Shoreline Preservation Create a Greenbelt Schedule Greenbelt Consultation Education - Not Enforcement Tips for Your Shoreline Rate Your Shore Shoreline Preservation Shorelines are Critical Transition Areas from Land to Water A natural shoreline protects the lake and provides habitat for fish and wildlife. However, intense shoreli ne development, the proliferation of turf lawns, and an increase in waves from boat activity create erosion problems and allow fertilizers and pesticides to enter the water. You can restore your shoreline to a more natural state which will support wildlife habitat and prevent run-off. Create a Greenbelt A greenbelt is a natural shoreline of diverse and native vegetation including trees, shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers that grow naturally or are planted. The most important benefits of greenbelts are erosion control and pollution filtering. By keeping sediments and excess nutrients from washing into the water, greenbelts keep the water clear and cool. An added benefit is deterring geese who prefer well-manicured lawns with unrestricted access to the water. Recent surveys, revealed a concerning deficiency in natural shorelines and greenbelts surrounding Lime Lake. The good news is that this is within our control. Schedule Your Free Lake On-Site Consultations To encourage establishing and enhancing greenbelts on the lake, the LLA is supporting on-site consultations by our Lake Biologist, Kelsey Froelich. During the half-hour consultation, you will gain a deeper understanding of the natural process and science that a natural shoreline plays in the health of the lake ecosystem. Site specific opportunities will be discussed so you can create a greenbelt plan for your shore. Free Greenbelt Consultation Registration Next Education - Not Enforcement Greenbelt consultations are focused on providing an understanding of the natural processes and their effect on lake health. In other words, education. We are giving riparians the information to make the changes they deem appropriate to improve lake health while providing space for water accessibility and recreation. The decisions are left to the property owner - and the LLA has no interest in ‘enforcement’! Tips for Your Shoreline Maintain a greenbelt - a 20 to 35’ natural buffer along 70% of your shoreline to help provide filtration to trap pollutants, prevent overgrowth of aquatic plants and algae, reduce erosion and discourage geese. Use native plants - shrubs, trees and grasses to stabilize shorelines which provides habitat for wildlife (more). Plant native trees to help offset storm damage and replace die-off of diseased ash, birch, beech and oaks. Use a mulching mower, compost leaves and yard trimmings at least 100 ft from surface water. Excess leaves in the lakes and creeks degrades water quality. Rate Your Shore The Michigan Shoreland Stewardship Program has created an online survey for you to ‘rate your shoreland’. In the process, you will receive customized advice on how to make improvements to your property and its management. The Survey asks questions related to management practices in each of the four zones of your shoreland property: Upland, Buffer, Shoreline and Lake. You will need the basic dimensions of your property and you should plan for approximately 30 minutes to complete the form. Please select the Lime Lake Association when taking the survey; this will help us track participation rates. The survey can be taken anonymously, but we encourage you to register. By registering, your data will be saved so you can return to the survey as you make changes on your property. Thank you for being a good steward of Lime Lake. RATE YOUR SHORE

THIS IS LIME LAKE Pristine waters spanning 670 acres, stunning shorelines, steep forested hillsides, sparkling creeks, and over 100 acres of preserved natural areas. This is Lime Lake, a true gem of Leelanau County. As a Lake Association, our mission is to preserve the environmental purity and beauty of Lime Lake. Whether you live on the lake or simply love visiting, you are welcome to join us in this mission. Through education, research, community engagement, and partnerships with conservationists, we are committed to safeguarding Lime Lake for generations to come. Help protect this treasure! Become a Member Join Us in 2025 Stewardship Greenbelt Consultation Support Become a Member Service Become a Volunteer Watershed Protection is Crucial Many of us who live on or near Lime Lake prefer to keep her out of the limelight. None-the-less, Leelanau County in general is experiencing an ever greater number of visitors and this inevitably leads to increased pollutants and other environmental stressors that threaten the health of the Good Harbor Watershed and its lakes. Learn what a watershed is and what you can do to protect it. LEARN MORE Scientific Evidence Based Strategies The Lime Lake Association employs evidence-based strategies to protect water quality within the Lime Lake/Good Harbor Watershed. Learn more about the science of water quality and the methods and techniques used to monitor, test, and safeguard the water. LEARN MORE Free Greenbelt Consultation To encourage establishing greenbelts on Lime Lake, the LLA is supporting on-site consultations by our Lake Biologist. During the half-hour consultation, you will gain a deeper understanding of the natural process and science that a natural shoreline plays in the health of the lake ecosystem. Site specific opportunities will be discussed so you can create a greenbelt plan for your shore. LEARN MORE LIME LAKE NEWS Sep 16, 2024 PSA: Michigan Recreation Passport Needed To Use Lime Lake Boat Launch Aug 29, 2024 Water Levels Are Down, Let's Keep Our Awareness Up Aug 16, 2024 All Eyes on Purple Loosestrife Jul 11, 2024 It's all Connected: A Shetland Creek Cleanup Reminds Us To Leave No Trace Jul 1, 2024 Getting Dirty to Protect Lime Lake Jun 17, 2024 Volunteers Needed: Friday, June 21, 12pm Apr 15, 2024 Storytelling Event to Support Leelanau Clean Water, April 27, 7pm, Little Traverse Inn Jul 20, 2023 Discovery Boat Tour Time Change Take Action and Join Our Mission, What You Can Do Now! DONATE Become a member of the Lime Lake Association by making a donation. STEWARD Support our efforts and h elp maintain the beauty of Lime Lake . VOLUNTEER We need you r help! Join a committee or event! LEARN Understand how your everyday choices and activities affect the water quality of Lime Lake. SIGN UP Join our email list and stay current on important news, meetings and volunteer opportunities . LIME LAKE OUR COMMUNITY, OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Donate and Join The Lime Lake Association $ Donate THANK YOU! Membership Matters Join at any level - it's easy! Your annual tax deductible contribution directly supports our mission of preserving and protecting the environmental purity and beauty of Lime Lake. $50 - Member $100 - Sustainer $250 - Benefactor $500 - Partner $$ - Custom Amount Optional - In Honor / In Memory Of Help Us Make a Difference! Our biggest expense is science. We conduct ongoing research to prevent invasive species and monitor water quality; we offer educational resources and free greenbelt consultations; and we strive to set an example of stewardship that will safeguard the lake we love. We ask all riparians to consider a minimum annual donation of $250. This is just $20 per month and allows us to maintain current programs, increase outreach, and be ready should an invasive species like Eurasian Watermilfoil become detected. Larger lakes in the area, where the invasive has taken hold, spend up to $100,000 per year on this problem alone. Thank you for your support and stewardship. If you would prefer, please send a check made out to the Lime Lake Association and mail to: The Lime Lake Assocation P.O. Box 50, Maple City, MI 49664

