# Ohio's New St Marys Action Plan announced



## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

Link below to WHIO Channel 7 reports Ohio's plan to resurrect GLSM. Some will say it's not enough, but the keyword for me is "action". State guys aren't waiting around.....steps are being taken as soon as ice is out. I loved this statement.... "Kasich said, "If we have a handful of farmers who don't want to cooperate, we are not going to let them continue to devastate this lake." Go get 'em Gov. John! Most of the plan isn't new, but the agreement to execute is new. Plus, more dredging is announced than previously expected. 

www.whiotv.com/news/26641656/detail.html


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## trailbreaker (Oct 11, 2008)

i spoke to a person at the wildlife they said boating ban has been lifted.. if you go fishing wear gloves you must relase the fish the algea came from local farmers from waste


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## spfldbassguy (Mar 23, 2009)

I was just reading about the new Govenors' plan of action a little bit ago and I gotta say " Go get 'em". Glad to hear he wants to crack down on farmers that doesn't want to be a part of the solution only part of the root cause. Why let a few ruin the area for so many,just doesn't make sense to do so. They outta want to clean up the lake seeing how they live in the area as well.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Time will tell!


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## trailbreaker (Oct 11, 2008)

i have fished indian lake and lorimae i would like to fish GLSM


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## Lynxis (Sep 21, 2009)

They are getting rid of the carp and other rough fish because they stir up the nutrients at the bottom of the lake???

The lake is 4-5 feet deep and half the days the waves are 2-3 footers.

Not to mention the boat traffic...

And killing the carp is going to stop the bottom from being stirred up?????


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

trailbreaker said:


> i spoke to a person at the wildlife they said boating ban has been lifted.. if you go fishing wear gloves you must relase the fish the algea came from local farmers from waste


It's not quite that bad, trailbreaker. Yes, boating ban was lifted but that was before Memorial Day. The "no water contact" warning was lifted months ago......toxin levels were well below World Health Org level for contact. You can handle fish without gloves....but there is still an advisory against eating the fish. Studies done elsewhere showed mycrocystin toxins do not permeate fish flesh, but studies did not consider long term exposure to the toxins. EPA is conducting a study now to determine if fish exposed longer term to the toxins create a human health threat.

Fall fishing at GLSM was wonderful. I routinely caught 20-45 crappies in 2-3 hours every Saturday until the lake iced over. Fish were very healthy looking, but I catch and release.......no reason to risk consumption until the lab guys say "ok".


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## killingtime (Apr 29, 2009)

i know guys that duck hunted this year at grand lake and they did not get sick and they were in contact with the water all the time picking up decoys and ducks and they even had dogs and none of them got sick. the algae is not as potent during the cold months from what i read. i sure hope that lake gets cleaned up.


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

Lynxis said:


> They are getting rid of the carp and other rough fish because they stir up the nutrients at the bottom of the lake???
> 
> The lake is 4-5 feet deep and half the days the waves are 2-3 footers.
> 
> ...


Lynxis............... As you state, the shallow nature of the lake, wind action creating heavy surf, boat traffic.........plenty of catalysts to stir the lake. I'm perplexed by the rough fish removal reference, too. But, the carp population is excessive and I won't miss thinning. Channel cat population is also significant. Personally, I catch a lot of channels on artificials, 3-5 pounders, and they can be fun.


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## Spence88 (Feb 23, 2006)

zaraspook said:


> Lynxis............... As you state, the shallow nature of the lake, wind action creating heavy surf, boat traffic.........plenty of catalysts to stir the lake. I'm perplexed by the rough fish removal reference, too. But, the carp population is excessive and I won't miss thinning. Channel cat population is also significant. Personally, I catch a lot of channels on artificials, 3-5 pounders, and they can be fun.


Agreed. I tell all the deadliners that they should tie on a 1.5" tube and jig it shallow around the riprap - they'll have more success that way.


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## Lynxis (Sep 21, 2009)

Spence, i saw a guy early last year sometime (may or so) using that exact technique knockin the cats to pieces. He was on the east back south side by the southern most channel entrance.

Was that you?


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## Lynxis (Sep 21, 2009)

Zara, you know what I think happens a lot.

