Mon Nov 30, 2015 12:50 pm
Christina:
Sometimes the hunting is phenomenal. Sometimes it sucks ass. The South basin, from the access, is open to motors and has the best emergent vegetation for hunting.
But if you've never hunted the lake it will be like showing up at any other spot you've never hunted.... learning curve me boy.
Why Christina gets $:
1) Scale~ the coin spent affects not only that basin but every wetland around it. It is a primary roost site in that part of the state. When Christina is healthy, the other waters around it benefit and increase hunting opportunities.
2) Finance~ sure, the rich bastards own a ton of the surrounding land, but they also pile a bunch of cash into the project.
3) "Flag ship"~ the periodic draw down model is proven to be most effective, but not many projects have been studied long term for the resulting affects. This is taking what had become a fishing lake and trying to restore it to a waterfowl lake. And you're talking about several feet of drawdowns at times in an area just shy of 4,000 acres... and that water has to go somewhere... Pelican Lake to Pelican Creek to the Pomme de Terre to the Minnesota.
4) Multi-Agency currency~ the watershed is large and important enough that all agencies have the ability to make some claim in the project. Unlike the ditch job that Corps of Engineers shut down, there is enough water affected everyone comes to the party.
5) Historical Significance~ You may not have hunted, but you know WTH it is, like it or not. Unlike that slough at the corner of 10 and 72 in Big Stone cry where you whack mallards and no one cares, or down the street at Lake Oliver, etc.
6) Interest~ put all that together and it gets enough people with enough interest to get something done. The fight to get pumps installed was long. Pelican Lake Association doesn't want pumps on Christina, it changes their lake ecology (to cleaner, more clear water). Water interests in the Pomme de Terre watershed get quite concerned about several million gallons spilling down their waterway when they are getting rain. It takes a lot of interest to push through all of that. Otherwise it's a Skid Steer out of gas in a cattail slough.
Old guys thinking anything can be returned to it's glory days are a dime a dozen in MN. Not certain why you're surprised that is the "pat on the back" speech they give. They give it every time a decision is made; from no teal season to no spinners to lower hen limits to restrict wood ducks. Everything they do is done in the name of "glory days".
If Christina can be a model, the potentially there can be more positive impacts at lakes like Marsh, Heron, etc. People have jacked up these holes for soooo long only the ducks just high enough in IQ to not sit on municipal poo ponds use them.
The cheapest way to fix any of these lakes: Christina, Talcot, Heron, Marsh, LQP, (insert another 100 here)....... get rid of the dams that the Corps and everyone else put up 100 years ago.