Over the next several weeks, many of you will be taking your boats off the lake for winter storage. Did you know that even Lime Lake residents need to have a Michigan Recreation Passport to use the Lime Lake boat launch? Recently, an officer has been at the boat launch issuing tickets. From the DNR: The Recreation Passport is required for motorized vehicle access to state parks and recreation areas and state-managed boating access sites, state forest campgrounds, thousands of miles of trails and other outdoor spaces – all year long! Michigan's state-managed parks and recreation system is largely self-supporting. Funds derived from the Recreation Passport go right back into maintaining and improving the outdoor spaces we all love, and protecting natural resources for the next generation. Get information on how and where to get your passport HERE . Thank you Bob Martin, Lime Lake riparian, for sharing this reminder! Wishing everyone a happy, safe, and ticket-free end of boating season.

Lake water levels around Leelanau County are down due to lack of rain and evaporation. While we do not officially measure lake levels here at Lime Lake, our friends at Glen Lake have reported that the last time their level was this low was in 2016, and the last time it was this low at this time of year was in 2011. Until our area receives sufficient rainfall, water levels on Lime Lake will also remain low. In the past, well-meaning folks have tried to take matters into their own hands. As a friendly reminder, attempting to make changes at the outlet of Lime Lake will not alter the situation; only rain will sufficiently raise our levels. Furthermore, according to GLISA , a Great Lakes collaboration between U of M and MSU, low water levels in the Fall are natural due to evaporation which peaks this time of year when lake temperatures are still warm from the summer and air temperatures are cooler, creating a temperature gradient ideal for evaporation. Low water levels in the fall help protect against ice damage along our shores in the Spring! This holiday weekend and into fall, we encourage all boaters to be especially cautious in shallow areas, for both the safety of other boaters and swimmers, and to protect our lake bottom. A minimally disturbed lake bottom equals a healthy lake. Water levels are down, so let's keep our awareness up! Thank you.

Purple Loosestrife (PL) is a terrestrial invasive species to Northern Michigan that has had substantial impact on several Leelanau County lakes. We have not yet found it on Lime Lake, but if we do, we need to take quick action to remove it. For this reason, we're asking all homeowners to keep an eye out for this rapid spreader. This is the time to monitor for PL as it is typically in full bloom July through October. PL has showy magenta flowers, can grow up to 10 feet in height, and prefers to grow in wetland regions like lakeshores, river and stream banks, wet meadows, marshes and roadside ditches. It has a large impact on the ecosystem because it can quickly dry out those regions, eliminating habitat for many other necessary wetland species. Each plant can spread up to 2.5 million seeds per year! If you think you might have PL on your property, or if you have spotted it somewhere along the lake or nearby, please snap a photo and send it to our Lake Biologist, Kelsey Froelich, so she can confirm and make a plan of action. Text your pics to Kelsey at 616-293-7525 or email them to kelsey.froelich@gmail.com Thank you for your help! Photo Credits: John D. Byrd, Mississippi State University Barry A. Rice, The Nature Conservancy, Davis, CA