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League website: dccl.org SPRING EDITION
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DCCL BANQUET UPDATE
Our April 22 banquet will take place later this week. Chair Steve Gordon, reports that this year’s banquet sold out by the middle of February. We continue to add to the banquet each year, and this year is no exception. Thanks to numerous members for their donations. Thanks again to Fred and B.J. Panke, Kyle Klawitter, and Stephen Miller for their donations. Further thank-yous will appear in the next quarterly report. We do extend thanks to Bill Livingston for his assistance this year and for being there in the past, too.
HIGHWAY CLEANUP & PRAIRIE BURN
Twenty-one bags of trash were picked up on our portion of the one-mile stretch of Highway 18-151 on Saturday, March 27, 2004. Many members of the league participated in this activity.
There was diversity in the number of unusual items that were found on the clean-up. Some of those items were 2 hub caps, set of car keys; a cell phone; car key holder; a clamp; a spare trailer tire; a
radiator overflow tank; 3dvd’s; a squirrel skeleton and the big fine for the day was found by a couple of members -- money which amounted to about $30.00 plus change. See there is an advantage to doing highway clean-up.
Members that helped with the clean-up were: Stan Allen; Jack Bell, Jack Bond, Jennifer Smith, Fred/BJ Panke; Lowell/Polly Carter; Robert Parr, Wayne/Cheri Fosdal; Bill Lawrence; Jim Nemke; Randy/Dennis/Mike Walsh; Jim Baxter; Scott Pharo; Mark Miller and Cathy Matts.
CONSERVATION HALL OF FAME
For those of you who may not know, the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame Foundation was established to encourage the growth and practice of a conservation ethic as a legacy for the people of the state. Inductees have helped to define and extend the conservation ethic by their valuable contributions to conservation throughout their professional and private lives. The League is a charter member and has a number of past members who were past honorees.
This year’s inductees are:
Leo A. Nickasch "I think the forest serves the purpose for everything –watershed, jobs, wildlife, and paper."
Charles R. Van Hise "Conservation means the greatest good to the greatest number for the longest time."
Laurence R. Jahn "It’s the Right thing to do."
For consideration, candidates must have significant ties to Wisconsin, and should have made a sustained and outstanding contribution to conservation in at least one of several areas, including applied resource management, environmental law enforcement, or conservation literature, art, or journalism. The ideal candidate will have affected a wide range of natural resources of statewide, regional, or national significance.
The Hall is located in the Schmeeckle Reserve Visitor Center at the University of Wisconsin-Steven Point. Anyone can visit the Hall on North Point Drive (across from Sentry Insurance’s golf course) from 9-5 seven days a week.
Gene Roark, director emeritus for the League, continues to represent the League on the Hall’s Board of Directors
SCHOLARSHIPS
Dane County regarding the annual scholarships we make available. Last year, the League awarded seven $250 scholarships to high school and college students Information has been mailed to every school district in who were interested in a major related to work/education in conservation. We hope our support to these individuals and future students will allow them to support our membership and future generations.
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The DCCL Newsletter is published quarterly, winter, spring, summer and fall. The Dane County Conservation League is a non-profit 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
PO Box 44039
Madison WI 53744
Please notify us of any address or name change, or, "god forbid" typos, additions or deletions by sending to the address listed above. Submit articles for the DCCL Newsletter by the first week of the month.
SUCCESSFUL NESTING BOX WORK DAY
Chair Bid Schlotthauer reports that 174 boxes were built by numerous League families.
Two styles of blue bird houses along with bat and wren houses, occupied the group on April 3. Originally there were concerns that we were going too have to many houses to be done by noon, but we were done by 10:30. Unbelievable. Members who assisted were offered one house. Others remain for sale. All are $10 each, except for the wood duck houses, which are $25 for members, $30 for nonmembers.
If interested in purchasing, contact Cathy Matts at 241-2329 or Ed Fuss at 238-8775, or they will be available for sale at the farm beginning May 8.
WHAT ARE WORK HOURS
?For those new members who have joined and as a refresher for our present members, during the year, especially from now until the October 1, members have an opportunity to do a number of conservation projects that we sponsor. To those members who work 15 or more hours on these various projects, we offer a specified number of pheasants to be used as
the members see fit. Members also can set up sanctioned projects as long as the project enhances our natural resources here in Dane County.
These are just a sample of opportunities for the upcoming year:
April Assist with building nesting boxes. Prepare the pheasant pens anytime, especially on any given Saturday or during the week for those members who have a tough time making weekend activities.
May Continue prepping the farm for the birds to be released in the pens.
May/June Opportunities every Saturday until the birds are released in September.
Take a Stake in the Lakes
August Assist with Golf Outing and the Open House.
September Preparing the birds for release and closing the farm. This is a great time to prepare the area for winter wheat.
Other opportunities will be announced during the year.
During this time, we hope to see arrangements made for various conservation projects. If you have one, consider setting it up by serving as the contact for work hours for the event. What is great about this group is that we are "hands-on," and members are willing to respond to a cause. Please contact a director and let them know you’re willing to serve as the contact person for that project.
As long as you are at an event, such as a membership meeting or the banquets, why not help—you’re there already. At membership meetings one can take care of raffle sales near the door.
