Ray Ludwa points out the positive ways to develop a greenbelt on the shoreline in Grass River's annual "In the Drink" pontoon cruise. Photo by Hadley Robinson

'In the Drink,' the free event in its fourth year, communicates to interested people the 'water report card' in the area.

On a cloudy Wednesday afternoon, a dozen people piled into each of four pontoon boats for the first shift. After they returned, they mingled and read information on the variety of projects going on in these lakes, while a second shift of pontoons took more people out. Each boat had a guide to inform people and answer questions.

"We're reporting what the various organizations are doing to help protect the quality of the water,"said Melynda Bagley, education director of Grass River Natural Area.

A main point of focus was developing 'green belts' to preserve the shoreline and help keep phosphorous levels down in the waterways. One of the guides, Ray Ludwa, executive director of the Torch Lake Protection Alliance, emphasized there are many ways to properly develop a green belt along a shoreline. As the pontoon floated around the lake, he pointed to various properties on the lake doing different things, both good and bad.

Ludwa noted keeping shrubs, grasses and trees along the shore is one of the best ways to preserve the shoreline.

"A tree sends roots out and all those gnarly tree roots are in the soil,"Ludwa explained. "Those tree roots suck up excess water and phosphorous and rotten materials and keep the water cleaner.

Ludwa informed the group on his pontoon of a cooperative grant between his organization, Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Center and Three Lakes Association to get GPS readings and coordinates of all the properties on the lakes in order to assess the greenbelt status. Rather than pointing out those that aren’t preserving the shorelines, they hope to highlight the various ways to establish a good greenbelt.

"We're trying to show examples of the many ways to do a good job," Ludwa said.

Many property owners put rocks and stones on the shoreline to stop it from being pounded by the water and to protect the yards and houses. But, while rocks protect property, they don’t provide the filtration to get contaminants out that shrubbery and trees do.

The organizations also pointed to many forest areas and shorelines around Lake Bellaire that are protected. Several large properties have either made arrangements with Grass River Natural Area or entered into a conservation easement, disallowing any development.

Ludwa also mentioned many townships in the area have ordinances to protect the wetlands and the shoreline, but not the money to enforce them in every single situation.

Education director Bagley noted it isn’t just property owners or members of the various associations that are affected by development on the lakes and streams.

"We need to save this wonderful resource," Bagley said. "We're dependent on it to support tourism and business and recreation. It's everybody's concern and responsibility."