Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited NONPROFIT ORG. 4514 Elgar Ln. U.S. POSTAGE News and Views from WI Trout Unlimited Madison, WI 53704 PAID www.WisconsinTU.org PERMIT NO. 1 MADISON, WI Wisconsin Trout April 2013

Membership committee shares ideas and goals Scott Criqui after all, our whole membership that makes TU, and Wisconsin TU WITU Membership Chair in particular, such an amazing orga- nization. When I moved to Wisconsin five At the State Council meeting on years ago from the east coast — and Feb. 2, I had the pleasure of spend- just months after purchasing my ing time with more than 30 of our first fly fishing rig — I not only had chapters’ leaders discussing mem- no idea that I was moving so close to bership and how we can make posi- a semi-secret, world-class fishery, tive impacts to retain more of our but I was equally clueless about active volunteers. We discussed cre- what an amazing group of dedicated ating more opportunities, generat- and ambitious volunteers I would ing excitement, and also how to soon be calling my friends. grow our pool of new leaders. So it was no surprise for me to In addition, there were great ex- find out last year that our State amples at that meeting of how men- Council was named council of the toring and using personal ex- year by TU National. There is some- periences to connect with new vol- thing special about TU in Wiscon- unteers is helping to grow several sin, and it starts with our members. chapters. When I was approached about Some challenging situations were taking on a larger role within the discussed as well, and some best State Council, I jumped at the practices were shared by leaders chance. I cut my teeth in TU work- who have experienced similar chal- ing as part of the membership com- lenges. I was truly pleased by the Heidi Oberstadt mittee at our local chapter level, turnout for the meeting, and after it and I am looking forward to work- was over I was absolutely ecstatic STATE SENATOR DALE SCHULTZ RECEIVES APPRECIATION AWARD ing more closely with all of you. It is, Continued on p. 21 Sen. Dale Schultz (left) accepted an appreciation award from WITU at the State Council banquet Feb. 2 in Rothchild. Chair Kim McCarthy noted how Schultz’s early hesitance to vote in lockstep for changes to the state’s iron mining laws allowed for a period of discussion that otherwise would have been lost. As mining bill passes, court challenges loom By State Sen. Robert Jauch nally admitted the truth — that his bill would not only allow for “ad- As you are aware, the Governor verse environmental impacts” to oc- has signed the mining legislation cur during mining, but that the bill (SB 1) into law following partisan was written to protect the company passage in both houses of the legis- in the case of an inevitable lawsuit. lature. The day the Assembly deliberat- Throughout the ed and passed the bill, the Milwau- process, Republican kee Journal Sentinel ran a story that Senator’s leaders along with Christopher Cline, the owner of Go- Analysis the Governor have gebic Taconite, is dragging his feet falsely claimed that to clean up groundwater contamina- the bill would not reduce environ- tion at his mining operation in Illi- mental standards. However, the day nois. The situation will soon be following Senate deliberation of the referred to the IL Attorney General. bill, Senate author Tom Tiffany fi- Continued on p. 20 Jim Beecher YOU CAN’T LEAVE UNTIL YOU’RE ROASTED BY CLINT Longtime member Clint Byrnes (left) presented a host of dubious parting gifts Your help needed at WI Outdoor to outgoing State Council Chair Kim McCarthy at the Noon luncheon during WITU’s annual meeting Feb. 2. Clint has roasted four outgoing council chairs Education Expo May 16–17 over the years. Can you have too many laughs or fish ties? By Bob Haase members who volunteer to help. In the past, we have had to cancel or This year’s Wisconsin Outdoor greatly reduce the fly casting part of Education Expo will be held May our program because of the lack of 16–17 at the Dodge County Fair- volunteers. In this issue... grounds outside of Beaver Dam. We always talk about ways to get The program will run from 9:00 our youth more involved in hunting, State Council presents annual awards ...... p. 4 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day to serve fishing, and outdoor sports, and this the estimated 3,000–4,000 kids and is a great opportunity to do that. We Pt. 3: Legal doctrine vs. water management reality .p. 8 their chaperones who usually attend could do even more. We could have Public Trust Doctrine core principles, Pt 3 ...... p. 11 the event. a display showing what we do with Last year, Wisconsin TU helped stream monitoring and stream res- Carrie Frost elected to Fly Fishing Hall of Fame. . p. 18 over 900 kids tie a fly, and many of torations work, or have a display DNR compares Timber Coulee today vs. 1984 . . . p. 22 them also tried their hands at fly showing aquatic insects and help casting. We cannot do this without kids try to identify them. Tying Tip: give the new UV-set glues a try...... p. 23 your help. The number of kids we serve is based on the number of TU Continued on p. 21 PagePage 2 Wisconsin Trout AprilJuly 2013 2006

Wisconsin TU Chapters, Presidents, and Websites

Aldo Leopold (#375): Mike Barniskis, 805 S. Center St., Beaver Dam, WI 53916 (920) 356-0081; [email protected] Antigo (#313): Scott Henricks, 213 Mary St., Antigo, WI 54409-2536 (715) 623-3867; [email protected] WILD RIVERS Blackhawk (#390): Gordon Long; 4850 Cardamon Ln., Rockford, IL 61114 (815) 877-8614; [email protected]; Bayfield Douglas NORTHWOODS www.BlackhawkTU.org

Iron Central Wisconsin (#117): John Tucker; N5424 Sunny Hill Rd., PO Ashland Box 20, Saxeville, WI 54976 (920) 622-5401; Vilas [email protected]; www.cwtu.org, Burnett Washburn Coulee Region (#278): Jim Cox, North 4311 Cty. Rd. M, West Salem, Sawyer Price Florence WI 54669 (608) 397-9448; [email protected]; Oneida Forest www.CouleeRegionTU.org MARINETTE Polk Rusk Fox Valley (#193): Joe Bach, 3213 S. Poplar Ln., Appleton, WI 54915 Barron Marinette (920) 570 2632; [email protected]; ANTIGO GREEN BAY Lincoln Taylor Langlade www.foxvalleytu.webs.com WOLF RIVER Frank Hornberg (#624): Matt Salchert, 1800 Minnesota Ave., Ste- St. Croix Chippewa vens Point, WI 54481 (715) 321-1394; [email protected]; Dunn WISCONSIN Menominee RIVER VALLEY Oconto www.Hornberg-TU.org OCONTO WI CLEAR Marathon Shawano RIVER Green Bay (#083): Paul Kruse, 500 Saint Jude St., Green Bay, WI Clark WATERS Door Pierce Eau Claire 54303 (920) 494-4220; [email protected]; SHAW-PACA Kewaunee www.GreenBayTU.com Pepin Wood Waupaca Harry & Laura Nohr (#257): Todd Templen, 10476 Lake Eleanor Portage Buffalo Outagamie Brown FOX Rd., Dubuque, IA 52003 (608) 778-7271; [email protected]; Jackson FRANK HORNBERG VALLEY www.NohrTU.org Trempealeau Manitowoc Waushara Winnebago Calumet Kiap-TU-Wish (#168): Kyle Amundson; 249 Red Pine Circle, KIAP-TU-WISH LAKESHORE Adams CENTRAL Hudson, WI 54016 (715) 549-5326; [email protected]; Monroe La Crosse Juneau WISCONSIN Marquette www.kiaptuwish.org Sheboygan Green Lakeshore (#423): Gordy Martin, N7601 Royal and Ancient Dr., Lake Fond du Lac Vernon Elkhart Lake, WI 53020; [email protected]; ALDO LEOPOLD www.WisconsinTU.org/Lakeshore Dodge Ozaukee Columbia Richland Sauk Marinette (#422): Doug Erdmann, 2418 Woodview Lane, Marinette, Washington WI 54143 (715) 735-7407; [email protected]. Crawford Northwoods (#256): Hannah Hansen, W3483 Spring Lake Rd., COULEE Dane Jefferson Waukesha Milwaukee SOUTHEASTERN REGION Iowa WISCONSIN Merrill, WI 54452 (715) 297-1569; [email protected] Grant SOUTHERN WISCONSIN Oconto River (#385): Dale Halla; W2811 Zastrow Rd., Cecil, WI 54111 (715) (715) 745-2099; [email protected]; Rock Walworth Racine Lafayette Green www.WisconsinTU.org/OcontoRiver HARRY & Kenosha Shaw-Paca (#381): Dave Ehrenberg, 324 East Fourth St., Manawa, LAURA NOHR WI 54949 (920) 740-0981; [email protected];

BLACKHAWK www.WisconsinTU.org/ShawPaca Southeastern Wisconsin (#078): Mike Kuhr, 3219 N. 77th St., Milwaukee, WI 53222 (414) 588-4281 (H); [email protected] Southern Wisconsin (#061): Jordan Konisky, 3608 Mathias Way, Verona, WI 53593 (608) 203-6113 (H); [email protected]; www.swtu.org Wild Rivers (#415): Dick Berge, 67725 E. Deep Lake Dr., Iron River, WI 54847 (715) 372-5228 (H); [email protected] www.wisconsintu.org/wildrivers Wisconsin Clear Waters (#255): Bob Swanson, PO Box 822, Eau Claire, WI 54702-0822 (715) 354-3745; [email protected] Visit WITU online at: www.WisconsinTU.org/ClearWaters Wisconsin River Valley (#395): Linda Lehman, buglehman@ www.WisconsinTU.org yahoo.com; www.wrvtu.org Wolf River (#050): Andy Killoren, N1493 Hwy. 45, Fremont, WI 54940; [email protected].

Wisconsin TU State Contact TU National when you Council Leadership change addresses or chapter leaders TU National manages WITU’s mailing list, so update your address by calling State Chair: Henry Koltz, 2300 N. Elgar Ln., Madison, WI 53704 Mayfair Rd., Ste. 1175, Milwaukee, (608) 692-6914 (W); 1-800-834-2419 or e-mailing [email protected]. Address changes can also be WI 53226 (414) 331-5679 (H); [email protected] done on-line by going to www.tu.org and signing in with your member num- ber, which is found on your wallet card or TROUT magazine label. [email protected] Education: Bob Haase (see above) Vice Chair: Linn Beck, 160 W. 19th Friends of WITU and Watershed If you are moving to a different city and wish to be affiliated with the TU Ave., Oshkosh, WI 54902 (920) 379- Access Fund: Doug Brown, R4800 chapter in your new area, note the new chapter number (see the text next to 2974 (H); [email protected] Timber Ln., Ringle, WI 54471 (715) the map above for the numbers of our chapters). Secretary: Mike Kuhr, 3219 N. 77th 574-4706; [email protected] St., Milwaukee, WI 53222 (414) 588- Legal Counsel: Winston Ostrow, 4281 (C); [email protected] 233 N. Broadway #120, De Pere, WISCONSIN TROUT WI 54115 920-362-6609 (W); Treasurer: Gary Stoychoff, 1326 Vol. 25, No. 2 — April 2013 14th Ave., Green Bay, WI 54304 [email protected] [email protected] Legislative Committee: Jeff Smith, Wisconsin Trout is the official publication of the Wisconsin Council of Past State Chair: Kim McCarthy, 7330 Old Sauk Rd., Madison, WI Trout Unlimited and is distributed to the members of Wisconsin’s 21 736 Meadowbrook Ct., Green Bay, 53717 (608) 836-5974 (H); TU chapters. Nonmember subscriptions are $12.50/year. Publication WI 54313 (920) 434-3659 (H); [email protected] and distribution dates are the first weeks of January, April, July, and [email protected] Membership: Scott Criqui, 16530 October. Deadlines for articles and advertisements are the 10th of Vice Chair, Central Region: Bob Burleigh Pl., Brookfield, WI 53005 December, March, June, and September. Contact the editor for a cur- Haase, W7949 Treptow Ln., (262) 271-2719; scott.criqui@ rent advertising rate sheet. Eldorado, WI 54932 (920) 922-8003 gmail.com (H); [email protected] Contributions and letters to the editor are welcomed. Submit articles National Leadership Council and returnable photos (color or b&w) to the editorial office: Vice Chair, Northeast Region: Paul Representative: Bill Heart (see Kruse, 500 Saint Jude St., Green above) Todd Hanson, editor Bay, WI 54303 (920) 494-4220 (H); Publications: Todd Hanson (see 4514 Elgar Ln. [email protected] above) Madison, WI 53704 (608) 692-6914 Vice Chair, Southern Region: Henry Resource Management: John [email protected] Koltz, 2300 N. Mayfair Rd., Suite Meachen,1111 Marquardt Rd., 1175, Milwaukee, WI 53226 (414) Wausau, WI 54403 Henry Koltz, Chair Linn Beck, Vice Chair 331-5679 (C); [email protected] Water Resources: Bob Obma, 12870 2300 N. Mayfair Rd. Ste. 1175 160 W. 19th Ave. Vice Chair, Western Region: Bill West Shore Drive, Mountain, WI Milwaukee, WI 53226 Oshkosh, WI 54902 Heart, 29450 Verners Rd., Ashland, 54149 (715) 276-1170 (H) WI 54806 (715) 209-0431; [email protected] Mike Kuhr, Secretary Gary Stoychoff, Treasurer [email protected] 3219 N. 77th St. 1326 14th Ave. Webmaster: Jim Hlaban, Milwaukee, WI 53222 Green Bay, WI 54304 Awards: Todd Hanson, 4514 [email protected] April 2013 Wisconsin Trout Page 3 We are ONE TU By Henry Koltz ber. We have members who simply do not fish, but who have joined be- WITU State Council Chair cause they want to get involved in stream restoration workdays. We Trout Unlimited has a big um- have members who have no interest brella. in working on a restoration project, It does not matter which side of but who want to teach kids how to the aisle your chosen politicians sit fish. We have lifetime members who on: TU has you covered. It does not have made that commitment be- matter if you are man or woman, cause they support our cause, but what your racial makeup is, or what who do not come to events. Con- level of education you have: TU has versely, we have lifelong members you covered. Closest to home, it who have continually paid $35 each does not matter if or how you fish, year and who attend every event TU or whether or not you eat fish: TU has. has you covered. Such differences aren’t anything TU has you covered because the we should be getting worked up TU umbrella is not about differenc- about. These differences are what es. It’s about similarities. makes TU function, and what The TU umbrella is about our makes TU great. In order to have mission statement, our vision state- our message heard, we need as ma- ment, and our commitment to pro- ny folks involved with as many fac- tecting, restoring, reconnecting, and ets of our group as possible. The sustaining our coldwater resources. more members we have out engaged If you believe in that vision and mis- in activities on behalf of TU, the INCOMING STATE COUNCIL CHAIR HENRY KOLTZ sion, then TU has you covered. more visibility TU has, and the Henry holds a trout from a recent western fishing trip. Henry is a former Too often we get lost in fights more authority our message is giv- SEWTU chapter habitat chair, secretary, and vice president. He was SEWTU about issues that highlight our dif- en. And it’s an important message ferences, rather than focusing our to have heard. president when it was named TU National’s chapter of the year in 2009. He is a energy on the things that unite us. And in order to keep having our member of TU’s Driftless Area Restoration Effort (TUDARE) volunteer steering There is no cookie cutter TU mem- message being heard in the coming committee, has been the project chair for several miles of stream restoration projects, and serves as the Great Lakes representative for TU National’s Embrace-A-Stream grant program. He has served as a co-chair for the WITU Jan.2,2013 banquet for the past several years and has presented Trout Unlimited as an

WisconsinWildlifeServices amicus party at the Wisconsin Supreme Court. 732LoisDrive SunPrairie,WI53590  years, we will need to add even ters, find out what they need and ToWhomItMayConcern: more ingredients to our recipe. We want, and to actuate the State  need to do everything we can to at- Council as a tool which serves to IamcurrentlyservingastheStateChairofWisconsinTroutUnlimitedandam tract youth. We need to do every- meet those needs. writingonbehalfoftheorganization’snearly4500members.Mypurposeisto thing we can to attract women to In the coming months, we hope commentontheEAtitledBeaverDamageManagementtoProtectColdwater our organization. We need to do ev- to roll out a new membership com- Ecosystems,ForestResources,RoadsandBridges,SensitiveHabitatsandProperty erything we can to attract different mittee, a new mass e-mail tool, a inWisconsin. ethnicities to our group. We need to new women’s activities committee, a  revolutionize our technology, be- AfterstudyingtheEAandthealternativesofferedintheEA,WisconsinTrout new outreach plan and committee, UnlimitedwouldsupportAlternative3whichwewouldinterpretas“nochange” come more involved in social media, and to begin soliciting feedback fromcurrentpractices. and work on defining and spreading from chapters about what they need  our brand. the State Council to do. We’re talk- WisconsinTroutUnlimitedisverymuchinfavorofcontinuedbeavercontrolon These things sound like edicts ing about efforts to create college troutwaterswherecontrolisnowpracticed.Itiswelldocumentedthat from a boardroom, and to some ex- clubs, to hold leadership training uncontrolledbeaverpopulationsonfreeflowingtrouthabitatsresultinreduction tent they are. But they come with workshops, and to instruct chapters oreliminationoftroutfromthosehabitats.TroutanglinginWisconsincontributes the express intent to serve our mem- on communication methods. A new manymillionsofdollarstothetourismeconomyannually.A2008economic chapter’s formation is being dis- impactstudyshowedanannualeconomicbenefitfromtroutfishingintheMid bership. A saying I am fond of is WestDriftlessAreatobe1.1BillionDollars;withthemajorityofthedollars that “good leaders don’t have peo- cussed. In short, we want to do comingintoWisconsin’seconomy.Becausethestudyonlyfocusedonthe ple who work for them — good whatever we can to grow our mem- DriftlessArea,andmuchadditionalrevenueisgeneratedfromtroutfishinginthe leaders work for their people.” I bership, help our chapters succeed, restofWisconsin,theactualdollarvalueoftroutfishingtothestateiscertainly have incredibly large shoes to fill and put more people in more spots muchhigher.Failuretocontrolbeaverpopulationsontroutwaterswouldmost stepping in for Kim McCarthy and to do more good. likelyleadtoadrasticreductionintourismdollarscomingtothestate. trying to sustain the legacy of those If you are interested in getting  chairs and leaders who’ve preceded involved at the state level, there is a In addition to continuing to control beaver populations in areas currently being             me. My goal is to do everything I place for you. Please step up, step in, serviced,WisconsinTroutUnlimitedwouldalsosuggestthatitmaybenecessary toexpandBeaverDamageManagementpracticestoareasbeyondthenorthern can to listen to Wisconsin’s chap- and help make a difference. areasofthestatethatnowreceivethemajorityofbeavercontrolactivities.There iscurrentlyarapidlyexpandingbeaverpopulationinWisconsin’sDriftlessArea.If notcontrolleditislikelythattherewillbeseriousnegativeimpactstoDriftless Areatroutpopulations.TheDriftlessAreaisnowthemajortroutfishing

destinationformanynonresidentandresidentanglers,andbeaverdamagethat negativelyimpactstroutpopulationsinthatareawouldhavesignificantnegative economicimpactstoDriftlessAreabusinessesthatnowbenefitfromvisitingtrout fishers.  Insummary;WisconsinTroutUnlimitedisinfavorofcontinuingthecurrent practiceofcontrollingbeaverpopulationsontroutwatersandissuggestingthat seriousconsiderationbegivenbyinvolvedagenciestoexpandingthecontrolsto moretroutwatersintheDriftlessArea.  ThankyouforconsideringWisconsinTroutUnlimited’scommentsasthevarious alternativescontainedwithintheEAareconsidered.  Sincerely,  KimMcCarthy–Chair–WisconsinTroutUnlimited 

