Natural Shorelines

I recently attended a meeting "Protecting Michigan's Iinland Lakes", organized by Van Buren Conservation District. Some of the topics included: importance of inland lakes and wetlands; existing legal framework for protecting inland lakes and wetlands; importance of master planning; ordinances for weeds, watercraft, septic systems, "key-holes", aquatic invasive species; storm water management; and open space zoning (just to name a few). All of the speakers were promoting natural shorelines and I learned a lot about the topic. 

Why consider a natural shoreline? Mostly to act as a buffer to protect the property from waves and erosion while improving the ecology and integrity of the shoreline. Two types of buffers are seawalls and natural shorelines. A natural shoreline acts as a living buffer that changes throughout the seasons and years. It is able to absorb the energy that waves bring in, unlike the seawall. Native plants establish a root system and create a natural, stable buffer. 

Larry Nielson, Village Manager in Paw Paw, spoke about how the Village is cleaning up Maple Lake. Much of the dirty, murky water was from shore erosion that flowed into the Paw Paw River and subsequently into Maple Lake. For the last 3 years the Village government has been working with landowners along the river north of Paw Paw to put in natural shorelines.  This has markedly reduced the silt from shoreline erosion that was washing downstream into Maple Lake. The Village has also been working at replacing their mowed grass on Maple Island with a buffer zone of natural shoreline. He said it has reduced the goose poop on the island because the geese avoid the taller natural grasses! So there is another good reason to put in a natural shoreline where possible. 
There are many resources for people interested in putting in natural shorelines. 
The Van Buren Conservation District published a great booklet "Landscaping for Water Quality". 
https://sites.google.com/site/mishorelinepartnership/mnsp-library

Here are some helpful websites:
https://sites.google.com/site/mishorelinepartnership/home
http://michiganlakes.msue.msu.edu/michigan_natural_shoreline_partnership 

This post submitted by Marcia Ellis, LOW resident.