Native Buffer Program

Check out the Buffer Program photos below.

The following article from the December 2009 edition of the Little Rock Lake Association Newsletter written by Guy Spence, President:

The LRLA has embarked on a concerted effort to help lakeshore owners plant and maintain buffer strips along the lake shore. A buffer strip demonstration site was planted around a pond near Benton Beach last summer. If you have not seen a buffer strip, it is a planting of many native plant species on a strip of lakeshore which will absorb rainfall or other runoff before it reaches the lake and reduce erosion. You might want to visit the demo site in the spring if you’d like to see the real thing.

Buffer strips are planned so that plants which grow best in full sun, partial sun, and full shade are appropriately planted. Soil conditions such as in the water, wet and near the water, intermediate, and dry or upland are also considered during planning. The buffer strips must extend a minimum of fifteen feet back from the lake shore to be effective. They are planned with views of the lake taken into consideration. Tall plants or those shorter in height can be planted as you wish. Besides helping control runoff into the lake, a residual benefit is that Canadian geese don’t like buffer strips.

The lake association currently has funding from the Initiative Foundation and Board of Water and Soil Resources which can be used to pay for buffer strips, and we have also applied for an additional $5,000 grant from Minnesota Waters, Inc. So far, the Demonstration Site and one other buffer strip have been planted with these funds. Five other strips are in the planning stage. If we receive the MN Waters grant, there will be enough resources available to do as many as ten more buffer strips. If we don’t get the grant, the association has committed $5,000 to this effort.

Property owners on Little Rock Lake or the Harris Channel will pay for the plants but are then reimbursed with available funds promptly after the buffer strip is completed. LRLA members will help with the labor for planting. If you are interested in having a buffer strip designed and planted on your property, this spring and summer would be a great time to have it done! If you would like to become involved in reducing the pollution of Little Rock Lake and the channel by planting a buffer strip or need additional information, please call Guy Spence at 255-8916 or Maureen Graber at 282-7113.

Tiffany Determan, Water Technician from Elk River, has been managing the buffer strip development program and will continue in that role. Maureen Graber and I will assume responsibility for helping property owners design and plant the strips. We will need lots of help from all of you as we begin to develop the buffer strips this coming spring. If you are retired or still employed, we can schedule plantings on week days, evenings or weekends as you wish.

Guy Spence
LRLA President

Let’s work together to continue the process of cleaning up our lake!
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Have you created a buffer on your shoreline? If so, we’d like to know. At our September meeting, the Association discussed tracking all the shore land owners who have created buffers on their shoreline. If you are willing to share your information, we would like to know the property address, the feet of shoreline you buffered and the depth of the buffer, (from the water’s edge towards your dwelling). We feel there is a significant amount of “no mow” or planted buffers on the lake and the channel already filtering the storm water runoff and nutrients from entering the lake. Thank you for your efforts! Please email your information to graber@jetup.net or call Maureen 320-282-7113. (posted 9-15-2010)
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Buffer Strip Update  6-10-10
On May 22, association members helped Tiffany Determan plant a thousand plugs, mostly various grass species, in the demonstration buffer strips around the Benton Beach Park Pond.





















Kevin Kruger, several members of his family, and his scout troop helped in the effort. Kevin’s Eagle Scout Project involves helping design, plant and maintain buffer strips around Little Rock Lake this summer. During an hour rain delay, participants enjoyed a breakfast arranged by Phyllis Post of caramel and sweet rolls, fresh fruit, coffee, and orange juice in the park shelter and a presentation by Maureen Graber on eradication and control of Reed Canary Grass. Maureen had jars of Rodeo Herbicide and rubber and cotton gloves for anyone interested in using them to get rid of this invasive grass.
Tiffany provided an update on buffer strip development. She has and will be overseeing the design and planting of six strips on the following properties this summer and fall: Garlock, J. Rau, Ford, Larson, Haliburton and Spence. Please note that all of these are along lakeshore located on the west side of highway 10.  We need more buffer strips around the large body of the lake besides the established strips on the Hengel, Hovda and Foster lakeshores. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to get involved. Come and help with the buffer strips to be planted this summer/fall. You will enjoy good company, refreshments and learn a lot about strip design and native plant species.  (posted 6-10-10)

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The Lake Association also has literature to hand out to anyone who is interested. We have the Septic System Owners Guide, and much more literature on shoreland management and native buffer strips.  Also check our links page for more information.

If you are interested in volunteering to help with planting Buffers or just in learning more about the process, please use the contact information above.

Please review our photos below of the Lake Association progress so far. 
(Click on photo gallery to enlarge.)





