I think people go to these meetings and one guy says something along the lines of "derpa derp them carp dont do nothin but stir up the bottom, oughta get ridda summa them too derp" and suddenly it becomes gospel, and the secretary notes it.

They review meeting minutes and create a list of ideas and thats on there and its presented to official commitees and suddenly it's an action item on an action plan.

I question the validity of the wisdom behind it.


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

Spence88 said:


> Agreed. I tell all the deadliners that they should tie on a 1.5" tube and jig it shallow around the riprap - they'll have more success that way.


Spence88..............I had a riot last fall jigging 1.5 and 2 inch tubes in shallows, just like you mentioned. I targeted crappies and caught plenty, but many real chunk bluegills, and icing on the cake would be 2-3 channels each outing (one a 6-pounder). Those channels will wear you out on a crappie outfit and get your heart pumping! And the channels don't mess around with the bait - they grab it and go..........game on!

Hope we see water clarity this spring like last year. But, we paid for it in June, didn't we?


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## Spence88 (Feb 23, 2006)

zaraspook said:


> Spence88..............I had a riot last fall jigging 1.5 and 2 inch tubes in shallows, just like you mentioned. I targeted crappies and caught plenty, but many real chunk bluegills, and icing on the cake would be 2-3 channels each outing (one a 6-pounder). Those channels will wear you out on a crappie outfit and get your heart pumping! And the channels don't mess around with the bait - they grab it and go..........game on!
> 
> Hope we see water clarity this spring like last year. But, we paid for it in June, didn't we?


Before the heat arrived, it was the best water clarity I'd seen on GLSM in years. Better than many other lakes I fish. 

I know there is a lot of back and forth, and questioning if the state is going to do anything with "substance" or just give more lip-service, but I do know that there has been more attention given to the situation in the past 9 months than there has been in the past 9 years. Over the years, I would ask of the CO's (or anyone else of "official" status that I would come upon) what the underlying problem was with the lake, and predictably, I would be told that the lake is turning over or just going through a phase - and that every lake goes through this. I would try to argue, but usually proved futile. 

Like many others, I keep my fingers crossed and hope that our state officials live up to the expectations of the people they serve (I know that is long stretch, but "hope" is the key word). We'll see...


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## socdad (Jul 25, 2005)

I posted this in the NW forum ... thought several SW guys might like a bit of a 'historical perspective&#8217;...

As I have said before these problems are nothing new &#8230; Not sure if anyone has referred to a study of GLSM titled &#8220;The Restoration of a Canal Lake&#8221; complied by Joanna E. Vlllies (ODNR) a long while back &#8230; (Richard F. Celeste, Governor)

One of the studies observations &#8230; 

&#8220;Erosion and Sediment Problems - 1st Priority&#8221;

http://www.lakeimprovement.com/sites...nal_Lake_1.PDF


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

socdad said:


> I posted this in the NW forum ... thought several SW guys might like a bit of a 'historical perspective...
> 
> As I have said before these problems are nothing new  Not sure if anyone has referred to a study of GLSM titled The Restoration of a Canal Lake complied by Joanna E. Vlllies (ODNR) a long while back  (Richard F. Celeste, Governor)
> 
> ...


socdad........the report you cite was done about 1979 and right on the money with conclusions and recommendations. Much of the construction stuff was done. Some farmers got onboard with field buffers, and some moved into no-till to reduce runoff into the creeks that feed the lake. 30 years later too many farmers are still without even minimal buffers. The 1979 plan might have been enough to prevent or delay today's problems except for at least one major flaw in the plan. In the watershed that feeds GLSM, the livestock numbers today are 3 times the number as in 1979. Manure management is 3x's the problem and it took 30+ years to get at least minimal regulations put onto those operations. 

Too bad it's 2 years for the regs to fully take effect. Too bad many of the operators don't take action without incentives (grants or should we call it welfare?) from state or federal government. Too bad the good operations take the same grief as the farmers who still don't get it. Sad to realize the current misery and expense to cleanup was preventable. But, it's encouraging to think we may be back on the right path!


