Outreach educators visit Iron County lakes

Pictured are, Erick Elgin and residents of Iron Lake

By Vicki Browne
Iron County Lakes & Streams Partnership (ICLSP)
For four days at the end of July, Dr. Jo Latimore and Erick Elgin shared their knowledge about lakes at events coordinated by the Iron County Lakes and Streams Partnership that spanned the county from Smoky Lake in the west to the Michigamme Reservoir in the east.
Latimore and Elgin are outreach specialists affiliated with Michigan State University and MSU Extension, respectively. Latimore, a biologist who has her doctorate in Fisheries and Wildlife, also serves as the director of the Michigan Clean Waters Corp. Elgin is a limnologist — a scientist who studies the characteristics of freshwater bodies like lakes and wetlands. Both Elgin and Latimore direct various aspects of the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program, a statewide volunteer water quality monitoring program. This was their third visit to Iron County.
“Iron County lakes are among the most beautiful and healthy that I’ve seen in my 20-plus years working on Michigan’s waters,” Latimore said. “It’s obvious that the people of Iron County care deeply about them.”
The two events that were open to the public — CLMP demonstrations on Lake Mary and a presentation with Q&A at the Crystal Falls Library — were both well attended. As participants identified their favorite lakes, at least a dozen different lakes were named. Each lake in the county is unique, so these events provided valuable time to learn, share and collaborate.
Elgin and Latimore also attended several lake association meetings.
“Their enthusiasm is infectious,” said Roy Carlson of Buck Lake. “They get property owners interested in the available resources.”
“This is the second year that they have visited Iron Lake, and we appreciate their commitment to water quality in the Upper Peninsula,” said Chris Jones. “A highlight of the event was the boat tour during which Jo and Erick taught participants how to measure water clarity using a Secchi disk. Good conversations occurred regarding Eurasian watermilfoil as well. We look forward to engaging with them in several citizen science projects moving forward.”
At Smoky Lake’s meeting approximately 45 participants engaged in the discussion about best shoreline practices and the naturally occuring effects of rising and falling seasonal water levels.
Elgin and Latimore both specialize in aquatic plant identification. On every lake they visited, they waded into the water to find interesting, native species. On Wildwood Lake Latimore found freshwater sponges, filter feeders that indicate high water quality. 
On several lakes they found water smartweed, a versatile wetland and lake plant with a pink bubblegum-looking flower. On Runkle Lake bryozoan, commonly called ‘lake brain’ was growing on a stick. Bryozoans are actually freshwater animals that live in colonies on submerged rocks or branches and look a lot like brains.
Elgin and Latimore were delighted to find species they rarely see downstate growing abundantly here.
“What a superb set of events with Jo & Erick,” said Mike Golas, president of the ICLSP. “People had opportunities to discover and get excited about matters pertinent to their favorite lake.”
For more information about ICLSP, visit iclakesandstreamspartnership.com. Send questions to IClakesandstreamspartnership@gmail.com.