Lake Como Shoreline Restoration
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Since 2002, Saint Paul
Parks and Recreation and its partners
have been restoring the shoreline of Lake
Como. Restoration efforts have included
revegetation of the shoreline using native plants, the reintroduction of
aquatic emergent plants and the implementation of several manual erosion
control(link to erosion control on FAQ)
methods. |
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The native plants around the shoreline perform many valuable roles. They provide habitat and food for countless birds, insects, small mammals, fish, frogs, aquatic invertebrates and turtles.
The plants at the edge of the shoreline and those that stick up out of the water are especially important to the aquatic ecosystem. They provide food, in the form of seeds, and shelter for waterfowl. They also provide shade and protection to the aquatic invertebrates and fish that waterfowl eat.
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In addition to playing the important role of offering habitat to the animals at Lake Como, the native plants also stabilize the soil and reduce the effects of nutrient loading. Their deep roots hold the soil and keep it from eroding. In the daily process of taking in nutrients from the soil, the plants reduce the amount of nutrients, including phosphorous and nitrogen, in the water and soil. For more information on nutrient loading, runoff and algal blooms, see our FAQs (link to FAQ page, algal bloom section).