Shoreline Inspection

Inspection of our 8.1 miles of shoreline is critical, as it is the primary way to detect AIS that may have gotten past our watercraft inspectors at the boat landing. This twice-in-the-summer inspection is done by volunteer property owners, who are educated to identify AIS species that may be present.  The shoreline is divided into 12 segments of approximately equal length, with a volunteer assigned to each segment, and each taking two hours or less to inspect.  The shoreline around Pine Island is considered one of the 12 segments as well.

 

To facilitate inspection and education as the volunteers traverse their respective segments of shoreline, they are provided with the following: 1) Inspection Instructions as to what to seek, how to do it, what to do if suspect AIS is found and timing of when the two summer inspections should take place, 2) a map showing location and length of each of the 12 segments of the lake and 3) four laminated pages containing illustrations and explanations of potential AIS species – both plants and animals. 

 

Inspectors report findings and observations to the coordinator for tabulation on a spreadsheet that is shared with all inspectors as well as the TSLPOA Board.  Coordinator also enters all data into the WDNR’s Surface Water Integrated Monitoring System (SWIMS).  These data are used for studies and determination of trends of Wisconsin lakes.  For Two Sisters Lake, reporting of this volunteer effort counts toward securing an annual Clean Boats Clean Waters (CBCW) grant applied toward our continuing efforts to prevent AIS infestation.  

 

Mary Jung (773-590-9359) is the Shoreline Inspection Coordinator working with the AIS team 

As property owners on Two Sisters Lake, we should all be inspectors.  If you have aquatic plant or animal life on or near your shore that you would like identified, please give Mary a call!

A few of the items to be on the lookout for:
 
If you have these on your shoreline, please pull before they spread!
Aquatic Forget-me-nots
Yellow Iris

 

These are pretty but detrimental; easily dispersing to other areas where left unchecked they can choke out beneficial native plants needed for wildlife. Please bag and throw any of these in the trash; don’t compost as they’ll just spread.

What we don’t want: please contact us if you see something suspicious!
Eurasian Water Milfoil
Curly Leaf Pondweed
Zebra and Quagga mussels
Spiny Water Flea

Each of these can have a severe impact on the lake, our fishery and enjoyment of our lake; they are costly to manage and can never be fully eradicated. Our goal is to keep these out of our lake!