Friday, March 18, 2005
Water Clarity Determines Property Value
Bemidji State University study reveals water clarity is most important factor in determining lakeshore property values
By VINCE MEYER Outdoors Editor Among the many factors affecting lakeshore property values, water clarity is the most important, according to a study by two Bemidji State University professors. Prof. Patrick Welle and Prof. Charles Parson examined 1,205 properties sold between 1996 and 2001 on 37 lakes in six regions in northern Minnesota: Aitkin, Brainerd, Grand Rapids, Walker, Park Rapids and Bemidji. They found water clarity was the most significant factor in determining the purchase price in every region. The professors revealed their findings Thursday at the Brainerd office of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
"Now realtors can talk of location, location, location and clarity, clarity, clarity," Welle said. The study, funded by a $100,000 grant from the Legislative Commission for Minnesota Resources, was modeled after a similar study in Maine in 1996-2000. That study, conducted on 36 lakes in seven regions, found that improving water clarity significantly increases lakeshore property values. A drop in water clarity had a corresponding negative effect. Find the complete report at the Weeders Digest.com or simply click here:. Read The Full Report!
By VINCE MEYER Outdoors Editor Among the many factors affecting lakeshore property values, water clarity is the most important, according to a study by two Bemidji State University professors. Prof. Patrick Welle and Prof. Charles Parson examined 1,205 properties sold between 1996 and 2001 on 37 lakes in six regions in northern Minnesota: Aitkin, Brainerd, Grand Rapids, Walker, Park Rapids and Bemidji. They found water clarity was the most significant factor in determining the purchase price in every region. The professors revealed their findings Thursday at the Brainerd office of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
"Now realtors can talk of location, location, location and clarity, clarity, clarity," Welle said. The study, funded by a $100,000 grant from the Legislative Commission for Minnesota Resources, was modeled after a similar study in Maine in 1996-2000. That study, conducted on 36 lakes in seven regions, found that improving water clarity significantly increases lakeshore property values. A drop in water clarity had a corresponding negative effect. Find the complete report at the Weeders Digest.com or simply click here:. Read The Full Report!
Thursday, March 03, 2005
GO WILD!
Interested in restoring your shore? Here are a few tips on getting started:
? If you're not sure how to start or don't have much of a budget, just stop mowing along the shoreline and see what comes up, said Carrol Henderson, nongame wildlife program supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Plants that grow naturally on your shore won't need fertilizer to thrive and you might have some pleasant surprises. One Brainerd-area lakeshore owner discovered wild orchids, Henderson said.
If your shore is covered with dense sod, you're less likely to see interesting plants appear, said Carolyn Dindorf, a Twin Cities limnologist (lake expert) with Fortin Consulting and co-author, with Henderson, of "Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality."But up north sometimes you get good stuff, like sedges."
? How much shoreline should be left natural? The DNR recommends that about three-quarters of your lake frontage, ideally, should have a buffer zone, about 25 feet deep, of native plants, with about one-quarter left open or lawn-covered for easy lake access.
? Tell your neighbors what you're doing and why, so that they'll understand when your new landscape is in its early stages and won't just think you're letting things go.
? Consult "Restore Your Shore," a CD-ROM guide produced by the DNR. It includes tips for getting started, plus a searchable database of more than 400 plants native to Minnesota, including what plants to avoid and how to control them. "Restore Your Shore" is available for $29.95 at Minnesota's Bookstore, 660 Olive St., St. Paul, 651-297-3000. ALSO AVAILABLE @ Lakes & Ponds Unlimited by scrolling down the right side of the page.
Kim Palmer, Star Tribune
August 18, 2004 LBOX0818
? If you're not sure how to start or don't have much of a budget, just stop mowing along the shoreline and see what comes up, said Carrol Henderson, nongame wildlife program supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Plants that grow naturally on your shore won't need fertilizer to thrive and you might have some pleasant surprises. One Brainerd-area lakeshore owner discovered wild orchids, Henderson said.
If your shore is covered with dense sod, you're less likely to see interesting plants appear, said Carolyn Dindorf, a Twin Cities limnologist (lake expert) with Fortin Consulting and co-author, with Henderson, of "Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality."But up north sometimes you get good stuff, like sedges."
? How much shoreline should be left natural? The DNR recommends that about three-quarters of your lake frontage, ideally, should have a buffer zone, about 25 feet deep, of native plants, with about one-quarter left open or lawn-covered for easy lake access.
? Tell your neighbors what you're doing and why, so that they'll understand when your new landscape is in its early stages and won't just think you're letting things go.
? Consult "Restore Your Shore," a CD-ROM guide produced by the DNR. It includes tips for getting started, plus a searchable database of more than 400 plants native to Minnesota, including what plants to avoid and how to control them. "Restore Your Shore" is available for $29.95 at Minnesota's Bookstore, 660 Olive St., St. Paul, 651-297-3000. ALSO AVAILABLE @ Lakes & Ponds Unlimited by scrolling down the right side of the page.
Kim Palmer, Star Tribune
August 18, 2004 LBOX0818
