C H A I R M A N ’ S C O V EOur busy 2015 summer season has come and gone. We’ve enjoyed fishing contests, beach balls and parades, as well as our normal seasonal activities – cruising around the lake in our pontoons, jetskiing, kayaking, windsailing – enjoying the sound of a loon at dawn, it has been a great year!

Some of our residents have already left for the year, others are preparing to leave, storing docks, boats and other toys, while the rest of us will be digging in and enjoy-ing our winter right here on Silver Lake, participating in the winter activities as we did the summers’. No matter where we spend our winter, we will all be back together in the spring and summer of 2016, ready to do it all over again!

B. Scot Ogden, SLIA President

WHY EMAIL?

The SLIA is able to inform residents via email on impor-tant issues such as treatment dates for invasive species, safety issues, meeting dates and much more. It is also an easy way for you to contact us regarding issues you are concerned about.

After this summer’s storms we were able to quickly reconnect many people with their property through our lost & found!

When you send in your membership form, please include your email address to start receiving our messages. Be assured we will not share your address. If you have already done that, you are all set and will start receiving these valuable emails. If you have questions, please contact us at: info@silverlakeimprovement.com

F A L L 2 0 1 5

Annual Meeting ReportOn August 1st, residents gathered at 8:30 at the Garfield Township hall to share coffee and donuts, and get acquainted. The meeting was called to order promptly at 9:00 a.m. with committee reports presented and approved.

Highlights of the meeting were award pre-sentations to Regatta and Fishing Contest win-ners, and of course signing of the Silver Lake Beach Ball! (See pics, pg 3/4)

Guest speakers were: • Jennifer J-Jones of

Restorative Lake Sciences• Kevin McElyea, GT CO

Drain Commissioner• Daniel Thorell, GT CO

Health, Environmental Sanitarian.These guests gave very

informative presentations regarding Invasive Species, the SLIA Drain, and Septic System re-quirements and maintenance. Many questions from the audience were answered.

Visit our Website/Events for links to these presentations. If you missed this valuable meeting – mark your calendar for next year, August 6th!

Calendar of EventsVisit our website – “Calendar” for current events during the year, such as Adopt-A-Road cleanup, etc.

Membership Form???If you received a membership form in this newsletter, our records show that you haven’t paid your dues for this coming year. Your board of trustees is encouraging all property own-ers and friends of the lake to join our lake association. The value of our lake front property is only as good as the quality of the lake.

Our association monitors the water quality, works with the drain commissioner on the wa-ter level, with the State fisheries department to ensure that our lake is a healthy habitat for fish, and is well stocked. We manage the Eurasian Water Milfoil and other invasives to ensure our lake’s health. We communicate with property owners and friends of the lake through our newsletters, email alerts and annual meeting. Activities such as the Giant Beach Ball and Fourth of July Regatta help draw us together as a community. Boaters are kept informed of boater safety rules and we do our best to pro-tect the wildlife on the lake.

As you an see, it takes a lot to make sure that we have a quality lake to enjoy and to keep our property values high while balancing that with information about the lake and fun activities.

The dues are only $25.00 per year, a pretty good deal, and will help your board continue their valuable service!

Bruce Reavely, Membership

WEBSITE

We hope you have visited our website and are enjoying the new layout - more editing and tweaking to come!

WALLEYE PLANTING UPDATE

The Michigan DNR reported planting 1.2 Million Walleye Fry in Silver Lake in April/May of 2015. These Fry were a crop overage from the state hatcheries in the spring. They have scheduled a planting of 30,000 plus Walleye Fingerlings for the spring of 2016.

LOST AND FOUND

FOUND: Paddleboat – PELICANEmail to identify and claim at:

info@silverlakeimprovement.com(If you have a lost or found item, you may contact the SLIA via email at this address.)

The Great Big Silver Lake Beach Ball

What a great year we had! The ball floated on the lake for five days and collected many signa-tures and messages.

It made its way into the Record-Eagle!

… then to the SLIA Annual Meeting! What a terrific way to bring the lake members

together! We are already working on ways to make next year’s ball more user friendly.

Thank you for all of your support and help to make the Beach Ball a success.

… Chuck Hathaway

July 2016 promises to be an even more exciting year for our Independence Day celebration with some new ideas in the works. Stay tuned!

