By Topf Well

Many thanks to the many people who helped make the Lowery Creek work day close to perfect.

About 20 volunteers showed up to plant 65 or so oak trees on the new Cates easement on Lowery Creek. This is a healthy brook trout stream, one of the sources of DNR wild brood stock, and the trees will help maintain cold water temps.

Justin Haglund, the DNR fish biologist for Iowa and Richland Counties, Jim Hess of SWTU, and Ted Swenson of Nohr had planned the day. Justin and his crew prepared the work site. That means digging (thankfully with mechanical assistance) 65 holes and having fencing material and trees in place.

We had all the trees in the ground and properly matted and fenced by 11:20, which left plenty of time for brownies, pork sticks, apples, and tangerines (note the diet is becoming more balanced – thanks to Carol Murphy) and conversation.

The Cates family has worked with conservation organizations and the DNR to restore a prairie and the stream and to allow the public fishing access. Those actions bespeak a strong conservation ethic and generosity. So, the first thanks go to the Cates.

BTW, some might wonder how some of the streams we work on fish. We can provide a definitive report on Lowery. Two fly fishers were on the easement when we arrived and fished it methodically downstream – one account had them using leech patterns. They said they were catching brook trout and having a grand time.

Thanks to Justin and Jared of the DNR for all the work before and during the work day. These guys never quit. As we were leaving, they were pulling data from temperature loggers and measuring stream flow. Jim and Ted double-teamed the planning and notifying volunteers. The turn out and relatively easy work were the happy results. All our work days are fun and productive but I really enjoy the cooperative ones with Nohr. They’ve accomplished so much in the Blue watershed that I feel one aspect of these days is SWTU’s appreciation of that Chapter.

Much thanks to our varied cast of volunteers. We had SWTU Board Members and regular participants plus a couple of newer members (hooray). Some of Justin’s DNR colleagues from Dodgeville joined us. Nohr had some leaders and members present. My favorite was a young man I did not recognize. When I asked what brought him out, he said he was preparing for Confirmation and needed to provide some community service (along with other spiritual exercises).

Hmm. I noted in my day, preparation for Confirmation entailed months of memorizing questions and answers from the catechism. He said, it’s a lot better now. More talk about trees, his family’s land and the creek on their place, Whitford. That should ring a bell with all our work with TPE on Whitford. I gave him the reference to Justin’s assessment of Whitford and urged him and his parents to check it out. They might discover that they have a creek about as cool as Lowery.

It’s a small and sometimes happy world. Photos courtesy Jim Hess.