Opposing sides see different futures for lake

From the Janesville Gazette

... But at least one member of the Lake Koshkonong Wetlands Association, an organization that supports lower water levels, would like to go a step further. Linn Duesterbeck said he would like the lake district to get a grant to study drawing down the lake in summer every eight to 10 years.

“Wetlands, it’s good for them to drain out and dry up every so many years to actually improve the overall quality of the wetland,” he said.

Occasional drawdowns would regenerate vegetation and allow the district to eliminate unwanted species of fish and repair damaged shoreline, Duesterbeck said.

It could also increase the depth of the lake by compacting the mud at the bottom, he said.

But Duesterbeck’s view isn’t shared by the whole wetland association, Chairman Rick Persson said.

“As a group, we’re not advocating (summer drawdowns) at this time,” Persson said. “There’s not enough study and enough evidence to support that’s what we want to do.”

Christianson called summer drawdowns “completely unacceptable.”