will continue to communicate with you on our progress.  Moving ahead, Jim The drawdown of the lake started today and should be completed by December 15, 2009. Stay tuned to this page for important updates. December 16, 2009 The Wildwood Lake Management Plan Newsletter can be viewed on the "Downloadable Files Page."  Click on the appropriate link. January 18, 2010 Happy New Year everyone!! Hope you had a very Merry Christmas. Just thought I would take a minute to update you on the status of the Wildwood Lake Management Plan.  First and foremost, the lake has been drawn down approximately 32 inches.  We are currently maintaining that level.  We will begin refilling the lake in February.  Please be very careful as we may have air between the ice and the water now and when we start refilling the lake there may be no ice or unsafe ice near shore.  Lowering the lake and maintaining the level are very time consuming processes to assure that downstream problems are avoided. I would like to thank Blair Wickman and the Lake Committee for all they have done this fall and winter.   Secondly, we have signed the contract with Lakeshore Environmental as our lake managers.   Lastly, we have, in conjunction with Lakeshore Environmental, selected an Aquatic Herbicide Applicator. In the spring once the weeds have grown sufficiently a new updated weed survey will be done and then herbicide application will be planned and scheduled.  We will keep you posted. Jim Nihls President Wildwood Valley Property Owners Association and Club May 18, 2010 The lake committee performed testing and a tour of Wildwood Lake Saturday and found minimal new aquatic plant growth since winter. Present plans are to perform a detailed weed study early June and treatment mid June. Even though we have had record low precipitation the last three months, the lake is now less than three inches from the top of the Dam. W.V.P.O.A.C. Lake Committee June 29, 2010 WILDWOOD LAKE COMMITTEE REPORT: 6/29/2010 The lake level is now above normal and the drawdown of the lake last winter appears to have improved conditions close to shore and per our lake weed study performed on June 13 has reduced pondweed and milfoil in some areas. Results of the weed survey indicate we need to treat about 45 acres of milfoil. We also have areas of dense non-milfoil weeds and our Lake Manager recommends that we treat some of them this year and even more next year as money permits. Since we were not able to schedule the treatment well before the 4th of July week we decided to postpone treatment until July 12th , weather permitting. . Yellow signs will be posted on shore in areas treated on the day of treatment. There will probably be a one day restriction on swimming and bathing in the lake the day of treatment to allow chemicals to stay in contact with the weeds and to protect individuals. Please minimize boating and especially boat wakes on the day of treatment so the chemicals stay in contact with the weeds so we get the most bang for our bucks. Signs are being installed at both boat launches educating boaters on how to prevent invasive species from being transferred from one lake to another. To help reduce excessive plant growth in the lake please don’t use any fertilizers containing phosphorous (center number should be 0) and also maintain your septic system. Up until June 30(tomorrow) Indian River Contracting is giving us a special price on septic pump out, please call Randy at 231-238-7474 and mention WVPOAC. July 13, 2010 This is a follow up to my note last week regarding the herbicide treatment of our lake weeds.  Our Lake Manager, Jennifer Jamalowicz-Jones from Lakeshore Environmental directed the operation which was performed by Aquatic Services Inc on July 12th.  I have attached a photo of the vessel they used in the process.  Blair Wickman, Dave Dohring and myself were on the lake overseeing the process and we were very impressed with the professional manner in which the process was completed.  It took over six hours including posting the properties.  Jennifer used GPS coordinates established during her lake study in June to assure specific targeted delivery of the chemicals.  Please follow the guidelines on the yellow signs posted around the lake.  Jennifer will be back in mid-August to perform another lake study to record the results of the treatment.  I will let you know the results as soon as they are finalized and she will also be here for the September Association Meeting to report out on our progress.   Stay Tuned,   Jim September 7, 2010:  Wildwood Lake Management Plan Update URGENT: We will start lowering the lake level on October 1st, 2010 because of the slow rate that we have to lower the lake. This will make sure that turtles and frogs that hibernate in the lake bottom aren’t killed by being stranded above water level and also allow lake front owners time to be able to rake out dead weeds etc. before winter sets in. PLEASE let any of your neighbors and friends who aren’t on our email list know about the Oct. 1st drawdown so their boats aren’t stranded as the lake level goes down. Some people have asked about leaving their docks in since the water level will be down. We start bringing the lake level up in February and there is typically a large ice mass still in the lake. As the water comes up this ice mass could be blown by the wind into docks and damage them, in fact one 4x4 post dock had the 4x4’s busted out last winter. November 8, 2010  The lake is now at winter drawdown level and plan is to keep it at this level until February. The weather is going to be warm this week so it is a good time to clean up your shoreline, cut off tops of stumps etc. If you rake up weeds please deposit them on shore to help minimize nutrients in the lake. If you burn leaves please don't do it close to the lake because the ash is a high source of phosphorous and thus  leading to more weed growth. December 23, 2010 2010 has been a very busy and successful 1st year in implementing our Lake Management Plan. Our Lake Managers 2010 annual report is attached and also posted on the association website. The lake is at 3 ft below normal level now and will be kept at this level until mid-February. Numerous stumps are sticking up above the ice in several areas. Please advise any snowmobilers or ice fishermen you know to be aware of the stumps. Anyone can cut off the tops of the stumps without a permit. We are organizing a stump cutting day near the end of January and we are looking for help. If you can help, please supply your name and contact number in a reply to this email or call Blair @ 525-9252. Happy Holidays to all from the WVPOAC Board. July 12, 2011  The lake treatment was performed yesterday (7/12/2011). Unfortunately the air boat spray pump failed shortly after the treatment was started but luckily they had brought two boats. They completed the treatment with a standard boat with an outboard motor and this made it more challenging to power thru the thick weeds and shallows but they were able to successfully complete treatment. We treated approximately 30 acres of thick weeds all over the lake. We didn’t treat by the loons nest and one of the loon eggs hatched while we were treating the lake. Blair.