Our Chapter is moving on several fronts to assist in the restoration of several local trout streams with money and work.

Thanks to Jim Hess and Conservation Committee’s schedule of work days, we’ll have the opportunity to work on several trout streams, a couple of which might be new to our members.  See the article in this newsletter for the fall schedule and hope to see you at the Steiner Branch on 10/13. Wild Brook Trout and Brats, an “Only in Wisconsin” combination.

Our streams need professional care as well as our volunteer efforts and those pros need funds to improve our streams. In the 2019 budget we intend to help a lot. (This month’s board update has more on the budget.)

The first project is one we’ll notice as we fish throughout next year. Bradd Sims, the DNR fish biologist for Lafayette and Grant Counties (and for those who love smallmouths, the Lower Wisconsin) announced at our September meeting that the DNR will put a maintenance crew on trout streams in much of the Driftless Area. The crew will address long-standing maintenance issues, including the control of wild parsnip that has proliferated on many public easements. My wife was just talking a trout angling friend in Richland Center who had terrible scars on his arm. You’re guessing right – the result of an unexpected encounter with wild parsnip while trout fishing in that neck of the woods. Our budget includes $2500 to support that effort.

The DNR will begin a major project on public land on Black Earth Creek between Cross Plains and Salmo Pond. We’ll help with $4000 on a project that will dramatically improve habitat on a long portion of stream.  On the Sugar River, over 2100 feet below the Bruce Company bridge on the Falk/Wells Wildlife Area is in pretty sad shape. In colloquial terms, it’s frog water. The County, DNR, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service has planned a major restoration for next year to improve habitat for trout, bugs in water, bugs pollinating plants, shorebirds, grassland birds, and, yes, even frogs. We’ll help to the tune of $5000.

Our friends at the Nohr Chapter continue their unceasing efforts to work throughout the Blue River Watershed. Wait till you see this season’s efforts on the Blue in the Biba/Shemak Roads area. Lots more big trout water to fish. Next year, they’ll begin work on a massive new DNR easement on the Blue and 6 Mile Branch.  We’re reserving $1000 to help. Another restoration to address major flood damage on the West Fork of the Kickapoo is in the works. That’s an important stream to many of our members and we’ll contribute $1000.

This summer marked the close-out of the Neperud project on the Sugar River. Thanks to the efficient work of the DNR and Dane County, the project came in under budget. We notified our various grantors to the project and many agreed that their share of the savings could be re-directed to worthwhile local projects. The Dane County Conservation League and the Badger Fly Fishers directed their share of funds to the Sugar River restoration. We are currently working with the Madison Fishing Expo on the possibility of directing their funds to some flood damage repair for Black Earth Creek near Mazomanie. Orvis asked that their money be directed to the DNR’s restoration to the part of Kittleson Creek that’s home to wild brook trout.  All in all, we’ve been able to provide about $4500 in additional funds to great local projects thanks to the generosity of our friends and donors.  Our wild brook trout in Story Creek got another boost when Fontana paired with Patagonia for a new grant program to benefit native, wild trout in our area. This effort, supported by our TU members who bought Patagonia goods at Fontana last December netted the DNR’s restoration another $3200.

We can’t help our trout steams without your continued support. Thank you.

PS  Speaking of trout streams, we apparently have a really big one in our midst.  At the end of his September talk, Bradd showed photos of the DNR’s effort to survey the shovel nose sturgeon population of the Lower Wisconsin River. Happily, they found lots of the sturgeon on a spawning riffle, where they were joined by a very impressive long nose gar and three fat, big, healthy brown trout. Maybe they like caviar.