Throughout Indiana and the Great Lakes States, the pressure of development and increasing recreational use threatens the environmental quality of our lakes.  Riparian property always has attracted people who seek serenity, aquatic recreation, beautiful vistas and close-knit communities.
   That development has a price. Studies across the region and the country show that a variety of factors, including removal of native lakeshore vegetation, proliferation of motorized watercraft, inadequate wastewater systems, shoreline erosion and more, can lead to degradation of lake conditions.
   Described as "cultural eutrophication," this process increases the rate at which water bodies "die" by pollution from human activities. They become saturated with dissolved nutrients, resulting in increased growth of algae and other microscopic plants.
   Left unaddressed, these factors will reduce water quality, destroy space for native plants and animals and spur harmful invasive species. All of this diminishes the recreational and economic value of lakes.In few places is this threat more of an issue than in Kosciusko County, with a list of nearly 100 lakes that includes some of the most significant in Indiana. The quality and attractiveness of Kosciusko County's lake resources is a major contributor to the economic vitality of our county.  Failure to protect the environmental quality of these lakes will put their economic value at risk.
   Because the water resources of our public lakes are held in trust by the state for the use of all citizens, the key to protection of the lakes is careful stewardship of the adjacent land. According to the 1999 report of the Indiana Lakes Management Work Group, the state's lack of jurisdiction over shore land leaves local communities best positioned to address their land use needs.  "County planning and zoning," the report said, "can incorporate strategies based on protecting the ecological and economic significance of public lakes."
   Over the past year, a dozen lake property owners associations and the Tippecanoe Environmental Lake & Watershed Foundation have explored this issue.  They have sought balance between traditional land use prerogatives and the certain knowledge that the lakes of Kosciusko County constitute an irreplaceable treasure that can be ruined, whether through overuse or through environmentally insensitive lakeshore development.
   
   The participating organizations include:
· Tippecanoe Environmental Lake & Watershed Foundation
· Barbee Lake Property Owners Association
· Beaver Dam Lake Conservation Club
· Center Lake Conservation Association
· Chapman Lake Conservation Association
· Dewart Lake Protective Association
· Lake Tippecanoe Property Owners Association
· Pike Lake Conservation Association
· Silver Lake Property Owners Association
· Yellow Creek Lake Conservation Club
· Winona Lake Preservation Association
· Webster Lake Conservation Association
· Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation

   A survey of thousands of owners of property along the shores of the county's major lakes found that an overwhelming majority (75 percent) believes the environmental quality of their lakes is threatened by development. An even larger majority (78 percent) believes that government should take action to protect lake quality. The response rate to this survey was 25 percent, which reveals a remarkable level of interest in protecting our county's lakes.
   Many of those who endorsed a governmental response to the problem indicated that they preferred that such a response come from the county, which they described as more familiar with their best interests.
   This survey provided guidance to the working group, led by the Lake Tippecanoe Property Owners Association. The group looked for ways in which county zoning can act to preserve the environmental quality of Kosciusko County's lakes without unnecessary and complex intrusions into the rights of property owners.

   This group reached a conclusion that the best approach would be to create a new county zoning district that would apply to all property now zoned Residential and located within one-half mile of the shoreline of natural public lakes greater than 10 acres in size. Using that standard, the new zoning district would apply to approximately 60 of Kosciusko County's lakes.
   In simple terms, the new zoning category would limit new housing to single-family and duplex homes with minimums on lot size and lake frontage. Additional commercial development within the new lake residential district would not be permitted. By setting those limits, the intensity of use of the lakes themselves would be sensibly restricted without changing the traditional casual nature of recreation and enjoyment. The new zoning category would not affect existing homes and businesses, nor would it cost the county or county residents additional tax dollars.
   The associations plan to present their proposal to the Kosciusko County Commissioners in the near future.  While such approaches to the protection of riparian land have been put forward in other states, the proposal to be presented to the Kosciusko County Commissioners would be a new step for protection of our lake heritage in Indiana.