By Topf Wells  |  Workday Report: December 2, 2023

Maybe the Badgers – beating #3 ranked Marquette is pretty good. Our last work day was pretty great, too, for lots of reasons:

Turnout. On a day that started cold and blustery and with the nationally televised basketball game waiting at home, folks had good reasons to stay there. A wonderful mix of 20 or so volunteers showed up to help a farmer, Dane County’s stream program, and a wonderful trout stream. Veteran and new members arrived, young and old, Board Members and Officers all pitched in. We were joined by the farmer, Ken Hefty, and his grandson Levi Reeson. Ken operated a skid steer – increasing our efficiency 10-fold and Dane County’s James Brodzellar and Katie Nicholas. Carol Murphy, Nohr’s star president, joined the crew.

The Project. We were on the first Dane County easement downstream of Kittleson Road on Kittleson Creek. This begins a stretch of great and permanently eased water down to STH 78. The goal today was to remove some invasive willows.

Results. We made substantial progress with several stands of large willows cut, dragged, and piled. Let’s pause for silent thanks for the skid steer. We might return for a few more willows and brush bundles. We had a mix of 3-4 sawyer and plenty of haulers. All of us were pretty amazed at how quickly each tree was cleaned up. Despite the trees being big and all the folks helping, we had another safe day.

Snacks. Chilly weather and hard work whetted appetites. For the first time, we consumed all the brownies and pork sticks.

The Vibe. Everyone, vets of the work days and newcomers, had a great time. Maybe we’ve been cooped up inside, maybe we needed to burn off holiday calories, maybe we needed to see and help a trout season with the season being closed for several weeks. Who knows but for whatever reasons a great time was had by all.

So Many Thanks. To the landowner, who made public fishing on this section of creek possible and who was such a big help. To James and Katie, who worked with Jim to plan this work day and who’ll have other great projects for us. To Dyan and Wayne, who brought the trailer to and from the work site. To Curt, Bob and John, our productive and safe sawyers. Finally and as always, to Jim Hess for a perfectly planned and executed work day.

This was the last of the fall and winter work days. Not to embarrass Jim but after each work day and after every meeting, folks tell me that Jim makes these days productive and fun. Thanks to Jim, they’re not chores but a blast o’ fun.

Jim deserves a break but I bet he’ll be planning the spring season soon. It’ll be worth the wait.

Thanks to Dyan Lensik for the photos!