Email sent to Association Members on 8/30/2017

Hello fellow Clearwater lake owners.    
I am Kathy Peterson, Clearwater lake shore owner and Clearwater Lake Association board member.  

I don’t know about you, but my lake shore took a hit last year with the high water and ice.   In a hope to prevent further damage, I contacted a lake shore restoration / naturalization expert; Shelley Larson of Hayland Woods Native Nursery.   This made me take a long hard look at a very sad looking lake shore. I have erosion, historic ice heaves, invasives, undercutting, shearing, beaver and muskrats! 

That was the bad news.   The good news is that Shelly told me that Crow Wing County has a Community Grant Program that could pay for 75% of the cost to fix my shoreline.   The even better news is that my 25% could be paid in labor.  That sounded too good to be true.   The first hitch:  the grant money for 2017 has all been allocated.  The second gotcha:   it is a community grant.  The project should involve at least 3 properties but more are welcome.

Getting around the first problem pretty is easy . . . wait until 2018 for the bulk of the work.   However problem #2 requires a community.   That is where you, my fellow Clearwater lake owners come in.  If any of you know that you have damage or want to make structural changes while being restoration conscious and DNR legal, this is the perfect project to join.   You might just slash your costs by 75%.

I was surprised by the quote that I received for a 60 foot area that I want to restructure and restore.  It was only $3,300.   With a grant covering 75% that brings my cost to $825.  How can I go wrong for that price!   Working on the installation alongside the pros and planting the plants myself will count as work labor.   My bottom line might actually be 0!  The larger the community, the more hands helping everyone with their install, the more likely the out of pocket 25% will be knocked down to zero for everyone.   It really is a win / win.

But you ask, "How much work is it?"  Well, I helped on another lake a few weeks ago to see what I was getting into.   It really was not difficult.   Most people did get their feet wet but it was not hard, heavy work.   Most of the time was spent planting native plants.   Using an auger bit on a drill, even this was easy.   It just took time.   But with lots of bodies, we were done in about 2 hours for the first home and ready to move onto the next.   This project expected to have $0 cost to the home owners because of the number of volunteers working together as a community.

If that sounds like the right price, you should contact Shelley about being a part of our community grant.

Here are the milestones you can expect for this project.

Step 1:  You need to contact Shelley Larson of Hayland Woods Native Nursery at Office 320-983-2584, Cell 320-983-6354, email [email protected] .  You can talk to her about the grant details and how the project might work for you.   Make sure you tell her you are on Clearwater Lake and want to be a part of the community grant.

Step 2: You and Shelley will set up a site visit to your property.   She will evaluate your lake shore needs and hear what you want out of the project.    She needs to meet with you this year (2017) before ice in.

Step 3: Shelley will put together a quote for your portion of the project and work out any changes that you might want.


Step 4:  Shelley will then combine our community into a grant proposal request and submit it before the end of 2017.  Our goal is to be sitting on the top of the 2018 pile when the county starts to issue grants next year. 

Step 5:  In early 2018, Crow Wing County will review our grant proposal.   

Step 6:  If the grant is accepted, then Shelley will work up a schedule the project implemented.  By fall we all should see progress on our shorelines.   If we are not accepted for the grant, you are under no obligation to proceed with your part of the project. 

Step 7:  You show up to help in whatever capacity you can. 

It all starts with a phone call.

My plan is to do some restoration myself this fall.   It does not involve plants and does not require a permit.  It will be what is called a willow wattle install.  It is intended to stabilize the shoreline from further erosion. My target install date will be sometime between 9/16 – 9/31.  I will be documenting my shoreline restoration on the Clearwater website.   I will include pictures and you can see some of what we will be doing together next year.   I will post dates when they are firmer and you can stop by and check out the progress.  Heck, you can even stop by for some hands on if you want!

Hope to have some of you join me so we can all save 75%!  Please call Shelly and join our community.  Any questions at all, please call me or Shelley!

Kathy Peterson
15409 Ladyslipper Lane
(from the water we are the last house southeast side of the lake, green awning over a pontoon)
612-801-7872