You can attend a public outreach meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. on September 11 at the DNR office at the Fitchburg Service Center (3911 Fish Hatchery Road, Fitchburg, WI 53711) to discuss a potential regulation change on the Black Earth Creek downstream of South Valley Road.

Dan Oele, DNR Stream Biologist, looks forward to hearing your insights on the current 12max, 3 bag reg vs a proposed change to 12” min, 2 bag, 18” min-1 bag, or catch and release options. Lower Black Earth Creek is a class 1 trout stream that currently has high recruitment (>200 yearling/mile) and historically high adult abundance (>250 adults(>8”) per mile) of brown trout. However, this stretch has exhibited declines in trout larger than 8” and 12” size classes of adult trout in the last 5 years. The current regulation has not improved the size structure of the fishery and is not appropriate given the low catch rates of fish under 12”.

If you cannot attend in person, you can email Dan at Daniel.Oele@wisconsin.gov or call him at (608) 275-3225.