Shoreland Initiatives

Over the past few years Itasca Waters has been listening to our members and the environmental community talk about the importance of shorelands in our efforts to maintain and restore Itasca County’s lakes, streams and wetlands. Since the shoreland is our lakes first defense against pollutants, Itasca Waters has decided that focusing on this area will have the most impact on preserving or restoring our surface waters. For this reason, Itasca Waters' next big project will be concentrating on the Shorelands.

Itasca Waters has been looking at ways a property owner can curb pollution and runoff at its sources, such as maintaining septic systems and capturing and cleansing runoff. We have also looked at ways to protect and enhance the shoreland buffer zone and near-shore waters. This can include the planting of native vegetation to prevent erosion, or efforts to protect the aquatic vegetation so fish spawning areas are healthy.

In this regard, Itasca Waters developed five areas of focus: AQUATIC ZONE, SHORELAND, EROSION/RUNOFF, SEPTIC/EXCAVATION, and PRIVATE FOREST MANAGEMENT. In each category we have explored ways Itasca Waters can offer lakeshore property owners and their communities seminars, detailed restoration information, visits to restored shorelands, and consultations with local professionals and experts. We have also written and published the ITASCA COUNTY SHORELAND GUIDE TO LAKE STEWARDSHIP, which is available in hard copy or online.

As a result of these efforts, Itasca Waters has added new shoreland information on this website to provide easy access to shoreland information in each of the five important categories identified above.

Interested in having a trained volunteer come out to assess and answer questions about your shoreland? Our newly launched shoreland advisors program is here to help, simply click here to learn more about this exciting new program.