By Topf Wells

Justin Haugland, Senior DNR Fisheries Biologist, has published an interesting report on the Pine River in Richland and Vernon Counties.

My takeaways from Justin’s assessment:

1. Wow. This is a big watershed with lots of streams. Justin and his crew had to work hard to cover all this water and the analysis must have taken a lot of time and thought.
2. This report will interest anglers because Justin describes some streams with large populations of trout that are not well known.
3. His key recommendation is extremely important for SWTU, other chapters, TU DARE and other conservation organizations like BFF to pursue. Justin strongly recommends that easement authority be created or expanded for a number of streams in order to better protect and improve them and to increase angler access. One such stream is Fancy Creek and its tributaries. It’s stuffed with trout, browns in Fancy and brookies in the headwater tribs. It has only two small easements and one would have to have the agility and stamina of an orangutan to fish one of the two. I’ve driven the full length of Fancy for years longing for easements. When I finally had the nerve to ask a landowner and walked to his pasture, a Holstein bull awaited me (no fishing there).

Our opportunity to see this recommendation approved is to have all those organizations and as many TU members as possible participate in the Western Coulee Regional Master Plan. SWTU submitted comments at the earliest opportunity but comments on the draft plan will be crucial.

David Rowe also mentioned the importance of this planning effort at our May meeting. I’m on the email list for the process and I’ve also asked Justin and Dave to remind us when and how to submit comments.

Several other biologists in several other assessments have also recommended expansion of easement and acquisition authority. We can support all of those.

Thanks to Justin for more great work.