COUNCIL CHAIR KIM McCARTHY OFFERS BEAVER CONTROL ADVICE Kim McCarthy wrote the above letter regarding beaver control on Wisconsin THE “STATE OF WISCONSIN TU” trout streams. Many have noticed a marked increase in beaver activity in State Council banquet attendees got a wrap-up of WITU’s activities over the southwestern Wisconisn, threatening the area as a growing fishing destination. past year from Kim McCarthy. Activity levels are at an all-time high. Page 4 Wisconsin Trout April 2013 Heidi Oberstadt CHAPTER UNSUNG HEROES RECOGNIZED Wisconsin TU’s annual awards generally focus on members who have made Rivers), Dave Ehrenberg (Shaw-Paca), Dave Brunner (Oconto R.), Laura contributions at the State Council level. This year chapters were given the Tucker (CWTU), Michael Stupich (Aldo Leopold), Don Studt (Blackhawk), Pat chance to identify a member whose local efforts don’t get a lot of recognition. Hill (GBTU), Cy Post (Coulee Region), Norb Wozniak (Frank Hornberg), Brian These “unsung heroes” were recognized at the WITU State Council banquet. Larson (Harry & Laura Nohr), Aaron Nelson (Northwoods), Al Dafonso They include (left to right) Brian Marnholtz (WI River Valley), Bill Livingston (SEWTU), and Jim Beecher (SWTU). Unsung hero Mark Peerenboom (FVTU) (Wolf R.), Sue Livingston (Wolf R.), Gib McGaw (Wolf R.), Jim Emerson (Wild was unable to attend the event. Council honors given at annual meeting By Todd Hanson, Bill Heart, And others have taken notice of Kim McCarthy, Gary Stoychoff, Wisconsin Trout Unlimited under and Henry Koltz Kim’s leadership. Last fall, TU Na- tional named Wisconsin its Council WITU Awards Committee of the Year at the 2012 National Meeting in North Carolina. The Wisconsin State Council of Kim is leaving us as State Coun- Trout Unlimited honored 12 indi- cil Chair, but this year he will work viduals and groups at the annual on the committee that will host meeting and banquet at the Holiday TU’s National meeting in Madison Inn in Rothschild Feb. 2. this fall. Wisconsin TU has been present- Wisconsin Trout Unlimited is ing annual awards since 1984. proud to call Kim McCarthy one of In addition to the council’s regu- its own, and we are proud to present lar slate of awards, this year WITU him with our top annual award, the asked chapters to nominate an “un- Award of Merit. sung hero” from their ranks. Scott Grady — Joan Kim McCarthy — Award and Lee Wulff of Merit Conservation This year’s winner of Wisconsin Leadership Award Heidi Oberstadt Heidi TU’s highest honor, the Award of As Lee Wulff once said, a trout is Merit, is Kim McCarthy. too, valuable to be caught just once. Kim has served as Wisconsin In that spirit, our annual Lee and TU’s State Council Chair for the Joan Wulff Conservation Leader- past three years, and he has been an ship Award — featuring one of incredibly effective leader. Lee’s hand-tied flies — will spend During Kim’s tenure as Chair, just one year in the possession of Wisconsin TU was confronted with this year’s recipient, Scott Grady. a seemingly endless string of chal- During Scott’s term as treasurer lenging issues affecting Wisconsin’s of the Central Wisconsin Chapter, coldwater resources. Scott helped guide his chapter with Those issues included high-ca- sound accounting practices and pacity well siting issues, frack sand leadership. mining concerns, iron mining legis- Serving on Central’s board of di- lation, challenges to Wisconsin’s rectors, he has provided leadership trout regulations, and changes with- in many other areas, from recruiting in the WDNR’s fisheries division. and retaining members to helping Kim was not only able to study with banquets and programs. and react to all of these issues, he Scott is always there for his chap- was able to do so effectively, and ter. He helps print and distribute with clear communication to Wis- Central’s newsletter, the Brookie consin’s Chapters. News. He also puts together displays Under Kim’s tenure, our State for major events and makes his busi- Council Banquet has become very ness available for special meetings successful, making Wisconsin TU and leadership planning activities. more solvent and able to undertake Scott is a master cane fly rod more new initiatives than ever be- builder, and he has generously do- fore. nated many of his bamboo rods to Kim was also responsible for the chapters and the State Council for creation of Wisconsin TU’s Water- TU fund-raisers. He has also pre- shed Access Fund, which provides sented programs on cane rod build- funding to help buy key properties ing for TU chapters in our area. Heidi Oberstadt Heidi or conservation easements. It seems like there is often some- AWARD WINNERS KIM McCARTHY AND SENATOR DALE SCHULTZ Several years ago, Kim was our one in every organization who you Outgoing State Council Chair Kim McCarthy (top left) was presented the State Northeastern Region Vice Chair. As never hear a lot about, but who such, he was responsible for the cre- helps the organization all the time. Council’s top annual awad, the Award of Merit by Steve Born. State Senator ation of a program where our north- For Trout Unlimited, Scott is just Dale Schultz (bottom left) was given a Certificate of Appreciation for ern chapters pooled their funds to that kind of person. A lot of what expressing his ongoing concerns about planned revisions to Wisconsin’s iron help the DNR pay the salaries of a Scott does is in the background, and mining laws. summer habitat improvement crew. he hasn’t gotten the recognition he April 2013 Wisconsin Trout Page 5 deserves. This year we are remedy- ment in Mazomanie. It’s one thing ect. It began reaching out and part- talented board of directors. He ing that. to think of such things, but several nering with other chapters, and it drew on SEWTU’s existing solid long-time SWTU members took reinvigorated its membership. leadership and brought in new peo- Dale Lange — Gold lead roles in helping make a major These things seem second nature ple with youthful enthusiasm. Rich Trout Award re-meandering project on Black now, but they were due, in large has a knack for allowing people to This year’s winner of the Gold Earth Creek a reality. part, to Rich’s leadership. follow their skills and interests. Trout Award is Dale Lange from the Steve Born, Tom Krauskopf, and As president, Rich assembled a Continued on p. 6 Marinette County Chapter. Dale Bob Selk were leaders in planning has been a member of Trout Unlim- the stream re-routing. They enlist- ited since 1986. ed the cooperation, enthusiasm, and Dale has served the Marinette money of many partners in the re- Chapter in every officer position, gion to finally make this project a and he’s been Marinette’s banquet reality this past summer. chair for many years. He also teach- Southern Wisconsin also began a es a class on fly fishing fundamen- new, continuing activity this past tals every winter. year. The chapter is now a member Dale has been a strong supporter of the Project Healing Waters pro- of the State Council. He served as gram. Members now regularly help our Education Chair some years area veterans with fly tying, casting, ago, and he has represented Mari- and fishing on area streams. Chap- nette as its delegate to the North- ter member Mike Bourda was par- east Region for many years. The ticularly instrumental in getting this contributions that Dale brings with program off the ground. him to the Northeast Regional Finally, this year SWTU member meetings have been a critical part of Tina Murray was honored when the strong Northeast Regional fund- Field & Stream magazine named her ing program. one of its 2012 Conservation He- A huge part of what has im- roes. A high school teacher at Madi- pressed the State Council about son’s Malcolm Shabazz High Dale is his continuing strong sup- School, Murray was recognized for port for TU in the face of some the Project Green Teen Program challenging times. Dale has had to she developed about 10 years ago. deal with his share of difficulties. The Green Teen Program gives Since 2008, Dale lost both of his at-risk students a chance to learn

parents, a sister in law, and his cooperation and problem-solving Jim Beecher brother, and he has assumed guard- skills through trout fishing and ianship of his brother’s two daugh- stream restoration. Many SWTU ters. members consider helping out at In spite of these challenges, Dale this event to be the highlight of their has never wavered in his support for year. Trout Unlimited. The State Council When you are the largest TU is truly lucky to have the continuing chapter in the state, you can do a lot support of someone like Dale, and it of things. For adding some new is our honor to present him with this tricks to their bag, we recognize year’s Gold Trout Award. Southern Wisconsin TU as our Sil- Southern Wisconsin ver Trout Award winner. Chapter — Silver Trout Rich Vetrano — Gold Award for Chapter Net Award Merit Our Southeastern Wisconsin Our Silver Trout Award for Chapter has made a strong resur- Chapter Merit is presented this year gence in recent years. At the epicen- to our Southern Wisconsin Chapter. ter of that resurgence has been Rich SWTU won this award back in 2009, Vetrano. and this year they have risen to the Under Rich’s leadership, SEW- top of the list again. TU achieved many “firsts.” The For years, trout fishers on Black chapter launched its first website. It Earth Creek have dreamed of how held its first Kid’s Fishing Day. It many more miles of trout water started a habitat improvement pro- there could be if only the stream gram. It completed its first didn’t feed a manmade impound- TUDARE stream restoration proj- Jim Beecher Heidi Oberstadt Jim Beecher AWARD WINNERS SOUTHERN WISCONSIN CHAPTER (JORDAN KONISKY), RICH VETRANO, SCOTT GRADY, AND DALE LANGE Kim McCarthy presented the Silver Trout Award recognizing the year’s top traveling Joan and Lee Wulff Award was presented to CWTU’s Scott Grady chapter to Southern Wisconsin TU Chapter President Jordan Konisky (bottom (center right). The Gold Trout Award was presented to Marinette County TU’s left). The Gold Net Award winner was SEWTU’s Rich Vetrano (top right). The Dale Lange (bottom right). Page 6 Wisconsin Trout April 2013 AWARDS: council honors 12 at annual meeting Continued from p. 5 modate chapter requests. Kent Johnson — adopt a ground-breaking storm wa- Rich continues to step up to do Finally, and most importantly, Jeffrey Carlson ter management ordinance. the little things that go unnoticed, Rich is a dedicated family man who Volunteer Award Sometimes people love a river so but which are incredibly necessary works long hours for his family. He much they just won’t let threats to it for a high-functioning chapter. is personable, quick with a joke, We don’t give out the Jeffrey get the upper hand. For being a From signage to ads to newslet- even faster with a laugh, and now Carlson Volunteer Award every champion of the Kinnickinnic River ters, Rich continues to be there for he’s also a recipient of our annual year, but this year the honor goes to for over 20 years, this year’s winner his chapter. He even opens his of- Gold Net Award, custom made ev- Kent Johnson of the Kiap-TU-Wish of the Jeffrey Carlson Volunteer fice and extends his day to accom- ery year by Clint Byrnes. Chapter. award is Kent Johnson Jeff Carlson worked for many Cliff Sebero — years on coaster brook trout resto- Resource Professional ration. This award recognizes some- one who, like Jeff, has taken a Award leadership role on a major project The first of our two Resource that either improves an entire Professional Awards for 2013 is be- stream, reach, or watershed, or ing given to Cliff Sebero of the Wis- which has preserved or restored a consin DNR. species in a body of water. Cliff is an Advanced Fisheries We are recognizing Kent for his Technician working out of the many years of work on behalf of the Peshtigo office. His responsibilities Kinnickinnic River in western Wis- include beaver control and trout consin. habitat work in Marinette and Oconto counties, something he has As urban sprawl threatened the done for over 30 years. Kinni in the late 1980s, Kent helped Cliff’s accomplishments over the set up monitoring stations on the years are numerous. He has re- river to gauge thermal impacts. He moved over 3,000 beaver and over then monitored these stations ever 1,000 beaver dams from the trout since 1992. The data he collected streams in his area. led to storm water management re- Cliff has also been involved in a form around the river. numerous trout habitat projects It was Kent who led the effort to over the years. He has worked on produce the chapter’s award-win- brush bundling, supervising summer ning video, Storm on the Horizon. work crews, conducting spring pond That video outlined the threats to dredging, coordinating TU work- trout streams from urban develop- days, installing bank covers, and Heidi Oberstadt ment. planning other stream improve- The chapter’s efforts and the da- ments. ta generated by Kent’s efforts ulti- Cliff has truly gone over and mately led the City of River Falls to above what was expected of him Heidi Oberstadt Jim Beecher Heidi Oberstadt Heidi Oberstadt Heidi AWARD WINNERS KENT JOHNSON, HAYWARD FLY FISHING CO. (LARRY MANN AND WENDY WILLIAMSON), TOM GAWLE, BRENT BERGSTROM, AND CLIFF SEBERO The Jeffrey Carlson Leadership Award was presented to Kent Johnson (top left), the Business Sponsor Award was given to the Hayward Fly Fishing Co. and its owners, Larry Mann and Wendy Williamson (center left), a Certificate of Appreciation was given to Aldo Leopold TU’s Tom Gawle (bottom left), and Resource Professional awards were given to Brent Bergstrom (top right) and Cliff Sebero (bottom right). April 2013 Wisconsin Trout Page 7 through the years. He may be retir- Senators Jauch and Schultz took Tom Gawle — for the chapter’s first big habitat ing in the near future, so we didn’t the initiative to travel to Ashland Certificate of project on Bear Creek. want him to leave the DNR without County on a cold February day for a Last year the chapter raised over our thanking him for his many years tour of the proposed mine site. Appreciation $100,000 again for Bear Creek. And of exceptional service in helping the There they met many local residents Tom Gawle is one of the key this year Tom’s efforts have been re- trout populations in Northeastern whose livelihoods would be at risk. leaders of the Aldo Leopold Chap- sponsible for the chapter banking Wisconsin. At a meeting in Mellen, the town ter. He is actively involved in every $118,000 to restore a third section of closest to the proposed site, they lis- function and activity of the chapter: Bear Creek. State Senators Bob tened to overwhelming opposition board meetings, TUDARE work- Throughout all this work, one Jauch and Dale Schultz to the legislation. Then in Ashland shops, fly tying classes, media days, more thing keeps coming up from — Certificates of they heard the same thing. fundraisers, and chapter communi- those who know and work with Tom. Appreciation They also met with Mike Wig- cations. He’s also a great guy. For all he’s gins, Tribal Chair of the Bad River One would think Tom couldn’t done for the Aldo Leopold Chapter, We are also presenting Certifi- Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, do anything more for his chapter. we present a 2013 certificate of ap- cates of Appreciation to State Sena- whose tribal lands and priceless wild But a couple years ago, Tom took a preciation to Tom Gawle. tors Bob Jauch and Dale Schultz for rice beds could be decimated by pol- lead role in raising funds for his their efforts to defeat last year’s lution from the proposed site. chapter’s planned restoration work Brent Bergstrom — mining legislation that would have During the summer, they spent on Bear Creek in Sauk County. Resource Professional had a huge impact on groundwater many hours working with Senator Tom never hesitated to write and Award and many trout streams in Ashland Cullen on new legislation that would revise numerous major grant appli- Our second Resource Profes- and Iron counties. modernize Wisconsin’s current min- cations. Tom has the ability to clear- sional Award is presented to Brent In the spirit of bipartisan politics, ing laws without weakening our nat- ly communicate to grantors why the Bergstrom, Project Director for the Democratic Senator Jauch and Re- ural resource protections. Bear Creek project is a perfect fit Sauk County Conservation, Plan- publican Senator Schultz worked The State Council would like to for their grants. ning, and Zoning Department. across party lines to ensure that the thank Senators Jauch and Schultz Tom’s persistence has paid off. natural resources of Northern Wis- for their bipartisan efforts in pro- His grant writing was principally re- consin will be protected. tecting our coldwater resources. sponsible for raising over $100,000 Continued on p. 21 WITU Looking Back

From the Spring 1973 WITU Quarterly Report... From the Spring 1993 Wisconsin Trout...

