Waterfront Development

At the turn of the 20th century, W.B.Barrows, in Michigan Bird Life, noted: "In Michigan...there is hardly a stream or pond on which Loons are not seen each season. Formerly, it nested abundantly on most of the ponds and lakes of the state, even to the southernmost border, but of late years it is much less common in summer in the more thickly settled parts of the state, although it probably nests occasionally in every county. Toward the north it nests in undiminished numbers and during migrations is so abundant in some places as to be a serious annoyance to the fisherman in whose nets it is often entangled and drowned."

Now, with cottages and year around homes ringing practically every body of water in our state, the loon has been pushed even further north. It hangs on in only a few isolated outposts in southern Michigan, and could not be described as abundant anywhere, except possibly on Isle Royale. 

Humans bring with them the need for sandy beaches, which displace the weedy shorelines favored by loons for nesting. They pollute the water with gasoline leaking from boats and personal watercraft, and runoff from paving roads with disruption of natural wetland filtering mechanisms. They cause water quality to suffer from fertilizer runoff, and clouding of the water due to increased algae ensues. The loon is a visual predator-if it cannot see the fish, it cannot catch the fish. Some may be forced to take less agile crustaceans, which are more likely contaminated with organic mercury-a lethal element for loons, and all living things.

Lakeside living produces garbage that attracts predators such as raccoons, gulls, ravens and mink. All of these animals, displaced from the ever decreasing areas of natural habitat, congregate to the same areas as the nesting loons- and find loon eggs a tasty meal.

Canoes, quiet and assumed safe by some, tend to poke along the shore lines and quiet coves where loons nest, and may easily cause nest disturbance, chasing the parents off of the nest, leaving it exposed to the opportunistic predators that now abound. Bass fisherman may unwittingly do the same.

Personal watercraft can enter the shallow bays and coves, causing disturbances as above, or even striking the chicks and sometimes adults with lethal results. 

We leave monofilament line in lakes, which entangles and injures or kills loons. We use lead sinkers and jigs which are inevitably lost, and deposited into the lake where it may be eaten by the loons, which will then die of lead poisoning. We protect our own children by statute and common sense. Must we kill  wildlife from our continued ignorance?

Genuine, intentional harassment is, unfortunately not uncommon. Grim stories are known of adult loons and their chicks chased by boats or personal watercraft to the point of exhaustion, with abandonment of the lake forever after.

As depressing as this scenario may be, loons do have the ability to adapt and live with humans. They have adapted for millions of years and may be able to survive our onslaught.

We need to give them a home-some calm, quiet and clear waters in which to nest and raise their chicks. We should preserve some land on our lakes for the wildlife, so that they may live and we can wonder at their beauty given to us. Do we really need another public boat launch so that even more boats can displace wildlife?

Dispose of garbage appropriately, in securely covered and weighted containers, not in unprotected plastic bags that are easily opened by resourceful raccoons and other animals that have learned how to find a human hand out.

Boaters and personal watercraft operators should be educated that loons require some space, and that their nests should be avoided. Lake residents or visitors who see violators should report them to the DNR, to their Loon Ranger, and record the registration number of the watercraft. Videotaping can be helpful to secure prosecution of those harassing loons.

Lead free fishing tackle is manufactured, but not widely distributed. Use lead free substitutes for fishing sinkers and jigs. Encourage your sporting goods store or bait shop to have it on hand. If voluntary methods don't succeed, perhaps legislation should be enacted to prohibit this lethal product. Dispose of monofilament line properly to avoid entrapment of loons. Attempt to recover monofilament that is lost.

If you love the beauty of Michigan lakes, ask yourself why that is so and protect the reasons.