Birch Lake Improvement District
2021 Annual Report
Birch Lake is a shallow
suburban lake with an area of 123 acres and a maximum depth of 6-8 feet. It is considered to be one of the clearest
lakes within the Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization (VLAWMO). Concerns over maintaining the lakes clarity
led property owners to petition the City of White Bear Lake to form the Birch
Lake Improvement District (BLID) in 2006.
A board of directors elected
by improvement district members governs the Birch Lake Improvement
District. Current members are: Steve Laliberte,
Chair; Ryan Hoops, Vice Chair; Jorge Vega, Secretary; Terry Huntrods, Treasurer
and Dale Bacon, Member at Large. The Board
is responsible for implementing the Birch lake Sustainable Lake management plan. These responsibilities include activities
such as carrying out scientific studies on lake water quality, maintenance of
recreational utilization of the lake and communication to the membership
regarding threats to lake quality.
During 2021, the following
activities were carried out by BLID:
· The annual cleanup day was held on May 1, 2021.
· BLID members continue to participate in VLAWMO
Citizen’s Water Monitoring Program. This
involves taking biweekly lake water samples and making water clarity and lake
level readings.
· During winter months, BLID operates an aeration system
to prevent complete fish kills from oxygen depletion. The permit requires
specialized training in the operation of an aeration system.
· BLID supports VLAWMO in monitoring chloride levels in the
lake. This involves conducting chloride
analysis on monthly water samples taken at the 4 major inflow points on the
lake.
Birch Lake
has high chloride levels, which result from winter road salt usage on roads
surrounding the lake. BLID provides
monetary support to VLAWMO to provide extra maintenance to the restoration
project on the north shore of the lake.
· Lakes Aquatic Weed Removal of Orr, MN, carried out the
2021 aquatic plant-harvesting program. Over
30 loads of harvested plant material were hauled to the Ramsey County
Composting site.
The fifteenth annual BLID
meeting was held on August 18, 2021. The
following items were approved by the membership:
1. Terry
Huntrods was elected to a three-year Board term.
2. The
2022 operating budget of $27,265 was approved by the membership for submittal
the White Bear Lake City Council.
The
2022 budget will allow the BLID to:
· Continue weed harvesting,
· Operate the aerator,
· Stock fish if needed,
· Conduct a study on the impact of development around
Birch Lake.
· Participate in VLAWMO
In 2022 the BLID will
participate in the design of the Otter Lake Road Improvement Project. Ramsey County has received funding to improve
Otter Lake Road from Highway 96 to 4th Street. Project management meetings will take place
during 2022 to accept input from stakeholders.
BLID has been invited to attend the initial planning meetings. Meetings with the public will be held in the
spring. BLID members expressed a desire
to ensure that the project include a multi-use trail on the west (lake) side of
the road.
The next annual meeting is August
17, 2022.
Report created by Steve Laliberte Board Chair
