Link to: Past Newsletters

DCCL SUMMER EDITION NEWSLETTER – VOLUME II

Many activities will take place in early to mid-August. The League’s prairie cleanup, golf outing, Open House and Sugar River Project will be August 4, 10, 11, and 13, respectively. Please refer to the specific articles in the Newsletter. Golf Outing registration is due by July 30^th.

The Open House is set for Saturday, August 11. The birds should be starting to take color, and the farm should be in good shape. Your League Directors and members looking to earn work hours will furnish the meal, which will include chicken breasts, burgers, brats, hot dogs, and corn on the cob. We’ll likely include smoked salmon and other appetizers.

If you would like to bring something, feel free to bring a dessert. The meal will begin at 12:00, and we will continue serving until 1:30. Members and their families can come any time that morning, but remember the mealtime if you are so inclined. There is no charge for this meal. We do ask for a donation for the beverages. Good time to enjoy some camaraderie and see your facility. The Farm is 5 miles west of Verona off 18/151. Take the Cty. J exit and then turn north (left) onto J. The Farm’s address is – 2497 Cty. J.

Bird release date for all qualifying members will be September 8, beginning at 8:00 a.m. Qualifying members are members who are eligible to receive fifteen pheasants for donating work time to various League sanctions projects.

The minimum time necessary to qualify is fifteen hours, and they must be logged before the release date. Again, release date will be September 8 in order to protect the condition of the birds. Hours worked are posted at the farm and will be updated weekly, beginning in early August. Check on a Saturday morning if you are uncertain where you stand for time.

Appropriate crates are to be used. New, reasonably priced ones can be purchased on the Internet; check our website. We will also have a few to lend. Members will be entitled to fifteen birds, eight roosters and seven hens. This aids in our mission for preservation. After that date, members and nonmembers may purchase additional birds for $8.00 for roosters and $7.00 for hens.

Quail are still available now for $3.00 each. Quantities are limited to 100 birds. Members will need a dog training permit or stocking permit. You may request this form from your local conservation warden or a copy can be picked up at the farm before release date. Birds for human consumption do not require a permit. Human consumption birds will all be hens.

The Board of Directors awarded our scholarships to deserving college students from Dane County at the June meeting. Receiving grants of $250.00 each were: Andrew Heller, Sun Prairie; Kevin Oimoen, Mt.Horeb; Nick Docken, Verona, and Katie Miller, Madison.

Katie is a student at Winona State University studying Earth Science Education, while Andrew and Nick are the UW Stevens Point and are enrolled in Wildlife Management and Natural Resources/Conservation respectively.

The League offers scholarships annually to Dane County residents who are studying conservation or environmental sciences.

Another sell out and success for the League. Thanks to the following members for making it a success. Sue Smith; Dwaine Rundle; Ron Skaife; Ed Fuss; Shirley Foye; Lowell Carter; John Hass; Steve Borquist; Bob Fairbrother; Bruce Hefel; Ed Brost; Mitch Rundle; Robb Thole; Bill Livingston; Tom Sorenson; Rod Fornetti; Mike Fried; Jack Bond; Bill Schmied; Brian Fairbrother; Jack Argraves; Larry Schonemann; Kyle Klawitter; Bill Lawrence.

Special thanks to our Master of Ceremonies, Eric Schill, who kept things moving along. That evening the League presented a check for $500.00 to be used toward the development of the Game Warden Museum. LuAnn Kuzma, Conservation Warden for the DNR and the League’s Member of the Year, received the check on the Museum’s behalf.

Thanks to Sue Smith, John Hass and Steve Borquist for donating some great framed limited prints, Jerry Hackl for donating two nice pontoon cruises, Jim Shurts for Ruffed Grouse Society donations, Bid Schotthauer for the tree stand, Bruce Hefel for the handmade quilt, Bill Livingston for various fishing items, and Fred and BJ Panke for the cedar dog bed. Also to John Brooks for his assistance with acquiring prizes.

Special thanks to Jerry Hackl, who donated the Winchester Super X2 won by Nick Docken, and to Paddy Fitzpatrick for assisting in awarding our .22 to one of the "next generation" in attendance.

Plans are well underway for our eighth annual banquet targeted for April 2002.

The DCCL Golf Outing will be held at Deer Valley in Barneveld on Friday, August 10. Entry is $50.00 per person. We still have a few spots left, so hurry and send in your money by Monday, July 30. We will also find playing partners for those who cannot locate a foursome, so just go ahead and register. If you have any questions, call Linda Waier at 845-7875.

The birds are doing well and the pheasants should be starting to show some color. Our Open House is around the time their colors are beginning to take off. We have sold our 1948 Jubilee tractor and replaced it with a 1963 Ford 2000, which has double the horsepower to make pen work and running the brush hog a little easier.

For those interested, we plan to cull any remaining unwanted plants from our prairie on August 4^th. Please bring a pruning shears, but we will have some extras. This will aid in plant development for next year and we also want to plant more fall plantings. The prairie is in beautiful shape and was an absolutely beautiful sight as it was in full color in early July. A real sight to behold, one that we can all treasure as members. So please consider helping as more hands make light work..

The League has once again received a $l,000 grant from Safari Club International. The grant was used to fund a conservation measure to construct nesting structures and houses for a variety of critters, including wood duck, bluebird and bats. This was a family project, and we thank all who attended.

Thanks to League members and past presidents, Tom Fisher and Roland D. Manthe, who also serve on the board for Safari Club International’s Badger Chapter, for thinking of the League for this opportunity. SCI will continue to work with us on future endeavors. We are discussing a skeet shoot with SCI and its membership during the summer of 2002. Remember Safari Club International, and keep in mind their banquet. We will let you know the date early next year.

