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Scratching the right itch

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Ron Reimink knew how uncomfortable and annoying swimmer’s itch could be. He spent much of his adult life trying to eradicate it in lakes across northern Michigan. Then one day, he realized he was completely wrong, writes Dan Wanschura in this story adapted from an Interlochen Public Radio podcast. Glen Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world—clear turquoise-colored water, with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore off in the distance. It was an ideal setting for Reimink’s summer job. One particularly beautiful day, Reimink, who’s a biologist, was walking around the lake, through the water, up and over docks, doing research on ducks. Then, a couple hours after he’d wrapped up for the day, he started to get this sensation in his legs. He looked down, and there were all these red spots popping up. Each one was around the size of a nickel. They started to itch like crazy. “And I literally scratched many of them until they bled,” Reimink said. “It was so intense.”

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Keep it Blue: Glen Lake Association’s boat tours inspire water stewardship

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Each Friday in July the Glen Lake Association’s 23-foot Bennington pontoon boat called the Discovery Boat offers a couple two-hour tours that depart from Glen Craft Marina on Big Glen Lake and visit Fisher Lake, which connects the Glen Lakes with the Crystal River. The intent is to offer waterfront landowners and environmental stewards a narrated, hands-on educational tour of the health of these lakes.

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Glen Lake Association launches treatment to eradicate Invasive Eurasian Watermilfoil

This summer, the Glen Lake Association, in collaboration with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB), will deploy a targeted, nonchemical treatment to eradicate three colonies of invasive Eurasian watermilfoil, or EWM, discovered in the deep basin of Little Glen Lake last year. These efforts aim to protect Glen Lake’s ecological integrity by preventing the spread of EWM and supporting the return of native plant species to affected areas.

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Aquatic invasives threaten area waters

For many people visiting and moving here, it’s all about the water. Unfortunately, the same is true for other, less-welcome entities: Eurasian watermilfoil, Quagga mussels, purple loosestrife and other invasive species. Combating these and other unwelcome plants and animals is an ongoing challenge. For example, Lake Leelanau has been in the news for its battle against Eurasian watermilfoil, a plant native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Now Glen Lake has discovered signs of the plant. If unchecked, it spreads quickly and forms thick mats in shallow areas. It blocks sunlight and kills native aquatic plants that fish and other underwater species rely on for food and shelter. Glen Lake Association watershed biologist Rob Karner says treating invasives follows a simple formula: find it, deal with it, and repeat until it’s gone. But while the formula may be simple, it’s far from easy.

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Rapid temperature hike causes unusual fish die off in Little Glen Lake

In early June, Glen Lake Association (GLA) watershed biologist Rob Karner reported a significant fish die off, the likes of which he had never before seen in his more than 40 years of observing the lakes and rivers in the Glen Lakes watershed. The die off included at least four species—perch, small mouth bass, northern long nosed gar, and sand shiners.

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Unregulated septic systems, a public health threat lurking underground

Are you hearing a gurgling sound from the toilet? Is the tub or sink surprisingly slow to drain? Or, even worse, is there a patch of constantly wet and stinky grass in your yard? Those are all signs that something might be wrong with your home or cottage septic system.

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Glen Lake Association anoints watershed guardians

Photo by Chris Pina By Linda Alice Dewey Sun contributor “How beautiful is Glen Lake and Sleeping Bear Bay and the Sleeping Bear Dunes?” asks Rob Karner, water biologist for the Glen Lake Association (GLA). “Who’s going to protect it?” It’s a concern to GLA president Dennis Becker as well. Like many others in recent […]

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Leelanau County Government Center hosts Water Issues for All of Us

The biological control of the widespread zebra and quagga mussel infestation in inland lakes will be the focus of a four-part seminar, “Water Issues For All of Us” to be held on Thursday, June 19, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Leelanau County Government Center, 8527 E. Government Center Drive, in Suttons Bay.

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Glen Lake Association protects our inland water

The pristine water quality of Big and Little Glen Lakes along with the protected shorelines, natural hillsides, turquoise water, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore being the largest riparian on the lake, it is hard to find a more unique and beautiful lake in the country. Furthermore, this national treasure should be protected so as to keep it in a natural and pristine condition, now and for future generations.

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Where has all the water gone?

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When the US Army Corps of Engineers measured Lake Michigan and Lake Huron water levels at the end of December, they discovered that the depth had receded to 576.15 feet above sea level — breaking the record for the previous all-time-low of 576.2 feet set in 1964. That’s not a record to celebrate. Numbers are complex and difficult to comprehend. But beaches along Sleeping Bear Bay offered more clarity, and sobering clarity at that. The shoreline has receded substantially from previous years, leaving behind a hard, rocky surface in places, and prompting widespread alarm.

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