The Junction Trail overlook Menomonie

Lake Menomin

Above is a familiar Menomonie site on the Junction Trail.   This is a very picturesque location overlooking Wolske bay park.   With the overlapping layers of trees and land curving of the land into the horizon this location can be found in many photographs, quite a few online.

Lake Menomin

 Sadly, the location that was chosen widely has not seen the upkeep to enhance the passive viewing experiences.  Originally this bench was installed in 2007 along the Junction Trail but the city failed to step up on invasive species management at that time and since then.
Below the bench is city owned land and it is quite steep.   As a neighborhood resident I wanted to introduce a new feature into the hillside and slowly work to build a neighborhood based team of caretakers that could enhance the Wolske Bay hillside road and work to connect it to the Junction Trail while clearing the invasive species and replacing more sustainable ground cover.
The city did not seem to want to to allow this.

Another angle that would offer a fantastic view of Lake Menomin that would benefit from the Wolske bay hillside trail neighborhood project.

Colder and cloudier, but still odor?

Above is the corner near the roadway and even with the colder temperatures that left mild frost in the upper neighborhoods I was surprised to be finding the odor of the decaying bacteria in the back yard.   I thought this would have been the spot of the odor, but farther south along the west bank was very bright blue.

I was hoping to catch a duck in a photo. I did catch this "trapped" area of decaying cyanobacteria.   It makes sense, it had no where to go and the log protected it from wave dispersing.  

The seemingly still active bacteria bloom continued down the shore and the odor was strongest in this stretch by the more recently cleared vegetation along the roadway.

Unlike the patch of blue trapped by the log, these patches are free and are seemingly holding tight on a very still day.

What does it all mean?
  
Does it mean the more water volume (created by dredging) in the northern bay allows bacteria to grow more and then become packed in the western bay?  And then pushed just a little farther south than before?

Does it mean there is still more health risk from being hit by a car while trying to enjoy Lake Menomin?

Either way, ending September with any odor was surprising especially considering the more recent drop in temperature.

Could the Jarrett Creek dredging be releasing more nutrients into the water this year?

I

Menomonie dredging results

Lake Menomin

 I don't think the results can ever be measured since any given day and each individual person brings their own expectations to the location.

Above is the most amount of blue-green decaying spotted for many years.   This small spot is enough to fill the surrounding Menomonie neighborhood with the unpleasant odors.

Still, below, past  the year 2 (out of an expected 20 year project life expectancy) the dredged location is still green, a very active cyanobacteria bloom.    All of that "muck" that was removed has not changed anything here.   In fact, compared to 2017, this bloom is lasting much longer.

Lake Menomin cyanobacteria bloom 2018

There is no news, no follow up, and in the 5-1/2 years since I have been on site, not much change.

I don't think a lot of people were aware of the size and scope of the project as I have found in my own conversations with people in Menomonie, many don't even know the name of the road they used to get here.    And some of these are longer term residents than I.



History does not repeat but rhymes, as it is said, so I have to wonder if the same cycle of small town ego plagues the lake as much as the cyanobacteria.   I have had limited conversations with higher-valued lake property owners from Tainter Lake that have nothing but contempt for rules that limit their impact on the watershed, but in the same conversation they expect something to be done about it all.


That's why I keep looking back while observing the present.   2013 had a large media and local business backing presence to support dredging Wolske bay.   Let's take a look at one example, from a person not really from the Wolske bay neighborhood at all.

If a person was asked to take the money out of their pocket and pay for the project on the spot, I think more people would be hesitant to hand it over.    A lot of people will gladly spend other peoples money, and this is a more conservative personality starting off this conversation, a person who supports less regulation toward the watershed as a whole and more unregulated building and industry that will impact the watershed.   All resulting in more impact to the watershed and more nutrients for the cyanobacteria to bloom.

There are even some threatening comments toward city council members who did not support Mayor Randy Knaacks idea, likely some of the very people who denied this very Mayor a free hand-out of $25,000 public money for his scum sucker machine.    And still, the Mayor looks like someone who wants a more full time office with recent runs for the state assembly and county sheriff.   This does not sound like a person who wants to be here at Wolske bay.

Let's look back at that 2013 media and business push.....

Lake Menomin worst algae since 2009?

There is no missing the odor released from the decaying cyanobacteria around the upper neighborhood.   It was just as strong the previous day and will likely be the same tomorrow.

What do you think?

We had a long thick ice cover back in spring, a dry July reducing run-off.   Coming with some rain in August and into September with rather moderate temperatures.

How can it be decaying this bad when the previous few years, well prior to the dredging, was not that bad in comparison?

Will tomorrow and the rest of the week bring more favorable conditions for favorable decay and stronger odors?

Will anyone in Menomonie even remember?


Here is Lake Menomin in 2009. 

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