From the Spring 2003 Wisconsin Trout... Video on the Onion River restoration now available In an effort to create greater County Land and Water Conser- community involvement in the vation Dept., the Helen Shaw From the Spring 1982 WITU Quarterly Report... restoration of the Onion River in Chapter of the Federation of Fly southwestern Sheboygan County, Fishers along with financial sup- the Lakeshore Chapter of TU has port from the released a video of the project. Great Lakes Pro- Approximately 18 minutes in tection Fund, length, the VHS video or DVD and private do- explains a brief history of nors such as the river, its poten- North Sails tial as a Group, trout LLC, a sub- fishery, sidiary of and the Windway chapter’s Capital leadership Corp. — involve- created a vi- ment in a sion and a ten year $2.4 million plan to protect and restore effort to forev- the entire watershed from its er secure, re- headwaters downstream for 10.5 store, and miles. protect the river’s The video and DVD are avail- headwaters. able for a $5.00 donation plus With the headwaters restora- $2.50 for shipping and handling tion nearly complete, the video from: Lakeshore Chapter TU, c/o explains how the chapter — along Windway Capital Corp., P.O. Box with the WDNR, the Sheboygan 897, Sheboygan, WI 53082-0897. Page 8 Wisconsin Trout April 2013

Legal meets water doctrine management reality

Part three in a four-part series on Wisconsin’s water laws and how they are being enforced

Melissa Scanlan is the Water Law and Policy Scholar at the University of In this installment, we hear more stories of how enforcement varies Wisconsin Law School, and a recent article of hers appeared in Ecology across the state. While one Water Specialist’s hard line on enforcement Law Quarterly that offers fresh insight into Wisconsin’s water laws and how leads to fewer after-the-fact local violations, another specialist’s lax they are being enforced. We began serializing her article in the October enforcement is leading to an anything-goes local mentality. issue of Wisconsin Trout. The series will conclude in July. This installment also discusses the important role private individuals Previous installments have focused on the challenges facing the Water play in enforcing the public’s interest in protecting the state’s waters when Specialists at the WDNR who are charged with enforcing the state’s water the WDNR or the state legislature fail to act. laws. Scanlan spoke with 2/3 of the WDNR’s Water Specialists from every Following this installment, look for a full-page shaded box describing the part of the state. She quotes them directly, but anonymously, so we get an last of Melissa Scanlan’s summaries of the “key principles” of Wisconsin’s unvarnished view of the problems they face performing their jobs. public trust doctrine. Enforcement and deterrence are a problem in a state with weak enforcement of water laws By Melissa Scanlan there must be active enforcement ters 30 and 31.282 Either the District section 30.03(4) because ABKA’s to prevent and remedy private en- Attorney or the Attorney General conversion of the marina to con- Public trust protections are only croachments and trustee neglect. then prosecutes these matters.283 dos “presented several possible as good as the trustees’ enforce- In Wisconsin, DNR has broad Additionally, chapter 30 pro- violations of the public trust doc- ment of those constitutional, com- authority to enforce the public vides separate enforcement au- trine.”287 Further, the court held the mon law, and statutory provisions. trust.278 Beneficiaries of the trust thority. In ABKA v. DNR, the dockominium scheme violated the To have a healthy water commons, likewise have the authority to bring Wisconsin Supreme Court held public trust doctrine.288 legal actions to enforce the trust that section 30.03(4) of the Wis- In addition to violations of under certain circumstances.279 I consin Statutes provided DNR with chapter 30, the plain language of outline the special enforcement “jurisdiction to pursue any ‘possi- the statute also authorizes DNR to role of DNR and explore how en- ble violation’ of the public trust enforce any infringement of public forcement is actually being carried doctrine as embodied in [chapter] rights: out. I then highlight the increasing- 30.”284 In ABKA, the court reviewed If the department learns of...a ly important enforcement role of an attempt to convert a marina into possible infringement of the public the beneficiaries of the trust. privately owned condominiums. rights relating to navigable waters, 1. DNR has broad legal The developers stretched the and the department determines authority to enforce the public bounds of imagination when they that the public interest may not be trust in navigable waters invented these condominiums, adequately served by imposition Chapters 30 and 31 of the Wis- which the court ultimately saw as a of a penalty or forfeiture, the de- consin Statutes codify some ripari- legal fiction. The condominium partment may...order a hearing un- an and public trust rights to use units consisted of a lock box about der [chapter] 227 concerning the the state’s navigable waters.280 the size of a Post Office box,285 possible...infringement...in order DNR may enforce violations of which came with the use of a boat to fully protect the interests of the chapters 30 and 31 through the slip for residential purposes.286 public in navigable waters.289 process described by chapter Clearly, people were purchasing Hence, if DNR learns of a “pos- 23.281 Under this process, DNR the boat slip to be used as a sible infringement” of public rights Conservation Wardens are em- “dockominium” because the lock in navigable waters, even if chap- powered to issue citations, make box had no independent use. Re- ter 30 does not specifically prohib- arrests with or without warrants, jecting an argument that DNR it the offending actions, DNR has and file complaints and summons lacked jurisdiction, the court held jurisdiction under section 30.03(4) Melissa Scanlan to violators of any aspect of chap- DNR had broad jurisdiction under to take enforcement action to pro- April 2013 Wisconsin Trout Page 9 tect public interests in navigable regulators because private ripari- landowners.307 The lawsuit “sent cally not documented. If a waters.290 ans know they can get away with the right message.”308 lawbreaker fails to complete 2. Does DNR have the violations.299 One anomalous Water Special- DNR’s requested voluntary ef- adequate funding, staffing and A lack of enforcement and the ist who was particularly knowl- forts, Water Specialists have limit- training to enforce the public mimic effect — where one neigh- edgeable about enforcement ed abilities to seek recourse trust doctrine? bor copies another when they see conducted compliance inspec- without initiating formal enforce- Despite DNR’s broad enforce- their neighbor filling a wetland or tions of the permits he issued; he ment. Because of the barriers they ment authority, the implementation extending a shoreline without attributed his efforts to the “gung perceive to formal enforcement, of that authority lags, in part, due prosecution — is a tremendous ho” Enforcement Specialist in his many violations are unad- to insufficient staff to enforce the barrier to landowner compliance office who “encourages and sup- dressed.316 This cycle undermines law. In addition to the Water Spe- with the law and thus a barrier to ports staff.”309 This Water Special- the deterrent effect of enforcement cialist staff reductions discussed protection of the water commons. ist’s focus was on preventing actions, and Water Specialists are above, between 2007 and 2010, The dynamics are common sense: problems by meeting with contrac- seeing an increasing number of DNR reduced its number of staff think about a “speed trap” versus tors before construction and then water law violations. attorneys, enforcement special- an area of highway the police rare- conducting an inspection during B. Special problems with ists, and wardens, all of whom ly patrol. Imagine if people knew construction to ensure that grad- 310 enforcement of wetland take part in the enforcement of that in addition to rarely patrolling, ing was “being done right.” violations public rights in the state’s wa- the police were unable to issue ci- Even with his active onsite pres- Because wetlands are vital to ters.291 Additionally, a lack of ade- water quality, wildlife habitat, and quate training and high turnover flood prevention, wetland protec- — two of the structural problems tion has widespread implications identified above in Part II.C — Legal protections for wetlands are only for public rights in navigable wa- compound problems with any meaningful if they are implemented and enforced. In ters.317 Wisconsin’s legal protec- complicated enforcement actions. most parts of the state, Water Specialists said illegal tions for wetlands cover all Thus, I explain below how this re- filling of wetlands was a big problem. Water wetlands, even those that are de- lates to the rise in voluntary en- Specialists described illegal wetland fills that ranged termined to be “nonfederal” and forcement actions in Part II.D.2.a from very small, less than an acre, to large, seven unregulated by the Clean Water and explain widespread problems Act.318 DNR regulates wetlands with illegal wetland filling in Part acres, to extreme, 150 acres. A seasoned Water based on “common law ‘public II.D.2.b. Specialist observed in his region trust doctrine’ principles which A. A rise in voluntary instead of filling wetlands is “prevalent in riparian areas have evolved from our Wisconsin formal enforcement actions along lakes and rivers for houses and roads.” He Constitution, statutory provisions Due to staff reductions and an suspected he did not “know about half of them.” which have codified those princi- ples, and on Sections 404 and 401 increase in each Water Specialist’s 319 territory, many Water Specialists of the Clean Water Act.” In es- attempt voluntary enforcement ef- sence, DNR approval is required tations for speeding or prosecute ence, he estimated that he could forts before pursuing formal ac- to “discharge dredge or fill materi- violations without going through a achieve voluntary compliance 320 tions.292 This means a Water al” in a wetland. Additionally, number of other people and time- without formal enforcement only Wisconsin has a Shoreland Wet- Specialist asks a landowner to consuming steps. The expected “about 50 percent of the time.”311 land Zoning program, “which re- remedy the violation. The request results are obvious: increased Moreover, a Water Specialist quires county, village and city can range from applying for an af- speeding and potentially in- from another region said he is not ordinances to prohibit fill in wet- ter-the-fact permit to taking reme- creased accidents. supposed to do the kind of com- lands. This is a state-mandated, dial action such as “remove the Similarly, another Water Spe- pliance investigations described but locally administered, program illegal wetland fill” to let the wet- cialist described how he was los- by his colleague in the preceding which covers areas within 1000 land recover.293 These voluntary ing his ability to get voluntary paragraph, with the exception of feet of lakes and 300 feet of enforcement actions do not in- enforcement because riparians “looking at the ones Madison streams or rivers.”321 volve payment of any penalties or knew that formal enforcement was [Central Office] selects through Legal protections for wetlands fines, and often are not committed “floundering and not resulting in annual compliance monitoring are only meaningful if they are im- to writing, but one Water Specialist referrals” for prosecution:300 “This and the ones on which they get plemented and enforced. In most explained, “I pursue voluntary en- started a few years back with an complaints.”312 This change in en- parts of the state, Water Special- forcement because the quicker I Enforcement Specialist who didn’t forcement, he thought, was due to ists said illegal filling of wetlands can get restoration done, the bet- 322 seem to want to enforce wetland budget cuts, as compliance inves- was a big problem. Water Spe- ter chance I have for success on violations. Now the word has got- tigations used to be a routine Wa- cialists described illegal wetland the landscape.”294 ten out that DNR doesn’t follow ter Specialist duty: “When I fills that ranged from very small, While voluntary enforcement through so people just ignore me started, I might follow up on any of less than an acre, to large, seven may be faster, it is often problem- acres, to extreme, 150 acres.323 A atic. In one situation, a landowner seasoned Water Specialist ob- dug ponds in about an acre of served in his region filling wet- “pristine wetland that had been Many Water Specialists do not view formal lands is “prevalent in riparian completely dominated by native enforcement as a favorable course of action areas along lakes and rivers for species” and left a pile of dredged because it is time consuming and often cases are houses and roads.”324 He suspect- materials. Yet, the Water Special- never referred to the Attorney General for ed he did not “know about half of ist simply told the landowner he them.”325 Similarly, a Water Spe- needed to restore the wetlands enforcement, sometimes for unstated reasons cialist from another region reflect- and left it up to the landowner as and other times for political reasons. Seeing water law ed that he had a few wetland fill to how to do that.295 The Water violations go unprosecuted discourages cases that were “very visible to the Specialist did not suggest a resto- Water Specialists and reduces their ability to be public, and if those kind of blatant ration completion date, did not re- violations take place, imagine how effective regulators because private riparians know 326 quire a wetland restoration they can get away with violations. many hidden ones exist.” For in- specialist to do the work, and did stance, he recalled: “A guy put in not put anything in writing; “I just [a] 130-foot-long driveway through verbally instructed him to put the an obvious wetland area, an alder the permits I issued, but I’m told wetland back the way it was, and when I try to get them to do volun- swamp, that was visible from a 301 not to do this now.”313 An upper I’ll check back in half a year to see tary enforcement.” He de- main highway with thousands of manager confirmed, “while staff if restoration is complete.”296 scribed a specific example where people driving by in a week and used to go out and inspect almost If a landowner refuses to take a group of developers put three no one called to report it. I discov- all of the general permits they is- voluntary action, however, DNR’s hundred feet of road through for- ered it when I drove on that ested wetlands and subdivided sued, now site inspections should road.”327 only recourse is to move for formal 302 314 enforcement. This typically in- lots without a permit. DNR held be rare.” Enforcing wetland violations volves requesting that a warden is- an enforcement conference and Many Water Specialists com- can be time-consuming and tech- sue a citation, then going through told the developers to apply for an mented on the change in DNR’s nical. Without experienced and after-the-fact permit and remove mode of enforcement. Due to bud- well-trained Water Specialists, the DNR’s “stepped enforcement” 303 process with multiple DNR em- the road. The developers ig- get cuts, formal enforcement is cir- supply of which is dwindling, find- ployees, and convincing the Dis- nored DNR, did not apply for a cumscribed by the Central Office, ing and enforcing wetland viola- trict Attorney or the Attorney permit, and did not remove the which selects specific sites for tions is unlikely. For example, a 304 General to prosecute the viola- road. But, despite this continu- compliance reviews. On one hand, county zoning administrator no- tion.297 Many Water Specialists do ing noncompliance, “DNR’s En- for the first time the Central Office ticed a cranberry grower altering a not view formal enforcement as a forcement Specialist just rolled is analyzing compliance to deter- large tract of land with heavy favorable course of action be- over” and took no further action.305 mine which types of activities are equipment, and asked a newly As a result, “people will take a most prone to abuse, and some minted Water Specialist if this re- cause it is time consuming and of- 328 ten cases are never referred to the chance and violate the law be- Water Specialists may be doing quired a wetland permit. The Attorney General for enforcement, cause DNR doesn’t follow more systemic compliance re- Water Specialist, in turn, asked sometimes for unstated reasons through.”306 views as a result.315 However, someone from the U.S. Army and other times for political rea- By contrast, a Water Specialist since it is difficult for DNR to pur- Corps of Engineers what he sons.298 Seeing water law viola- who saw an enforcement referral sue formal enforcement, Water should do, “but we were both Specialists often attempt to brand new on the job, so we tions go unprosecuted dis- through to a win in the Wisconsin 329 courages Water Specialists and Supreme Court has seen a conta- achieve compliance through vol- dropped it.” reduces their ability to be effective gious deterrent effect on other untary enforcement, which is typi- Continued on p. 10 Page 10 Wisconsin Trout April 2013

Continued from p. 9 DNR broad authority to bring an Court grants a petition for original sludge and construct and operate None of the regulators, local, enforcement action against any jurisdiction.350 The Wisconsin Su- a paper wastewater treatment state, or federal, had enough train- possible violation of public rights preme Court held that none of plant and parking lot. The City ing to identify this wetland viola- by riparian landowners, as dis- these exceptions was present in subsequently leased another five tion and take appropriate action at cussed above.339 What is ques- State v. City of Oak Creek, where acres of the lakebed grant area to the early stages. Later, the U.S. Ar- tionable, however, is DNR’s the Attorney General brought a le- Minergy Corporation for a com- my Corps of Engineers took the authority to protect public rights gal challenge to the constitutional- mercial paper sludge incineration lead on the investigation and from harm caused by the legisla- ity of a statute that exempted Oak operation.359 DNR, however, de- found a “huge violation—fifty ture. Creek from laws designed to pro- clined to enforce the law even acres of wetlands where the grow- As explained in Core Concept tect the state’s navigable wa- though it admitted in a settlement er cleared all the trees and wet- Two, the legislature, as the primary ters.351 Since the court rejected the agreement that these leases violat- land vegetation, bulldozed land, trustee of the state’s waters, has a Attorney General’s standing, the ed the public trust doctrine.360 In brought in fill and built up the sur- duty to take positive action to pro- statute exempting Oak Creek from pertinent part, the December 1995 face.”330 tect the public trust. This duty is some public trust protections re- settlement agreement between Nor was this an isolated inci- grounded in common and consti- mained in place.352 DNR, City of Neenah, Glatfelter dent; this case arose in late 2008, tutional law.340 When the legisla- In sum, DNR and the Attorney Company, and Minergy Corpora- when the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- ture passes a law that may violate General have a limited ability to tion provided the following: neers uncovered a cluster of wet- the public trust doctrine, an initial challenge the legislature when it (1) DNR asserted that both the land violations by cranberry proposed Minergy facility and the growers.331 This Water Specialist existing operations of Glatfelter later reported that the Army Corps Company are impermissible pub- had uncovered impacts to 150 The courts have played a key role in rectifying lic trust uses and violate the Legis- acres of wetlands spread across shortsighted, sometimes politically motivated, lative Lakebed Grant, relevant four different sites.332 If the govern- attempts to convey parts of the public water portions of Chapter 30 including ment regulators had been more commons to private hands. Moreover, given Wis. Stat. §30.03 and the public experienced, they might have tak- what appears to be an anemic state trust doctrine as developed under en swifter action to stop these un- enforcement of the trust, it is essential to have an Wisconsin law. permitted wetland alterations engaged citizenry empowered to enforce public (2) Regardless of the foregoing, before they grew to such an ex- based on the historical develop- treme level. rights in common waters. ment of the Grant Area, to which Similarly, another Water Spe- DNR failed to object, and based cialist described a landowner who on DNR’s enforcement discretion, impacted six to seven acres of wet matter is whether DNR or the At- passes a law that potentially vio- DNR agreed that it would not pur- meadow wetlands to build a torney General has standing to lates the public trust doctrine. The sue enforcement action under its house, driveway, garage, and two challenge the statute’s constitu- standing limitations place a large authority relating to the public trust ponds.333 Because the Water Spe- tionality. burden on the beneficiaries of the laws and that it would not seek eq- cialist was inexperienced when he DNR, acting without a private public trust to finance and bring le- uitable relief, including removal of initiated the action, he had to work litigant, does not have standing to gal challenges to unconstitutional existing facilities and activities, on the case for over ten years be- challenge the constitutionality of a actions by the legislature. during the term of the Settlement fore he saw any results.334 In 2010, state statute regarding an alleged 4. Public trust beneficiaries Agreement.361 the landowner finally signed a set- violation of the public trust doc- have standing to enforce the Faced with refusal by the trust- tlement agreement with DNR trine.341 The court issued this hold- public trust ee to protect the public trust, the where the landowner agreed to re- ing in a case that arose out of a Given the significant systemic Gillen plaintiffs brought suit to en- store four to five acres of wet- dispute about setting the Ordinary barriers to DNR’s ability to carry force the public interest in naviga- land.335 High Water Mark (OHWM) for Big out its trustee duties, trust benefi- ble waters.362 By contrast, a very experienced Silver Lake. After DNR set the level ciaries have turned to the courts to The Gillen plaintiffs alleged a Water Specialist took a more pro- for the OHWM, the Silver Lake protect the public trust. The courts public nuisance based on Miner- active approach when he learned Sanitary District sued.342 With liti- have played a key role in rectifying gy’s violation of section 30.12, of a landowner who built almost gation pending, the legislature shortsighted, sometimes politically which is “a codification of the com- two thousand feet of recreational passed two statutes: one set a dif- motivated, attempts to convey mon law restriction against en- roads through wetlands (bogs ferent OHWM for that lake and an- parts of the public water commons croachments on publicly held dominated by black spruce and other delegated the task of setting to private hands.353 Moreover, giv- lakebeds.”363 The court rejected tamarack) contiguous to a small the OHWM for lakes to sanitary en what appears to be an anemic the defendant’s argument that a lake.336 The landowner construct- districts instead of DNR.343 DNR state enforcement of the trust, it is claim under section 30.294 to ed the roads without permits over challenged the constitutionality of essential to have an engaged citi- abate a public nuisance cannot be a period of two years. DNR caught these statutes on several grounds, zenry empowered to enforce pub- brought by citizen plaintiffs if DNR him when a DNR pilot flew over decided to forego enforcement this land during a wolf count; the and signed a settlement agree- 364 pilot then gave the Water Special- Beneficiary legal actions are becoming more ment to that effect. Instead, the ist photos of wetland fills.337 The court held that the Gillen plaintiffs Water Specialist described how he important given the state’s limited enforcement of stated a claim by bringing their handled the situation: water laws. Similarly, given DNR and the Attorney suit under section 30.294, which You need to know what you’re General’s limited ability to challenge legislation, provides: “Every violation of this looking for. I saw these photos and beneficiary legal actions are essential to challenge chapter is declared to be a public then compared them to historical unconstitutional actions by the legislative trustees. nuisance and may be prohibited aerial photos to determine what by injunction and may be abated had happened and when. I had to by legal action brought by any go to the courthouse and deter- including a violation of the public lic rights in common waters. person.”365 The court cited the mine ownership. I then had to con- trust doctrine.344 In Silver Lake Beneficiaries of the trust have plain language of the statute and front the landowner and delineate Sanitary District v. Wisconsin DNR, standing to sue; the public trust its legislative history to support its the wetlands and the illegal fill. Af- the court of appeals rejected doctrine “establishes standing holding:366 “As far back as 1917, ter that I had to work through the DNR’s claims, holding that DNR for...any person suing in the name the legislature provided that public formal enforcement process. This could not challenge the constitu- of the state for the purpose of vin- nuisances may be enjoined and took three years, but he has paid a tionality of a state statute without dicating the public trust, to assert abated by citizen suits.”367 Twenty fine and removed the fill.338 the involvement of a private liti- a cause of action recognized by years after the legislature created As this example illustrates, gant.345 The court noted that gen- the existing law of Wisconsin.”354 DNR, it enacted the current form of DNR must have experienced and erally agencies, such as DNR, In order to allege standing in a the public nuisance provision in knowledgeable staff who can iden- “have no standing to challenge the public trust case, a plaintiff needs chapter 30, and the court found no tify violations and effectively en- actions of their creator,” such as to allege injury to navigable wa- indication that a citizen’s right to force the law in order to realize challenging the constitutionality of ters, not just to the environment abate public nuisances was limit- wetland protection. Voluntary en- a state statute.346 While there is a generally.355 Also, litigants must ed by DNR enforcement action or forcement would be more useful if “great public concern” exception assert a viable cause of action.356 inaction.368 Thus, the court con- DNR Water Specialists could me- to this general rule, the court held In Gillen v. City of Neenah, the cluded “that DNR’s decision stat- morialize the agreements in an en- that invoking that exception re- Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld ed in the Settlement Agreement to forceable contract or pursue quires the participation of a private a cause of action because the forego enforcement of the public formal enforcement when quicker, litigant.347 Thus, DNR did not have court found that the plaintiffs stat- trust claims does not defeat the less formal methods fail. Without standing to sue.348 ed a claim for a violation of the plaintiffs’ public nuisance claim those options, DNR’s Water Spe- Nor does Wisconsin’s Attorney public trust doctrine.357 The dis- under Wis. Stat. ch. 30.”369 cialists currently struggle to deter General typically have standing to pute in this case centered on land Another case, ABKA Limited future violations and enforce pro- challenge the constitutionality of a the legislature granted to the City Partnership v. DNR, likewise re- tections for Wisconsin’s valuable statute, even when alleging a vio- of Neenah via a Legislative veals the important role beneficia- wetlands. lation of the public trust doc- Lakebed Grant in 1951 to be used ries play in enforcement when 3. DNR and the Attorney trine.349 The Attorney General has “for a public purpose.”358 The City faced with the trustees’ failure to General’s authority to standing to challenge “a perceived leased this land for several de- vigorously assert public rights.370 challenge the legislature’s violation of the public trust” if the cades to Bergstrom Paper Com- In ABKA, a DNR attorney told AB- abdication of the public trust Is specific statute grants that authori- pany (predecessor to Gladfelter KA, in no uncertain terms, that its very limited ty, if the governor or legislature di- Company). The city allowed the dockominium proposal violated Under section 30.03(4), the rects the Attorney General to do paper company to fill the lakebed the public trust, and that DNR Wisconsin legislature granted so, or if the Wisconsin Supreme grant area with paper waste Continued on p. 21 April 2013 Wisconsin Trout Page 11

