This is the Official Mount Morris Lakes Management District Website
We are a Lake District, not a Lake Association. This website provides straight-forward, factual data and information to District electors and stakeholders about the District's plans and activities. Through this site, District residents are updated as to what is important for them to know as lakeshore property owners, electors, and stakeholders of the District.
FACTS ABOUT THE MOUNT MORRIS LAKES MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
The District is located in the Town of Mt. Morris in Waushara County, just 7 miles northeast of Wautoma off the intersection
of State Highway 152 and County Highway S. Those who reside in the District are referred to as "electors" or "stakeholders."
Please preserve the quality of the lake system through responsible boating, fishing, and water activity that is respectful of
the lake environment. A lake is a precious resource that must be cared for by all.
CLICK HERE FOR REVISED 2023 DISTRICT BY-LAWS
Click here for access to DISTRICT ARCHIVES
Always check the shore land zoning regulations that may impact your property before implementing construction or
improvement plans. Click to see: Wis. Admin. Code. NR 115-2015 changes.
IMPORTANT NEWS FOR ALL DISTRICT LAKESHORE OWNERS
Urgent news items appear first at the top. Items are updated over time
2023ANNUAL DISTRICT MEETING RESULTS
The referendum for Lake A and Lake B "Slow-NO-Wake" referendums were ratified by the electorate in attendance. Lake A -Alfson Lake, was voted to be designated as a "SLOW-NO-WAKE" lake. Lake B - Russell Lake, was voted to remain as a full wake lake. The referendum asked electors to vote YES or NO for each Lake to vecome a slow no wake lake. The acutal vote totals were:
LAKE A - ALFSON LAKE: YES-46 Votes... NO-35 Votes
LAKE B - RUSSELL LAKE: YES-33 Votes... NO-48 Votes
The results will be presented to the Town of Mt. Morris Board.
There was a change in the District Board membership due to the election results. Jolene Lewke, was elected as a new commissioner to the Board, and Karen Tschurwald was elected to another 3 year terms on the Board. Joe Slezak, who has served the District as a District Officer since 1988 (35 years) was not elected to another term to the Board. The commissioner vote totals in that election were:
Jolene Lewke - 53 Votes (New Commissioner to the Board)
Joe Slezak - 23 Votes
Karen Tschurwald - 62 Votes
These results will also be presented to the Town of Mt. Morris Board.
If you have any questions on the rules regarding who is eligible to vote, please consult this section of Chapter 33 Rules for Lake Districts:
https://www3.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/UWEXLakes/Documents/organizations/Lake%20Districts/Guide_Chapter5.pdf
JUNE NEWSLETTER CORRECTION
It was incorrectly stated that life vests are legally required to be worn on small watercraft such a paddle boats, paddle boards, canoes, kayaks, and tubes. Consult the Wisconsin State Boating Regulations regarding the required use of life vests using these watrercrafts.
ENDOWMENT FUND RUMMAGE SALES SUCCESSFUL AT RAISING MONEY
The FOMML committee held a rummage sale on June 3, 2023, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Mountainview Community Center to raise money for the fund. Along with T-shirt sales, the rummage raised $1,862.0. FOMML committee members are : Kathy Croft, Chairperson; June Schroeder; Mary Rohr; Rick Walters. Thanks to Tom Kasubaski for coordinating and leading this event, as well as the other supporters who helped run the sale
BOAT WAKES PRESENT A REAL DANGER TO HARVESTER OPERATORS & EQUIPMENT
KEY POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND THIS SUMMER:
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You must stay 200 feet away from the harvesting machine to avoid a serious accident, or upset the balance of a fully loaded harvester.
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Cameras are installed on the harvester that will identify violators who will be reported to the Waushara County Sheriff and the DNR.
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Human safety is at risk when tubes are pulled through the channels and when no wake zones are ignored.