ANNUAL MEETING REPORT On August 1st, residents gathered at 8:30 at the Garfield Township hall to share coffee and donuts, and get acquainted. The meeting was called to order promptly at 9:00 a.m. with committee reports presented and approved. Highlights of the meeting were award presentations to Regatta and Fishing Contest winners, and of course signing of the Silver Lake Beach Ball! (See pics, pg 3/4)

Guest speakers were: Jennifer J-Jones of Restorative Lake Sciences, Kevin McElyea, GT CO Drain Commissioner, Daniel Thorell, GT CO Health, Environmental Sanitarian. These guests gave very informative presentations regarding Invasive Species, the SLIA Drain, and Septic System requirements and maintenance. Many questions from the audience were answered. Visit our Website/Events for links to these presentations. If you missed this valuable meeting - mark your calendar for next year, August 6th! info@silverlakeimprovement.com (If you have a lost or found item, you may contact the SLIA via email at this address.)

MEMBERSHIP FORM???

Independence Day 2015It was a grand day – we paraded – we shared – we finished with a big bang

of fireworks – it was the Silver Lake Community in action!Thank you to all …

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

REGATTA ENTHUSIASTS ON PARADE

1st Place: Weaver Family – “Our Troops: The Real Heroes”

Parade Marshall, Hathaway Family – “Registering the Gang”

Marshall Family – “Tropical Lei’s”

4th Place: Geskus Family – “Lady Liberty”

Guthrie Family – “Celebrating the 4th”

2nd Place: Machuta Family – “Red Neck Fire Rescue Truck”

Ogden/Seidelman/Knight – “SLIA Lead Boat”

Taplin Family – “America”

Honorable Mention: Palmer Family – “4th of July Beach Ball”

Perry Family – “Revenge of the Slingshot”

3rd Place: MacIntosh Family – “Captain Mac’s Li’l Pirates”

Breneman Family – “Red, White and Brody”

Wood Family – “Totally Patriotic”

Honorable Mention: Berden Family – “Luau”

Cronin Family – “Big Mable”

LaFaive Family – “Battleship” Kleinrichert Family – “Party Boat” Sweetwater Boat – “Joining The Parade”

SLIA ANNUAL KIDS FISHING

TOURNAMENT WINNERS

Blake – “Proud Angler with 2 ‘Keepers’”

THANK YOU TO OUR JUDGES – A BIG JOB!

Bock Family Borucki Family Reed Family Schmidt Family

Brooklyn – “See, I did it!”

SHORELINE PARTICIPANTS IN ACTIONIt’s all about the kids...

and families....

WELCOME NEW MEMBERSWELCOME NEW MEMBERSDaniel Brady • Joyce Delange

Frederick & Joanne Donaghy • Ryan & Lyndsay Douglas Christine Guitar • Daniel & Martha Guthrie

Russell & Barbara Lawson • Marc & Stephanie Maskart Richard & Marcia Micklin • Kristopher Palko

Andrew & Megan Pocock • Randy & Melanie RippentropFerris & Mary Lee Steinhauer • Jon & Chris Zoutendan

NEW NEIGHBORS?Please contact Mike Kaufman at 517-775-2456.

Mike’s role is to visit new Silver Lake property owners, welcome them and distribute information about our lake,

our association, boater safety, and most importantly – …Information on how to join our association!

PO BOX 2133 • TRAVERSE CITY, MI 49685-2133 www. s i l ve r l ake improvement . com

WELCOME NEW MEMBERSPerhaps you are new to the lake, perhaps you have been away for awhile or maybe you just decided to join us, whatever the reason, we

welcome our new SLIA members!Nick & Molly Agostinelli

Scott & Nicole BlonshinePaul & Darcy Britten

Norm & Peggy CampbellBrian & Kelly Case

Carol HarriganRobert & Susan IslesDavid & Judith Reed

Silver Shores AssociationShirley Wehre

Paul & Lisa WileyJack & Cathy Wunderlich

EURASIAN WATER MILFOIL UPDATE - 9/2007This past spring, Chuck Hathaway found a second patch of Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) in the northwest corner of the lake, offshore from 1412 N. West Silver Lake Rd. The new patch and the original infestation near the boat launch were treated with herbicides in early July. We were particularly concerned about the new patch because it was in a fairly shallow, heavily trafficked area of the lake. As the EWM grew to the surface it would be chopped up by passing boat props. Each fragment of the plant has the ability to establish new growth so there was a likelihood of rapid spread if we didn’t act quickly.