Final part in a series on understanding Wisconsin’s water laws... The core principles of Wisconsin’s Public Trust Doctrine By Melissa Scanlan Given that holding navigable wa- However, even if a grant is valid ly a misnomer because only the ters and the lands beneath them in under the five-factor analysis, a state, as sovereign, holds owner- At its core, the public trust doc- trust for the public is part of a state’s lakebed grant never transfers legal ship of the water itself.130 Riparian trine describes a state’s relation- sovereignty, the Court declared that title from the state to the grant- rights, subject to regulation, in- ship to its water resources and its such a grant “of all the lands under ee.118 For instance, the legislature clude the rights to use the shore- citizens — it is the body of law that the navigable waters of a state has gave the City of Madison permis- line, access the water, use waters directs the state to hold navigable never been adjudged to be within sion to fill a portion of lakebed un- for reasonable domestic, agricul- waters in trust for shared use by the legislative power; and any at- der Lake Monona to build a civic tural, and recreational purposes, the public.15* tempted grant of the kind would be center, while continuing to vest and construct a pier in aid of navi- held, if not absolutely void on its ownership and trust responsibili- gation.131 Unlike most states, Wis- There are seven core concepts 106 119 undergirding Wisconsin’s public face, as subject to revocation.” ties in the state. Continued use consin does not allow a party to trust doctrine: In upholding the Illinois legisla- of that trust property does not give convey riparian rights to a nonri- ture’s repeal of the lakebed grant, the City of Madison title to the parian, except to allow passage 1. Like a financial trust, the the Court repudiated in strong property.120 Furthermore, the across land to access water.132 public trust in water in- terms the attempted legislative rights vested in grantees of lakebed When riparian rights conflict volves identifiable trust- grant of lakebed under the Chicago are extremely limited.121 Like a li- with public rights protected by the ees, beneficiaries, and Harbor to a private railroad com- cense, the state is merely giving the public trust, the riparian rights are trust property; In prior issues 133 pany.107 The Court noted the “im- grantee the ability to use the prop- secondary. This principle holds 2. Wisconsin law imposes a mense value” of the Chicago erty, which is a privilege the state true in Wisconsin, where the public duty on trustees to protect Harbor to the entire people of the may revoke at any time.122 right to use navigable water limits public rights in Wiscon- 108 The legislature has not attempt- the rights of the riparian.134 One of sin’s navigable water; state of Illinois. The court rea- soned that placing the charter “in ed to grant the state’s actual wa- the earliest pronouncements of this 3. Trustees have a super- the hands of a private corpora- ters. However, as scholars develop limitation was the Wisconsin Su- visory duty that requires tion,” whose charter had a narrow- the concepts of “water footprint” preme Court’s holding in Willow adaptive management; er commercial purpose than that of and “virtual water,” tools to calcu- River Club v. Wade, where, in 4. The public trust is a fluid the government, “is a proposition late how production of a good or 1898, it stated that a private ripari- doctrine that expands, as that cannot be defended”:109 service removes water from a wa- an “has no property in the particles needed, to protect the wa- It is hardly conceivable tershed, one can see that some ri- of water flowing in the stream, any ter commons and public parians are taking water out of the more than it has in the air that rights; that the legislature can divest 135 the state of the control and public domain and not returning it, floats over land.” The court held 5. The legislature may grant management of this harbor, without any express legislative au- that a riparian had no property in lakebed title to entities thorization akin to what is required the fish swimming past his or her other than the state, but and vest it absolutely in a pri- 123 vate corporation. Surely an for a lakebed grant. As global land, and a riparian could not in- only under certain limited In this issue water availability decreases, an terfere with a public trust benefi- conditions; act of the legislature transfer- emerging question is whether this ciary’s right to fish.136 6. Private riparian property ring the title to its submerged lands and the power claimed depletion is consistent with the More recently, the Wisconsin must be used in a way public trust doctrine. The public Supreme Court refused to allow a that does not encroach by the railroad company to a on public rights in naviga- foreign state or nation would may benefit from a critical evalua- riparian to convert a marina with tion of whether the legislature, 407 boat slips into privately owned ble waters; and, be repudiated, without hesita- 137 tion, as a gross perversion of consistent with its duty as trustee, “dockominiums.” The marina 7. A healthy public trust re- should create legislation that au- previously rented boat slips to the quires active enforcement the trust over the property by the trustees and the under which it is held.110 thorizes water depletion under ex- public on an annual basis, but then beneficiaries. The Court reasoned that a state pressly articulated circumstances. attempted to create a condominium may no more abdicate its public One way to do this could be to by subdividing the riparian right of adapt the court’s five factor test for dockage into 407 fractions that it Core concept 5: the trust property “than it can abdicate 138 its police powers in the administra- lakebed grants. would sell to individuals. The legislature may court held in ABKA v. DNR that grant lakebed title to tion of government and the preser- Core concept 6: vation of the peace.”111 “ABKA’s conversion of its marina to private riparian a condominium form of ownership non-state entities, The Court’s holding in Illinois but only under property use may not violated the public trust doc- Central should not be read, howev- trine...because it attempted to con- limited conditions er, as an absolute prohibition encroach on public rights in navigable vey condominium property contrary An issue that regularly resurfac- against all lakebed grants. Instead, to Wis. Stat. § 30.133 (1995–96), es in water law is the legality of a the Court limited situations where waters which prohibits certain transfers of state’s attempt to grant trust prop- a state may make grants of trust Whether a riparian owner abuts riparian rights.”139 In other words, a erty to private entities, such as indi- property to situations where par- a navigable stream, river or lake, riparian may not convey the ripari- vidual developers, railroads, or cels “are used in promoting the in- the riparian’s title is limited by the an right of dockage without convey- corporations. The most famous terests of the public” or “can be public trust.124 Since the late 1800s, ing the riparian land.140 case that illustrates the limits on disposed of without any substan- this has meant that the riparian In summary, although a riparian the state trustee is Illinois Central tial impairment of the public inter- holds title subject to the superior holds title to his or her land and 100 est in the lands and waters public easement for use.125 Ripari- Railroad v. Illinois. In 1869 the 112 has rights to use the water adjoin- Illinois Legislature granted owner- remaining.” Accordingly, the an owners take title to such lands ing that property, these rights must ship of a vast area of the bed of legislature may make grants of with notice of the public trust and accommodate and not infringe up- public trust property, but must de- Lake Michigan in Chicago to the subject to the burdens created by on the public’s overarching rights 101 lineate that the property may only it.126 In fact, it is “beyond the pow- 141 Illinois Railroad Company. The 113 in navigable waters. This legal be used for public purposes. Any er of the state to alienate [the beds principle, however, often conflicts grant placed nearly the whole of grant of property for purely private the Chicago Harbor under the con- of navigable waters] freed from with the reality that “landowners purposes is void.114 127 trol of the railroad company.102 In such [public] rights.” In uphold- want to do whatever they want with 1873, after the Illinois Legislature Wisconsin courts have added ing riparian ownership of the beds their property,” free from govern- attempted to repeal the grant of important state law dimensions to of navigable rivers to the center ment interference.142 the Illinois Central Court’s delin- lakebed, the railroad’s challenge to point of the river, the Wisconsin eation of the scope and function of Core concept 7: a the repeal went to the U.S. Su- Supreme Court clarified that, “[a]s the public trust by providing more preme Court.103 long as the state secures to the peo- healthy public trust detail to the substantive limitation ple all the rights they would be en- requires active In its analysis of the acts of the 115 on alienation. The Wisconsin titled to if it owned the beds of enforcement by the Illinois Legislature, the Court drew Supreme Court analyzes five fac- navigable rivers, it fulfills the trust upon the purpose of the original tors to determine if a lakebed grant imposed upon it by the organic law, trustees and grant of trust property — the beds is consistent with the public trust which declares that all navigable beneficiaries and waters of all navigable water- doctrine.116 Under this analysis, the waters shall be forever free.”128 In order for the public trust doc- bodies — to the states: court considers all of the following: Hence, all navigable waters are trine to provide and protect a When the Revolution (1) whether public bodies will con- subject to the public trust regard- healthy water commons, there took place the people of each trol the use of the area; (2) wheth- less of ownership of the beds under needs to be active public participa- state became themselves sov- er the area will be devoted to a waterbody. tion, transparency in decisions im- ereign, and in that character public purposes and open to the The courts and legislature have pacting shared resources, ac- hold the absolute right to all public; (3) whether the diminution delineated private property rights countability to the public beneficia- their navigable waters, and of lake area will be very small when in water in very limited terms. ries, and enforcement to prevent the soils under them.104 compared to the whole waterway; There are numerous constraints on and remedy private encroach- The sovereign power itself, (4) whether any one of the public water “rights,” from requirements ments. ... The best way to illumi- therefore, cannot, consistently uses of the lake as a lake will be de- that water be used beneficially, rea- nate enforcement issues is to view with the principles of the law stroyed or greatly impaired; and sonably, and without interfering them in the context of what is hap- of nature and the constitution (5) whether the impairment to the with public rights, to a recognition pening in the field [as we have of a well-ordered society, public’s right to use the lake for that the right is merely usufructu- been revealing in this series]. make a direct and absolute recreation is negligible compared ary.129 Furthermore, water rights * To save space, footnotes are grant of the waters of the to the greater convenience afford- are use rights only; although one shown, but not their text. To read the state, divesting all the citizens ed to the public from the grant of sometimes hears reference to own- footnotes, see the link to the com- of their common right.105 the lake bed property.117 ership or sales of water, this is real- plete piece at www.WisconsinTU.org. Page 12 Wisconsin Trout April 2013 Chapter News

Aldo Leopold Chapter doing other habitat restoration rath- committee, for fighting hard for our er than hammering nails. We are project. We have also confirmed happy to help the DNR on this. At our March 6 elections we wel- consin Outdoor Expo a couple years that the USFWS’s Partners For Fish Here’s an update on our fund and Wildlife program will be con- comed two new members to the ago, and he is now teaching tying. raising for the 2013 Bear Creek chapter’s board: Mike Singleton and Cool. Other instructors were Kevin tributing $10,000 to our project. We project. We have received $2,500 remain about $20,000 short of our Dave Murphy. I would like to thank Searock, Mike Stapleton, and Lynn from TU National’s Embrace-A- funding goal for the year, but have outgoing board member Eric Loren- Reed. Assistant instructors were Stream program! In a very competi- zen for his many years of service to Tom & Sally Gawle, James Peters, tive year, we are one of only three yet to hear whether our National the chapter, both on the board and Dave Murphy, and Scott Allen. Wisconsin chapters to receive an Fish Habitat Action Plan grant re- as vice president. And while Eric is Todd Franklin did a great job keep- Embrace-A-Stream grant. A thank quest has been approved. If it is, we no longer on the board, I am hope- ing everything organized and run- you to Henry Koltz, our Midwest re- should hit our goal. ful we can still get him to bring his ning smoothly. A huge thank-you to gion representative on the awards —Mike Barniskis amazing pulled pork to our chapter all of you for making this a very suc- picnic. cessful class! Speaking of the picnic, this year’s Our firstwork day of the year was Antigo Chapter event will once again be held in Lodi scheduled for March 16 on Lodi at Habermann Park, on June 19. Spring Creek, but it had to be can- Hello all and please think spring. Branch Eau Claire River. We Any and all are welcome, so mark celed due to high water and flood The snow is wonderful for the water hauled over 300 Christmas trees to the date on your calendar. conditions. We have rescheduled it it holds, but I’d like it to warm up. the project site hoping to place At the annual TU State Council for June 8. April 13 we will be work- We in Antigo TU are very busy them on the river’s north bank. This banquet, our chapter happily re- ing on Manley Creek in Sauk Co., putting together our annual fund- large brush bundle would redirect ceived the “Catch And Keep” award and Sat., May 18 will find us build- raising banquet that will be held on the water flow to the south side to for largest percentage increase in ing lunkers for our 2013 Bear Creek Sat., March 23 at Northstar Ban- help clean out a fishing hole in front membership over the last year. Over project. I hope to see you there! quet Center in Antigo. We hope to of a handicapped fishing dock at the the next year I hope we can contin- Some news on the Bear Creek have a good turnout of supporters, Lions Club Park north of Antigo. ue to attract many new faces to TU lunker building. Dan Fuller from and we have many great prizes for We were working to gain support through our activities and projects. the DNR in Poynette has asked us if all to win. from a property owner who we have One of our chapter activities is we could construct 10 lunkers for On this page are some pictures an easement with. If need be, the our annual fly tying class. This year the DNR’s upcoming project on from this past summer and fall of project will be shortened. we had around 15 students and a Rowan Creek at the same time we our chapter building a kid’s fishing We have just been contacted by a Remmington Lake number of new instructors, includ- are building them for Bear Creek. dock at in the property owner on Elton Creek to City of Antigo. The project took ing 14-year-old Jared Sagal. Jared Doing so would allow the DNR to see if we together can clean and re- shape with the support from the city got his start tying flies at the Wis- spend their time installing them and pair a portion of the stream bank. I and the Remmington Foundation. It took a while, but the DNR put a will contact our fish manger and ask number of brook trout into the for the DNR’s input on this poten- pond this winter. The kids have tial project. been ice fishing the pond all winter. We will again start setting up our (See photos on this page.) annual Kid’s Fishing Day on Sat., We have run into a snag on our June 1 at the Antigo City Park. early spring project on the E. —Scott Henricks Blackhawk Chapter

