When it comes to caring for Lake Leelanau, every homeowner's journey is unique. Some are looking to restore natural habitat, others want to manage erosion, and many simply want to create a healthier, more beautiful shoreline. Despite their different goals, three riparians who received the LLLA Shoreline Consultation share their experiences. Their stories are a testament to how the right guidance can help any lake lover turn their concerns into a concrete plan for a healthier shoreline.
How Three Riparians Found Success with a Shoreline Consultation
We're featuring three case studies.
- Shaggy Junipers: Lisa Painchaud scheduled a shoreline consultation to discuss replacing her unruly juniper shrubs in a conscientious and safe manner without exposing the shoreline slope to erosion.
- Steep Bank: Kate Appel's property on North Lake Leelanau has a steep bank leading to the shoreline. A well-established and healthy stand of woody vegetation protects the bank; however, there were a few places that were vulnerable to erosion.
- Native Garden: When Jane Baker inherited her property on South Lake Leelanau, she wanted to provide habitat that would encourage and support wildlife, especially pollinators, such as birds, butterflies, and bees.
Shaggy Junipers
Lisa Painchaud scheduled a shoreline consultation for her shared family home on North Lake Leelanau to discuss juniper shrubs that had been planted as ground cover on a slope near the shoreline in the early 1970s. Over the years, the plants have become overgrown, unsightly, and are encroaching on valuable land by the shoreline. She wanted to learn how to remove the plants in a conscientious and safe manner without exposing the slope to erosion.
After the consultation, she made a plan to replace the junipers with native grasses and plants in a phased approach that will preserve the soil. She hopes to begin the process of removing the junipers and restoring the hillside this spring.
Steep Bank
Kate Appel, an LLLA board member and Shoreline Ambassador trainee, signed up for her own consultation to gain the benefit of additional eyes to look at the shoreline. Her property on the west side of North Lake Leelanau has a wooded & shrub-filled bank with a 70° pitch to it. There are a few rows of big rocks at the base to break waves from a strong south wind and from boat wakes. She had been thinking about planting a narrow bed of native plants and shrubs between the mossy lawn and rocky bank, but that is as far as she had gotten.
The primary concern is wave action. There is a gap between a big rock and the base of the concrete steps that needs help to dissipate the wave energy, as well as two areas that should be filled with native plants and shrubs to secure the bank. One is a stretch of bare shoreline where the dock goes in and out each year. The other is a patch where heavy rains are starting to define two paths down to the lake. The outcome of her consultation did not uncover any additional glaring issues, but she still learned a lot.
Native Rain Gardens
In 2019, Jane Baker took over her mom’s property. She had a lot of lawn with very few plants down to the waterfront. She wanted to plant a rain garden in a large boggy area so as to encourage bees, birds, and other insects.
Through the consultation, she learned about nurseries from which to source plants, and that there were garden designs for different environments already developed that she could adopt. She also learned of the Leelanau and Grand Traverse Conservation District’s sales for their flats of native shoreline plants. “What a treasure those flats are!” She says. She ordered 3 to 4 flats of native shoreline plants each spring for 3 years. “I have not fertilized or watered or fussed over these gardens, and they have flourished. I think that 5 to 10 plants have not made it out of the hundreds of plugs planted. Amazing.”
Jane plans to complete one more planting next spring of 4 flats in the boggy area. Since the gardens have gone in, she has seen many more butterflies, bees, and other insects.
Jane Baker's Rain Garden Progression Over 3 Years
Congratulations to the three riparians who participated in the LLLA Shoreline Consultation program and were featured here today! Your proactive approach and commitment to the health of Lake Leelanau are commendable. By taking the first step to get a consultation, you're not only enhancing your own properties but also setting a fantastic example for the entire community. Thank you for your leadership and for being such a vital part of our mission to preserve this lake for generations to come.
Ready to find out more?
If you're ready to follow their lead, sign up for a free LLLA Shoreline Consultation. Fall is the perfect time to plan your landscape upgrade so you have time to develop your plans, apply for an EGLE Permit (if necessary), and hit the ground running by springtime!
Everyone can do their part to protect Lake Leelanau from their shoreline, and the Lake Leelanau Lake Association is here to help you. If you want to protect our lake and do something to improve your lakefront property but don’t know where to start, sign up for a complimentary shoreline consultation with our trained Shoreline Ambassadors.