Carillon Lakes residents turn lakes into wildlife haven in Crest Hill

CREST HILL – Carillon Lakes resident Joe Kuffel climbed over a drainage grate of the senior living community's north lake, named Harmony, and removed a triangular, prism-shaped screen.

Water rushed into the lake's drainage chamber, filling up as Kuffel and fellow resident Tom Inman cleaned plants and other natural debris off the screen, re-installing it with a new plate that controls drainage flow.

"When we had a flat screen, the fish – with the pressure of the water – would get pinned," Inman said.

But after doing some research and receiving input from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, members of the Carillon Lakes Fishing and Lake Management group adopted the triangle shaped screen, built by a steel company that had an executive living in Carillon Lakes.

"On our walks around the lakes, we haven't seen any dead fish after this winter," Kuffel said. Club members take turns walking around the lakes daily to check for dead fish, external debris and other signs of an unhealthy lake.

When resident Trisha Kulis wanted a waterfront property in Carillon Lakes, she was surprised at all the neighborhood complaints of the lakes.

"The coveted waterfront was really up close and personal to cesspools," she said.

But the desire for beautiful lakes, not standing retention water, led to a community-wide effort that turned the lakes into a wildlife haven over the past 13 years. The triangle screen was just one result of that effort, which continues today.

Stocking the lakes

Carillon Lakes opened its doors to primarily senior residents in the summer of 2001. Shortly after, residents formed the Fishing Committee, then the Fishing and Lake Management group in 2002 after two of the lakes were stocked with water. The third, southernmost lake was dug and filled in 2003.

The lakes were dug for water retention purposes, and the water flows from the southern lake to lower elevations to the north. The southern lake is about 12 acres and is called Lake Melody. The middle lake, Lake Carillon, is about 6 acres, and Lake Harmony is about 4.5 acres. Each has its own water fountains.

"In addition to maintaining beauty of our lakes, they were the dominant feature of Carillon Lakes and we certainly wanted to keep that as good as possible," Inman said.

Shortly after residents started moving into the neighborhood, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, or IDNR, stocked the lakes with 3,150 bluegills and 319 catfish.

In 2004, 434 largemouth bass were added. And in 2007, more than 1,500 crayfish, along with forage, were stocked. The IDNR also added thousands of fathead minnows for food.

Carillon Lakes resident Tom Walter said that over the years, the lakes and their inhabitants have attracted migrating birds.

"The only reason they come here is they can eat," Walter said, adding that his photos of at least 25 species of birds – such as the great blue heron, hooded mergansers and Caspian terns – have attracted bird watchers to the area.

"You see migrant ducks in the spring, some dabblers eating vegetation underneath," he said. "If you walk in the spring, you can see mallards that live around here. A lot of the birds come from Lake Renwick Preserve, walking along the shoreline and seeing and picking out minnows."

Walter, who takes photos for many Carillon Lakes events, said swallows come in the summer, along with insects such as dragonflies humming over the lakes.

"This was our charge to make a healthy environment for us and the wildlife," Walter said.

Solving problems

Adding fish didn't come without its issues. Residents had to figure out ways to maintain the fish and combat other problems that arose during the past 13 years.

For instance, club members found fish were flowing along with the water through drainage tiles from Lake Melody to Lake Harmony. To keep an even amount of fish in both lakes, the group added the fishing screen on the advice of Rob Miller, an aquatic biologist with the IDNR.

Another problem arose after the the group realized the new stocked fish had no natural shade. So Miller advised the group install "fish condos," essentially triangular-shaped wood pallets weighted down with cement blocks.

The group also installed 12-inch PVC pipes closed off with heavy duty plastic bags to imitate logs for catfish to spawn.

"A year later we had a grand amount of baby catfish," Inman said.

In a recent addition, visitors can see rubber coyote molds around the lakes. They do a pretty good job staving off geese, which have been a nuisance in past years, said Trisha Kulis, a member of the Carillon Lakes marketing committee.

Residents move the coyotes around at least once a week to make them seem alive. The residents also let vegetation along the banks of the lakes grow to about a foot long during the year to deter geese and to prevent lawn fertilizer from washing into the water and encouraging undesirable aquatic growth.

Geese have been a problem because of their penchant to venture onto walkways, disturb dog walkers and leave droppings on sidewalks, Kulis said.

"We also got this information that flashing yellow lights, solar lights in water, work for some reason," Kulis said. "Geese equate that with a predator. But the ducks don't get bothered."

Other undesirables, such as water willows, algae growth and snails, were treated through water treatment as well as the introduction of snail-eating redear sunfish.

Recreational result

Lake maintenance costs about $8,000 per year, not including extra expenses for problems that arise, Inman said. But much of the labor is volunteer, and much of the cost is paid through fundraisers by the Fishing and Lake Management group.

One of those fundraisers is the annual Fishing Derby, where children and grandchildren join residents in fishing for the biggest catch. The derby net the club about $1,000 last year through raffle revenue.

"We even had residents mail checks of $50 and from $100 to $125," Inman said.

The maintained lakes are young, but well-kept because of the Carillon Lakes community, Kulis said.

"Volunteers and the community, even though none of us are experts, reached out to sources and learned," she said. "I think being a new resident here, I found it was amazing and everybody helps each other."