LJIA Homeowners Spring Checklist and Update

The snow has finally melted, docks are dropping in and paddle boarders are crisscrossing the lake. WELCOME SPRING!

As a helpful guide to our many new neighbors and a good reminder for all of us, please find below a spring checklist and update to help prepare for thecoming season. We hope it’s useful. Please contact any member of our association board with any questions.

HELP KEEP OUR LAKE SAFE FOR EVERYONE!

It’s great to have so many new families—many with small children—joining our lake community! The lake will be bustling with paddle boarders, tubers, youngsters learning to water ski and those partaking in other water sports. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with Lake Josephine’s regulations for watercraft, which include both boats AND jet skis.(Remember counter-clockwise direction!) Let’s make it both a sensational and safe season!
https://lakejosephineimprovementassociation.com/about-lake-josephine/water-craft-rules-regulations/

HOMEOWNERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTRACTING FOR NEAR-SHORE TREATMENT

Two different types of treatment are done on Lake Josephine: 1) offshore, which is herbicide treatment that is done 150 feet or more from any shoreline, benefits the lake as a whole and is handled by our lake association and paid for via voluntary contributions from our homeowners, and 2) near-shore treatment, which addresses nuisance vegetation and algae closer to shore and is individually contracted and paid for by homeowners via our contractor, Lake Management, Inc. Near-shore treatment is usually done in two stages, one early in the season and another mid-way through the season. You can choose whether you want one or both treatments.

Homeowners normally receive notification from Lake Management re: near-shore treatment in January of each year. If you wish to participate in near-shore treatment but do NOT receive any correspondence from Lake Management, you can contact them directly via email at info(at)lakemanagementinc(dotted)com or by phone at (651) 433-3283.

PROTECT OUR LAKE FROM ZEBRA MUSSELS AND OTHER INVASIVES!

Zebra Mussels were recently discovered in neighboring White Bear Lake, Bald Eagle Lake, Lake Johanna and McCarrons Lake. These ¼ – 1 ½ inch hard-shelled, razor-sharp invasives attach to surfaces and can clog pipes and irrigation, reduce the performance and efficiency of boat motors they adhere to, cut the feet of recreational lake users and negatively impact a lake ecosystem.

Please help keep these and other costly invaders out of Lake Josephine by practicing the following yourself and by asking others who drop into the lake to do the same:

• Clean weeds & debris from boats
• Drain boats, live wells and bait wells
• Remove all drain plugs while traveling
• Dispose of unwanted bait in the trash
• Dry docks, lifts, swim rafts and other equipment for ~21 days before placing them in the lake

Note: Lake Josephine is also infested with Eurasian Water Milfoil (EWM), another aggressive invasive. Please make sure any boat leaving our lake also follows the above guidelines so that our lake is not spreading EWM elsewhere.

Even the best preventative measures are no guarantee that Zebra Mussels still won’t get into our lake. Please help us monitor so we catch any potential invasion in its early stages:

• If any LJIA homeowner has not yet received a FREE Zebra Mussel sampler kit, contact us at info(at)lakejosephineimprovementassociation(dotted)com and we’ll get you one.
• Hang your sampler kit from the underside of your dock, ~1 foot above the lake bottom or at least 2 feet below the water’s surface.
• Check the sampler by pulling it out of the water and placing it in a tub or tray.
• Feel its surfaces with your fingertips for small bumps. (When Zebra Mussels first attach, they can be very small.) Look for a D-shaped shell.
• If you find anything suspicious, contact our resident AIS Expert Brett Schreiber at brettschreiber(at)yahoo(dotted)com or any other member of our LJIA board.
• If you don’t find anything, return the sampler to the underside of your dock.
• If the sampler is covered in muck or algae, clean that off before returning it. Otherwise, do not clean the sampler, as this will allow any young zebra mussels that might be attached to grow to a detectable size.
• Below are two photos, one of young Zebra Mussels and another of adult mussels.
  
  
• For more info on Zebra Mussels, see https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/aquaticanimals/zebramussel/index.html
• THANK YOU for your diligence!

RAMSEY COUNTY WATERCRAFT INSPECTIONS TO OCCUR AT LJIA BOAT LAUNCH

Ramsey County will use a portion of its state legislative funds for aquatic invasive species to conduct watercraft inspections at all Ramsey County public boat launches over the summer, and our boat launch will be one of those. Inspectors will be looking for visible signs that an entering or departing boat is carrying contaminants, and they will stop and educate the boater, accordingly.

There is not enough funding to inspect 24/7 at all boat launches, so inspection hours will be spread around and be intermittent. Most lake associations have requested peak hours during weekends and holidays, and the vendor conducting the inspections is working to accommodate that.

IT MAY LOOK LIKE A UFO (UNIDENTIFIED FLOATING OBJECT), BUT IT’S MORE LIKELY SOMEONE BOW FISHING

The Minnesota bow fishing season normally starts in late April and lasts until the end of the regular fishing season. Bow fishing is the taking of rough fish (carp, sucker, bullhead) using a bow and arrow, which has a barb and is tethered to the bow. Bow fishing IS allowed on all inland lakes in Minnesota. Bow fishing typically happens at night using a flat-bottomed boat with spotlights.

In years past we have had a number of people bow fishing on our lake at night in boats with bright lights. This is allowed by the DNR and Ramsey County Sheriff. Bow fishermen must maintain a minimum 150-foot distance from any occupied structure, and their boat and equipment cannot exceed 65 (A scale) decibels noise at a distance of 50 feet. They are also not allowed to put fish they’ve shot back into the water or leave them on the shoreline.

For more information, see page 66 of the attached MN DNR Fishing Regulations.
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/fishing_regs.pdf#view=fit&pagemode=bookmarks

LJIA DONATIONS ARE TAX-EXEMPT, SO PLEASE CONSIDER GIVING!

Our lake association is recognized as a 501(c)3 organization, and that means your donations are tax-deductible. Once your contribution is received, you will receive a thank you note confirming your donation and providing our federal tax I.D. for your tax records. Note: several homeowners have also taken advantage of their companies’ matching gift programs to double the size of their contributions. Please check to see if your company has such a program.

Thank you for your continued support!