We scrambled to get the new patch treated quickly. We had to hire a contractor to apply the herbicide. The Michigan Department Environmental Quality permit had to be amended. We had to get funding (thanks again to Garfield Township for funding the additional treatment) and we had to get written permission from property owners.

Getting written permission from property owners proved the most difficult task. We opted to get the required signatures from several owners either side of the patch in case the EWM infestation was more extensive than expected. The Burritts personally collected the signatures from the property owners within the known area. Mediocre response was received from mailings to others nearby (thanks to those who did respond). If the infestation had been more wide spread we wouldn’t have been able to treat all of it.

As a consequence, and because we don’t know where EWM will pop up next, we decided to get permission from every property owner on the lake so we would to be ready to act quickly when the next patch of EWM appears. Permission slips were mailed to every property owner and brought in roughly 100 signatures. At this writing we have signed permission from 132 of the roughly 350 required.

An aquatic vegetation survey, by Professional Lake Management in early September 2007, identified three new areas of EWM. Patches of EWM were found scattered along the stretches of shoreline described below The stretches are:

1. The area off the Northwest and North shores of Campbell Island. That includes 302 to 338 Roman Dr. (roughly 1100 ft of shoreline).

2. From 425 to 578 Brakel Point Dr (roughly 2500 ft of shoreline).3. From 5284 Van Petten Dr. north including 391 S. West Silver Lake Rd. to 100 N West Silver Lake Rd. (roughly

5000 ft of shoreline).

The vegetation surveys aren’t perfect and precise, therefore, EWM may exist beyond the areas described.

H E L P !Your written permission is required by law before Eurasian Watermilfoil can be treated on your bottomlands. Please fill out and return the permission form mailed with this newsletter if you have not already done so.

No one can predict where Eurasian Watermilfoil will pop up next so we need permission from everyone on the lake. We urge you to encourage your neighbors to return a form as well. If their bottomlands are not treated you will suffer the consequences too. A form is also available on the new website (silverlakeimprovement.com). Any questions call Chuck Hathaway 943-3912 or Russ Adams at 947-5502.

H AV E A Q U E S T I O N ? C A L L :Publicity, newsletter – Pat Adams – 947-5502 Lake Monitoring – Russ Adams – 947-5502 Exotic Weeds – Russ Adams - 947-5502Fishing Issues – Kevin Gagnon – 943-5226 Township Liaison - Peter Haddix – 943-8825 Drain Liaison – Bill Helke – 943-4779 Historian – Nancy Knight – 943-9487 Webmaster – Wayne Knight – 943-9487 Welcoming new residents – Robb Raetz – 943-4358 Membership – Janet Wheeler – 943-4443 President SLIA – Dick Bogard – 943-4845

If you would rather email us our address is:info@silverlakeimprovement.com

H AV E A Q U E S T I O N ? C A L L :

RUMORS – RUMORS – RUMORS“The reason the lake levels are so low is because they are draining all of the water out of Silver Lake through that *$#%* dam”

Folks, we want to reassure you that these rumors are entirely unfounded but easily believable when indeed the water levels are down – so we’d like to share a few facts and some history with you.

If you watched TV7&4 recently, they had a special interview with the Army Corps of Engineers because of public concern that the Great Lakes are down, especially Lake Superior – they also cited area lakes and the bay with pictures of the beach at Old Mission. The Corps’ answer was that levels are largely cyclical with some influence of drought, hot summers and light winters.

Now to Silver Lake – the SLIA was formed in 1965 because the levels were at an all time low in this century (much worse than now). They petitioned the county to divert water from Bass Lake to raise the levels. After 3 years in red tape and petitions, by ‘68/69 the levels were rising so the effort died.

In 1974 the levels were extremely high, people were flooded, sandbagged and trees died all along the shoreline. Again the county was petitioned to establish a level – this time it was contested because it would require pumping groundwater back into the lake if the level went down and would have been an ongoing high cost to riparians, so this effort also died and the waters receded.

