2023 Lake Outflow Issue Update

O.K., I am going to give this a try. I will provide a summary of what happened this past summer with the Finger Lake outflow issue, but this is a very complicated issue that requires more than a few paragraphs to explain, but I will try to give everyone a start. We will provide more details and an expanded discussion at the upcoming FOFL Annual Meeting in July, so please join us at this meeting for the full story. The outflow I am referring to is the periodic pond on the east side of the lake which crosses Rangeline Road via a culvert. This pond is dry in low water level years and filled when the lake and water table are at high levels, which we have clearly experienced the past four to five years. Over the nearly thirty years my family has owned our cabin on the lake, this pond has been dry about half of the time and filled the other half. This is an important observation in dealing with this matter.

As you may recall, FOFL was contacted by local warden Tim Price early last summer and he indicated there had been a formal complaint made about the outflow. Specifically, the complaint stated that the small opening in the berm that divides the lake from the outflow pond had been blocked by people on the lake, thereby, preventing the general public from being able to access the lake from Rangeline Road. This complaint is true in that periodically since early in the 1900’s, various people had built log, rock, and earthen structures to block the opening between the lake and this outflow pond. People were concerned that water lost to the outflow may dangerously lower Finger Lake water levels and there was a concern about losing fish into this outflow pond which would die at a later point when the pond dried up. After personally investigating the complaint, Warden Price contacted other WDNR lake management resources and discussed the matter with them. The final determination from the WDNR team was that the berm opening had indeed been illegally blocked and the blockage must be removed. This led to his eventual contact with FOFL to resolve the matter.

Officers from FOFL completed our own investigation of the situation including discussions with the Vilas County Surveyor, Vilas County Register of Deeds, adjoining property owners, conversations with a number of WDNR contacts, and others. A key concern of FOFL was that the WDNR designates Finger Lake a non-public access lake and as such we are not eligible for various lake management aids from the WDNR, yet we were being directed to maintain the opening in the berm so that public access could occur. Over the years, clear cases of trespassing across the berm have occurred from non-residents accessing the lake from Rangeline Road. These trespassers could bring invasive species into the lake leading to real problems for those with property on the lake, and these trespassers would have no regard for the efforts lake residents are undertaking for improving walleye populations on the lake by not harvesting these fish until this population recovers. These are important issues to all residents of Finger Lake and FOFL wanted to represent all lake residents in finding an acceptable resolution to the matter.

Well, after months of work and countless discussions, the WDNR directive to remove the materials blocking the opening in the berm prevailed and FOFL led the efforts to remove these materials. FOFL would like to thank those who helped with the removal including Sue Sazama, Deb Sazama, Chad Schuh, Ken Valeria, Lon Behm, and Bill Abba. After the removal was complete, Warden Price visited the site and confirmed the WDNR was satisfied with the result. While this portion of the issue has been resolved, we still need to deal with trespassing and other access issues at the outflow. There is a lot of other information learned as we investigated this matter, like who actually owns the land in the outflow, how and when can we deal with trespassers, how does this impact public access, and how will the dams removal impact fish populations and Finger Lake water levels, that we are prepared to discuss in the July Annual Meeting. Please join us to learn even more!

Bill Abba.