Mountain Island Lake Covekeepers
Welcome to our webpage.
Please join us for our next monthly meeting at Cook's Presbyterian Church at 7:00 pm. Our meeting room is in the suite of offices in the wing east of the sanctuary. Call (704) 679-9494 for more information.
Next monthly meeting - Monday, April 12th at 7 PM
A Message from the Mountain Island Lake Lakekeeper
Information about Mountain Island Lake
Mountain Island Lake Covekeepers News, Events and Outings
• Mountain Island Lake Classified as Impaired
• New New Carolina Boating Safety Law Coming May 1st.
Starting May 1st, anyone under the age of 26 will have to show proof of compliance will the new Boating Safety Law. More information about the law and a schedule of free classes in North Carolina can be found on this NC Wildlife.org page.
• Big Sweep Results: Bottles, Cans, Baby Strollers.....
The Oct. 3rd Big Sweep Event at MIL has been deemed a success. Thanks to all the volunteers who came out and helped make our lake a cleaner place to swim, boat and recreate. Click here for more details of the Covekeepers' efforts to take out the trash.
• Coal Ash Pond Issue
While our lake is home to beautiful sunsets, summer days of fun on the water and wildlife of all kinds, it is also the site of two of the EPA's High Hazard Coal Ash Impoundments which also happen to be just upstream from the primary water intakes for the cities of Charlotte, Gastonia, Mt. Holly and Belmont. Read more about this threat to our lake here and here and here.
• Covekeepers Duck Cove Survey
One of our missions is to track the health and use of our lake and the adjacent habitat. In July 2009 we ventured upriver to Duck Cove to see how that part of our lake is doing. You can find out more about that trip by clicking here.
• What Lives in Our Lake, Besides the Fish, Turtles, Snakes, Clams....
When you swim in our lake you are never alone. Besides fish or the occasional beer can our lake water is home to a variety of life forms. The Covekeepers wondered what they were so with the help of Riverkeeper David Merryman we set out to test the water. See what we found by clicking here.
• Muddy Water Blues
Want to take a guess at the number one threat to our lake? Us! That's right, it's not an invasive species, pollution from the factories located in the communities up and down the Catawba River or running out of water due to drought, though that could happen. No, it's our ever increasing use of and encroachment on our lake and the land around it. Read more about this important issue here.
• Is Anybody Home?
Photo Copyright © John Schwarz
• Attractive to Fish?!
For the second year in a row the Mountain Island Lake Covekeepers helped with the 2009 MIL Open Water Swim Challenges. Photos and story are here.
• How You Can Help Our Lake
Pick up the Poop - If you're still reading then here's the deal: you kind of agreed to do this when you got your dog, just like you agreed to feed, take care of and get her shots. YES, it's disgusting; NO, no one really wants to do it and YES, your mother told you not to ever touch it. But, it needs to be picked up because otherwise it can end up in our lake where someone ends up swimming in it.
Keep Grass Clippings & Yardwaste Out of the Gutters and Storm Drains - Just like the poop it all eventually ends up in the lake, unless we make a conscious effort to keep it out. Please rake it, blow it and/or compost it, but try to keep it out of our water. Remember that the storm drains all eventually go to the lake and the Catawba River.
Respect the Buffer - The strip of land next to the lake and its creeks is called a buffer zone. We need to protect it and what lives in it. It's the law and it's also just good practice to leave it alone. Don't cut the trees there or kill the plants or build there or burn there, at least not without permission from the many regulatory agencies who have a say in what happens in the buffer. Just let it do what it does best, protect the lake. In some places, like Mecklenburg County the buffer is the first 100 feet of land after the high water mark, in other places it's the first 50 feet and some home owner associations even have their own rules.
If you have any questions send us an email or contact the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources - 704 663-1699
Go to the Catawba Riverkeeper Home Page by clicking here
