Past DCCL Newsletters

Our local conservation wardens will discuss recent rule changes, especially with regards to CWD. Tim Lawhern, Administrator for the Hunter Education Program in WI will discuss Hunter Education in the state and future expectations of the program. Should be good, especially for those of us who went through it when it was just starting. The primary raffle prizes that evening will be a shotgun and Muskie Rod and Reel.

Last year we ran out of prepaid mailers for recycling printer cartridges. We will have plenty this year to do our part to show you can make the difference.

Longtime League member John Scharer wanted to purchase bluebird houses for the Madison Area Rehabilitation Centers’ new building on the E-Way off Post Road. We asked him if he would not mind presenting them to MARC on our behalf at no cost.

We understand they are in place and should receive guests next year. Thanks, John, for thinking of this unique way for the League to contribute.

MARC’s purpose is to enhance the quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities. They provide employment and day services to 280 adults with developmental disabilities at five Dane County locations, one hundred alone from their new building at 901 Post Road.

On September 19, MARC celebrated 50 years of community service with a gala banquet at the Alliant Energy Center. Congratulations and many more representing those with disabilities and their families in the Dane County area.

We ask all members to keep the League in mind for causes such as this. If we can help, especially with the various nesting boxes we make, we are honored to do so.

Ed Fuss has scheduled highway cleanup for October 5. If you can make it, we will meet at the farm. We will likely have a feed for those who help with that and the closing of the farm that weekend. The farm is located at 2497 County J, about five miles west of Verona.

By: Tim Thompson

We face an unprecedented crisis with our deer herd in the state, as you all know. Your Board of Directors has voiced its support of the DNR’s plan in their efforts to control CWD. Also, I have had the privilege of serving on the CWD Task Force for the Dane County Board this past summer. I have learned much from these meetings and have come to realize the magnitude of the problems faced by the DNR and all others involved. I have also had conversations with Department officials and have been told they are hoping for help from volunteer groups like ours with the registration efforts and in other areas. Members will have a chance to help out and get work hours also. Please call me if you want details or wish to sign up.

Also, we are hoping to get the fencing and netting removed from pens 3 & 4 at the pheasant farm as soon as the birds are gone. This will give us a head start to getting the pens ready for next spring. If you have time this fall, please come and help. It will be greatly appreciated!

Jerry Sands has made some nice improvements to our website that will allow you to sign up online for work projects. I am sure you will like what you see. If you see Jerry, thank him for all his work.

I hope you can make it to the meetings this fall as we have some good speakers lined up.

September will bring conservation wardens from the DNR and also Tim Lawhern who is the Administrator for the Hunter Safety Program.

In October we will have Tom Hauge from the DNR. Tom is the Director of the Bureau of Wildlife Management and will fill us in on all that is known to date about the CWD efforts.

In November, we will have one of our members, Mary Jenkins, tell us about her bison raising operation. I am sure it will be an interesting presentation.

I hope to see you at the fall meetings.

In Conservation,

Tim Thompson, President

The League annually selects individuals for Conservationist and Member of the Year. Nominees do not need to be members; however, a League member must nominate them. The nominees do not need to walk on water, but the nomination must be supported with a written narrative limited to no more than two pages. Mailed nominations are to be sent no later than December 14 to the League’s address listed below.

DCCL Nomination Committee

PO Box 44039

Madison, WI 53744

The Board will review nominations at their December directors’ meeting, announces the recipient in the winter newsletter in January, and present the awards at the annual meeting in January.

Unknown to many in the area, one of the largest and most beautiful natural springs in Dane County quietly pumps thousands of gallons of fresh water each day into a creek that runs through a large marsh located just a few hundred yards from Lake Mendota. Pheasant Branch Creek is the path the spring water takes on its way to Lake Mendota.

Once a prime spawning grounds for northern pike and walleye, the creek is now heavily laden with sediment from badly eroding streambanks and stormwater runoff. The polluted water comes from the main tributary of the creek, which runs from the Beltline Highway down through residential districts to the marsh, where it joins the clear spring water branch before heading for the Lake.

There is a lot of work to be done on Pheasant Branch Creek if we are going to improve water quality in Lake Mendota and restore the creek for fish spawning. Much has been done already, although not very successfully, by the City of Middleton. Now, the Dane County Conservation League has joined hands with the Yahara Fishing Club of Madison and the City of Middleton to begin a streambank restoration project that will prevent stream erosion and protect the land near the creek from runoff. With a DNR grant of $10,000 and a contribution of $575 from the DCCL for trees and shrubs, LJ Reas Environmental Consulting is working with the restoration team to solve the problems in the creek. Three streambank areas will be treated this fall, and the solid canopy of trees along the creek will be opened up to allow sunlight to reach the land where prairie grasses, sedges, and a few swamp oak will be planted.

A 20-foot biolog, root-wads, and native wet meadow plants will be the focus of one restoration area. Additional root-wads, a wing dam, and the clearing of weeds, reed canary grass, box elders, black locust, and buckthorn will be the focus at the second site. Grading, planting of shrubs, and another wing dam will occupy the third area. All of the ground in the conservation area will be covered with straw to protect any new plants and to prevent runoff. Prairie and wet meadow grasses will be planted in the Spring of 2003.

The project is one of many that are planned for the Pheasant Branch Creek to bring this once beautiful and thriving stream back to health.

