Lake Erie: the sentinel Great Lake

Lake Erie -- the shallowest and most productive of the Great Lakes...the lake that some declared "dead" in the 1960s...the lake whose recovery in the 1970s gave lovers of the Lakes hope. The lake whose fate may well stand as a surrogate for the fate of all the Lakes.

A good lake to think about as 2009 begins.

I asked Sandy Bihn, the western Lake Erie Waterkeeper, to give her thoughts over several days about her cherished lake.

How far does your interest in Lake Erie go back? Can you tell a story about your early feelings about or experiences with the Lake?

My connection to the water goes back as far as my memories…

I remember every summer my mom and dad rented a cottage for two weeks at Alan’s Cove (near Monroe, Michigan) until I was in high school. We swam, boated, and made sand castles on the beach – swimming – walking the sandy shores – fishing – were the highlights of my summers.

I am not a good athlete, but am a good swimmer & I am buoyant – swam in quarries too.
At our north Toledo home, our neighbor had a yacht.  Charlie took us perch fishing in late summer, early fall in Lake Erie.  I caught three yellow perch at a time. You had to put your own worm on and take the fish off the hook because there were so many fish to catch.  We filled a cooler in an hour or so.  

In my high school years, reports of Lake Erie dying emerged.  I remember huge drops in fish catches and concern about contaminated waters.

I met my husband in high school.  He charmed me with Lake Erie walks on peers, swimming, skiing, boating and trip to West Sister lighthouse.

We married while he was in the Air Force and lived in Dover, Delaware which is near the beaches of Rehoboth Beach and Ocean City and the Indian River Inlet.  We liked the winter months best when the shores were all ours.  The salty waters, the eels and sharks, coarser sands, and undertow were in contrast to swimming in the fresh waters of Maumee Bay and Lake Erie.

Once back in Ohio, we often spent Sunday afternoons walking the beaches of Maumee Bay and Lake Erie.  One of the beaches where we walked is on Maumee Bay where we built a home and live today. 
Living here and seeing the water everyday is such a blessing.  Lake Erie/Maumee Bay is so temperamental – one moment she can be like a sheet of glass – the next like a storm in the ocean.  I have seen water spouts, rainbows, and blustery north easterns.  The waters are ever changing and fascinating.  The winds can make the waters recede as much as 100’ when finding lures can be fun and in reverse can flood the streets and move the lake inland.

This is international migratory bird heaven – a flyover - where the ducks and birds in the spring and fall are varied and bountiful.  My favorites are eagles, herons, egrets, ducks, sandpipers and swans.  The Audubon bird identification book helps to identify the ducks in the spring.