A number of families are registered members. One project for one or two families is the semiannual highway cleanup in May and September. As long as your children are 12 years of age or more, here is an opportunity to clean up a mile of highway that is registered in the League’s name.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact an officer or director. We put our names in this newsletter to allow you an opportunity to ask and hopefully receive answers to your questions.
CORRECTIONS, ANYONE?
Does the League know you have moved recently? Or worse, did we mistype your name, or show you as Tom instead of John? Please return the address label with the correct address/name changes to our PO Box as shown on the second page. Thanks, and our apologies if any are owed.
OUR 4,300 ACRES
Copies of the Annual Management Review of Central Wisconsin Prairie Chicken Management Project, Buena Vista Grasslands, Leola Grasslands, and Paul J. Olson Wildlife Area’s will be available at the Farm. We make our 4,300 acres available to the citizens of Wisconsin and ask that the state simply serve as our steward for the land.
dccl.org
Will take you to the League’s website, managed by Teresa and Jerry Sands. It has created a lot of interest and brings the League into the times. Members and visitors have been impressed with the fact that we track the whooping crane movements to Florida and back. We also recently tracked Ben Stamm who just completed his second Iditarod. Ben has been a speaker at one of our meetings and is the only person from Wisconsin to ever complete even a single Iditarod.
ATTENTION
We call your attention to the many flyers in this newsletter. Special attention is called to the Wednesday Evening Watershed Walks. League member Nancy Schlimgen coordinates these walks.
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
Robert Farr Dennis Walsh Rodney Bethel
Myron Byers Warren Gebert John Bailey
Jon Felly Craig and Stephanie Steinfeldt
MAILING LABEL
Your label indicates indicates the status of your membership. For those who are expired, please consider renewing your membership. Your contribution continues to help the League and Dane County in so manner ways.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ed Fuss (07) – President 238-8775
Ed Brost (07) V. President – 221-1396
Jennifer Smith (07) Treasurer – 273-8469
David Pulda (06) Secretary – 845-9892
Jack Bond (06) 831-2348
Don Sprang (05) – 831-6486
Dwaine Rundle (07) – 276-9427
Jerry Sands (05) – 249-7153
Robb Thole (06) – 274-2866
Tim Thompson (05) – 846-2394
LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS
At January’s annual meeting, David Wilken was
named the League’s 2003 Dane County
Conservationist of the Year. Dave has been
involved in numerous League projects, especially
with the League’s prairie, even taking the time to
highlight each individual plant along the south edge.
The DCCL also recognized Bid Schlotthauer and Bill Lawrence as our Members of the Year. Bid and Bill have both been longtime involved League members. While both are involved in a number of our projects, Bid serves as chair for the nesting project and helps with the banquet, and Bill is closely involved with the fencing project at the farm and always handles the registration desk at the annual banquet.
This year’s Junior Member of the League
was Amanda Maund, daughter of Brian and Sue.
The care of the farm and birds has been of interest
to Amanda, along with other League functions.
EARLY BEGINNINGS:
From League Historian: Jack M. Bell
Membership Meeting – Sept 14, 1940 - A discussion on the effects of algae on the Madison Lakes. Residents from Lake Waubesa and Lake Kegonsa expressed themselves as being against the dumping of sewage into their lakes.
Membership Meeting – November 4, 1940 - West room of the Park Hotel. Motion made by Elmer Culver to change the name of the organization officially to be the Dane County Sportsmans League instead of the Dane County Sportsmans Club. Motion seconded and carried.
Membership Meeting – December 17, 1940 – Dane County Court House. Motion was made that the name of the Dane County Sportsmans Club be changed to Dane County Sportsmans League and that the name Corporation be amended accordingly.
First Membership Meeting of the Year 1941.- Dane County Court House. Volunteers to help feed pheasants in Dane County marshes on week days as well as Sundays were solicited by Pres. Gilbert J. "Gil" Schultze of the Dane County Sportsmans League. The appeal was issued after Warden Al Koppenhaver had reported the birds face a serious predicament as a result of food covered by ice and snow. "If you expect to have pheasants to hunt next fall you have to feed them", Koppenhaver warned. Plenty of corn is available for distribution at the Bewick Farm on Highway 30, Schultze announced.
More than 100 men and women attended the meeting to see a United States Soil Conservation Service sound picture depicting the results of fire and erosion on land on wild game. Foxes are stripping Western Dane County of game, declared Supervisor Ralph Moore, Madison, whose proposal that a bounty be restored on the animal drew a flurry of argument in defense of the red fox. J. Roy "Chubby" Goodlad, game management student, predicted that examination of the stomachs of all foxes killed would acquit them as a serious menace to game life.
LEAGUE CALENDAR
April 22 League Banquet (sold out).
April 24 Farm opens and will be open every Saturday until October. Address is 2497 County J, just north of 18/151, approximately five miles west of Verona.
20th Annual Induction into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame. See related article.
May 3 Day-old pheasant chicks arrive. Chicks will be inaccessible during their first few weeks to allow for their growth.
May 17 Day-old quail chicks arrive. Same rules apply for their first weeks.
May 18 Board of Directors meeting, 7 pm, at VFW Hall, 133 E. Lakeside.
June Take a Stake in the Lakes – Mendota/Kegonsa/Wingra. Information Center at Wingra Park.
June 15 Board of Directors meeting, 7 pm, at VFW Hall.