Boating is naturally constrained on Loon Lake by its small size, the widespread weed beds, the shallow bar that runs across the lake, and the use of that bar for swimming. State law requires all boats to operate slow no wake within 100 feet of any dock, raft, pier, or buoyed restricted area, and all personal water craft must operate slow no wake within 200 feet of shore, and within 100 feet of another PWC or boat. So it is inconvenient for one boat to operate legally at high speed, and virtually impossible for two to do so at the same time. And because the boat lanes are constricted, we believe high speed boating jeopardizes the safety of those swimming, canoeing or kayaking.

Boating can also seriously disrupt the plant community in a shallow lake. A study done in nearby Round Lake showed that the vortex created by a 100 hp outboard can reach down 10 feet into the water column, thereby stirring up bottom sediments at any depth less than that. Such stirring can cause muddiness and algae blooms in the short term, and with increased phosphate loading could lead to a shift from a clear water lake with rooted plants to a green algae soup with floating plants. Round Lake residents passed a unique restriction requiring slow no wake in areas shallower than 10'. They enacted this restriction after a year of a severe algae bloom, which was blamed in part on the stirring up of nutrients from the bottom sediments. Since all of Loon lake is less that 10 feet deep, we believe we must be proactive. The history of Round Lake should teach us that it is only a matter of time before unrestricted boating affects the water quality of Loon

Because Loon offers only marginal boating opportunities anyway, and because it is especially vulnerable to the damage caused by boating, and because its size and shape creates boating safety hazards, we believe special rules should apply, and we are currently in the process of drafting them for approval at the town or county level.

We also believe that the county must adopt a lake classification system that matches lake use restrictions with lakes characteristics. It seems sensible to us that large deep lakes, like nearby Long Lake, that are far more suitable for and less affected by boating activities should be promoted and regulated as boating lakes. And small lakes such as Loon should be promoted and regulated for other recreational uses.

Loon Lake
info@loon-lake.org