SWTU, P.O. Box 45555, Madison, WI 53744-5555 president@swtu.org

Who’s got workdays? We’ve got workdays!

Event reports and photos – many thanks to all who turned out
Read more and view pictures of three tremendous events. From tree planting to chain sawing to a unique tug-of-war … see how SWTU and its members are making a difference! Read More

More Stream Restoration Thanks to State TU’s Friends Grant Program

workday

By Topf Wells
Stop the presses! As the newsletter was in its final stage, the State Council’s Friends Grant program informed SWTU that we are receiving the $2,000 grant request for a major restoration on Hefty Creek in Green County this summer. With our cash match and a very generous member donation for a stream restoration project, SWTU will contribute $14,000 to the DNR’s project. This means that a very large, three phase restoration will – weather permitting – be completed this year. Read More

A Message From our Treasurer

By Tom Parker
accountingPlease click on this link to view our Chapter’s Balance Sheet as of March 31, 2021 & 2020, the Statement of Activity for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021 and the fiscal year 2022 Operating Budget.

The Chapter experienced a very unusual year in F/Y 2021 in terms of our financial results. The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to cancel our two major fundraising events; the Ice Breaker and the Meicher Auction, as well as the Women’s Clinics. As a result, our revenues were down $35,240 as compared to prior year. On a positive note, however, we did receive some very generous donations from individuals, company partners and foundations resulting in total Chapter income of $23,793. Expenses were also down for the year due to the pandemic at $36,923 resulting in a net deficit of $13,130 which compares favorably to our budgeted deficit of $26,596. Read More

Remembering Clint Byrnes

clynt_byrnesClint has been a great leader in Wisconsin TU for decades.  For many years he was a mainstay of SWTU and then led the creation of the Aldo Leopold Chapter. He served in many leadership roles and supported every aspect of TU’s conservation and educational work. He was a famous artisan and many anglers have his hand-crafted nets as their more cherished fishing gear. He was incredibly generous in donating these nets to raise funds for many TU and other conservation causes. Read More

New Members – May 2021

We’re pleased to announce the addition of the following new members to our ranks! Read More

Newscasts – April 2021

This issue has lots of great information, including:

Dig In – Our First Workday of 2021

Sugar River through Neperud property

By Jim Hess, Conservation Chair

Join us Saturday, April 10, for our first workday in over a year. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again. But we still have C-19 issues to deal with. Many of us have already received our shots, but we need to follow Dane County and CDC protocols. Per Dane County protocols, everyone is encouraged to wear a mask. If you forget to bring one and want to wear a mask, extras will be available. Bring your own water and snacks; we will not have a common break area for refreshments. When signing in, we will ask for your email just in the unlikely chance we will need it for contact tracing.

Bring your own shovels – if you need to use someone else’s shovel we will have disinfectant available. If you don’t have a shovel, no problem there will be plenty of other work to do. Read More

Honey Dun Flymph

Honey Dun Flymph

Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”

by Rusty Dunn

Some things turn out better when done in pairs.  Lewis & Clark, Lennon & McCartney, Romeo & Juliet, Fred & Ginger, Batman & Robin, etc.  The list is long.  But where would each of these celebrities be without a cre­ative partner?  Probably a lot less famous.  Fly fishing is inherently a solitary endeavor, and this is reflected in book authorship.
Read More

Watch the New Video on Badger Mill Creek Restoration

Many thanks to two tremendous Dane County employees – Sara Rigleman, Park Property Planner, and Theresa Nelson, Stormwater Engineer — for an interesting and educational video on Badger Mill Creek in Verona. They provide valuable background and history … and talk about the project goals and techniques. You’ll see where we are today and a peak at what the future brings. This is a valuable look at this important tributary of the Sugar River.

We again thank Sara and Theresa for taking the time to provide our members and all nature lovers with this terrific content.

MATS Map is Back!

(MATS = Madison Area Trout Streams)
Our beloved MATS map had seen over 30,000 views in the 18 months it existed when suddenly the fine folks at Google deleted it. No reason. No explanation. The MATS map was gone. SWTU member Pat Hasburgh had spent over 400 hours developing the map and was crestfa llen at the discovery. He spent hours on the phone with Google tech support and pored over countless online help forums in an effort to solve the problem but to no avail. The map was gone. The one last hope for the MATS map was that someone had copied the information so the map could be used offline. A call was put out to membership but as the weeks went on with no leads, things were looking grim. That is until our very own Tina Murray emerged with a copy of the map info saved on her computer and the MATS map has been restored! A very small amount of data was lost but will be added back in soon enough.

HUGE thanks to Tina for saving this wonderful resource for our club and the fishing community as a whole. We owe you one, Tina!