Five chapter members made the State Council Banquet in February, trip up to Rothschild for the annual including Don Studt, who received the “Unsung Hero Award.” Don is our long-suffering chapter treasur- ANTIGO TU HELPS BUILD DOCK ON er, and he well deserves his award! REMINGTON LAKE Our monthly meetings always Karl Illichmann (top left) and Mike seem to offer an interesting mix of Heinrich fasten some bolts on a new subjects. In January, Matt Krueger from the DNR and Wisconsin River public dock in downtown Antigo. Alliance brought us up to date about They were joined later by Tim various invasive plant species which Gregrich (bottom, second right) and have been making inroads along Mike Hugunin (right). Wisconsin trout streams. Our scheduled speaker for the February meeting was unable to be with us, so chapter member John Lusk shared his recent experiences with the new “Silver Sonic” waders from Orvis and L.L. Bean’s “River Treads” wading boots with Boa-Clo- sure, inter-twined with some amus- ing anecdotes. For our March meeting, Craig Amacker from Fontana Sports was on deck to talk not about trout, but smallmouth bass fishing with a fly rod. There was an unusually large turnout for this year’s fly tying ses- sions, although Mother Nature managed to cause the cancellation of two classes. Nearly two dozen “students” participated, including two youngsters, Ansel Chesney, 14, and Ethan Richardson, 13, both from the Edgerton Jr. High School (see picture on next page). The first workday of the year for the chapter on Hornby Creek in Ver- non Co. had to be rescheduled due to road restrictions. We will be working together with the Lee Wulff Chapter (IL) on Sat., April 13. Our annual Spring Banquet will be on Monday, April 29, at the Pon- tiac Convention Center in Janes- ville. As usual, there will be lots of great items for the raffles and auc- tions, including a special TU edition R. L. Winston boron 3X rod. Come April 2013 Wisconsin Trout Page 13 Chapter News on down to Janesville that evening good cause! for a good time, good food, and a —Dave Hinde Central Wisconsin Chapter

This winter seems like it will nev- of new faces to our board as John er come to an end, but some of the Gremmer and Bob Joswowski were chapter members were able to find elected to fill the two open board things to keep them very busy. Ira positions. Congratulations to all of Giese had 27 of us together again the newly elected members. for our Master Fly Tying class start- As we start to head out of winter, ing the third week of January and we have started to gear up for our ending the last week of February. summer programs. Our April 9 The class kept us busy tying every- board meeting will have Tim Land- thing from a size 22 to a Namsen wehr from Tight Lines Fly Fishing salmon fly. All in all, a fantastic time present a program on his past trips was had by all with featured tyers to the Amazon River for our pro- Brian Van Eram, John Gribb, gram starting at 7:15 p.m. Shawn Sullivan, Dr. Phil Anderson, Monday, April 22 at the Fin-n- and Tom Mulford. Thanks to every- Feather will be the first meeting of one who participated and to Ira for the year for our River Keepers. This setting this all up. will be an organizational meeting The January board meeting/pro- for all of our River Keepers new and gram was huge success. This year old. Please check the website if in- the program was “The Night of the terested in joining, or contact John Tiny Mayflies” with speakers Tom Gremmer for more info. John Vollrath Lager and Charlie Piette doing the Things will kick into high gear Hobie Lippold (right) ties a fly under the watchful eye of Dan Holland at the presenting and a host of tyers tying come May. On Tues., May 14, we Frank Hornberg fly tying workshop at the Portage County Library in Stevens their favorite blue wing olives and will have our casting/kayak clinic Point on February 9. trico patterns. A big thank-you goes starting at 5:00 p.m. at Marble Park out to Bob Haase for his efforts get- in Winneconne. Please contact Russ ting this lined up. Bouck or check out the website for and Heidi Oberstadt came to the outside at the Bob Lea farm, where Feb. 23 was our Trout Fest, a additional info. rescue with a presentation on fish- we assembled lunker structures to great way to help break up the win- And then on Sat., May 18, CW- ing the Wisconsin rivers and streams be placed in the Tomorrow River. ter. There were 10 20-minute semi- TU will have the first workday of flowing into Lake Michigan. Wyatt The DNR’s Jason Spaeth organized nars on various subjects, fly tyers, the year on the White River just and Matt had very specific advice on the event, and the Hornberg Chap- several vendors, raffle tables, and, south of Wautoma starting at 8:00 where to put in and take out on the of course, our rummage tables with a.m. If you are interested in joining ter provided the physical labor. All rivers, when to do it, and what fish a little something for everyone. At- in, please contact Scott Bahn to be in all, it was a very successful day. to expect. Heidi prepared maps with tendance for this free event was be- put on the workday e-mailing list for One of our most admired and re- Jim Gitter tween 250 and 300 for the day. future locations and info. locations. finished the spected members, Stu Nelson, was Our March 12 board meeting All the committee members list- evening’s presentation with an in- taken from us by a sudden cascade brought about a couple of changes ed have all of their contact info, in- door casting presentation. Atten- of medical problems on Feb. 27. It for the chapter with the election of cluding e-mail addresses and phone dance at this meeting was very good, was altogether too quick, and it is new officers. John Tucker was elect- numbers, listed on our website at and the audience appreciated the still hard to believe that he is not how well Matt, Wyatt, Heidi, and ed president and Mike San Dretto www.cwtu.org. here. Stu was an executive at Sentry Jim put together such an informa- vice president. We added a couple —Linn Beck Insurance, where he had a very suc- tive program on such short notice. cessful career in the claims depart- Coulee Region Chapter Our third meeting, our annual ment. Away from the office, Stu was banquet, will have been held by the a sportsman, an outdoorsman, and time you read this. Our scheduled The Coulee Region TU banquet We have now started planning an athelete — but most importantly, special guest is Robert Thompson, a the 3rd Trout Fest which will be held a fly fisherman. More than anyone was held on Feb. 22, and it was a filmmaker whose latest video is in Coon Valley on June 15. else, Stu was responsible for the great evening. We had nearly 120 at- Heart of the Driftless. tendees who enjoyed some good Keep your eye on www.coon- smooth workings of our annual fly Our chapter has already had a food, great door prizes, and excel- creektroutfest.com for details of this fishing school. workday this year. Ignoring Febru- lent trout talk. Special recognition fun event. ary’s legendary snow, we worked Continued on p. 14 was given to Cy Post for his years of —Curt Rees dedication to CRTU. We also hon- ored Mat & Geri Wagner, owners of the Driftless Angler Fly Shop, for their support of local waters and an- glers.

Frank Hornberg Chapter

The Frank Hornberg Chapter is off to a good start in 2013. At our January general meeting, James Card, an editor and freelance writer now living in Waupaca, entertained us with stories of his life as a fishing guide in South Korea. The fish are different there, and the policies that govern fishing are different, too. It was a very informative meeting, the first held at our new meeting loca- tion, the Lincoln Center in Stevens Point. The featured speaker for our February meeting was not able to attend. Matt Salchert, Wyatt Bohm,

BLACKHAWK ROD WINNERS Blackhawk Chapter fly tying instructor John Miller with budding fishermen Ansel Chesney, 14, and Ethan Richardson, 13, after they received their rod and reel awards for completing the March 12th class. Page 14 Wisconsin Trout April 2013 Chapter News

Continued from p. 13 extend our heart-felt sympathy to Stu kept track of applications, wrote Meryl Lee Nelson and to Stu’s ex- Harry & Laura Nohr Chapter and updated workbooks, taught fly tended family. tying, and demonstrated fly casting. —John Vollrath Project work for 2013 will be fin- for distribution to schools and li- All of us miss him greatly, and we ishing up the work on the lower end braries. of the Blue River off Shemack Chuck Steudel spent an after- Green Bay Chapter Road. We are working on about noon with the Highland Elementary 3,000 feet below and 1,000 feet Charter School 7th and 8th graders above the bridge on Shemack Road. last week and showed the TU film The chapter continues to enjoy a Ben Rolling of the WDNR on The stream’s banks are very deep Red Gold. They had an interesting strong, dedicated group of mem- Ninemile Creek. there, with some up to 12 feet above three-hour plus discussion on the bers, as witnessed by the success of Our chapter website has under- the water. pros and cons of mining and dis- our 38th Annual Fund-raising Ban- gone a major revamping and is the We are looking at starting work cussed the current Wisconsin min- quet held in February. Our mem- go-to source for member communi- on 2,000 feet of the Blue on a prop- ing debate. The students had a bers’ hard work resulted in over cation and information. We are dis- erty upstream of the work described million questions and a very $16,000 raised to support our efforts continuing our paper newsletter, above. Under consideration are thoughtful discussion. Somehow on streams and in the community. which will save the chapter over 4,200 feet of Big Rock Branch, a about 70 kids sat through a three- Members recently participated in $1,400, many volunteer hours, and brook trout stream, which comes in- hour class and seemed to pay atten- a fly casting and fly tying workshop lessen our environmental impact. to the Blue a ways up from this last tion to all of it. with children from the Brown Co. Major changes in chapter gover- property. Work would be on three We had our annual election Izaac Walton League. Later this nance occurred as new chapter offi- properties. All four of these proper- meeting March 21 at UW-Platte- year, the kids will test their skills cers were elected at our March ties are now being submitted for ville. We had a review of the work and flies at the league’s ponds. meeting: fishing easement so we can do the our U-WP summer interns did on We have work projects scheduled President – Randal Rake work. In other words, these will be studying our stream work and po- throughout the coming months, and Vice president – Lee Meyers new waters with fishing easements. tential streams. the first one will be a floy tag study Sec/Treasurer – Aaron Frailing We held a Lie and Tie event Jan. Our School Grant Committee is of brown trout for survival and mi- The chapter sends a huge note of 20 at Stonefield Apartment in Dod- contacting local schools to find proj- gration patterns on the lower Ocon- thanks to past president Paul Kruse geville. This helped fill the fly box ects we can support. We have been to River which empties into Green for his service. The chapter is also for the State Council banquet. granting money to support coldwa- Bay and Lake Michigan. This is the forever indebted to Gary Stoychoff The Nohr Chapter participated ter resource studies in our local second year of a five-year study in for the many years of service and in an Outdoor Skills Day on Feb. 15 schools for many years. Results will cooperation with the WDNR team countless hours of volunteering. at Southeast Wisconsin Technical have been determined in time for led by DNR fisheries biologist Tam- Member Pat Hill was recognized College put on by our Grant County the banquet. mie Paoli. at the State Council banquet for his Outdoor Sports Alliance. We has a We are having a banquet at the Further work projects will be quiet, steady, and faithful service to display area with a program showing Arthur House in Arthur, WI on Sat., held on the third Saturday of the the chapter. Always quick with a the work we have been doing, a ty- May 4. Members who can help out summer months and include: joke or two and never scared of the ing area where we demonstrated should contact a board member. hard labor of work projects, Pat’s and taught tying, and a casting area. Letters and e-mails will be coming • rock placement and structure re- service is a touchstone for all TU st We have given out over a hun- out soon with more information. habilitation on the 1 S. Branch members. dred of TU’s new My Healthy Stream —Brian Larson of the Oconto with Cliff Sebero Tight lines to all, and let’s hope books. We’ve ordered another batch of the WDNR, for a cooler and wetter summer. • brush bundling and sediment re- —Randal Rake Northwoods Chapter moval on the N. Branch of the Oconto Tom in cooperation with We will gather together to tie tackle, tactics, and techniques that Morris of the USFS, and flies in preparation for the fishing have been proven to be effective for • brush bundling in cooperation season on Mon., April 8. No materi- catching spring pond brookies. with the Wolf River Chapter and als or vices will be supplied, so bring Dave is a fisheries biologist with your own if you intend to tie. Spec- the WDNR who has many years of tators or those interested in learning experience managing spring ponds a bit about tying are welcome! here in the north. The meeting will We will meet at the Oneida Co. be held at Trees for Tomorrow in UW-Extension office in the lower Eagle River at 6:00 p.m. level of the Oneida County/Rhine- We will be hosting a casting clinic lander Airport from 6-8 p.m. with FFF-certified casting instructor We will be discussing spring Bob Tabbert on Sun., May 26. In ad- ponds with two guest speakers, Kit dition to one-on-one instruction, Duebler and Dave Siebel, on May there will be targets to test your ac- 13. Kit wrote the book Trout Fishing curacy and a hula hoop for tighten- Wisconsin Spring Ponds. He will ing up your loop. Learn or refine share his knowledge of spring your curve casts, roll casts, and ponds, including the early days double hauls. The clinic will be at of spring pond fishing, Wisconsin Torpy Park in Minocqua. DNR fisheries studies on spring Participants must bring their own ponds, the geology and hydrology fly rod, reel, line, and leader. related to spring ponds, and the —Laura MacFarland Curt Rees photosCurt Rees COULEE REGION BANQUET SCENES Bob Hubbard (right) holds the new Sage rod and Lamson reel he won at the the raffle table. The plinko board (left) is always worth a try or two at the Coulee Region Chapter’s recent banquet as chapter member Cy Post man’s chapter’s fundraising event. April 2013 Wisconsin Trout Page 15 Chapter News

Oconto River Watershed Chapter

The chapter has three school dis- event this year will give each partici- tricts offering the Trout in the pant a chance to win $25,000 in a Classroom curriculum. The “eyed” game called “crack the vault.” Tick- eggs have hatched, and students are et information is available from seeing the progression of the fry. Mitch Meunier at True Value in Gil- Students at Oconto, Lena, and Gil- lett at (920) 855-2844. lett school districts are feeding the The chapter is seeking young fish and monitoring water condi- people from the Oconto River area tions. Mark Green has headed up to attend the environmental camps this project again this year. The lo- offered by UW- Stevens Point. Vari- cal school coordinators who include ous camps for youngsters ages 7-18 this project in their curricula include are offered. An application is avail- Lara Nichols at Oconto, Roberta able from Moni Brunner at (920) Windus at Lena, and Greg Zeitler at 855-6669. Campers will be an- Gillett. nounced at the chapter banquet on The chapter’s member of the April 25. year award for 2012 has been award- Plans are being made to partici- ed to Tom Klatt. Tom served on nu- pate in DNR and USFS workdays merous committees, was the chapter’s vice president, and worked planned in our area. Members will Green Bay Wolf on habitat projects. Tom attends the work with the and River monthly meetings and has even chapters placing brush bun- served lunch. Congratulations to dles, rocks, and logs to improve hab- Tom on winning this prestigious itat. Dates and work locations will award. be published in the chapter newslet- The banquet committee is pre- ter. paring for the annual fund-raising Our chapter meetings are held banquet set for April 25 at Romy’s monthly (excluding May and Nov.) Holiday Inn at Kelly Lake. Banquet on the first Wednesday of each Chair Dan Sumnicht reports that month. Meetings are held at the prizes are already being accumulat- Lone Oak Gun Club just north of ed. Letters will soon be sent to past Gillett starting at 7:00 p.m. banquet participants. A special —Dale Halla Shaw-Paca Chapter

We are coming back to activity Waupaca counties and the other in after a long and snowy winter. We Langlade Co. are awarding our annual Shaw-Paca We have watched with great in- Trout Unlimited Coldwater Re- terest a proposed frack sand mine in search Grant to Ms. Krista Kamke Waupaca Co. Stay tuned on this of Pulaski. She is currently a junior one. at UW-SP majoring in water re- Our library subscriptions to Trout sources. magazine have been again renewed. Our annual fly tying class has ended. We offered six sessions on We continue to support the work consecutive Tuesdays from Jan. 22 of Northeastern Wisconsin Land through Feb. 26. The class was un- Trust (NEWLT). der the expert guidance of master Our annual fund-raising ban- fly tyer Jerry Weatherwax. quet will be held on Thurs., April 4 We have pledged a total of at the Northwinds Banquet Hall in $5,500 for two habitat projects. One Marion. will involve work in Shawano and —Lee Kersten Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter

Our formal all-chapter meetings clean-up on Sat., April 20. Our site resume this year at The Charcoal is on the Menomonee River near photos Beecher Jim Grill, which is located at 15375 W. Miller Park. We’ll meet at the Sau- ED SCHENK AND GEORGE DANIEL SHARE A FEW TRICKS Greenfield Ave. in New Berlin (just sage Haus at 9:00 a.m. and work un- Colorado author and fly tyer Ed Schenk (top left) shows STU member Bill south of I-94 near the intersection til Noon. Our volunteer hours will of Greenfield and Moorland). Our count toward our contribution to Engber some of his techniques at STU’s fly tying class at the Fitchburg meetings are open to the public and the Menomonee River Fish Passage Community Center. Schenk was in town for the Madison Fly Fishers’ Spring run monthly from Sept. thru May. Project. This year, after much prep- Opener event and stopped by STU’s class. Meanwhile, STU’s annual fly fishing Dinner (optional) at 6:00. Meeting aration and planning, the concrete- show, the Icebreaker, featured Pennsylvania fly fishing author George Daniel at 7:00. Stop out, get acquainted lined channel upstream of the stadi- (bottom right). Listening to Daniel is Brian Larson from the Harry & Laura Nohr with some old friends, and make um will be breeched and provide some new ones! Check out fish with access to over 25 more Chapter. www.sewtu.org for the latest details. stream miles! We’ve had some great speakers On Sat., May 18 we’ll once again this spring, including Jared Ehlers ter for organizing the six classes and from the event and Jim Wierzba for lend a helping hand to our friends all the volunteers who helped out. storing our most prized possession! of The Fly Fishers Fly Shop and re- from the Aldo Leopold Chapter as tired fisheries biologist Dave Vetra- On March 6, The Fly Fishers Fly Upcoming outreach events in- they start part three of the Bear Shop brought the Fly Fishing Film clude the Kid’s Fishing Clinic at no. Creek Restoration Project near We encourage all of our mem- Tour to Milwaukee. SEWTU would Sandy Knoll County Park on April Lone Rock an hour west of Madi- like to thank Kyle Klamar and Josh 13. We need volunteers to help out bers to attend the April 30 meeting. son. We’ll build lunkers from 9:00 Mat Wagner The Driftless An- Radlein for their hard work behind around the pond. Contact Mike from a.m. until Noon and then enjoy gler will be our featured speaker. the scenes. We would especially like Kuhr at [email protected] if SEWTU’s signature brat fry lunch. We’ll draw the winners of our to thank Capt. Pat Ehlers, whose you can help either in the morning Spring Raffle — the grand prize is a We’re planning a chapter outing donations helped SEWTU raise from 9 to Noon or the afternoon 17-foot cedar strip canoe! We’ll also at the West Fork Sportsmen’s Club over $1,500 at the event! from 12 to 3. that same weekend. As in years past, hold elections for our chapter offi- From March 6-10, SEWTU vol- We’ll also partner with Orvis this we’ll camp and fish around the cers. Leaders serve two-year terms. unteers promoted TU’s mission at year and help with their Fly Fishing workday. It will be a great time to be Nominations will be accepted that the Milwaukee Sports Show. 101 classes. Dates include April 20, in the Driftless Area. We hope you’ll evening. Our May meeting will fea- Thanks to Chuck Beeler for coordi- 21, 27, 28, May 18, 19, 25, 26, June 8 join us. ture our annual members travel- nating the event and to all those and 9. These three-hour intro-to-fly- ogues. This is your chance to share We’ve been active in several out- who helped set up the displays, run fishing classes cover casting, rigging, your past fishing trip experiences reach events this spring. We just the booth, and break it down at the knots, fly selection, and include free with the group. wrapped up our annual fly tying end. We’d also like to thank Herb memberships to TU! We’ll kick off our 2013 workday classes at Cabela’s in Richfield. We Oechler for providing safe passage schedule with the annual river want to thank SEWTU’s John Knit- for the Cedar Strip Canoe to and Continued on p. 16 Page 16 Wisconsin Trout April 2013 Chapter News

