A state commission is touring Vermont to get the public’s input on lakeshore protection and development issues.
The commission meets again Thursday evening at a state conservation camp near Lake Bomoseen amid concern that in the absence of regulation, some shorelines are being damaged by excessive land clearing.
Two such projects took place recently on the shores of Mirror Lake in Calais, a pristine water body also known by the more prosaic name of Number 10 Pond. But Mirror Lake really does it more justice. The water is crystal clear, darkening to a deep blue where it drops to more than 100 feet deep.
Anthony Iarrapino wants to keep it that way.
“I come to this lake all the time to swim. I see a lot of people from central Vermont here, from all economic backgrounds, including people who aren’t fortunate to own a camp here,” he said. “And it’s really clean water. And I think that’s one of the reasons it’s so popular.”
Iarrapino is a senior attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation, a regional environmental group that’s following the shoreland commission’s work. Iarrapino was out in a canoe on Mirror Lake to get a closer look at two recent clear cuts on the shoreline – land clearing that might have been prevented under legislation now pending in the Legislature.
On the far side of the pond, a landowner got a local zoning variance to clear a swath of shoreland 90 feet wide and more than 150 feet long up a steep hill to a house across the road.
“It’s unbroken forest until you get to this really wide cut where there’s one or two trees still left standing and some low, low shrubs and vegetation,” he said.
Lake scientists say shoreline trees and other plants are nature’s own best tools for keeping water clean and habitat friendly to fish and other creatures. The vegetation holds back and filters polluting run-off. Overhanging branches provide cool shade for fish.
A bill that would regulate land clearing and some construction within 250 feet of a shoreline passed the House last spring but stalled in the Senate. Lawmakers instead set up a special commission to get public input and to make the case for why more lakeshore protection is needed.
The commission met first in Newport two weeks ago. Questions from the public were filtered through a facilitator, but several themes emerged. One was a complaint that the lakeshore issue was being singled out while other pollution problems – such as runoff from dirt roads – were not being addressed.
State official have said they haven’t seen a rush to develop lakeshore property while the Legislature considers more restrictions. But at the Newport meeting, some residents raised concerns about a large clearcut for a second home on Lake Willoughby.
Essex-Orleans Senator John Rodgers tackled the issue of environmental enforcement. He also addressed the tension between protecting the environment and protecting property rights. Rodgers said that any legislation must still allow people who own small lake front lots the ability to build on their property.
“The folks with the big check book have absolutely no problem – and we’ve seen that on Willoughby Lake – they thumb their nose at the regulations and just pay the fine,” he said. “I’m concerned that the average person be able to, without degrading the water quality, be able to enjoy their property without a big check book.”
Back on Mirror Lake, Anthony Iarrapino made the case for more protection. He said that a Maine law modeled after a former Vermont statute has been on the books for 40 years. Vermont allowed its law to expire while a recent study found Maine’s lakes are cleaner.
“Those lakes are healthier,” he said. “They have more abundant wildlife and better water quality. So it’s been proven here in New England that it can work: robust property rights can coexist with reasonable environmental protection.”
Iarrapino said Vermont law gives too much control over lake water quality to towns. He pointed out that even in Calais – which has strong lakeshore zoning – a resident was able to get a variance to clear 90 feet of Mirror Lake shoreland.
“It’s clear that the volunteer officials in many of these municipalities aren’t equipped with the scientific resources to make decisions,” he said.
Just then, the wild call of the loon punctuates his point that some creatures need an undisturbed shoreline to thrive. Iarrapino and other environmentalists hope lawmakers will get out on the water and listen.
