|
 |
Mission•Membership•Board•Committees•Archive•Phragmites•Avian Botulism•Calendar•Links•Contact |
 |
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
| Island Currents Latest News |
2008 Save Our Shoreline Phragmites Control |
|||||||||||||||
| Spring-Summer 2008 |
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
The large stands of green Phragmites you saw last year are now mostly brown this year after treatment. This year's new growth phragmites was treated with much hand swiping.
What Treated Phragmites Looks Like
The blue colored chemical is subtle but noticeable on the phragmites leaves and stalks after treatment. Phragmites being Treated on the Outer Islands
September 2008 Phragmites updateWhile the Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan discusses the deteriorating trend of our coastal wetlands, Beaver Island can be proud as a community of our collective response to our vulnerable shoreline. The 2007 Phragmites eradication project (SOS) was very successful. This year, 80% of the remaining Phragmites were hand swiped vs. sprayed. We have gone from treating 27+ shoreline acres to approximately 3 acres in one year. In true Island spirit, this is cause for celebration! In the hand swiping process, the dye is not seen on the sand but rather on the stem of the plant. The blue green nature of the dye mixed with the herbicide can be very discreet on the greenish blue leaves but make no mistake; the herbicide is just as effective. Photos are available on our website as well. Over 300 property owners entered into the treatment program voluntarily. Our shoreline presented many new growth areas and those were targeted so that seed heads did not establish. A map showing individual Phragmites sites on Beaver Island along with property owner information can be found at the Beaver Island District Library or on the association’s web site listed below. The information returned from the JF New treatment team was very positive. They were grateful for the enthusiasm that they were greeted with along our beaches and commented on the island residents’ comprehensive understanding of the Phragmites plants and the project. Shoreline owners met with the contractor, Don Vyse representing the townships and Pam Grassmick for the BIA on August 26th. This opportunity provided a chance to have questions answered and the response from those in attendance was very positive. You can expect this meeting to be repeated in the 2009 treatment year. What can you as a property owner on Beaver Island expect over the next year? First, the Phragmites plants will be turning yellow as fall approaches. Those individuals who have Phragmites growing on their beaches and have not submitted their permission slips will be contacted by mail with a formal request from the townships prior to enforcing the Ordinance which was passed in August of 2008. If seed heads are present on your Phragmites plant, research tells us that the plant is at least 3 years old. As part of an ongoing monitoring program, another entire shoreline survey will take place in June of next year. Mapping of infestations and an evaluation of treatment areas will occur. Further community discussions will entail designing a sustainable treatment program. As with programs of this type, maintenance will go along with shoreline restoration work. Cutting the dead stems can occur 3 weeks after herbicide treatment. Again, taking care to not disturb the soil, burn on your property or bag and take to the Transfer Station. Please refer to the 2008 Spring update on www.beaverislandassociation.org for further removal instructions. Stay tuned for Part III in the 2009 Phragmites saga. - Pam Grassmick
Phragmites Ordinance
Phragmites Map
Why does BIPOA exist, and what's in a name?The Beaver Island Property Owners Association has been part of the fabric of Beaver Island life for many years. Not having been present at the creation, I don't know why or by whom it was founded. Some Beaver Islanders have assumed it exists primarily to protect and advocate for Island property owners' narrow interests as property owners, but that has never been more than a small part of its official corporate purposes. They were described in the original Articles of Incorporation as follows:
Those purposes were amended several years ago with the filing of an amendment to the Articles of Incorporation and now read as follows: "The Beaver Island Property Owners Association is a nonprofit organization and acts as an information source. Areas include:
The organization's Mission Statement, prominently displayed on this and every issue of the BIPOA newsletter and part of our bylaws since 2002, is consistent with those purposes. In 2003, BIPOA was granted tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, recognizing that its purposes and operations are consistent with purposes - primarily educational - described therein. That could not have happened if BIPOA's existence and operation served only the selfish interests of property owners. This is mostly old news, of course, but I think it is worth mentioning in this my first message to members as the Association's new president for the following reasons. Four BIPOA board members retired from the Board of Directors this past summer: Jack Kelly, who served the last two years as president; Doris Larson, who served with great dedication and efficiency as secretary; and Dennis Cady and Krys Lyle. We thank them for their service and will miss them all. During discussions with prospective new board members, some of us met with resistance based on the misperception that BIPOA does exist primarily for such narrow, selfish purposes, so it is important to put that to rest. Also, during the past two-plus years BIPOA has worked hard to inform the Beaver Island community about the threat of invasive phragmites to our shores and native habitat and to advocate for and help organize a treatment program to meet this threat. Those efforts came to fruition over the past summer and early fall with the very successful phragmites eradication program carried out by St. James and Peaine Townships and the DNR and described in Pam Grassmick's report. This was a great example of good communication and collaboration between BIPOA and local governments - and of the unselfishness of Island property owners, who contributed thousands of dollars to the effort not just to eradicate phragmites from their own beaches, but to provide adequate resources to treat all affected areas on the many miles of publicly owned Beaver Island shoreline. To build on this collaboration, the BIPOA Board has designated some of its members to serve as continuing liaison with the Township Boards - not to be "watchdogs" or trouble-makers, but to keep the lines of communication open and facilitate further cooperation. Some of you will recall conversation at the last two BIPOA annual meetings about a possible name-change for the organization. Nothing came of those discussions, but in its first meeting the newly constituted Board of Directors revisited the idea and a special committee was formed to review the matter and make a recommendation for action when the Board met again in September. That recommendation and the Board's action are reported by Peter Igoe. The short version is that we have filed a Certificate of Assumed Name with the State to use the name, "The Beaver Island Association." We will operate under that name from now until next summer's annual meeting, when those present will be asked to approve a permanent name change. We believe the new name and the succinct mission-derived tag line that will accompany it on our letterhead and all other written materials much better describe and encompass our true official purposes and our members' expectations, and will enable the organization to grow and become even more effective in achieving those purposes. We hope you agree. – Paul Glendon
|
|||||||||||||||
|
New Name•2007 Minutes•COA Questions•Senior Housing•Phragmites•Algae•Low Water•Beach Cleanup•Logging•PABI•Family Cottage•Library |
Click here to read the new Phragmites Ordinance (PDF Format)