In 1986 the levels were higher than 1974 - more sandbags - add pumps, flooded septics and some evacuation of homes. This time a more educated plan was presented to the county – set only a high water level and only an overflow dam. This was accomplished in early 1987. The cost was shared fairly and the maintenance has been manageable.

In 1993 the levels were again high in the great lakes and other lakes according to the representative of the Corps of Engineers, although not to the extremes of 1974 and 1986. Silver Lake was a little high in the spring that year, but drain down during the winter and early spring months prevented a potential problem for Silver Lake residents.

And then came 2007 . . . .This drain works only as an emergency drain off when the water cycles high, but does nothing when it is low – which was the intention – it is doing it’s job! Read back through this article and notice that the cycle has hit high or low in mid-decade for the last 40 years. “We don’t really understand it all - it will come back” as the gentleman from the Army Corps of Engineers said when asked.

To dispel ideas of what a normal drain looks like with water flowing out of it as most of us perceive, let’s take a look at the Silver Lake dam. Our dam doesn’t look like a normal dam, it looks more like a glass of water set in a bowl – rising up out of the water, it is an “overlow” dam, it only drains when the water rises higher than the rim of the glass (drain). The drain is operated with a valve which is shut off in May or June when the water temp reaches 68 degrees. THERE HAS BEEN NO WATER DRAINED OUTTHIS YEAR, with only a minimal amount in the early spring for several years, as the levels have been receding in their cyclical fashion.

This information was taken from old SLIA minutes and records and court documents. Submitted by Nancy Knight

LOON-IE TUNESLOON-IE TUNES, which actually sound more like a yodel, combined with the “penguin dance” are loon’s way of chasing away other birds, water craft and silly people. (The “penguin dance” is when they splash with their wings and kick their feet so they’re walking on water.) My son was out swimming and not aware of the loons nearby, when Daddy loon started in on him. My son decided to yodel back and flap his arms - it was quite a hilarious show.

Loons lay 1 - 2 eggs in June on island type areas near water. Incubation time is about a month. They often carry their chicks on their backs to avoid predators such as sea gulls, eagles, crows and turtles. They are also very territorial. The loon family you see at the north end of the lake is a different one than you see further down by Brakel Point.

Besides being fun to watch, like when mommy loon is teaching chick to dive, they eat leeches!

Loon trivia: The loon is the state bird in Minnesota; and Mercer, Wisconsin is the Loon Capital of the World!Submitted by Cathy Kuhn

WHO DO YOU CALL?Life threatening or dangerous

violations............911

Boating violations, wildlife harassment (MC number required) or launch site violations

Central Dispatch............922-4550

General Marine questions (leave msg) Sheriff’s Marine Division

231-922-2112

DNR Traverse City Office 231-922-5280

Lost and Found (Barry Andrews) 231-943-7005 or

TC.Silver.Lake.Association@gmail.com

More information at www.silverlakeimprovement.com

WHEN WINTER WINDS BLOW!

Labor Day was the unofficial end to summer and many of us are already busy preparing for the winter season. Boats, rafts, docks and toys are being stored – remember – the water levels may be higher in the spring than they are now – allow enough room! (Hint – roll your boat/raft in on poles, so much easier!) … and of course, when winterizing yours motors, etc. – never pour gasoline, oil, or antifreeze into the lake!

It’s time to feed our lawns, trees, etc – take time to read labels when buying fertilizer and choose lake friendly Non-Phosphorus! (Many stores now carry non-phos, if you’re not sure, go to McGough’s). If you use a lawn service, or rent your property through a leasing company who uses a service, please educate them, perhaps they aren’t aware?

Leaves are starting to fall – Please do not rake or blow them into the lake! Remember, leaves = phosphorus = muck!

Then enjoy all of the fun things you can do on Silver Lake this winter! Ice fishing, skating, skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, windsailing, (check for safe ice first), the list goes on…….

If you have great pictures featuring these activities, or of our treasured wildlife – please send them to us!

Happy September to you all from your SLIA board!

