I heard today that maxi got sprayed for weeds. That's why they're very sparse. Thanks lake association.
I don't understand why the state can do many things but when it comes to that lake fishermen are last.
In 2002 I complained to the DNR and the Lake Assoc. at Maxi. about weed kill treatment. Below is a reply I received from the Lake Assoc.. Personally I believe all they care about is keeping the lake clear of weeds so they can run their BIG EXPENSIVE boats and jet skiis. They DO NOT like outsiders on what they call THEIR lake. In the 70's and early 80's I can remember seeing big cabbage weed patches, I don't see them anymore.
Maxi lake owners are wealthy people and they know allot of politicains, with that said you can see why they can do what they do and the DNR looks the other way.
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My name is Tina Hissong and I am the director of the Lake Maxinkuckee
Environmental Council (LMEC). We are conservationists also.
The water quality of our lake is considered good, but that was not always
so. In the late 1970šs and early 1980šs residents noticed the water quality
was declining and decided to do something about it. A group of concerned
residents hired a professor from the University of Florida to study the
lake. That study, The Historical Analysis of the Cultural Eutrophication of
Lake Maxinkuckee, Indiana, was the first of its kind in the State and
contained the guidelines for saving our lake and restoring the beautiful
water we had enjoyed. The Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Council was formed
to implement the recommendations in the study and we have been working ever
since.
We celebrated our 20th Anniversary in 2001. In those 20 years we have
accomplished many projects to save the lake. Three wetlands were
constructed to reduce the flow of nutrients and sediment into the lake.
Education campaigns are on-going to educate residents on the best way to
live around a lake and preserve its health. Stormwater treatment units have
been installed in the Town of Culver to reduce the nutrient and sediment
loading in the stormwater runoff from the Town as well as many other smaller
projects. We have an nice list of accomplishments under our belt, but we
are not finished yet. There are still areas of concern. Lake and watershed
management requires diligence and a long term commitment, a commitment the
residents of Lake Maxinkuckee renew each year in our fund drive.
In addition to the projects listed above we have cooperated with the DNR on
fish surveys and we had an aquatic vegetation survey conducted in 1999.
You
are correct in your observations that there are fewer aquatic plants than
decades ago, but that is not all bad. Excessive weed growth is a sign of a
lake in danger, that too many nutrients are coming into the lakeHere is a quote from the aquatic vegetation survey we had conducted in 1999:
"The diversity of aquatic plants in the lake is typical of marl lakes of
Indiana. Compared to the survey on 1991 several noteworthy changes are
evident in the aquatic plant flora. The most pronounced change is the
decrease in abundance of Eurasian Milfoil that was far more widespread at
the time of the last survey. Eurasian Milfoil tends to prefer eutrophic
lakes, out-competing native species as nutrient loading increases."
While the reduction of Eurasian Milfoil is a good sign, we also recognize
there are not the same number of plants as before. The Lake Maxinkuckee
Environmental Council is working to restore our lake by implementing best
management practices around the lake and in the watershed. We are also
educating lakeshore property owners on stewardship responsibility of being a
lake shore property owner. When a lake is a good fishery, that means it is
experiencing good water quality. We want to see the lake's fish habitat
thrive. I have been told by many that Lake Maxinkuckee is a good sport
fishing lake.
I am disappointed you had a bad encounter with one of the residents. I have
never heard of any illegal chemical use and would not support it. I do
however support permited chemical use by a licensed applicator for the
control of invasive species. Proper lake management has to include this
technique as a management tool to restore the native plants.
Please contact me if you would like more information or have more questions.
Sincerely,
Tina Hissong
--
Tina M. Hissong, Executive Director
Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Fund, Inc.
Culver, IN 46511
email:
[email protected]