The restoration team will join members of the Wisconsin Conservation Corps for a morning of stream restoration work on Saturday, September 28, from 8 a.m. to noon. At least 6-12 DCCL members are needed to help cut down, buck, and limb trees and clear brush along the streambank. To get to the project site from Madison, take the Beltline Highway and when you get to Middleton turn right at the stop light onto Donna Drive. Travel for about a mile to a stop sign in front of Kromery School. Turn right and go to the bottom of the hill…the creek is on the right. See you Saturday, September 28!

Don Hammes

Chairman, DCCL Habitat Improvement Committee

Due to a mix-up at the post office, and they do offer their apologies, only a small number of members received the mailing and others had posted it on their calendar from the prior newsletter.

We still had about thirty members there, and those members and their families enjoyed a beautiful day for our open house. The main staples of chicken breasts, burgers, dogs and corn on the cob were big hits. Thanks to those who made desserts, they were delicious. Chief cooks Ed Brost and Don Putz made a feast for all.

The Farm will be closing in mid-October. Those interested in closing are welcome any Saturday morning until then. The farm is located about five miles west of Verona at 2497 Cty J, just of Hwy 18.

The pens and runs will need to be scraped, disced, and planted with winter wheat. Feeders will need to be cleaned out and pressure washed, and the water lines will be blown out to prevent freezing. Brooders were bleached in mid-summer to eliminate bacteria.

The decision to replace the wire when we did was a good one. As most of you know, we did pens 1 and 2 this year. The amount of rust in 3 & 4 clearly showed, as birds were able to fly through the rusting wire. Those pens will be done early next year. The coated wire we used in 1 & 2 will last up to four times as long as the uncoated chicken wire. Money and time well spent. The netting above the pens was replaced also and will be in the other two pens next year.

BOAT/CAMPER/VEHICLE winter storage space is available for those interested members. Limited space is still available for $150, and the term runs from mid-October to mid-April. We have always been full, so if interested contact Dwaine Rundle at 276-9427 ASAP.

We had our largest outing yet with sixteen foursomes enjoying some great golf, fun, and camaraderie. The foursome that walked away from the golf outing as winners were:

Jerry Paffenroth

Golf Outing chairs, Keith and Linda Waier, again put together a nice day with some great weather. We will see if we fill the course next year with a full eighteen foursomes.

Long-time League member, J. Nash Williams passed away in late July at the age of 95. Nash was active in the outdoors and contributed to various causes on behalf of the League. He will be remembered as a person who enjoyed life and helped others enjoy their lives. Pleasant dreams and thanks for contributing to conservation.

Friends of Dane County Parks thanked the League and its membership for their donation of $1,000 to the Jenni and Kyle Preserve. The League is trying to make a dream come true, as the 130-acre parcel is dedicated to disabled park users and is named for the grandchildren of Harvey and Patricia Wilmeth, who died at an early age. Dane County Parks is now raising funds to develop this park, which will increase recreational opportunities for people with disabilities.

An estimated $130,000 is needed to develop the site. The League has made this donation at this time and likely will contribute through our banquet next year and more importantly, through the physical labor of our membership, as the site needs to be made accessible. This likely will take place in late winter to early spring. We will keep you posted.

Monique Danielle Thole joined big brother Nolan on July 10, 2002. She is the daughter of Robb and Amy Thole. She came into the world weighing 7 lbs. and 1 ounce and is 20.5 inches long.

September 14 was the day for those members who have worked on League-sanctioned projects for fifteen hours or more to pick up their birds. Birds that were left were picked up the next two weeks and we are now sold out for the first time so early in the season. This was a great year for our birds. Thanks to primary birdmen Ron Brinkmann and Lowell Carter for seeing us to a good year. Work hours at the Farm will continue until the first weekend in October as we close it for the season.

Quail went fast this year. A number of people are still clambering for them.

******************************************

Little quips of information that I thought you might find interesting:

Canada geese pair for life and are constantly together, migrating and feeding in close proximity of one another.

Birds have no sweat glands.

From League Historian, Jack M. Bell

At our March 19 Membership Meeting Bill Stokes, Outdoor Author, spoke to the group about his experiences in the outdoors. During his talk, the name Al Koppenhaver, Dane County Conservation Warden, came up. I thought it would be fitting to write, In Memory of Al about his life and his active role with the DCCL.

Al wrote a column, Kopp’s Corner" for the League newsletter. Please enjoy the reprint.

These last few days have had a touch of Fall in the air. The morning fogs, and it cools quickly after the sun goes down. This is when you see the boys out training their dogs. Then the duck blinds ar4e taking shape; the first vanguard of coots hit Mendota on Friday, Sept. 7. The mallards are going out to feed in stubble fields to feed on smartweed; and you ought to watch them catch grasshoppers! Incidentally, the local duck crop really looks good. Even with the over-normal rainfall that the Dane County area has had, many of the potholes are dry. You hunters are going to see the week growth in the marsh the heaviest that I have ever seen. I doubt if much of the corn will be cut; and believe me these fields are a regular jungle.

Say you fishermen, now is the time to get those big northerns. They are hitting on live bait and artificial… best artificial seems to be the French spinners.

This summer had me pretty busy. It seemed that when I wanted to take a day off something would turn up that would keep me tied up; and there were an unusual number of deer killed by cars for this time of year. We can expect more being killed during the rut which will start any time now. I have seen a white or albino deer, I believe it’s a doe, in the Springfield area. It was with two other deer.

Will be at the meeting and answer any questions you might have on new hunting regulations.

Al Koppenhaver, Conservation Warden

***************************************************************