HI-land lake improvement board
Helping to keep our lake beautiful!
The Hi-Land Lake Improvement Board (HLIB) was established under a Michigan statute for the exclusive purpose of controlling invasive aquatic weeds.
The Board is comprised of five members: the Livingston County Drain Commissioner (Brian Jonckheere), our District 3 County Commissioner (Frank Sample), a member appointed by the HLPOA (Mark Haddlesey), and two members appointed by the Putnam Township Board (Supervisor Dennis Brennan and Clerk Valerie Niemiec). Unlike other area lake boards that are formed with members who have no affiliation with the lake, our Board has five highly engaged members, including three who live on the lake. We are working hard to implement cost-effective and lasting strategies that 1) reduce the amount of, and frequency of, chemical treatments, 2) maintain navigation channels and access to all docks, 3) foster fish habitats, 4) maximize swimming and recreational water use.
Summer 2023 marked the third year of the 5-year special assessment for weed control. The HLIB uses Kieser & Associates, a professional lake management consultancy, to monitor our water quality and provide recommendations for eradication of invasive weeds while protecting indigenous weeds favored by fish. We have been pleased with the results that we are getting with AquaWeed, our chemical treatment provider. They are using different chemicals, with less frequency, to keep things in check. Savin Lake Services has also provided extensive mechanical harvesting. Savin is on our lake in July each year, unless conditions warrant a different schedule. If you’re not happy with weed management, please let us know what we’re missing. The HLIB is also partnering with the HLPOA to coordinate treatment on Mickey Carl Lake.
In 2023, we paid extra attention to Sunset Bay, which was somewhat neglected in 2022, after a harvester hit a submerged stump that took it out of service for a full week. To help them feel confident about cutting there in 2023, a volunteer team came by kayak, canoe, and pontoon to conduct a careful search for obstructions that could damage equipment (and boat motors). Large scores of submerged branches and loose stumps were pulled up, and many fallen limbs were cut that extended too far offshore. Things that couldn't be moved were marked wth PVC stakes so the drivers knew to go around them. Sunset Bay has a lot of decayed plant matter and dead algae (if it’s floating it’s dead; chemicals won’t help). The Kieser consultants and Savin drivers gave us some new tips on how to keep the gunk off our shorelines. That info will be coming in a future document to affected residents.
The evil and resilient Starry Stonewort was predictably unpredictable in 2023, but we did make progress. If you would like to suggest areas of the lake you want to make sure we don’t miss in our weed control efforts, please contact us. You can use any descriptors, including your street address or just a vivid description of the problem, and we’ll to make that area a priority. The HLIB has a need-based meeting schedule, but all meeting notices, minutes, water quality studies, fish surveys and more are hosted at milivcounty.gov. Type Hiland in the search bar to access the cache of informative documents.
We truly appreciate your feedback and without it, can’t improve our outcomes. If you have any questions about HLIB or the special assessment district, or would like to discuss our options and your ideas, do so by contacting Dennis Brennan or Valerie Niemiec at the Putnam Township offices at 734-878-3131. If evenings are better for you, call Val at 248-231-9401. Or send an email to Val and the HLIB at Clerk@putnamtwp.us.
