What Are Shoreland BMPs?

Best Management Practices (BMPs) are actions you can take to reduce your impact on the environment. BMPs have been described for agriculture, forest management, and construction. This series of fact sheets describes BMPs you can adopt on your shoreland property to help protect and preserve water quality. In many cases, the best management for shorelands may be retaining the natural characteristics of your property. These BMPs are guidelines that have been established for many areas of shoreland property. As more research is carried out along shorelines to measure the impact of landuse activities on water quality, BMPs may be refined or revised. In the meantime, these fact sheets will assist you in making decisions about your property to minimize impact on Minnesota's valuable water resources. Some BMPs are clearly aimed at residents who already live seasonally or year-round on their shoreland property and who value the resource enough to protect it. /Other fact sheets are designed for those developing new acreage in the future or for short-term visitors to Minnesota waterways. The guidelines are equally appropriate for property near lakes or rivers, and all are relevant for every Minnesotan who shares a commitment to preserve our abundant water resources. Even if you do not live directly on the shoreline, the way you manage your household wastewater and property can have a significant impact on water quality downstream. Pathways that carry contaminants may not always be obvious. Drain tiles, ditches, storm sewers, paved roads, and shallow ground water can all carry pollutants from residential, industrial, and agricultural areas into lakes, rivers, or wetlands. Fertilizers and chemicals applied to lawns or crops can wash down driveways or ditches and end up in surface water. Improper disposal of hazardous household waste or industrial chemicals can add toxics to our lakes. Poor landuse and construction practices result in erosion, increasing the load of sediment in our rivers. These adverse impacts on surface and ground waters not only affect water quality for human use, but also damage wildlife and fish habitat and /Other natural resources.