Continued from p. 15 own fly rods. We can’t wait to put Meicher, Duke Welter, Henry Haug- historical novelist, and Kent Cow- Our Project Healing Waters pro- them to the test! ley, and Mark Maffit made the gill, an angling author, presented as gram continues at the VA Medical If you would like to receive spring trek north to offer their ener- well. Cowgill read from his new Center in Milwaukee. SEWTU e-mail alerts with details gy and showmanship. The money book Sunlit Riffles and Shadowed Al Dalphonso, John Knitter, and about upcoming events, contact us raised allowed the chapter to devel- Runs, which includes stories about Glen Winston lead our morning at [email protected]. As my time as op a strong conservation program in fishing the Brule River. group. This spring, we’ll assist our chapter president winds down, I northwest Wisconsin. The large church gymnasium al- veterans who have already been th- would like to sincerely thank all of This spring we reorganized the lowed plenty of room for agency ru the PHW program go out into our volunteers for your efforts. It event. Partnering with the Namak- and group exhibits, a Namakagon the community to teach other veter- has been an honor to represent you, agon River Partnership and the River Partnership booth, and dis- ans the art of fly tying. George Bat- and I couldn’t be more proud of Wesleyan Church, we moved the plays by the Hayward Fly Fishing cha and Dan Suminski continue to what we’ve accomplished. Our cold- event to Hayward. Hayward, the Shop and other area fishing shops lead the evening classes. Volunteers water resources wouldn’t be the home of the Freshwater Fishing and artists. The live auction includ- Rick Frye and Taylor Todd have same without you. Hall of Fame, lots of lakes, and ma- ed used and new fishing gear, five been helping several vets build their —Mike Kuhr ny fishers, has proved to be a great great guided fishing trips, maple syr- place to hold a fishing show. Lots of up, flies, pies, books, and lots of Southern Wisconsin Chapter area people fish the Namakagon rods. Thanks to Don Sutliff, Roger River, and the Hayward Fly Fishing Gustafson, Damian Wilmot, Jason Stewart Larry & Wendy SWTU started the year with an Looking back, we had 69 volun- Shop and area guides have been , and from the Hayward Fly Fishing Shop for enjoyable and educational Icebreak- teers of all ages (some traveling up strong TU supporters. The Fishing er event. This is our biggest fund- from Illinois, even!) who attended Expo was held at the Wesleyan donating the guided trips. Thanks to the Wesleyan Church for hosting raiser of the year, and we were one or more stream workdays in Church in Hayward on March 16. It the expo, to the Namakagon River pleased to have visitors from across 2012. Together, we logged over 756 featured presentations on fishing Partnership Wisconsin as well as travelers from volunteer hours in stream work. the Namakagon River, trout fishing (please check out their website). A big thank-you goes to Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. De- Many thanks to all who helped the White River in Arkansas, musky Frank Pratt for organizing the very spite some dodgy travel conditions make a difference. and walleye tactics, pan fishing se- and lost luggage between here and Our 2013 stream workdays are crets, and the local sturgeon pro- successful event. Pennsylvania, our featured speak- well underway. A little snow and gram. Authors Jim Braken, a —Dick Berge & Chuck Campbell er, George Daniel, put on two ex- cold isn’t enough to keep our hearty ceptional programs that showed crews from clearing debris and at- Wisconsin River Valley Chapter many of us old dogs some new tacking invasive stands of box elder tricks. We also heard from Mike and buckthorn. The workdays are Even though the calendar says We have been preparing intense- Miller, who passed along some in- posted to our calendar at www.sw- late March, winter has a solid hold ly for our annual banquet, which will credibly useful information on the tu.org, and we’re always happy to on us yet. Hopes to get out on some be held Thurs., May 2 at the VFW trout and insect populations of Wis- have more help, so take a look and of our early catch-and-release Hanger Lounge in downtown consin streams. please come join us! streams are seemed far-fetched giv- Wausau. We have been collecting In March we raised over $3,000 en they were iced up. But our chap- at our annual Meicher Madness numerous items for auction and raf- ter has been heating up, with new fles and feel we will have an excel- Auction — an always-enjoyable eve- invigoration and energy with the ning of generous donations and live- lent night to raise some much- new board. needed funds to do some in-stream ly bidding. This night of friendship, Feb. 15-17 we had a booth at the humor, and spirited bidding is a projects. Central Wisconsin Fishing Show Our monthly meetings are held great way to raise funds for our held at Cedar Creek in Mosinee. We coldwater resource. the second Monday of every month tied flies, showed various knots, and at the Great Dane Brewery in Be sure to check out our newslet- promoted TU and what our chapter Wausau. The business meeting be- ter and online chapter calendar at does for our local coldwater re- gins at 6 p.m. We are looking at hav- www.swtu.org. There you’ll find all sources. A big thanks to Pat & Bet- of our activities and events, includ- sey Hager, Linda Lehman, Henry ing a movie night for our April ing details of our Annual Casting Kanemoto, Bob Pils, Gene Koshak, meeting after the business meeting Clinic. It’s set for April 13 at Salmo John Meachan, Kirk Stark, and Li- adjourns. Pond just off Hwy. 14 west of Cross sa Mattson for giving their time in Hope you all have a terrific Plains. It’s free and everyone is in- the booth. We also raffled off a fly spring when it finally shows up. vited to come learn about casting, rod combo, and the winner was Ron Tight lines. bugs, gear, reading the waterm and Laine from Tripoli, WI. —Doug Brown more! —Drew Kasel Wolf River Chapter Wild Rivers Chapter All of us at the Wolf River Chap- the summer and fall at eight loca- ter would like to thank Clyde Park tions, including seven feeder Elevate your fly fishing to a new Since 2001, the Wild Rivers Chapter fund-raising efforts have for the years of work he has done streams. level. The Original BlueSky involved an annual spring fishing ex- for the chapter. Clyde is retiring On Sat., July 27 we will be clean- Furled Leader. Sizes for all fish & po and auction. Venues have from the board. Brian Heikenen has ing up the lower stretches of Nine fishing conditions. BlueSky - the changed, but the format of speakers been elected to replace Clyde. Mile Creek where previous work A couple of dates for our sum- leader in furled leaders.TM and a live auction has worked well. has been done. Our brush and bun- The chapter was blessed by the help mer brat stand have been set for FurledLeaders.com dling project for Nine Mile Creek of other chapters, primarily in the 2013. We will be running the stand will be August 17. This year we will [email protected] • Ph/Fax 920-822-5396 auctioneer ranks. Great auction tal- Memorial Day weekend and the 4th be working with the Green Bay 1237 Yurek Rd., Pulaski WI 54162 USA ent like Dr. Sausage, aka Larry of July weekend. Come visit us at Chapter finishing the final section the corner of Hwy. 55 & 64 at east of Hwy. 55. Anyone interested Mike’s Service in Langlade. A couple of beaver have been in helping out should contact us spotted on Nine Mile Creek. Trap- through our website, www.Wol- per Duane Fronek will resume trap- fRiverTU.org. MIKE’S ping this spring. Watch for our new biannual Temperature monitoring will be- newsletter coming soon. SERVICE gin in May and continue throughout —Tim Waters AT LANGLADE JUNCTION OF HWY. 55 AND 64 FLY SHOP AUTO REPAIR Consider Proper Release Fly Shop & Sporting Goods It’s working...so let’s keep up the good work! 1. Don’t play fish to exhaustion. Instead, use a landing net to bring fish under control before they’re played out. Need a special pattern? Ask Mike! 2. Handle fish in the net. Grasp them across the back and head for firm but gentle control. Use the net fabric as • Custom Tied Flies • your “glove.” 3. Turn fish belly up while removing hooks. This disorients fish momentarily for easier, quicker handling. 4. Don’t remove swallowed hooks. Just cut the line... MICHAEL & (715) 882-8901 doing so saves two-thirds of deeply hooked trout. ALICE KLIMOSKI 4505 STATE ROAD 55 5. Don’t keep fish out of the water more than 10-15 Owners WHITE LAKE, WISCONSIN 54491 seconds. Fragile gills are damaged after that...especially in cold weather. April 2013 Wisconsin Trout Page 17 Jim Beecher eidi Oberstadt SCENES FROM THE STATE COUNCIL BANQUET Auctioneer Dave Seligman (above, holding mic) tried to drum up a couple more sales before picking a Scott W. Grady winner of a custom Randy Arnold Rodmaker wooden fly tying bench as ticket seller Linda Lehman looks on. Split Bamboo Rods Several fly tyers showed their stuff, new & repairs including Mark Rhinerson (top left, Bamboo Rodmaking Classes foreground) as Tom Thrall gets a makes a great Xmas gift!

close view and Bob Selk takes notes. Call or email Scott for details at Keyboardist Mathew Buchman and

Heidi Oberstadt 920/687-0987 or [email protected] John Greiner entertained.

