Yahara Lakes Legacy Partnership

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Yahara Lakes Legacy Partnership

7/21/2010 Public Meeting

It's Time to Talk Lakes

Public Input Sought on Policy Options to Curb Lake Pollution

5:30, Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Rooms 1,2,& 3 at Warner Park Community & Recreation Center,
1625 Northport Drive, Madison

The Yahara Lakes Legacy Partnership encourages citizens to attend its open house and input session to discuss specific policy options to:

  • Reduce algae-producing pollution in lakes Mendota, Monona, Wingra, Waubesa and Kegonsa as well as in the rivers, streams and marshes associated with these lakes; and
  • Clean up swimming beaches at Vilas Park, Bernie’s Beach, Brittingham Park, Olbrich Park, Esther Beach and Olin Park

“Whether boating, fishing, swimming or just walking along them, we all enjoy our lakes in different ways,” County Executive Kathleen Falk said. “We welcome citizens to join this conversation and offer their ideas on the best ways to keep the waters we treasure clean.”

City, county and state agency staff will be available beginning at 5:30 p.m. for informal discussion of past and present efforts, maps and studies of the Yahara watersheds. Then at 6:30 p.m., a summary of policy options to protect and improve beaches and to reduce pollution throughout the Yahara chain of lakes will be presented. The options range from new manure management approaches to creative wildlife management near public beaches. The information to be presented is the culmination of more than two years of research from teams of agency personnel, leaders from many local organizations and leading scientists from UW–Madison and Edgewood College.

The public is invited to participate in small group discussion following the presentations. Ideas generated during those discussions will help form clean-up efforts. This town-hall style meeting presents the Yahara community with the opportunity to not only comment on management options presented, but pose other suggestions to be considered.

Don’t miss this opportunity to share ideas and suggest solutions. Additional information on possible policy options will be available later.

After reviewing the attachments below, follow this link to provide your input/comments, accepted through 8/15/2010:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XX2NDBL

 

Attachments:
Download this file (CLEANpublic mtg_07-21-10.pdf)Public Meeting Presentation[ ]739 Kb
Download this file (AgPolicy.pdf)Policy Options - Agriculture (1)[ ]315 Kb
Download this file (ExistingAg.pdf)Policy Options - Agriculture (2)[ ]262 Kb
Download this file (UrbanPolicy.pdf)Policy Options - Urban[ ]290 Kb
Download this file (BeachesPolicy.pdf)Policy Options - Beaches[ ]274 Kb
 

About YLLP

The Yahara Lakes Legacy Partnership was created to coordinate, support, and provide for communication among separate public and private initiatives that emerged independently in fall 2007, each responding to identified needs for visioning and planning for the Yahara Lakes. The goals of the partnership are to support the Yahara CLEAN Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between DNR, DATCP, Dane County, and the City of Madison, and to formulate a plan for continued, long-term, broader partnerships aimed at protecting and enhancing Yahara lakes and watersheds.

Read more...
 

Mission

  • Support the near-term goals for reducing sediment, nutrients, and beach bacteria as defined by the Yahara CLEAN MOU between the WDNR, DATCP, Dane County, and the City of Madison
  • Develop a framework for a long-term community-wide visionary plan for protecting and improving the quality of the Yahara chain of lakes
 

Vision Statement

One item specifically called for in the Yahara CLEAN MOU was the development of a community vision statement for the Yahara Chain of Lakes, which was to reflect extensive input from scientists, residents, agencies, elected officials, businesses, and other stakeholders. The vision statement below was developed over the course of several meetings with input from a variety of stakeholders.

The Yahara River watershed is a beloved asset to our communities. We are proud of its chain of beautiful, clean and healthy lakes. There is widespread recognition of the lakes' contributions to our region's economy and quality of life. The lakes provide benefits that outweigh the investment required to keep them clean and healthy. Creative partnerships among urban and rural dwellers, farmers, and other business people, and the private and public sectors generate lasting results as we tackle shared challenges across the watershed.

 

Your Opinion: State of the Lakes?