First Residential Buffer under the current program planted in August of 2009:
(posted 2-10-10 - updated 6-10-10)






















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What is a lakeshore buffer?
A lakeshore buffer is a restoration of a shoreline in order to correct an existing erosion problem or to improve the fisheries and water quality of the lake.  At the heart of a lakeshore buffer concept is the creation of a buffer zone along the shoreline.  A buffer zone is a strip of native vegetation along at least 75% of a property's frontage.  Buffers can extend a minimum of fifteen feet back from the lake shore to be effective.

Buffer zones solve many problems for home owners:
  • Emergent vegetation, like bulrushes and cattails, reduce shoreline erosion caused by wind and boat traffic.

  • The natural vegetation serves as a filter strip that helps prevent lawn fertilizer and pesticide runoff from reaching the lake.

  • Aquatic vegetation helps purify lake water by removing contaminants and by calming water, which allows suspended soil particles to settle to the lake bottom.

  • Buffer zones reduce the amount of fertilizer and herbicide needed on a lakeshore property because the resulting lawn is smaller, and native plants in the buffer zone do not need fertilizer or herbicides.

  • Buffer zones reduce the acreage of lawn and the amount of time needed for mowing and lawn maintenance.

  • Unmowed wildflowers, grasses, and sedges along the shore create a biological barrier that will deter Canada geese from loitering on the lawn.
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If you are interested in installing a lakeshore buffer on your property, contact Tiffany Determan, Watershed Coordinator, 763-241-1170 ext. 3 for more information on how to go about it.

The Benton SWCD completed two residential sites on Little Rock Lake in 2002.  If you are interested in knowing more about these buffers contact Jim Hovda at 393-4339.

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Photos from the Initial LRLA Buffer Workshop, held on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at Lakeview Center (Benton Beach area).

2001 LAKESHORE PROJECTS2002 LAKESHORE PROJECTS

2007 - LAKESHORE RESTORATION from 2001
(After in place for a few years)

2008 Lakeshore Buffer Strip photos
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A listing of references related to water quality, lake and shoreland management
can be found on the LINKS page of this site.

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Copyright © Little Rock Lake Association
 

Shoreland Buffer Workshop, May 2, 2009. This is site inspection for the pond site buffer which we planted in June. Our technical staff at the workshop.We learned which shoreland rules apply, how to do a sketch of the shoreland and design the buffer, select and install plants. Buffer Installation Workshop, June 13, 2009. Mixing seed to plant in the buffer. Photo taken by Eleanor Burkett of the U of M extension service.Planting the aquatic plants. Photo taken by Eleanor Burkett of the U of M extension service.Digging plant holes with a cordless drill and auger. Planting the plants into the holes through the erosion control blanket covered with wood chips. Photo taken by Eleanor Burkett of the U of M extension service.Digging plant holes with a cordless drill and auger. Planting the plants into the holes through the erosion control blanket covered with wood chips. Photo taken by Eleanor Burkett of the U of M extension service.Digging plant holes with a cordless drill and auger. Planting the plants into the holes through the erosion control blanket covered with wood chips. Photo taken by Eleanor Burkett of the U of M extension service.Volunteers prepared a delicious lunch for a welcome break. Photo taken by Eleanor Burkett of the U of M extension service.Planting the bushes and shrubs side of the buffer. Photo taken by Eleanor Burkett of the U of M extension service.Shoreland Buffer Maintenance Workshop, July 29, 2009. We learned plant identification, weed control methods and equipment, and pest control.Shoreland Buffer Maintenance Workshop, July 29, 2009. We learned plant identification, weed control methods and equipment, and pest control.Shoreland Buffer Maintenance Workshop, July 29, 2009. We learned plant identification, weed control methods and equipment, and pest control.Shoreland Buffer Maintenance Workshop, July 29, 2009. We learned plant identification, weed control methods and equipment, and pest control.Benton Beach buffer zone, 3 months after planting, September.Benton Beach buffer zone, 3 months after planting, September.Benton Beach buffer zone, 3 months after planting, September.Benton Beach buffer zone, 3 months after planting, September.On May 22, 2010, association members helped Tiffany Determan plant a thousand plugs, mostly various grass species, in the demonstration buffer strips around the Benton Beach Park Pond.
The homeowner sprayed the turf grass ahead of planting.The plant plugs ready for planting. The area is staked for planting.Installing the erosion control blanket on the shoreline.Installing the erosion control blanket on the shoreline.Laying out the plant plugs.Planting into the erosion control blanket. Planting into the erosion control blanket. Part of the planting crew.All planted.All planted.All planted.All planted.Three weeks after planting.Three weeks after planting.Photo taken May 29, 2010 showing how much the buffer strip has grown.Photo taken May 29, 2010 showing how much the buffer strip has grown.