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

Ohio DNR to again offer discounts for camping, docks, etc during 2011 at Grand Lake. Believe me, local area businesses appreciate any and all effort to stimulate the return of tourism. A summer without an algae bloom will be the best stimulus. 
Link is here http://examiner.org/index.php?optio...e-plagued-by-algae&catid=35:ap-news&Itemid=56


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## trailbreaker (Oct 11, 2008)

zaraspook said:


> Ohio DNR to again offer discounts for camping, docks, etc during 2011 at Grand Lake. Believe me, local area businesses appreciate any and all effort to stimulate the return of tourism. A summer without an algae bloom will be the best stimulus.
> Link is here http://examiner.org/index.php?optio...e-plagued-by-algae&catid=35:ap-news&Itemid=56



i read that on twitter.. not a bad deal


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

The *DNR lifts "do not eat advisory" for Grand Lake St Mary's fish*. Link is below. 23 fish sampled............no microcystin toxins in fish samples. OK to chow down! http://ohiodnr.com/home_page/NewsRe...ue-Study-Shows-No-Microcystin-In-Samples.aspx


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## trailbreaker (Oct 11, 2008)

so now we can handle the fish.. before you wasn't allowed you had to wear gloves


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## socdad (Jul 25, 2005)

Sounds like a step in the right directions however I will be happy to leave all the fish at GLSM to who ever wants them. Please dont get me wrong; Im all for cleaning up the lake but I quit going long before the warnings went up & will go back LONG after the warnings have expired.


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

socdad said:


> Sounds like a step in the right directions however I will be happy to leave all the fish at GLSM to who ever wants them. Please dont get me wrong; Im all for cleaning up the lake but I quit going long before the warnings went up & will go back LONG after the warnings have expired.


socdad.......I'm sure your feelings are in the majority, but do I sense a bit of hope there? You said "*will* go back LONG after the warnings have expired" which at least suggests you aren't permanently turned off.

Bottomline is GLSM needs at least one summer when the lake doesn't bloom and spin out of control. If this year repeats last year at GLSM it will be another nail in the coffin and permanent loss of a generation of fishermen. That's why it irks me, despite all the publicity and new efforts to make positive strides at the lake, to see a farmer located smack-dab in the middle of the GLSM watershed spreading manure on frozen, ice-covered fields last Sunday (2/6). With the ground frozen, the crap he spread will not soak into the ground, will run off with the thaw, flow to the creeks, and add to the lake phosphorus problems.

If the farmers expect us to believe they are committed to being part of the solution, they need to get their brethren in line. This guy might be the only bad apple, but he's putting his personal gain ahead the rest of us, snubbing his nose, and negating the efforts of millions of dollars from the State, taxpayers, and other private contributors who are investing to clean up the mess.


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

Though the new manure management regulations were signed just 4 weeks ago, guess we can throw them out the window. Now we know what "voluntary" really means. It means to heck with you and the cleanup costs. Cheaper for the farmer to spread manure on frozen fields, defy new regs, and add to the St Mary's mess.

Four more farmers in the watershed voted to _*unvolunteer*_, spread poop anyway as of Monday 2-14. And the farmer spreading crap on 2-6, doubled down. Now twice as much of his fields are treated with algae producing, toxin generating, livestock manure. All of this done to fields that lie between creeks directly feeding into the lake and less than 1.5 miles south of the lake.

Voluntary rules for manure spreading work just about as well as voluntary speed limits on an interstate highway.


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## trailbreaker (Oct 11, 2008)

so much for the lake now.. might as well not do nothing


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

Airy Gators at Grand Lake show positive results........per the report from prestigious Battelle Institute. Report is at the link below. Pages 26-27 list additional recommendations, such as proceeding with lake-wide alum treatment, develop a plan to alum treat major creeks flowing into the lake especially with heavy rain events, remove rough fish, stock with gamefish/shellfish,and others. Way more data in report than most of us can digest. Link is provided thru Lake Improvement Association web site - these guys do good work!

www.lakeimprovement.com/airy-gator-performance-results


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## trailbreaker (Oct 11, 2008)

that is good news now they need to deal with the farmers


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

I've been complaining about farmers in the Grand Lake St Marys watershed spreading manure on frozen fields during February. According to Channel 7 WHIO in Dayton, the Ohio EPA is now concerned about excessive _*bacteria*_ flowing into the lake stemming from manure runoff. EPA is aware of several known incidents of manure runoff. This story ran today/Weds at Noon with more to report tonight.

_"There are health concerns around Grand Lake St. Marys, where officials say they are aware of several new discharges of manure into the lake during the last few days of flooding.

