Lake level hearing slated

Jefferson Daily Union

KOSHKONONG -- The battle between the Rock-Koshkonong Lake District and state Department of Natural Resources over Lake Koshkonong's water levels and how they should be maintained throughout the year is going before an administrative hearing judge.

Property owners, fishermen, boaters and anyone else who is vested in the future of Lake Koshkonong is urged to attend one of two public participation sessions in which non-expert testimony will be heard by the judge.

The sessions, set for Tuesda and Wednesday, March 28 and 29, from 10:15 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., will be held in the Library Room at the Jefferson Public Library, 321 South Main St. in Jefferson.

"We expect several-hundred people to appear and give their experiences, talk about low water levels, talk about the dangers to reach their boat lifts and the increase in use of long piers," said Rock-Koshkonong Lake District (RKLD) Chairman Brian Christianson.

He said residents from around the lake, people who vacation and visit Lake Koshkonong, those who use the boat ramps and avid fishermen from Rock, Dane and Jefferson counties likely will speak about the winter drawdown and their views on its impact on the fish habitat.

The debate has been ratcheted up in the last several years after the RKLD, following its own environmental study, petitioned the DNR in April 2003 to eliminate winter drawdown requirements in favor of maintaining steady water levels throughout the year.

In January 2005, the DNR released an environmental assessment maintaining the winter drawdown restrictions on the lake, which run from Nov. 1 through April 30, instead of accepting the lake district's request that the summer maximum level be maintained throughout the year.

The lake district has proposed that Lake Koshkonong's level be raised 7.2 inches, based on an ordinary high-water mark study, that Christianson contends would not impact the ordinary high-water mark and does not "take" anyone's land.

The RKLD states that its proposal would provide a better habitat for small fish and waterfowl by allowing submerged vegetation to grow below the waterline and limit invasive vegetation such as cattails that serve to steal nutrients needed for plant growth beneath the surface. (The full story appears in the March 24 Daily Union.)