{"id":3847,"date":"2015-04-28T15:45:11","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T19:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.roamingshores.org\/RRA1\/?p=3847"},"modified":"2015-04-28T15:45:11","modified_gmt":"2015-04-28T19:45:11","slug":"landscaping-options-buffer-zones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roamingshores.org\/RRA1\/2015\/04\/28\/landscaping-options-buffer-zones\/","title":{"rendered":"Landscaping Options \u2013 Buffer Zones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"love-the-lake-logo\"<\/a>\u00a0 By David Ernes \u2013 Lake Management Committee<\/em><\/p>\n

One only needs to travel to parks with natural lakes and no homes or man-made
\nstructures and see that the water is clear and pristine. But, once we build a house, or for
\nlake front owners, build a dock, we disturb the natural state of the land. In the 2007
\nNational Lakes Assessment, a study of thousands of lakes across the continental US,
\nlakeshore habitat changes was the number one stressor for a lake\u2019s biological condition.
\nWhen we make changes to the land, we replace porous soil with impervious concrete or
\nasphalt. We remove local plants and trees and replace then with lawns and open spaces.
\nAll of this makes significant changes in the lake quality. Erosion can become an issue,
\nintroducing sediment into the lake. The natural ability of plants and trees to remove
\nexcess nutrients is eliminated.<\/p>\n

So, what can be done? You may have heard the term \u201cbuffer zones\u201d or riparian
\nzones. This is an approach where the area between a lawn and the lakeshore is modified
\nby planting bushes and materials that will reduce erosion and filter run-off from reaching
\nthe lake. There are numerous articles on the Internet describing the types of plants that
\nare most beneficial.<\/p>\n

As one travels on our lake, you can see that almost all lakefront properties are
\nunique. The slope of the land, the shape or the shoreline, and the proximity of our
\nneighbors all make for unique situations. Not every situation can add a buffer zone at the
\nshore. However, that does not mean that we cannot help. If one is thinking of making
\nchanges to their lawn and shoreline, take a look at the area. Can you use a rip-rap (use of
\nrocks for shoreline control of erosion) instead of a retaining wall? Are there open areas
\nnext to your dock that you can have plants run up to the shoreline. If you have a steep
\nslope, can you have a buffer zone before the slope that can trap and prevent the edge from
\neroding, and filter run-off from the yard. Think before removing large trees near the
\nshore.<\/p>\n

And, you don\u2019t need to just be on the lakeshore to use this approach. Many lots
\nback into a field, creek, ditch, culvert or drain, which eventually winds its way into the
\nlake. Keeping a buffer from the end of the lawn can reduce the run-off from lawns to
\nkeep the nutrient levels in check.<\/p>\n

There are numerous examples where this approach has lead to an improvement in
\nwater quality. The Wisconsin Lakeshore Restoration Project is one example. The
\nPortland Water District has a brochure titled \u201cLakes Like Less Lawn\u201d, their program for
\nenvironmental landscaping for water quality. So, if you are looking to make changes to
\nyour landscaping, consider the design and see if you can include bushes, trees and other
\nplant material to improve not only your lot but the lake as well.<\/p>\n

\nBE LAKE RESPONSIBLE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 By David Ernes \u2013 Lake Management Committee One only needs to travel to parks with natural lakes and no homes or man-made structures and see that the water is clear and pristine. But, once we build a house, or for lake front owners, build a dock, we disturb the natural state of the land. … Continue reading “Landscaping Options \u2013 Buffer Zones”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,34,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lake-management-articles","category-sediment-control-sub-committee","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roamingshores.org\/RRA1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roamingshores.org\/RRA1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roamingshores.org\/RRA1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roamingshores.org\/RRA1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roamingshores.org\/RRA1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.roamingshores.org\/RRA1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3847\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roamingshores.org\/RRA1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roamingshores.org\/RRA1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roamingshores.org\/RRA1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}