Heron Lake

[Bailey]

Whatever happened to the moist soil management plan the DNR had? Did the funding get dropped? Those moist soil units in other states produce tons of ducks.
As for Heron I think most duck hunters don’t really care much because they can’t hunt it. It has no public access and if you do want to try and hunt it you have to paddle like 3 miles up a creek that attaches to it. Then I hear you run into angry club members who think they own the lake and don’t want you there. It’s basically a private lake the way it is setup and as I said the club members do not want a drawdown as it would leave the areas they hunt high and dry.


If the general public was allowed to hunt Heron I think you would see more of a push to do some sort of restoration like they did with Christina, Swan, etc. However, I don’t see that ever happening because I think these club guys will do whatever they can to keep the public out. Pretty interesting though that a 3000 acre lake does not have a public access! Never heard of such a thing.

[9manfan]

There is no public access to Heron Lake ?? I've never been down in that area much, but always thought there was access to it, seems like a waste to not draw it down for a year or two, the results would be great for the ducks.

[get-n-birdy]

South Heron has one. There's a point that is a wma on south Heron but everyone knows about it and you have to walk in a little ways. We have seen birds use south but it is marginal at best from a hunting perspective.

[Bailey]

I think north heron is much better habitat wise and thats not saying much. North Heron is the one with no public launch. Its all private land around the whole lake.

I think the clubs has certain rules like no hunting after 1pm, no motors, and they have to stay within a certain distance of shore. All of these would probably work pretty good but if the habitat is crap it does not matter because you won't have any ducks on the lake!

[Bailey]

I think north heron is much better habitat wise and thats not saying much( south heron looks like pea soup). North Heron is the one with no public launch. Its all private land around the whole lake.

I think the clubs has certain rules like no hunting after 1pm, no motors, and they have to stay within a certain distance of shore. All of these would probably work pretty good but if the habitat is crap it does not matter because you won't have any ducks on the lake!

[Bailey]

Found and interesting article and its not hard to see the politics at play.

By the Way: Heron Lake civil war




By Byron Kroeger (October 27, 2011)

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I should have my head examined for even mentioning the current to-do over the Heron Lake Watershed District but, against my better judgment, I offer this brief comment on the current, or should I say ongoing, battle. With that said ...

The press has been providing a lot of coverage lately about the age-old Heron Lake civil war. It’s not that this hasn’t happened in the past; it’s just that the current round of open warfare reminds me that it hasn’t gone away.

It’s been more than five years since I ended my coverage of the Heron Lake Watershed District Board’s meetings and, I must admit, it’s been rather nice not to have to listen to all the opinions and personal attacks and, therefore, that’s why I feel I’m not in my proper senses as I write this column.

For those who are unaware of the situation, I provide a little background on Heron Lake, which is basically divided into two basins, North Heron Lake and South Heron Lake. You might also add the North Heron Lake Marsh and Duck Lake, but in my opinion, and having hunted “The Marsh,” I tend to separate them from the great North vs. South battle.

Anyway, it all began, I’d say, back in the 1870s and 1880s, primarily when market hunting on Heron Lake became an important part in the early development of the local economy. The great majority (all?) of historical remarks I have found say the lake was beautiful back then; it wasn’t a polluted mess and it teemed with ducks, geese, shorebirds and other wildfowl that were harvested in large quantities by market hunters as well as “sportsmen,” farmers and local villagers.

The large “harvesting” of this game began to take its toll and, as bird counts declined, the government stepped in and market hunting was outlawed in Minnesota by the turn of 20th century. Continued agricultural and industrial growth, along with growing city populations in the area, also created problems as their wastes were (are) indiscriminately dumped into the waterways that flow into Heron Lake.

In other words, the pollution physically crippled the lake while the battle over hunting rights led to people taking sides. The battle continues to this day, seemingly causing self-interests to take precedence over the welfare of the lake.

What concerns me most about the latest battle is that a county commissioner appears to some to be using his position to be openly independent in his opposition to the Heron Lake Watershed District, which, like the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, is considered to be a demon by many who say they are fighting for Heron Lake.

I question this commissioner's motives and whether he is doing his duty to all of his constituents. Does he speak for the entire Jackson County Board of Commissioners when he writes his editorial letters, or is he acting alone?

I note here the county board’s vote on the HLWD’s water management plan — primarily the creation of a water management district — would seem to indicate all but one of the county board members are against the plan, so does that mean the majority of the county’s residents are against it as well or is the board acting on the opinion of one member?

Could it mean the county board is acting on its own again? Perhaps all the people should be asked for their input before an elected representative makes a singular effort to bring down something that voters just might prefer to have, i.e., clean water.

The Heron Lake Watershed has a major physical and political impact on many people here in southwest Minnesota, and perhaps we should all get together but, this country being a “democracy,” that’s easier said than done, although the process should be extended to all involved — after they have been properly educated on the details through means that go beyond mere opinion.

So, where do I stand on the Heron Lake issue? I stand with the lake, which has suffered such gross negligence at the hands of humanity that it’s a sorry excuse for the beautiful natural phenomenon that it once was. In the meantime, its atrophy continues as self-interests contribute to its demise.

By the way ... As I will be turning 60 this winter, I have been seeking an explanation for my feelings on just what this aging process means, and I think I found the answer in an interview of actor/activist George Clooney in the Sept. 25 issue of Parade magazine. Clooney, who recently turned 50, gave his feeling on this event by citing William Holden’s remark in the movie “Network”: “It’s all suddenly closer to the end than the beginning, and death is suddenly a perceptible thing to me, with definable features.”