Jack Halbrehder Sparta WI Robert Pelowski Franklin WI Gerald Haunschild Neenah WI Randal Rake De Pere WI Bill Heart Ashland WI Anne Readel Madison WI Mark & Jan Heifner Appleton WI Steve Robertson Verona WI Gilbert Herman Stoughton WI Thomas Rogers Princeton WI Andrew Holverson Wauwatosa WI Frederick Seybold Madison WI Greg Hyer Cross Plains WI John Shillinglaw Appleton WI Ed Inderrieden Mequon WI Dan Jansen DeForest WI Ronald Smith Cudahy WI Bill Jordan Appleton WI Mike Spittler Minneapolis MN John Kenealy III Waukesha WI Wayne Stockman Spring Valley WI James Kennedy Cross Plains WI Charles Urban Chicago IL Paul Kosin Minocqua WI Hugh Waber Madison WI Andrew Kosmider Milwaukee WI Richard Wachowski Eau Claire WI Cliff Kremmer Sparta WI Don Wagner Gillett WI James Laudon Plover WI John Wahlers Berlin WI Brian Madsen Ellsworth WI Jim & Sharon Waters White Lake WI William Maggard Mequon WI Donald Welhouse Kaukauna WI Richard Mandelin Montreal WI Fred Young Roscoe IL Bob Martini Rhinelander WI Anonymous Bob Mazanec Saint Paul MN Nearly $8,000 raised Kim McCarthy Green Bay WI Randy & Janice McGrath Janesville WI Antigo TU Antigo WI Fred Mikolajewski West Allis WI Kiap-TU-Wish Hudson WI for trout access grants Gene Muellar Monona WI Marinette Co. TU Marinette WI Bob Obma Green Bay WI Southern WI TU Fitchburg WI By Doug Brown Herb Oechler Wauwatosa WI WI Clear Waters TU Eau Claire, WI The 2012-13 fundraising campaign is nearly half over, and the ini- tial response has been very good. We have raised nearly $8,000 al- ready, with 82 private donations and three TU chapters contributing. Here is my contribution of $100 That kind of financial support has been put to good use. Last year, the Central WI Chapter was awarded a grant to help acquire land or more to the Watershed Access Fund along the White R. in Waushara County. All contributions will be used (Make your check payable to solely for Wisconsin acquisitions. With that nice tax refund, please “Wisconsin Trout Unlimited”) consider donating any amount to this program so future properties can be protected for YOU to use. MAIL TO: TU Watershed Access Fund The current grant request limit is $5,000. Because two chapters % Doug Brown may each request for a single acquisition and each chapter would R4800 Timber Ln. have to match at 50%, the new limits would provide as much as Ringle, WI 54471 $15,000 for a single purchase or easement. Access is also critical for TU to continue its successful stream improvement work. Name 2011/12 Contributors Dale Bakke Stevens Point WI Erwin Dohmen Port Washington WI Address Edwin Barnes Middleton WI Dennis Drazkowski North Prairie WI Ronald Berg Chippewa Falls WI Richard Duplessie Eau Claire WI Stephen Berg Highland WI Robert Franzkowiak, Sr. Brown Deer WI City, State, Zip Stephen Born Madison WI Greg Gerard Hudson WI Barry Boyer Chippewa Falls WI Tony Goldberg Madison WI R.G. Chamberlain Markesan WI James Goodwin Sturgeon Bay WI Phone Terry Cummings Rhinelander WI Robert Haglund Green Bay WI Bruce Davidson Wauwatosa WI Henry Haugley Sun Prairie WI Page 18 Wisconsin Trout April 2013 Maker of flies: Carrie Frost pioneered fishing fly manufacturing at turn of the century By Virgil “Pete” Peters and Bernadelle Toser In 1938, Stevens Point said goodbye to a spirited and enterprising woman — Carrie J. Frost. Frost founded an artificial fishing fly manu- facturing business, the C.J. Frost Co. This was the first large-scale in- stitution of its kind in America, and perhaps the largest in the world. Frost, an early Stevens Point schoolmarm, left that position to es- tablish, own and operate a flourishing business at a time when few women had positions of any importance in the world of business, fi- nance or commerce. By the time she retired in 1920, she had seen many millions of trout and bass flies tied by a large labor force of her employees marketed nationwide. The slogan, “Fish Fight for Frost Flies,” was familiar to fly-fishers of all ages. An ardent sportswoman, Frost was a lover of both hunting and fishing. An expert in handling a fly rod, she could cast a fly to an exact spot in a patch of water where trout were feeding. Her artificial fly would drop on the surface of the water as gently as a dragonfly landing on a lily pad. She often fished with her father and began tying trout flies exclu- sively for his use when his own failed to arrive from England in time for the opening of the trout fishing season. At first, she merely copied the patterns of imported English flies, but Frost soon found that Wis- consin trout didn’t always care for imported flies. It was then she began to create trout and bass flies which looked more like the food local fish were used to consuming. Her father’s success at fly fishing began to be noticed by other fly-fishers, and soon she had more orders for her finished flies than she could handle alone. In 1896, what became the C.J. Frost Co. was born. The first of sev- eral shops where Frost flies were made was the Frost home at the corner of Brawley and Plover streets. When Frost was overwhelmed with orders, the family housekeeper Photos courtesy of family the Frost was pressed into service, and the “shop” was soon moved to a larger building on Jefferson Street, then to Normal (College) Avenue. A second shop was established on Ellis Street near the corner of Strongs Avenue. Later, both shops were combined in a final location Carrie Frost elected to in a large, two-story building on Strongs Avenue across the street from Northern Auto Supply. A “fly,” which is the general term used for a lure created to attract Fly Fishing Hall of Fame fish, does not always look like a fly. It might look like any creature a particular fish is used to having for dinner. A hook, decorated to simu- By Todd Hanson ment of her company, [Frost] was late this creature, is attached to a bit of line, called the “leader,” which selling 4.5 million flies and other is tied through an eye in the hook. Artificial flies were created from New York’s Catskill Fly Fishing pieces of tackle.” small pieces of material such as floss, chenille, yarn, tinsel, feathers Center elected Stevens Point, Wis- Carrie Frost’s grand niece, Betty and animal hair tied around a steel hook. Early hooks were called consin native Carrie Frost to its Fly Frost Jenkins, was on hand at the Fishing Hall of Fame on Oct. 6 of Catskill Fly Fishing Center to accept “marked” shank hooks and were manufactured without hook eyes. last year. the award. In 1915, 16-year-old Mary Blavat, a Stevens Point native who still Frost’s name doesn’t ring a bell? lives in the old family home in Stevens Point, joined a group of 85 Well, you probably don’t know who women employees of Frost. She helped create the large numbers runs Orvis or Cabela’s these days, flies that were sold through Montgomery Ward and other Midwest do you? Carrie Frost had that kind hardware and sporting goods distributors. of relationship with fly fishing 100 Blavat remembers purchasing cake wax from a local shoe shop, years ago when she was America’s which was used to wax the silk thread that attached feathers and fur mogul of trout flies. to snelled hooks. The silk thread sliced into her fingers severely until You can read more about Frost’s rise to the top of the fly production they became calloused enough to tolerate it, Blavat said. world in the story on this page from Starting pay for workers was 15 cents per gross (12 dozen) for fin- the Stevens Point Daily Journal. ished snelled hooks and 15 cents for tying two dozen standard trout The other 2012 inductees into and bass flies. The hourly rate was estimated at 13 cents. the Hall of Fame included Stu Apte, A working day was nine hours, and Frost’s girls worked six days a Tom McGuane, Ed Shenk, and Lar- week. The average daily production was six to seven gross of snelled ry Solomon (all living), plus George hooks and 18 to 20 dozen flies. Parker Holden, Paul Young, and Joe Blavat remembers Frost as an excellent businesswoman who Brooks (all deceased). guarded the fly-tying art she had perfected. She was adamant that According to the The Fly Fishing Hall of Fame’s induction notes, “In her employees would not tie flies in their homes. Her concern was only a decade after the establish- that others would learn the delicate art from one of “her girls,” and it would hurt her business. As the business grew and prospered, Carrie Frost’s brother, George W. Frost, became sales manager, traveling throughout the United States selling to major distributors, dealers and fishing tackle suppliers. He later started his own business, manufacturing fishing lures under the name, G.W. Frost & Sons, which remained a Stevens Point business until 1974. In 1920, Carrie Frost sold C.J. Frost Co. to Dan Frost, unrelated but wealthy businessman and president of Citizens National Bank, and it became known as the Frost Tackle Co. In 1926, Frost Tackle merged with the Weber Lifelike Fly Co. Blavat continued to work for the Frost Tackle Co. through its pur- chase and merger with the Weber Lifelike Fly Co. She retired from Weber in 1962, after 47 years of contributing her very special skills to a business which had made Stevens Point the “fly-tying capital of the world.” Much of the credit for establishing this empire must go to Car- rie J. Frost, the supreme maker of fishing flies. (This story originally appeared in the Feb. 4, 1992 issue of the Ste- FLY TYING CENTRAL IN STEVENS POINT vens Point Daily Journal. It is reprinted with permission. -Ed.) The headquarters of the mature C. J. Frost Fishing Tackle Co. (bottom) was on Strongs Ave. in Stevens Point. Later on flies were sold in blister packs (top). April 2013 Wisconsin Trout Page 19 DNR joins cooperative effort to restore the Little Plover River State groundwater, agricultural, will take about two years, Johnson and has lacked sufficient flows dur- has made progress in building coop- academic, and local government of- said. ing dry periods, says Eric Ebers- eration, and groundwater users have ficials are developing a sophisticat- The Little Plover River has expe- berger, who leads DNR’s water use significantly changed operations as ed computer model aimed at rienced periodic low flows for years section. A local stakeholders group they search for voluntary solutions. helping maintain healthy water lev- els in the Little Plover River in cen- Wisconsin Trout book review tral Wisconsin The Little Plover is a class I trout stream in an area with significant Profound River breathes life into Dame Juliana demands on groundwater from mu- By Duke Welter It’s not an easy task. Berners’ life the priory to satisfy the personal nicipal, agricultural, and industrial has been described since the early ambitions of those outside. concerns. Historical novels often strive, 1500s as that of a noblewoman who In some ways, this book reminds “Our goal is to create a tool that with varying success, to create credi- was a falconer, huntress, nun, and me of A Distant Mirror by the late leads to science-based solutions in ble characters in the context of set- angler, with various unverifiable Barbara Tuchman, which describes protecting the Little Plover environ- ting and period and then build a claims build around it. Was she any life in the 1300s for a lower-level no- mentally, along with protecting the believable plot into which they can of these, and was she even a wom- bleman tied to his castle, lands, fiefs, local economy and water quality,” breathe life. If an? The debate has persisted since and king. said Ken Johnson, who leads water an author los- there isn’t much documentation to In Profound River, Dame Juliana programs for the WDNR. “We ex- es the grasp of be found, a perfect set of arguments pect that what we learn from this works to ensure the long-term con- any of those for a tavern and a pint if ever there tinuation of her priory, threatened Little Plover model will be useful elements, the was one. by economics and expropriation. for other areas of the state as well.” book falls in- Arnold Gingrich did an impres- Meanwhile, she feeds her sisters DNR, the University of Wiscon- to the remain- sive investigation of the available with fish she catches in nearby rivers sin, the Wisconsin Potato and Vege- der bin evidence in his 1974 book, The Fish- table Growers Association, the quickly, for and ponds, many on flies she has de- ing in Print: A Guided Tour Through veloped through long observation Village of Plover, the Wisconsin good reason. Five Centuries of Angling Literature. Geological and Natural History Sur- When au- and experimentation. Sometimes He concluded Berners is probably a vey (UW-Extension), and the Unit- thor John the author gets a little deep into de- myth, but that was an elevation from ed States Geological Survey have all Gubbins took scribing what fish see and how agreed to work on the project. This on the first being simply a legend among an- aquatic food is imitated than one brings an impressive array of exper- fishing author found in print in the gling historians. We are left to pon- would believe extant in 1425, but tise to the endeavor, Johnson said. English language—the “Treatise on der where the 12 flies described in that’s a quibble in the overall pic- The group will assess the current Fishing with an Angle” found in the Berner’s treatise came from, or ture. And certainly his Dame ex- state of science regarding ground- Book of St. Albans in 1496, but likely where her angling experience was presses the joys of a day astream in water and surface water interaction written much earlier — he chal- developed. terms we can appreciate almost six in the Little Plover River watershed lenged himself to make the charac- Gubbins situates his Juliana centuries later. and will develop a groundwater flow ter of Dame Juliana Berners a character in the Priory of St. Albans All in all, Profound River enter- model to simulate the local ground- living, breathing person instead of and describes the village’s social, tains in describing a late medieval water and surface water systems. the often-repeated skeletal set of bi- economic, and political network of world with its layers of political A second phase of the modeling ographical facts we have heard relations with the King of England complexity and the progress of an will develop tools to evaluate vari- about her over the years. Gubbins’ and the Abbott of St. Albans with a old nun—whether mythical, legend- ous pumping scenarios and water book, Profound River (229 pages, convincing credibility. Around her ary, or based in fact—in observing management strategies to ensure Sweetwater Press, $15.99) mostly he has built a plot based on political the natural world and savoring what the health of the river. The project succeeds in meeting that challenge. pressures that threaten the future of it has to offer. Catalog courtesy of the Frost family Frost the of courtesy Catalog PARMACHENE BELLE, JOCK SCOTT, WICKHAM’S FANCY — HAVE YOU USED ANY OF THESE CLASSIC PATTERNS LATELY? This is the center spread of a mid-1900s C. J. Frost Fly Co. catalog. No We bet many of you had recipes for some of these flies in your first fly tying nymphs or beadheads here — these were the days of classic patterns kits. (To appreciate these flies in color, download this issue of Wisconsin Trout featuring lots of bright-colored hackle, duck quill wings, and traditional profiles. at the State Council’s website at www.WisconsinTU.org under “news.”) Page 20 Wisconsin Trout April 2013 MINING: bill’s passage will likely turn matter over to courts Continued from p. 1 job creation and protection of our timelines created in this bill are so Every step of the way the compa- As I said during Senate delibera- public interests and to do so in an rigid and unrealistic that it could ac- ny has held the state hostage and tion of this bill, this entire process is open and transparent way. In this tually increase the amount of time it Republican lawmakers have been a poster child for how a bill should case, the majority party in the legis- takes for a mine to get federal per- sacrosanct to the wishes of the com- never become law. The bill was writ- lature failed to live up to those ex- mits. The authors failed to remem- pany while ignoring the will of a very ten by a West Virginia coal company pectations and the result is a deeply ber that federal agencies and Tribal skeptical public. The rush to push and modified to please the compa- flawed law that will do little more governments are not bound by state this controversial and poorly written ny. It is a sad day when this compa- than create jobs for lawyers. law. So under the guise of establish- bill has led to a growing public dis- ny with no roots For example, ing certainty, the trust of the com- in Wisconsin can the provision al- permitting time- pany and the have the power lowing the mining lines in the bill legislature. Re- to control Wis- ...the provision allowing company to fill in will actually cre- Water defines our cent public opin- consin Govern- the mining company to navigable streams ate uncertainty. borders and describes ion polls show a ment in an effort fill in navigable streams (up to 2 miles In fact, spokes- the character of dramatic shift in to weaken envi- (up to 2 miles long) long) and a navi- persons for the our people. opposition to the ronmental poli- and a navigable pond gable pond (up 2 US Army Corps bill from a year cy, mute the acres in size) and of Engineers have As Gaylord Nelson so ago, when the public voice, and (up 2 acres in size) mitigate the fill already stated eloquently said, “Our same polls show- shortchange Wis- and mitigate the fill elsewhere is a that it is highly economy is a wholly ed the state near- consin taxpayers. elsewhere is a blatant blatant violation doubtful the de- owned subsidiary ly split on the When it violation of the of the Wisconsin partment can col- of the land we walk on, topic. comes to our nat- Wisconsin Constitution’s laborate with the the air we breathe, Opposition to ural resources, Public Trust Doc- state under these the law has come Wisconsin citi- Constitution’s Public trine, which states new, rigid time- and the water in overwhelming zens do not seek Trust Doctrine... that the waters of lines. we drink.” numbers from a Republican or a the state belong Despite re- Democrats as Democratic law. to the people of quests from citi- well as Republi- They seek a cooperative process the state. As soon as a permit is is- zens throughout the state, the cans. They are not conservatives or that ends up with a responsible law. sued that includes filling in naviga- authors of the bill refused to hold a liberals but Wisconsinites who are The passage of this bill represents a ble water and replacing it hearing on this deeply flawed bill in offended by this sellout of Wiscon- major departure from our State’s somewhere else there will be a con- Northern Wisconsin. It is no sur- sin values and policies to protect long tradition of creating environ- stitutional challenge to the new law prise that the Republican majority those natural resources that define mental policy through bi-partisan which could delay consideration of deliberately avoided public hear- us and sustain our quality of life. consensus. Republicans like former the project for at least 5–7 years. ings in the north because they didn’t Water defines our borders and Governor Warren Knowles and Even the authors admit that the want to be publicly confronted by describes the character of our peo- Democrats like former Governor law will be challenged in court, so it overwhelming opposition. The ma- ple. As Gaylord Nelson so eloquent- Gaylord Nelson understood that is hard to reconcile their stated goal jority party was never interested in ly said, “Our economy is a wholly our state’s resources were simply to streamline a process with a bill compromise or the common good owned subsidiary of the land we too important to be left to partisan loaded up with statutory changes but rather was intent on pursuing a walk on, the air we breathe, and the politics. that invite lengthy and costly court policy subservient to corporate de- water we drink.” While mining is both controver- delays. mands and oblivious to the public Soon the company will apply for sial and complicated, the public ex- The company also cannot pro- interest. drilling permits to conduct hydro- pects their officials to pursue ceed with a project until they re- How can they defend new statu- logical tests. Most experts believe responsible and reasonable solu- ceive permits from Federal as well tory language establishing that it is that these tests will take at least two tions that assure balance between as state authorities. However, the “absolutely necessary to fill wet- years. This is a highly controversial lands” by claiming that it is not a project that will require significant change in environmental standards? baseline testing to be part of any They can’t because everyone knows permit application. better. It was just four years ago the Even though most taconite mine Legislature adopted the Great projects take 5 to 7 years or longer Lakes Water Compact in order to to permit, the authors pretend that protect our watersheds, yet last the new law will lead to construction week they eagerly adopted legisla- within three years. While our state tion that jeopardizes the Bad River regulatory agency will be stifled by Watershed. this unworkable The Legisla- and irresponsi- ture relied upon ble law, I remain illusion and per- There are many confident that petuated myths unanswered questions that the Federal to justify a agencies will as- wholesale weak- have been avoided during sert the proper ening of the reg- the past two years and just adult supervi- ulatory process. as the public recently sion that is nec- Publicly they learned of Mr. Kline’s poor essary to protect claimed to trust environmental record in our resources the agency pro- and will take fessionals but in Illinois, I expect that there much, much lon- reality they will be many more ger before mak- pushed for radi- revelations that may ing any de- cal changes that heighten public concern cisions. Then, prescribe the about this project. the inevitable DNR decision lawsuits will ex- making process, tend the process limits the discre- for years. tion of these officials, and deprives This company must not only them of the time and tools to make comply with federal standards, it the best decisions. must find a way to convince inves- The authors of the bill weren’t tors that this is a viable project on listening to the public, or to the ex- which to spend $16 billion. There perts on the subject, they were tak- are many unanswered questions that ing orders from the company. Last have been avoided during the past year Gogebic Taconite President two years, and just as the public re- Bill Williams affirmed the role of cently learned of Mr. Kline’s poor the company in drafting the bill. He environmental record in Illinois, I said, “It was if they said, ‘there is a expect that there will be many more Santa here and it is a Christmas list revelations that may heighten public — what is it you want for Christ- concern about this project. mas?’” I appreciate your interest and in- This law offers a sweetheart deal tend on keeping in touch with the for the mining company and short- company, regulatory officials, and changes the taxpayers. At the re- local community leaders regarding quest of the company the authors the process. I will keep you in- deleted $5 million in pre-payments formed. that the company agreed to pay a year ago. As lawmakers our job is to (This piece by State Sen. Jauch serve the public. It is not to be Santa originally appeared as a letter to his Claus to a private company and constituents. It was released after the scrooge to the taxpayers. new mining law was passed. -Ed.) April 2013 Wisconsin Trout Page 21 Heidi Oberstadt Heidi TICKETS, TICKETS, WE’VE GOT TICKETS! State Council banquet raffle ticket sellers included (l to r) Dan Holland, Patty

Holland, Matt Salchert, an unidentified well-wisher, and Andrea Salchert. Jim Beecher BOB HAASE TIED SOME FAVORITES AT THE BANQUET Our frequent fly tips and fly pattern contributor Bob Haase (seated) showed EXPO: volunteers needed some of his recent innovations at the State Council banquet. Listening are Continued from p. 1 sors, bobbin, and half hitch tool or (l to r) Dave Sanders, Kim McCarthy, and Henry Haugley. If a chapter could develop a dis- whip finisher. All materials and di- play and have one person at the ex- rections for the flies are provided. po each day, it would provide We have a lot of repeat volun- AWARDS: council presents honors another opportunity to teach kids teers because the TU members who about environmental concerns. Oth- volunteer their time see and realize Continued from p. 7 stream restoration project. Those er activities could include knot tying what a great program and opportu- Brent has been actively benefit- plans allowed the Aldo Leopold or fish identification. nity this is. If you have volunteered ing trout in Sauk County for de- Chapter to write numerous success- There is a lot we can do, but it all in the past, maybe you can talk a cades. One large project Brent led ful grants that made the project a takes volunteers. It takes a mini- friend into coming along with you was the Dell Creek Priority Water- reality in 2011. Brent was also able mum of four to six volunteers each this year. shed Project. The Dell Creek proj- to secure $10,000 from Sauk County day for fly casting, and a minimum Bob Haase and Todd Franklin ect was a roughly 15-year effort to to help fund this project in both of 10 to 16 each day for fly tying. will be co-chairs again for this year’s reduce nonpoint pollution in the 2011 and 2012. The more volunteers we have, the TU involvement at the Outdoor Ex- watershed. The project was a great Brent works very closely with the more students we can accept. po. If you would like to volunteer success, far surpassing its goals. Natural Resources Conservation The fly rods used at the expo are with fly casting or fly tying—or if Brent has also helped improve Service. He has been mentoring the furnished by the DNR office out of you’d like to introduce a new activi- the trout-carrying capacity and local NRCS technician on designing Oshkosh, so all you need to bring to ty, such as knot tying or aquatic in- aquatic diversity of Hulbert Creek stream restoration projects so that help out with fly casting is yourself. sect identification—please contact and Camels Creek. the NRCS can tackle projects Brent If you would like to help with fly ty- either Bob at (920) 922-8003 (flyti- Brent began his latest multiple- isn’t able to get to. ing, all you need to bring is your vise [email protected]) or Todd at (920) year project when he started work- For being a solid partner on be- and basic tying tools, such as a scis- 219-9550 ([email protected]). ing with the Aldo Leopold Chapter half of trout for many years, Brent on Bear Creek. In 2009 he drew up Bergstrom is one of our 2013 Re- MEMBERSHIP: committee engineering plans for a major source Professional Award winners. tackling recruitment, retention PUBLIC TRUST: meets water Continued from p. 1 discussions about improving our about all of the contributions, membership outreach, like the one law enforcement reality comments, ideas, and excitement. It described above. Continued from p. 8 public lakebed to private condo- showed me that the health of our It does not have to end there, so had referred the matter to the At- miniums. membership is at the top of priority if you have any ideas or suggestions, torney General for enforcement “to Wisconsin law affords trust lists throughout the great state of please feel free to reach out to me stop the purported sale of public beneficiaries the ability to demon- Wisconsin. and share what you are thinking. trust waters to private individuals strate standing and a cause of ac- Projects for 2013 With more information and ideas and to have any transactions which tion under section 30.294 to Going forward into 2013, we from members like you, we will be may have already occurred invali- litigate violations of chapter 30 de- have several projects on the hori- better positioned to take our amaz- dated.”371 However, DNR later ap- spite government inaction or com- zon. We will soon have better mem- ing organization to a whole new lev- proved the proposal, and during plicity with violations of the public bership tools at our disposal with el. an administrative hearing on AB- trust. Beneficiary legal actions are the addition of a new listserve plat- Thank you for all you do and KA’s permit “DNR did not take the becoming more important given form to greatly enhance our com- contribute to our mission of protect- position that ABKA’s dockominium the state’s limited enforcement of munication capabilities, a State ing our coldwater resources. I thank project violated § 30.133,” but Wis- water laws. Similarly, given DNR Council Facebook page (search for: you, the State Council thanks you, consin Association of Lakes, an in- and the Attorney General’s limited Wisconsin Trout Unlimited State and future generations will thank tervening party, did.372 Upon ability to challenge legislation, Council), and certainly more lively you. review, the Supreme Court, per- beneficiary legal actions are es- suaded by the intervening lake as- sential to challenge unconstitu- sociation’s arguments, held that tional actions by the legislative the project violated the public trust trustees. by running afoul of section (* To save space, footnotes are not 30.133’s prohibition on conveying shown here. Footnotes often refer to riparian rights to nonriparians.373 court cases and legal opinions. To Without the leadership of Wiscon- read them, see the complete Scanlan sin Association of Lakes in litigat- piece, a link to which is at www.Wis- ing this claim all the way to the consinTU.org. This article was origi- supreme court, the trustees would nally published in the Ecology Law have allowed ABKA to convert Quarterly 39:1 [2012]. -Ed.) Consider Proper Release It’s working...so let’s keep up the good work! 1. Don’t play fish to exhaustion. Instead, use a landing net to bring fish under control before they’re played out. 2. Handle fish in the net. Grasp them across the back and head for firm but gentle control. Use the net fabric as your “glove.”

