Push to revive Marsh Lake is on, but more is needed

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Push to revive Marsh Lake is on, but more is needed
Tucked away in the bowels of Congress is an appropriation request for $300,000 that is crucial to refurbishing an important Minnesota lake.
Dennis Anderson, Mpls Star Tribune
Last update: March 17, 2007 ? 4:24 PM


Tucked away in the bowels of Congress is an appropriation request for $300,000 that is crucial to refurbishing an important Minnesota lake.
People and all manner of wildlife will benefit if the restoration is completed.

The waterway is actually a river -- the Pomme de Terre -- as well as a lake, A century ago, the Pomme de Terre didn't flow into Marsh Lake, which it does now.

Located near Appleton, Minn., near the South Dakota border, Marsh Lake at the time was a resting stop for millions of ducks and other migratory birds. Rich in its diversity of vegetation, the lake must have appeared to the winged travelers like an oasis.

Then a dam was built, which caused the lake's water depth to stabilize, rather than fluctuate. And the Pomme de Terre River was re-routed from its natural course and emptied into Marsh Lake.

As a result, Marsh Lake today resembles a sort of big, carp-filled cesspool.

Area residents, the Department of Natural Resources, Ducks Unlimited and other conservation groups, and the Army Corps of Engineers, want to do something about it.

A study has been undertaken by the DNR and the Corps to determine the feasibility of replacing the old dam with structures that would allow the lake to again rise and fall. The plan also involves returning the Pomme de Terre River to its original bed.

The result -- perhaps by 2012 or so -- would be a lake that once more would host waterfowl and other birds, while also serving as a refurbished recreation centerpiece for area residents and other Minnesotans.

"We've got the approximately $400,000 set aside to continue our portion of the study," said DNR Lac qui Parle wildlife area manager Dave Trauba. "But the study can't continue unless the Corps gets its money."

State Ducks Unlimited chairman Win Mitchell urges birders, hunters and other conservationists to contact Minnesota congressional delegation members and urge funding for the Corps to continue the study.

"E-mail messages can be sent from Congress members' websites," Mitchell said, noting that site addresses for Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman and Sen. Amy Klobuchar are coleman.senate.gov and klobuchar.senate.gov.