"That means potentially high levels of bacteria is now in the water that flooded that area," said WHIO-TV Reporter Kathryn Burcham. "The good news is that the EPA is not worried about toxins because its too cold for algae to bloom."

However, the new manure spills do raise a flag about the possibility of new algae blooms this summer, Burcham said._

There are new regulations to prohibit the spreading practice from Dec to March, but they don't go into effect until 2012. Farmers are expected to voluntarily comply, but many chose to ignore the future regs and once again the lake community is paying the price. Let's get the stiffer regulations in force now! Do any of the farmers in GLSM watershed care? If these "bad apples" were sent the bill for alum treatments, dredging, Airy Gators, sediment collectors, etc, maybe they'd wise up.


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## Lowell H Turner (Feb 22, 2011)

Zaraspoon, am sure if the farmers in question had a neighbor build a factory that spewwed toxic industrial waste upstream of his property and poisoned HIS land and cattle to where he couldn`t sell them for a profit HE`D be SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER ! HE would have the EPA, OSHA, 5 lawyers in trail, calling every reporter of every newspaper and TV station within 50 miles. But so long as HE`s just destroying and befoulling a State (PUBLIC) lake and recreational area, well that`s OK? Because (for now) it`s "legal"? This will sound strange, but aerial photography could be a VALUEABLE weapon; you may not have permission to go trespass on his property, but unless he can roof it all, you have the right to take pictures from above of the # of livestock and his waste storage facilities (if any), buffer grass zones, ect. And DON`T think farmers are immune to PUBLIC OPINION, remember DDT the "miricle" insecticide of the mid 40`s to early 60`s? Once it`s LONG TERM effects became common knowledge, farmers using it couldn`t find buyers for their crops it was used on, and had to plow that last crop under! There is a group RUTHLESSLY determined to restore the lake; contact them and start to LEGALLY protest HIS "farming" practices, have the group attempt a boycott of HIS product. You might be SURPRISED at the result...DEMOCRACY WORKS! If nothing else, HE will be fully aware an "eye" in the sky will be watching with IRREFUTEABLE proof whether or not HE is complying when the "grace period" expires...


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## trailbreaker (Oct 11, 2008)

i posted a thread where grand lake is getting 5 million so they can clean up the mess


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

WHIO Channel 7 video from Weds evening regarding "potentially" bacteria contaminated flood waters due to manure runoff. Residents with flooding advised to avoid contact with flooded areas.

My opinion.....at a minimum with new rains coming, GLSM area needs a total suspension of manure spreading, for at least a temporary period.

www.whiotv.com/video/27060577/index.html


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

zaraspook said:


> Four more farmers in the watershed voted to _*unvolunteer*_, spread poop anyway as of Monday 2-14. And the farmer spreading crap on 2-6, doubled down. Now twice as much of his fields are treated with algae producing, toxin generating, livestock manure. All of this done to fields that lie between creeks directly feeding into the lake and less than 1.5 miles south of the lake.
> 
> Voluntary rules for manure spreading work just about as well as voluntary speed limits on an interstate highway.


I was so miffed with the farmer in the GLSM watershed who was spreading manure on frozen fields twice in Feb, that I filed a complaint with Mercer county soil and water conservation dept. I learned this week someone else beat me to it. That "producer", as the soil/water guys call them, was found to have spread manure at *3 times the rate/density* allowed. Soil and water guys would not tell me what actions were taken against the "producer", however unless it's the producer's 3rd violation, they get off with warnings only........no monetary punishment. He gets off without financial damage while the state pays $5 mil to treat the issues these "producers" create. 

On a positive note I hear complaints filed against these guys are up. The word is out.........people are watching.....we're gonna stop this crap (literally)!


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## Lowell H Turner (Feb 22, 2011)

It`s ALL being captured on film and recorded, dates, where, when, how much, by whom, ect. Am not sure HOW the information will be used, but obviously those acting in "bad faith' should none the less be repeatedly reported on...it`s the squeeky hinge that gets oiled...when the time comes to sign on for a class action law suit with satellite photo PROOF would encourage anyone who LITERALLY wants this "CRAP" to stop to sign up, since we ALL are paying to turn their livestock`s public toilet back into a safe useable lake...


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