ELBOW LAKE - There are so many things to love about the people and places around Elbow Lake. But in 1970, when our family bought 160 acres and an old homestead cabin from one of the early residents, what impressed us most was how business was often done with a handshake.
These days, though, that handshake has been replaced with head-shaking and hand-wringing. Common sense and clear communication have given way to obfuscation and inaccuracy, most recently in the “Environmental Assessment of the Removal and Remediation of Elbow Lake Dam.”
For starters, the weir (not dam) is far older than “two decades.” It was in place five decades ago, during our first summer on Elbow Lake, and contemporaneous documents far more reliable than this EA suggest it was there a century ago. There’s physical evidence of this around the lake too: Not just the placement of docks and cabins (and the original pump for that homestead), but the established wetlands that host all manner of wildlife that could soon find their habitat dried up. And that’s just the beginning of a river of errors that runs through the EA, leading to a flawed conclusion that seems foregone.
I know that others have elaborated on the flaws in the assessment, and done so quite compellingly, so I’ll focus on the “informal communication by agency personnel with affected residents on numerous occasions over the past 15 years,” cited on page 12.
If “informal” means nonexistent, then this might be the most accurate part of the EA. Back then, more than 35 years into our tenure on the lake, we were never notified of concerns regarding the weir, much less the agreement made with some leaseholders to maintain it. When we did learn of that agreement (we assumed property owners were the only ones that hadn’t been notified, but the lack of communication with Camp Utmost, which has been leasing property in the area for 60 years, and has a current lease for a campers swimming area through 2025, belies that), our family partnership offered to take over maintenance tasks, but in August 2016 we were told we were too late.
Apparently not, though: The EA does mention a fourth alternative, “Considered, but Not Analyzed in Detail: Authorize existing structure with continuation of customary maintenance by local residents and lessees….”
Since numerous people, including my family members and others who lease/own property around the lake, have stepped forward in recent weeks to volunteer to maintain the weir according to any arrangement the DNRC and FWP deem appropriate, this alternative is certainly worth analyzing in detail. Among other things, it would guarantee that there actually is water that could sustain fish...and maybe even allow kids at Camp Utmost to canoe.
Because as it is, this EA seems as shallow as Elbow Lake will surely be if the weir is removed.
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