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The DNR's Violation Hotline provides Wisconsin citizens with the opportunity to confidentially report violations using the toll free number 24 hours a day. 7 days a week.
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Information received on this line will be relayed to a DNR officer for investigations.
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You do not have to leave your name when reporting a violation.
HOW TO REPORT A BOATING REGULATIONS VIOLATION:
Call or Text 1-800-847-9367 Helpful information that you should supply includes:
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*WHO is the violator? Describe the people, including their physical description and clothing.
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*WHAT is the violation?
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*WHERE did the violation take place?
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You can also report to the Waushara County Sheriff: 920-787-3321
SPECIAL ASSESSMENT REMINDER
From Peggy Thiel, District Treasurer
The special assessment rate for the Mt. Morris Lakes Management District is determined as follows. The district annual budget that was approved at the previous annual meeting is divided by the sum of the assessed land and improvement value of riparian properties in the
district as provided by Waushara County. This rate is applied to the total assessed value shown on your real estate property tax bill.
The budget presented at the annual meeting was amended and approved for two items:
1. A motion was made and approved to amend the proposed budget for the dam’s toe drain repair
from $10,000 to $20,000.
2. Also approved was harvester labor to include an increase in the assistant operator hours
to 30 hours per week for 22 weeks, a dollar impact of $6,570
There were other minor changes from last year’s budget but these two are the drivers for the assessment increase. The net increase in the special assessment was $16,727 spread over $39.6mm of assessed value.
Note that the board is working on several projects that will reduce annual operating expenses and optimize equipment value in coming years.
Details will be provided as the plans are firmed up.
MMLMD LAKE ENDOWMENT FUND (FOMML)
The The "Friends of Mt. Morris Lake Endowment Fund" was set up by the District Board. You can donate tax-deductible money t
o the fund to preserve the future quality of our lakes. The fund is managed by the "Oshkosh Area Community Foundation." Make a contribution online at: https://www.oshkoshareacf.org/fund/friends-of-the-mount-morris-lakes-endowment-fund/ or you can mail
in the official contribution form. To read the letter or get more information, go to the Endowment Fund page. This fund is important
for future funding of lake projects. The committee has developed a brochure to explain the fund's purpose. Thanks to all who have contributed to the Fund at this time. A list of contributors can be found at this link: FOMML CONTRIBUTORS.
PROPERTY LIGHTS: PLEASE OBSERVE INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY ASSOCIATION GUIDELINES
People like to enjoy the night sky! Are your property lights directed downward from the sky to the land? Consider installing
side shields so that the light does not spread out from the sides and distract from dark, peaceful, night starry sky viewing. For
information about star-friendly outdoor lighting, go: https://www.darksky.org/our-work/lighting/lighting-for-citizens/lighting-basics/
The IDA recommends using lighting that has a color temperature of no more than 3000 Kelvins. Lighting with lower color
temperatures has less blue in its spectrum and is referred to as being “warm.” Higher color temperature sources of light are
rich in blue light. In addition, people on the lake want to observe the starry night sky without the blinding light of sodium vapor
security lights. Consider using side shields for you security lights to direct the light downward on your property. Copy and paste
this link into your URL for more information:
Outdoor Lighting Basics - International Dark-Sky Association (darksky.org)
LAKE PROPERTY RENTAL REGULATIONS FOR WAUSHARA COUNTY
Owners of homes for rent are responsible for communicating the lake regulations and lake usage guidelines to their rentals
at the start of the rental period. It has been found that renters do not generally know these rules, display inappropriate boating
behavior, and have been cited by DNR wardens for violations. Don't put your renters in an embarrassing position like this. Communicate the guidelines to them often and clearly.
Read these guidelines in the January notice from Zoning concerning Waushara County rentals:
1. Zoning and the Health Department have established procedures to review rental listings on organizations such as Airbnb and VRBO to compare occupancy listing to occupancy allowed.
- Waushara County rentals must be licensed by the County Health Dept.
