[Lekooks] St. John's Bay on Lake Nagawicka

[Fran B.]

Dear Friends,
Despite public opposition, the City of Delafield is planning to place 6 piers on St. John's Bay, across from the Delafield Post office. One will be dedicated to the Military Academy and 5 will be for the general public. On May 15th, 7pm, the Common Council will propose to spend $15,000 on this project which will be detrimental to the Bay and Nagawicka Lake and probably the Bark River. Even if you are not a resident of the City of Delafield, you too own the Bay and the Lake, Please consider attending the meeting to protest the piers.
1.  St. John's Bay is designated as an ASNRI (Area of Special Natural Resources Interest).  This designation comes from the DNR itself.  As I'm sure you are aware, this means that the bay contains flora and fauna that are threatened or endangered.
2.  St. John's Bay is very shallow with a mucky bottom.  Especially at the western edge of the bay (Where the proposed pier is to be constructed) - conventional boats can and do get stuck.  Most boaters familiar with the bay do not travel beyond the Bleeker Street Boat launch (on the southeastern section of the bay) because of this.  A transient pier means that it's open season on spots. Boaters cannot see the pier from the entrance of the bay and will have to travel in and out of the bay to check for openings.  This will increase the damage to the bay's ecosystem. (See point 1)
 3. The city has placed no protections or policies to ensure that boats stay inside of designated areas - and submitted no limits on the types of boats that can enter the bay.
 4.  Kayakers and paddleboarders use this part of the bay extensively because it is shallow and quiet.  This will eliminate both.
 5.  By the DNR's own experts' opinion, introducing increased boat traffic into this part of the bay will threaten the spawning ground of bass and other large fish, disrupt the native lake plants, and introduce invasive species.
 6.  The DNR has strict limits to weed harvesting in the Bay -- to protect the fish and the native aquatic plants.  Also, the DNR will not permit dredging in the bay (see point 1) - yet the proposed pier will grind up the lake bottom and threaten the health of the entire bay ecosystem.
 7.  Citizens of the city and the area are working to Appeal the Permit and contest the decision.

Thank you for helping preserve Nature in our neighborhood.
Fran Bills


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