Minnesota is a great state, with great lakes, and great fishing.

I love to fish, no doubt about it.

I, however, never thought about the environmental aspect of it.

One of my favorite conversations with Nick, my fiancee, who asked me to post Shoreland and Streambank Restoration in Isanti, Mille Lacs, Pine, Aitkin, Chisago, and Kanabec Counties, Minnesota on my blog, was one I had not too long ago.  We were discussing the fishing on our favorite lake near us (I don't name - I want to keep it to myself!) and even though I act as though I don't know better, I do.

"So," I say, as we're eating dinner, "My mom said that they were catching crappies like crazy.  She said that the lake is really weedy this year, all the way to the middle, though.  I hate it when lakes get weedy.  What a pain!"

"You know what that means, right?"  asks Nick, looking at me.  I hate these "quiz" moments, as I call them.

"What?"  I ask, and continue eating.

"That the lake is turning into a meadow."

"What?"  Okay, this is serious.  I stop chewing and stare.

"It's the natural progression..." and he continues on with his explanation that eventually my lake will not exist, but will be a meadow, with trees.  My response?

"What can we do to stop it???"

Now, to make things clear, I know better, and didn't mean that we should stop it.  I do know that sometimes people think exactly the same way I did just then, though.  Where will I fish?  Where will my kids fish?  Although it's not an immediate worry, it's still something I am thinking about. 

It will take many many years for the lake to turn into a meadow.  First it will become a bog, and then slowly change over.  It's not something I will see in my lifetime.   However, it does seem to be a shame that in the future people won't be able to enjoy the fantastic fishing I do.  Of course, I guess by then the fishing will not be great, because I will have emptied the lake out already!  :)

Now, to get back on subject.  What does this mean to me? 

The other day, on my way to a listing appointment, I noticed something in the road ahead.  I wasn't sure what to expect, so began to slow down, and I saw movement.  As I got closer, I realized that it was a mother duck with about 8 baby ducklings, trying to cross the road.  As the traffic watched, I began to think how great it is that we all stopped to let them cross.  Granted, mom was worried, and the ducklings were frightened, but they made it across the road okay.  Then, for whatever reason, my random mind went flying off into a different thought altogether.  I began to think of all the things that Nick tells me, about how mowing your grass to the water's edge leaves no where for the wildlife, as well as leaving the lake vulnerable.  How if erosion and lake damage are allowed to continue, there will be nowhere for these ducks to live.  I have a soft spot for ducks, anyway, but I think this subject would make anyone stop and think.

So I recommend, especially if you live in these counties and have waterfront property, to consider talking to Nick, or at least reading my article Shoreland and Streambank Restoration in Isanti, Mille Lacs, Pine, Aitkin, Chisago, and Kanabec Counties, Minnesota.  Think about those ducks - where will they live?