Jim Beecher 3. Turn fish belly up while removing hooks. This disorients fish momentarily for easier, quicker handling. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE MEETS AT ANNUAL MEETING 4. Don’t remove swallowed hooks. Just cut the line... doing so saves two-thirds of deeply hooked trout. Scott Criqui (standing) kicked off a revived membership committee with an 5. Don’t keep fish out of the water more than 10-15 organizing meeting Feb. 2 after the regular annual meeting. Listening to Scott seconds. Fragile gills are damaged after that...especially are (l to r) Rich Vetrano, Ivan Nohavica, and Linda Lehman. in cold weather. Page 22 Wisconsin Trout April 2013 Trout angling on Timber Coulee Creek: WDNR compares creel surveys from 1984 and 2008 By Matthew Mitro, Jordan Weeks, Angler effort dynamics changing Timber Coulee. About 85% of anglers fly fished and David Vetrano The dynamics of angler effort on Timber Cou- in 2008 versus 24% in 1984, whereas about 51% lee changed significantly from 1984 to 2008. Trout of anglers bait fished in 1984 versus 7% in 2008. The WDNR routinely monitors trout popula- anglers made about 60% fewer trips to Timber In 2008, as in 1984, Timber Coulee Creek pro- tions in streams across the state, but less fre- Coulee in 2008 versus 1984 during the regular vided a high-quality brown trout fishery. Angler quently do we monitor or collect data on trout open season. Anglers made 752 trips in 2008 ver- demographic changes and regulations have elimi- angler effort, catch, and harvest. sus 1,928 trips in 1984 to a 1.6-mile section of the nated overharvest concerns raised by the 1984 Whereas a trout stream can be surveyed in a stream from May to September. creel survey. However, despite the high propor- number of days to effectively characterize the The 1.6-mile section of stream used in Bob tion of quality-size 8- to 11-inch trout (60–80% in trout population therein, creel surveys generally Hunt’s creel survey started 1 mile downstream of 2007–2009) and regulations allowing for their target angler behavior over an entire season and the Olstad Road bridge and ended 0.6 miles up- harvest, few anglers kept trout from Timber Cou- therefore require a more significant investment in stream of the bridge. (All comparisons between lee in 2008. resources. Each is critically important to fisheries 1984 and 2008 are for this 1.6-mile section of Technical bulletin coming management. Timber Coulee.) We will be publishing as a DNR technical bul- Our most recent trout angler creel survey was Angler effort was also generally less in 2008 letin that will be a more comprehensive analysis conducted on Timber Coulee Creek in 2008. Tim- versus 1984 in terms of time spent fishing per of the 2008 Timber Coulee creel survey data. The ber Coulee is an 8.2 mile stream managed as a mile. In 1984 trout anglers fished 201 (March) to bulletin will compare 2008 data to the results Class I wild trout fishery consisting almost entire- 596 (May) hours per stream mile by month. In from Bob Hunt’s 1984 creel survey on Timber ly of brown trout. 2008 trout anglers fished 135 (March) to 447 Coulee, as well as to results from the 2012 state- Regulations were split across Timber Coulee (May) hours per stream mile by month. Only dur- wide trout angler survey. during the 2008 regular season. The lower half of ing the month of August was angler effort greater The analyses of the 2012 trout angler survey the stream was catch-and-release with artificial in 2008. Anglers fished 298 hours per stream mile have not yet been completed, but they will pro- lures only, whereas the upper half of the stream in August 2008 versus 211 hours per stream mile vide insights into current Wisconsin trout angler had a 5 trout bag limit per day for trout less than in August 1984. demographics and the effort representative of 12 inches in length. The March–April 2008 early Completed trip length increasing trout anglers as a whole. season was catch-and-release with artificial lures Completed trip length, however, was signifi- only over the entire stream. (Matt Mitro is a WDNR natural resources re- cantly greater in 2008 versus 1984. Completed The creel survey of Timber Coulee was not search scientist based in Madison. Jordan Weeks is trip length increased about 76% from an average necessarily representative of any other trout a WDNR fisheries biologist based in La Crosse. of 1.7 hours per trip in 1984 to an average of 3 stream in Wisconsin, but it did provide insight in- Dave Vetrano is a former WDNR fisheries supervi- hours per trip in 2008. to angling behavior on a major special-regulation sor who now consults on trout habitat plans for TU This change in the dynamics of angler effort is trout stream and how angler demographics and and others. -Ed.) also evident when effort is expressed as the num- effort have changed over time. ber of hours per trip per mile. Over the course of We compared our results from 2008 to a simi- the regular season, anglers fished 3.1–3.4 hours 7LPEHU&RXOHH&UHHN%URZQ7URXW lar survey conducted 24 years earlier in 1984 by per trip per mile in 2008 versus 1.6–1.8 hours per Bob Hunt. Angling regulations on Timber Coulee trip per mile in 1984 by month.  were different in 1984. There was a 2 trout bag  Harvest mentality changing  limit per day during the January–April early sea- The increase in average trip length likely re- son and a 5 trout bag limit per day during the reg-  flects the change from a harvest fishery in 1984 to ular season, with a 6 inch minimum length limit a catch-and-release fishery in 2008. In 1984 an- each season.  glers caught 1.5 trout/hour, harvested 0.4 trout/  We found that in 2008, as in 1984, Timber hour, and kept about 1,859 trout from the 1.6-  Coulee provided a high-quality brown trout fish- mile section of stream. In 2008 anglers caught  ery in terms of catch rates and average trout size. 1.25 trout/hour, harvested 0.04 trout/hour, and We also observed significant changes in harvest kept about 119 trout from the 4 miles upstream of  and angler demographics.  the Olstad Road bridge.  Trout length compared  Trips per mile The average length of trout harvested in 1984 was 10.6 inches, and the average length of trout 3HUFHQWRIILVKVXUYH\HG  caught in 2008 was 10 inches. Trout size structure 300  in October at the end of the regular season in-  1984 (1.6 mi) cluded more larger-sized trout in 2008 than in 200  1984, likely reflecting decreased harvest pressure.

100 In 1984 only 12% of trout were 11 inches or   2008 (1.6 mi) /HQJWK LQ 2008 (8.2 mi) larger. In 2008 about 60% of trout were 11 inches 0 or longer at the same stream site. However, data Jan Mar May Jul Sep from 2007-2009 show considerable year-to-year variability in size structure, with the percentage of Distance traveled to Timber Coulee Hours per mile trout 11 inches or larger ranging as low as 25%. Catch-and-release “destination” fishery 2008 79% 50+ miles 600 What used to be a harvest-oriented local trout 9.3% 500 fishery in 1984 had become a catch-and-release trout fishery in 2008. Part of this change is attrib- 7% 400 1984 (1.6 mi) 25-49 miles 1.2% utable to the catch-and-release regulations on 300 2008 (1.6 mi) half of Timber Coulee. But despite regulations al- 15% 200 0-24 miles 2008 (8.2 mi) lowing a 5 trout bag limit on the other half of 1984 89.5% 100 Timber Coulee, few anglers chose to harvest 0 20406080100 0 trout. Jan Mar May Jul Sep Timber Coulee in 2008 was primarily fished by % anglers willing to travel greater distances to fish: Type of Angling Hours per trip per mile 79% of anglers traveled 50 or more miles to Tim- ber Coulee in 2008 versus 9% in 1984. Converse- 1% Other 2008 (1.6 mi) ly, 90% of anglers traveled 0-24 miles to Timber 12% 2008 (8.2 mi) 3 2008 85% Coulee in 1984 versus 15% in 2008. This willing- Fly ness to travel to the Driftless Area likely reflects 24% 2 the high-quality wild trout fisheries there, not on- 7% 1984 (1.6 mi) Spinner / Lure ly in Timber Coulee, but throughout the region. 13% 1 7% Fly fishing increasing Bait 1984 51% The preference for fly fishing in 2008 was con- 0 sistent with the current catch-and-release ethic 0 20406080100 Jan Mar May Jul Sep and declining interest in harvesting trout from % April 2013 Wisconsin Trout Page 23

UV-set polymer gives the Advice from classic hare’s ear a new look Bob’s Tying Tips the bench of By Bob Haase box. There are a number of varia- Bob Haase tions to this pattern, and most of The Hare’s Ear is a pattern that them can be very productive. I be- has been around for a long time, lieve that adding eyes to many of the and it should be in everyone’s fly standard patterns can make them Give UV-set glues a try even more productive, so I have where you want to apply it. been doing that. By Bob Haase UV polymers can be used to Using a UV-set polymer over the If you have not tried the ultra- coat eyes or other parts of the fly, wing case not only makes this fly violet-set (UV) polymers for such as scud backs, or you can look great, it it also adds durability. coating your flies, you may want coat the entire fly, such as when I have used a number of Hare’s Ear to consider trying them. They are tying chironomids. patterns over the years, and this much easier to use than two-part A member of the Wisconsin could become one of my favorites. epoxy coatings, and they give you River Valley Chapter, Henry The fish wish I would stop fooling a lot more control. Once find out Kanemoto, has done a lot of re- them with patterns like this. how easy they are to use, you will search on the use of UV-set poly- Start the thread and wrap it back start experimenting and finding a mers and is now selling the UV to the bend. Tie in the tail (guard number of uses you never consid- set polymers, lights, and polymer hair from a rabbit’s mask or body). ered before. kits. I use his products and highly Then tie in small, opal tinsel or gold Many people probably stayed recommend them as being one of wire. Tie in mono eyes made of away from using UV polymers the best available so far. They brown, melted 30-pound monofila- because of the cost of the poly- are also priced better than a lot ment or equivalent. mer and the UV light needed to of the other systems. You can

MATERIALS LIST Bob’s Eyed Hare’s Ear Nymph Hook: Mustad 3906B or equiv- alent #12–16 Thread: to match the body Abdomen: Hare’s ear dub- bing, light, and opal tinsel Thorax: Hare’s ear dubbing, dark Tail: Hare’s ear guard hair or natural body hair Wing Case: turkey wing feather Eyes: mono eyes, dark

Wrap lead wire (.25 or .30 diame- ter) as shown from about the middle of the hook shank to the eyes. Then wrap over the lead with a few turns set them. With UV set polymers, contact Henry by phone at (715) of thread. there is little to no waste, so it 359-9818 or contact him at hk- Dub the back half of the body to makes it much more comparable [email protected]. just over the beginning of the lead to the cost of epoxy, and a lot Every year we see new prod- wrap with light hare’s ear dubbing. easier to use. ucts introduced for fly tying, and Then wrap the small, opal tinsel or If you have not tried them yet, many of them were developed gold wire over the dubbing and tie now is the time to get started be- for other applications. The UV- off. cause there have been a lot of set polymers have been used for Next tie in a piece of turkey wing improvements and more compa- some time in the electronics in- (light or dark) for the wing case over nies making these polymers. dustry and for dental work. My the lead where the light dubbing Clear Cure Goo was one of broken tooth was repaired with a ends. Then dub the thorax with dark the first companies to make the UV-set polymer, and now I am hares ear dubbing and pick out as polymer and the light for fly tying using a similar product in my fly shown to form legs. purposes. One of the problems tying! Bring the wing case over the tho- with their first polymer was that The same product can be rax and tie down as shown. Move the finish stayed tacky and the used for fly fishing as well. Two the thread to a position in front of light took much longer to cure products by Loon—their UV the eyes and tie off the thread and than the systems now available. Knot Sense used to overcoat clip. They have since corrected this knots and their UV Wader Re- You can how apply a layer of and added more kinds of poly- pair—are basically the same for- UV-set polymer over the wing case. mers. If you have the early Clear mula used for fly tying, so you If you don’t have UV-set polymer, Cure Goo or another polymer can use your UV-set polymers you can use “Liquid Fusion” or any that stayed tacky, you can still for a lot of other uses. clear urethane. use it up by putting a final appli- Again, as with so many other If using the UV-set polymer, you cation of one of the newer poly- things in fly tying, your imagina- need to set the polymer with a UV mers over the top. The new coat tion is your only limitation. Give light source. Apply one or more will cure the older layer. one of these products a try, and coats of UV-set polymer as desired Some of the other companies you will be glad you did. for the thickness you want. providing UV-set polymers and The Hare’s Ear pattern for The fly is now finished and ready lights for fly tying include Bug- this month uses a UV-set poly- to fool a few trout or bluegills. You Bond and Loon Outdoors. There mer over the wing case. It not on- can make modifications to this pat- are also thick and thin finishes ly looks great, it also adds tern as you desire, such as omitting available, depending on how and durability to the fly. the lead for fishing bluegills. I also mix some olive ice dubbing with my dark hare’s ear for the thorax. Gold wire is typically used to NOTE: Think about what other (Incidentally, in case you thought wrap around the back part, but I common, well-known fly patterns — I just misspelled “oval” as “opal,” prefer the small, opal tinsel. or some of your own designs — that was no mistake. There is a new might be changed in similar ways pearlescent, or opal-colored, tinsel with UV-set polymer. We are often on the market. It’s made by Wapsi looking at creating new patterns, and is becoming a favorite of mine but slightly modifying old, standard and other tyers who have tried it. It patterns can be enough to show the is a mylar tinsel that comes in rolls fish something new! just like any other tinsel, but it is an To give you an idea of what I’m opal color. It comes in 1/69", 1/32", talking about, see the picture on the and 1/16" widths. It also comes in left of a scud that uses UV-set glue lateral scale flash in 1/69" and 1/16" to give the scud’s back some gloss widths as well as a salt water flasha- and added durability. bou in 1/16" widths that is smooth.) Page 24 Wisconsin Trout April 2013 2013 Friends campaign is off and running By Doug Brown address to me is correct. Just make sure tion of $100 or more is a handy Fishpond you include the cut-off portion on the micro trash container. Thanks again to Friends of WITU Chair bottom of the letter so I know for sure Tight Lines Fly Shop in DePere for their you are donating to the Friends program. help in securing this gift. Contributors By now you should have received your Again, I apologize for the mishap with will also be listed in four editions of Wis- 2013 contribution request from the the return address. consin Trout. Friends of Wisconsin TU. I want to apol- The 2012 Friends of Wisconsin TU Your donation goes right back into ogize for the confusion with the return fundraising campaign has come to a Wisconsin streams to benefit our trout for address on the letter and return envelope. close, and the support was generous. I generations to come. So give now to this Both were labeled with the Watershed thank ALL of you who contributed last popular Wisconsin TU program. program instead of the Friends program. year. We received over $14,000, and that Good luck to you now that the early There was an error with the printer and is going to go a long way for our in-stream catch-and-release season is upon us and they did not catch it prior to the mailing. habitat work. the traditional opener is just over a Please use the return envelope, as the This year’s gift to you for a contribu- month away. Tight lines.

Approaching $200,000 in grants since 1991. The latest projects are... $2,000 to Wild Rivers for Whittlesey Cr. in Bayfield Co. (5-12)

$2,000 to WI Clear Waters for Bear Cr. in $2,000 to Fox Valley and Pepin Co. (2-12) $2,000 to Central WI for WDNR crew work in Waupaca and Shawano counties (3-12)

$2,000 to Lakeshore for $1,000 to Coulee Region for Onion R. in Sheboygan Coon Creek Trout Fest (4-11) Co. (5-12)

$2,000 to Aldo Leopold for $2,000 to SEWTU for Camp Bear Cr. in Sauk Co. (3-12) Cr. in Richland Co. (6-12)

Daniel & Sheree Kehoe Madison WI John Serunian Fitchburg WI Friends Lane Kestler Milwaukee WI Brent Sittlow Hudson WI Joe Kubale Dane WI Jeff Smith Madison WI of Wis. Here are our David Ladd Dodgeville WI Art Sonneland, M.D. De Pere WI Don Larson Lansing IA Gary Stoychoff Green Bay WI TU Jack Lenox Rockford IL Mike Stupich Watertown WI Friends of WI Richard Lindroth Madison WI Robert Tabbert Lac du Flambeau WI Tim Logemann Wausau WI Gary Tielens Athelstane WI Trout Unlimited Thomas Lukas Manitowoc WI Greg Vodak Stoughton WI James Lundberg Wausau WI Richard Voigt Pewaukee WI Doug MacFarland Dousman WI Martin Voss Eau Claire WI Henry Anderson, M.D. Madison, WI Paul Mack New Richmond WI Doug Wadsworth Madison WI Jason Anderson Mukwonago WI Anna Magnin Marshfield WI Don Wagner Gillett WI Brian Bachhuber Madison WI Jim & Billie March LaCrosse WI Richard Ward Appleton WI Gary Balwierz Beldenville WI L A Minerva/John Nebel Menasha WI Paul Wiemerslage Hudson, WI Edwin Barnes Middleton WI Jeff & Lynette Moore La Crosse WI Stephen Wilke Marinette WI Charles Barnhill Madison WI William Nielsen Eau Claire, WI Paul Williams Madison WI John Batson Madison WI Robert Nonn Appleton WI Donald Williams, M.D. Fort Atkinson WI James Bayorgeon Appleton WI Herb Oechler Wauwatosa WI Christopher Willman Augusta WI Blaine Biedermann Madison WI Winston Ostrow De Pere WI Dan Wisniewski Middleton WI John & Susan Bleimehl Verona WI Thomas Patterson Madison WI Norbert Wozniak Stevens Point WI Stephen Born Madison WI Ray D. Piehl Wautoma WI Robert Wyman Beaver Dam WI Allon Bostwick Fond du Lac WI Dennis Presser Madison WI Fred Young Roscoe IL Richard Brodek Wind Lake WI Dick & Jodie Prine Ridgland WI Rick Christopherson Norwalk WI Randall Rake De Pere WI PLUS THESE WITU CHAPTERS: Lawrence J. Clowry M.D. Wauwatosa WI Ron Rellatz Merton WI Aldo Leopold Chapter Tim & Anne Connor Fitchburg WI Bob Retko Cedarburg WI Coulee Region Chapter Dave & Susan Conroy Elgin IL Glen Ringwall New Berlin WI Green Bay Chapter Andrew Cook II Sister Bay WI Steve Robertson Verona WI Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter Terry Cummings Rhinelander WI Thomas Rogers Princeton, WI Marinette Co. Chapter Bruce Davidson Wauwatosa WI Micheal San Dretto Neenah WI Oconto River Chapter Richard Duplessie Eau Claire WI Jeff Schmoeger Deerfield WI Shaw-Paca Chapter Harley Erbs Rhinelander WI James School Kaukauna WI Richard Evans Mequon WI Southeastern WI Chapter Delmar Schwaller Winneconne WI WI Clear Waters Chapter Dr. Alan Finesilver De Pere WI Robert Selk Madison WI William Flader, M.D. Madison WI Jeanne Fruit Hartland WI Michael Funk La Crosse WI Yes, I want to join the “Friends” of Wisconsin TU. Scott Geboy Fox Point WI Jeff Genal Green Bay WI Enclosed is my check for $100, $250, or more payable to Wisconsin Trout Unlimited. Thomas Goodmann Coral Gables FL MAIL TO: Friends of Wisconsin TU Dean Hagness Custer WI R. Chris Halla Appleton WI % Doug Brown Jon Hanson Madison, WI R4800 Timber Lane Henry Haugley Sun Prairie, WI Ringle, WI 54471 Ashton Hawk Madison WI Stephen Hawk Madison WI Bill Heart Ashland WI Name Brian Hegge Rhinelander WI Gilbert Herman Stoughton WI Charles Hodulik Madison WI Address Jeff Jackson Oconto Falls WI Layton “Skip” James Hudson WI Thomas Janssen Appleton WI City, State Zip Phone # Andrew Jicha Green Bay WI