AUGUST 4 Prairie Work Day at the Farm

AUGUST 10 Golf Outing at Deer Valley, Barneveld

AUGUST 11 League Open House

AUGUST 13 Lunker Project – Sugar River

SEPTEMBER 8 Member’s Pheasants Pickup Day

SEPTEMBER 15/23 Bird Sales

SEPTEMBER 25 Membership Meeting – DNR Update and Scot Stewart on

Proposed 50 inch Muskie Limit on Madison lakes

SEPTEMBER 29 Farm Closing Date. Meal will be served

OCTOBER Whitetails Unlimited Banquet

OCTOBER 23 October Membership Meeting

All membership meetings are held at the VFW Hall, 133 E Lakeside St., Madison beginning at 7:30.

The Dane County Conservation League’s kickoff membership meeting will be on September 25, beginning at 7:30 at the VFW Hall, 133 E Lakeside St., in Madison.

Traditionally, we have representatives from the DNR discuss any recent rules changes. In addition, Scot Stewart, Fisheries Manager for the DNR, will discuss the recent changes to the muskie size limit on Madison lakes.

We will also have a raffle, and Rod Fornetti will have the video library there for those folks who want to sharpen up for this fall. We will also have available mailers for recycling printer cartridges rather than throwing them in the trash.

HUNTER EDUCATION

Thanks to the following League members who conduct our Hunter Education classes:

Mike Beckwith Connie Bowes Tom A Fisher

Richard Jensen Dean Whitney Earl Weisensel

Don Sprang

The League has made a number of donations on the members’ behalf these past few months.

In April the League donated monies, to assist in a mass mailing sent to a number of parties throughout the state regarding the Wetlands Bill, which has since been signed into law by the governor. Our thanks to all as League members an be proud to have played a part in this effort with your membership to the League.

At the banquet in April we donated $500 to help make the Wisconsin Conservation Warden Museum a reality and have received thank-yous for our efforts.

In July the Board approved a donation of $l.500 to the Upper Sugar River Watershed Association LUNKER Project. The DNR will match our donation, which makes for $3,000 to assist in building LUNKERS (Little Underwater Neighborhood Keepers Encompassing Rheotactic Salmonids). These Lunkers provide excellent "hiding" habitat for trout. The structures are placed in the current along the banks. Reinforcing rods and large stones hold the structures in place.

Our work on Deer Creek in the late ‘90’s played a role in the stream recently being reclassed by the DNR from a warm-water fishery t a cold-water Class II trout fishery.

Members Scot and Kathy Maves have purchased the Village Gallery in Oregon and renamed it "On Eagle’s Wings", located a 662 Janesville Street next to JL Richards Meats and Deli. Their phone number is 835-9858. They have done a lot of embroidery work for the League and also framing. Stop in if you are in the area.

Michael Fitzpatrick Michael Burke Brian Wink

Nathan Retzlaff Scott Reed Jeff Meise

George & Jayne Meyer Ron Martin Steve Heffernon

WHITETAILS UNLIMITED

WTU continued to offer monies raised at this banquet to the League for scholarship purposes and other activities. Ron Skaife will again serve as our project chair. This is a chance for members who attend to earn work hours toward next year’s birds. Contact Ron if interested.

DCCL.ORG

The hits just keep coming on the League’s website, and they should with all the information and links available, who needs to look elsewhere? We do our best to keep it up to date, thanks to our webmaster, Jerry Sands. Stop by and leave a note as to what you think. If you have anything else to list or link to, let us know, too.

LEAGUE JOINS THE WLFA

The League recently secured an associate membership to the Wildlife Legislative Fund of America. This organization’s primary focus is the protection of the heritage to hunt, fish, and trap. The DNR encouraged participation of all organizations to attend a summit in Stevens Point earlier this year. Three board members attended and made the recommendation for the League to join as an associate member. This entitles members to online access to their website, www.wlfa.org. Special Assistant to the Secretary, newly joined member, George Meyer, opened and closed the summit. In short it is a grass roots organization to fight for our rights and the future generations who desire to follow the heritage of hunting, fishing and trapping. We also have the website linked onto our website. Updates will be posted to it as they come in.

THANK YOU

Every year we ask members to renew their membership. Some of our members have taken advantage of assisting the League by securing Contributing or Patron memberships by donating $50 or $100. We would like to thank the following members for their donations.

Tom Anderson Tom Armstrong Jim Champagne

Dan Esser Patrick Fitzpatrick Gary Johnson

Fred Frantz Scott Maves John Argraves

John Brooks Bob Degnan Steve Fenley

Warren Hillmer Scott Juris Mike Manix

Deerfield Rod and Gun Club

This year’s renewal, which will be out by early September, will have some new premiums for those members who elect to donate beyond our normal membership rate. The new stainless steel thermal cups and mugs are the best around, and the stainless-steel thermo-bottle with the one-touch control for easy, one handed pouring is also available for your additional support.

The DCCL Newsletter is published quarterly; winter, spring, summer, and fall. The Dane County Conservation League is a nonprofit volunteer organization. Our purpose is to enhance the education and habitat conservation of its membership and to enhance the natural resources in Dane County and the State of Wisconsin. The DCCL was established in 1933.

Manuscripts and photographs are welcome and may be forwarded to the address below.

Dane County Conservation League

P0 Box 44039

Madison WI 53744

Email DCCL@DCCL.ORG

Please notify us of ANY address or name change, or "god forbid" typos, additions or deletions by sending to the address listed below. Submit articles for the DCCL Newsletter by the first week of the month.

Back home