County grants promote lakefront upgrades

For homeowners with lakefront properties in Shawano County, sprucing up their shoreline often sounds like a proposition that would cost a pile of money or limit their ability to enjoy living on the water — or both.

Shawano County is encouraging property owners to instead consider modest improvements that would deliver some of the same environmental benefits without inhibiting anyone’s waterfront access or scenic views.

Best of all, the county is offering to help pay the cost.

The county land conservation department is taking applications for grants worth up to $2,500 each for any lakefront homeowner interested in undertaking an eco-friendly shoreline restoration project.

The objective of the grant program is to boost water quality and restore natural shorelines around Shawano County lakes, not with oversized bushes or trees but with understated landscaping and plantings.

“We thought this would be kind of a happy medium,” county conservationist Scott Frank said.

The county set aside $24,000 for the program three years ago using money allocated by American Transmission Co., a private company that compensated Shawano County for utility line expansion within the county.

Before seeking lakefront homeowner applications en masse, officials participated in a couple of demonstration projects.

Art Freiberg, who lives on Lower Red Lake in Gresham, used a county grant to transform his shoreline from a plain backyard lawn into an attractive bed of wood chips decorated with more than 400 native plants. The landscaping serves as a natural filter for stormwater or other runoff, protecting the lake water from such potential pollutants as fertilizer.

Freiberg said he still enjoys easy access and visibility of Lower Red Lake, and he appreciates that his restoration effort is contributing to cleaner water while also giving him a more natural-looking shoreline.

“It’s really beautiful,” he said. “But what it really does is, it’s beneficial to the lake.”

The whole project ended up costing $1,800, which Freiberg split with the county 50/50.

Lisa Reas, an environmental consultant who designed and installed the Freiberg landscaping, said such shoreline restoration not only keeps pollutants from reaching the water, it serves as a gentle buffer to discourage geese or muskrats from invading a homeowner’s property.

Other than the potential cost, the most common reason waterfront homeowners neglect such upgrades is uncertainty about the best way to approach the issue, Reas said.

“They just don’t know how to get started,” she added.

Under the county grant program, a county representative will visit each applicant’s property to see what sort of improvements are possible and to determine whether the project qualifies for funding. Each property owner is expected to pay half of the total cost.

Although grants can go as high as $2,500 each, Frank said, most properties can achieve significant restoration for as little as $800 in county funding.

With about $20,000 left from the county’s initial allocation, the county grant process could become competitive, Frank said. If necessary, officials would consider looking for additional financial support to meet the demand.

Frank urged lakefront homeowners to come forward and learn whether the program is suitable for their properties.

“We can do a fair number of projects out there,” he said.