- The goal is to bring advertised occupancy in line with those allowed by the property.
2. Allowed occupancy is based on sewer capability of the property.
- Sewered properties according to ATCP 72 (cubic footage per person per bedroom).
- Unsewered properties according to SPS 383.40 thru 383.43... (based on the sizing requirements of the septic system)
For questions or rental concerns, please contact:
Waushara Zoning - 920-787-0453 or Waushara Health - 920-787-6590
Visit the Waushara County Watershed Lakes Council website https://wcwlc.org
DON'T USE ON-BOARD BOAT DOCKING LIGHTS WHILE CRUISING AT NIGHT
You can be issued a citation by the DNR for doing this. All boats have red and green navigation lights, an anchoring white light,
and some have bright docking lights. Please do not turn on your docking lights while cruising the lake at night. This is similar to the bright lights of an automobile coming at you, and they are blinding to both other boats on the lake and to people on the shore in
their homes. You can be issued a citation for operating docking lights on the open water. Docking lights are not to be used as boat headlights... they are a short term lighting device to complete your docking procedure at your pier. They are an annoyance to the
quiet environment of the water if used all the time. Use them only when you need extra light to dock. Otherwise... someone might
report you as a UFO on the lake at night!
WAKE BOATS & DEEP V INBOARD ENGINE HULL DESIGNS CAN CAUSE UPROOTED WEEDS
Some of these boats have inboard engines with propellers that tend to uproot celery weed. Owners of all boats, not just wake
boats and deep V hulls, should use caution when in shallow areas where vegetation can be disturbed by boat propellers.
For more information, please read these links:
https://www.greatlakesscuttlebutt.com/news/press-room/wake-impacts/
PROPERTY SECURITY
To prevent cottage break-ins, click on the MORE tab at the top of this page, then click on News and Resources, and you will find additional links regarding Cottage Security Tips
HEALTHY LAKES & RIVERS BOOKLET
Useful background information about what you can do with your property to preserve the lake environment:
HealthyLakes &Rivershandout (1).pdf
POST LAKE DRAW-DOWN DATA HAS BEEN COLLECTED
Thanks to the Town of Mt. Morris for rebuilding the main boat landing concrete pad, the brush clearing of the area,
and the improving the upper lake boat landing area to facilitate easier launch of the weed harvester. The new concrete
boat landing pad is longer to allow for boats to power off and on their trailers. The extra rocks at the end of the
pad will prevent erosion under the pad during power launching. Please be careful when using the boat launching
pad so that we can preserve it to last as long as it can.
To view the Onterra LLC consultant's aerial video of the drawdown, copy and paste this link
to the URL: https://youtu.be/kaheIT87g80
To view the summary report written by Onterra LLC about the preliminary results they had gathered
from the drawdown, click on this link: Draw down Report
A report of the draw down results will be presented by Onterra LLC at the June 24, 2023 Annual Distrcit Meeting.
SHORE LINE MODIFICATION WORK: NO SAND BEACHES ALLOWED!
The DNR does not allow the installation of sand beaches on the shores of all of the Mt. Morris Lakes.
As far as conducting any shoreline improvement work, it is the responsibility of each shoreline owner to
contact the County, Town, and city zoning offices and the DNR to discuss the specific details of their
shoreline process and secure the approvals. The Lake District can only point you in the direction of information
links. Click here to secure information or contact the DNR for more shoreline modification
information: MYSHORELINE
PROPERTY OWNERS
INFORMATION LINKS FOR SHORELINE PROPERTY OWNERS
As a service to our lake shore property owners, you can learn more information about the
State of Wisconsin regulations concerning:
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Boating rules on the Mt. Morris Lakes System
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Type, size, and location of where and what kind of boating dock or pier you can have
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What kind, where, and how far out in the lake you can place rafts
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What you can legally construct on your lake property and where
Just click on one of the topics listed in blue at the left of this
section.... under the heading - PROPERTY OWNERS.