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Project description:

The proposer is planning to create a 16 Lot RV Park with individual lot ownership that will have electrical and water services to each lot. The individual lots will also each have their own 1,000 gallon septic holding tank.  The proposed project would be developed on Lot 1, Block Five, Kellar's Addition on Oriole Avenue on the north end of Elm Island Lake in Aitkin, MN.  The lot is 11.1 acres with 5.3 acres of wetland and the rest of the site is mostly forest.  There are four wetland areas on the lot, one of which lies contiguous to Elm Island Lake.  Elm Island Lake is part of the Ripple River Chain.   The proposed project can be found at https://www.co.aitkin.mn.us/departments/env/pdf-cal/2025/pc/5-19-25-pc.pdf.

Project proposer: Steve Blom, on behalf of property owner Russell Sampson/Elm Island Prop. LLC

Potential environmental effects include: alterations of the land's surface impacting wetland areas that could increase the likelihood of summer fish kills, increased density of dwellings that present risk for sustaining fish populations and lake habitat, and wildlife impacts.

• The most significant concern is with regards to the long-term sustainability of the fish population of Elm Island Lake.  The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has outlined a Lake Management Plan for Elm Island Lake to sustain black crappie, bluegill, northern pike and walleye populations.  The plan notes "The position of Elm Island within the Ripple River watershed appears to result in periodic partial summer fish kills due to low oxygen."  The plan attributes a 2016 summer fish kill to a high load of organic material from watershed in 'primarily wetland' areas and that "extensive ditching in the watershed (both public and private) likely exacerbates the situation by moving water off the landscape more quickly than would naturally occur."  The report highlights "While there is significant riparian development," there are "large tracts with minimal development. These large tracts should be a priority for acquisition or protection if the opportunity arises (DNR Lake Management Plan, Elm Island)."  The Wetland Delineation Report in the project proposal conducted by Granite City Environmental notes that Wetland A runs along the shore of the lake and is below the ordinary high water (OHW) elevation, as well as peripheral wetland areas near the lake.  In the conclusion, they state "We recommend that the DNR be consulted..regarding the lake and any peripheral wetland lying below the OHW elevation of the lake."  "Findings are subject to revision based upon natural or induced changes in weather, vegetation management, land use,.., surface water flow..which may affect the soils, hydrology, or vegetative community."  We have concerns about the potential impacts of the proposed project as the DNR had not been contacted and were unaware of the proposal.  The proposed project includes six RV sites covering 10,000 square feet and an additional 4,000 square feet of road access.  We have concerns that this 14,000 square feet of impervious soil, especially considering its proximity to wetland A and the lakeshore, could increase runoff into the lake.  Further, the proposed project addresses plans in relation to the OHW level, but because of the lake's position within the Ripple River watershed, the high water level is highly variable.  In the last 10 years, the water has been consistently above the OHW level and has been more than 2 feet over the OHW level (Lake water level report, Elm Island).  Last year, this lot had standing water directly near the proposed location of sites 11 through 16 and the road access for these lots (Appendix A).  The alterations to the landscape, especially the proximity to wetland A and the lakeshore, has the potential for significant environmental effects to the lake by contributing to the summer fish kills.  Reports from the DNR and the Wetland Delineation Report in the proposers development plan both validate this concern.
• The development of this property will significantly increase the already dense number of developments on the lake.  As of 2013 there were 10.8 homes/cabins per mile (6.75 per km) of shoreline (DNR Lake Management Plan, Elm Island).  The addition of this proposal would bring that total to 12.8 per mile (8 per km).  It is unknown exactly how many developments there are now, 12 years later, but this value is certainly higher as many new cabins have been built on the lake since 2013.  This proposal would result in about a 20% increase in density of dwellings on the lake.  The DNR has published "A Fish Habitat Conservation Framework for Minnesota Lakes." The DNRs classifies from their research of a surrogate marker, density of docks, that 10 docks/km is "where significant detrimental effects to fish communities and habitat are expected to occur."  The detrimental effects are caused by several factors but most notably from removal of aquatic vegetation and woody habitats, alteration of shoreline and direct destruction of habitat from boat traffic (Jacobson et al. 2016).  Given the extensive aquatic vegetation and fish spawning in this area of the lake, the increased boat traffic could impact fish spawning where there is currently very little boat traffic.   This significant increase in dwellings and the location of increased boat traffic is further potential for significant environmental effects to the lake.
• Elm Island Lake is home to dozens of trumpeter swans, which is listed as a species of special concern (Minnesota's List of Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species).  There is a high density of aquatic vegetation in the north end of the lake where the proposed project is located.  In recent years, there has been an increased presence of trumpeter swans, including cygnets, specifically in this area of the lake (Appendix B).  The Minnesota DNR is leading ongoing trumpeter swan conservation efforts and they cite "Human activity in Trumpeter Swan habitat may also disrupt breeding pairs of swans.  Jet skis, motor boats, collection of bait fish and leeches, and shoreline development impact water bodies and the beds of emergent vegetation where this species nests and may cause reduced nesting success or abandonment of breeding attempts" (Henson and Grant 1991).  There is currently very little boating activity in this part of the lake. Adding 16 RV sites and shoreline development and the increased boat traffic at this end of the lake could be a significant disruption to vegetation and breeding attempts for the trumpeter swans. 

References

1. Lake Management Plan, Elm Island (DOW# 1-123). Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
2. Lake water level report. Elm Island - 01012300. Aitkin County. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/showlevel.html?id=01012300
3. Peter C. Jacobson, Timothy K. Cross, Donna L. Dustin, Michael Duval, A Fish Habitat Conservation Framework for Minnesota Lakes, Fisheries, Volume 41, Issue 6, June 2016, Pages 302–317, https://doi.org/10.1080/03632415.2016.1172482
4. Minnesota's List of Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species.  Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ets/index.html
5. Paul Henson and Todd Grant. The Effects of Human Disturbance on Trumpeter Swan Breeding Behavior, Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973-2006), Autumn, 1991, Vol. 19, No.3, Pages 248-257.