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTThis spring the Eurasian Milfoil (EWM) had grown back to about 5 acres, which was treat-ed in the 3rd week of June. Restorative Lake Sciences conducted a fall survey and discov-ered there were several areas that survived the spring treatment (about 3.5 acres). They will be retreating these areas this fall. I am hopeful this treatment will succeed in killing the EWM that has thrived during the summer.

If you have not had your septic tank emp-tied in the last couple of years, please do so this fall or next spring. Greywater has been spotted three times this year on the west side of the lake. The GT Environmental Health Dept. has been contacted and asked to investi-gate those suspected areas. Some preventative maintenance now could save us major clean up problems in the future. If you have any questions regarding septic tank maintenance, contact Daniel Thorell at the GT County Health Dept., 995-6051. He spoke on this subject at SLIA Annual Meeting and is an expert in this field, very willing to give advice.

B Scot Ogden

SLIA BOARD MEMBERSBarry Andrews 231-943-7005

Ron Grin 231-943-0293

Chuck Hathaway 231-943-3912

Mike Kaufman 517-775-2456

Ken Kleinrichert 231-218-8530

Nancy Knight 231-943-9487

Scot Ogden 517-749-3895

Diane Radloff 231-620-8751

Bruce Reavely 231-645-5640

Mike Reed 231-943-4171

Kelly Smith 248-252-7022

Janet Wheeler 231-943-4443

Many residents of Brakel Point believe the tree depicted in this photo to be an Indian Trail

Marker? It can be found on the south side of Brakel Point Drive, roughly 200 yards west of East Silver Lake Rd.

Across the United States, trees shaped simi-larity have historically been found and identi-fied as having been formed by Native Ameri-cans to mark their trails. While we have no concrete evidence of this as fact at the Brakel Point location, it is certainly something fun to contemplate!

More information can be found in “Mystery of the Trees, Native American Markers of a Cultural Way of Life That Soon May Be Gone”. Don and Diane Wells with Dr. John Nardo, Robert Wells and Lamar Marshall.

Each year our lake goes through a cyclical rhythm of rising in the spring and falling as summer fades away. At the SLIA annual meeting in August, Kevin McElyea, our GT County Drain Commissioner, gave a very concise and informa-tive power point presentation on the history and operation of our drain, the recent survey work and the special assessment drain fund balance. It was an excellent presentation and allowed for some great follow-up questions. Visit our website, Events-Annual Meeting to see this presentation.

This year is the tri-annual inspection and survey of the drainage system. While the final report has not been received, the most note-worthy element was that during the recent survey of the drain components it was discov-ered that the lake level gauge was too low by

.16’ or appx 2 inches. On 9-3-2015, Kevin cor-rected the lake level gauge to correspond with the results of the recent survey. The outlet struc-ture (drain) remains at an elevation of 861.91, below the high water mark of 862’. In essence what this means is that what many thought was high water for the last couple of years is actu-ally about the allowable norm.

The drain has not been closed since last fall and I’m sure it will remain open again all win-ter this year as we attempt to regulate the high water level. With the gauge correction and de-pending on the attitude of Mother Nature next year we may have two more inches of water in our lake to enjoy before the summer sun beats the water level into retreat.

…Barry Andrews

A LINK TO THE PAST?

DRAIN/LAKE LEVEL STATUS

When winter winds blow! Labor Day was the unofficial end to summer and many of us are already busy preparing for the winter season. Boats, rafts, docks and toys are being stored - remember - the water levels may be higher in the spring than they are now - allow enough room! (Hint - roll your boat/raft in on poles, so much easier!) … and of course, when winterizing yours motors, etc. - never pour gasoline, oil, or antifreeze into the lake! It's time to feed our lawns, trees, etc - take time to read labels when buying fertilizer and choose lake friendly Non-Phosphorus! (Many stores now carry non-phos, if you're not sure, go to McGough's). If you use a lawn service, or rent your property through a leasing company who uses a service, please educate them, perhaps they aren't aware? Leaves are starting to fall - Please do not rake or blow them into the lake! Remember, leaves = phosphorus = muck! Then enjoy all of the fun things you can do on Silver Lake this winter! Ice fishing, skating, skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, windsailing, (check for safe ice first), the list goes on……. If you have great pictures featuring these activities, or of our treasured wildlife - please send them to us! Happy September to you all from your SLIA board!