Loren Haas, Tom Schnadt, Dustin Wing and I recently looked at some new easement parcels on the Trimbelle with the intent of evaluating their potential as future habitat restoration projects. We hope to weigh the pluses and minuses of these easements in order to make a decision on where to direct our future restoration efforts.
We met at the corner of Highway 10 and County Road O and proceeded downstream to the two Halvorson easements. This is some really nice water that is fishable right now but could benefit from some bank work and tree removal in some spots. An active bald eagle nest near the upstream end of the easement would prohibit any work being done there.
From there we went upriver to the Thompson easement which is just downstream of the bridge at County Road O near the Gaslight. Though this stretch of river is in bad shape, the easement covers only one bank which would make project work not a viable option at this time.
Next up was the Thom easement off of 650th Avenue—a long stretch of water with the easement covering both banks. The lower end is fairly open and fishable at this point but, the upstream portion is a box elder jungle with trees toppled into the wide, sandy bottom channel.
Next up were three new easements on the Harsdorf property just a little downstream of the Highway 65 bridge. The upper two portions of the easement do not currently have any means of legal access short of wading upstream or downstream from the nearest bridge. The lowermost section of easement is currently accessible and showed signs of angler activity (numerous beer cans and bottles near the bridge parking spot). There is currently an active beaver dam halfway up the easement with the water backed up and pooling behind it.
Last but not least, we looked at an easement near Beldenville on Goose Creek, a Trimbelle tributary. It was another box elder jungle with toppled trees and a wide, shallow, sand bottom with few places for trout to hide. A three-foot high beaver dam at the lower end of this easement backed up water for several hundred yards.
Winter Brushing We finished up our winter brushing work in March with a series of four workdays on the Valentine and Krueger easements just upstream of the County Road J bridge on the Kinni. Unfortunately, our work left the Valentines less than delighted with the outcome. We had delayed starting the work for one week because the landowner wished to be present while the work was being done. During the first workday, following a conversation with the landowner, both Loren Haas and I had the impression that we’d been given the green light to cut any and all box elder and buckthorn in the stream corridor, even outside the boundaries of the easement. The landowner was under the mistaken impression that the easement was 28-feet wide while in fact it was 66- feet wide. The landowner took issue with some tag alders that were unfortunately cut with stumps left behind at a higherthan- anticipated height. A subsequent workday was held to re-cut the stumps to near-ground level and to retreat them with herbicide. The outcome from all of this is that more planning will be undertaken for future brushing days with both Kasey Yallaly and myself conducting a site visit to meet with landowners prior to work being done. An effort will also be made to mark trees which are not to be cut as an aid to some of the chainsaw operators who have difficulty distinguishing between species.
Seeding/Mulching Nate Anderson will be working at Plum Creek this summer and we can probably expect to have one or more seeding/ mulching days, provided that they will be allowed under the current restrictions. Get out there and do some fishing. While you are out, let me know if you have a favorite fishing spot where an easement is currently in place but which could use some maintenance work on the bank in order to make it more accessible to fishermen. —Randy Arnold
December 19th was a milestone date for Kiap-TU-Wish as we facilitated a service learning day for the Greenwood Elementary School fourth-grade class. They helped clear box elders and buckthorn from the Gibson easement on the upper Kinni.
I was contacted this past fall by their teacher, Steve Papp, who asked about the possibility of staging such an event. At first I was a little apprehensive about involving kids that young in one of our chapter brushing days which are typically strenuous and not without risk of some physical injury. However, after giving it some thought and talking it through with Steve, I decided that we could remove most of the dangers by cutting all the buckthorn and box elder in advance, as well as treating the stumps with herbicide. We could then stage a later workday where the kids would drag the cut brush and throw it on a bonfire which we would build.
Working around the Wisconsin deer season, two preparatory workdays were held in early November. Twelve volunteers turned out with chainsaws and loppers, to spend about 80 hours cutting invasives and treating the stumps. As we got closer to the service day event, a clear itinerary for the actual day was decided on: 66 fourth graders would be split into two groups. Half of them would participate in a nature walk led by WIDNR fisheries biologist Kasey Yallaly, while the rest of the group would tackle the buckthorn. (At that point I also realized that we probably had too much cut wood on the ground, so two subsequent workdays were held in early December where volunteers spent another 80 hours burning over half of the material which had been previously cut.)
The bus arrived on site at noon and the event started with a short talk about worksite safety and expectations for the day. Some 20 parent chaperones also took part in the event to help with some of the work and make sure that all the kids were safe. Seven TU volunteers helped out too and logged another 40 hours of volunteer time. The day was an astounding success as seen in the photos. Around 2:30pm the kids were treated to cup of hot chocolate and a cookie.
The weather for the day could not have been more cooperative. My earlier fears of temperatures hovering near zero and kids getting cold did not come to pass as the day’s temperature got close to 30 and the heat from the bonfire had many of the kids working in just a short sleeve shirt. I am hopeful that this can become a recurring event. There is certainly enough buckthorn and box elder to keep a whole army of young workers like this busy for a lifetime.
Service Learning Project: We held our second workday on November 16th at the Oscar Lee easement on the upper Kinni doing preparation work for a Greenwood Elementary fourth-grade service learning project. Students will be helping out with a brushing project by dragging, stacking and burning the slash from buckthorn and box elder trees which we have cut. Eight volunteers turned out on November 14th and another eight volunteers turned out on November 16th. Those who have helped with this project include Dave Gregg, Dan Wilcox, John Skelton, Tom Anderson, Jim Tatzel, Dennis Anderson, Matt and Rown Janquart, Judie Babcock, Ed Constantini, and Dustin Wing. Thanks go out to them for their dedication and help.
The actual student workday will be in early December or January when the 66 kids will take an afternoon off from their regular classes. Twenty parent chaperones and the fourth-grade teachers led by Steve Papp— who was the driving force behind making this event happen—will accompany the kids.
Kiap volunteers will be needed on the day of the actual event to supervise the work of this group. A notice seeking volunteers will go out via MailChimp. Because all of the trees and brush have been cut ahead of time, I am hopeful that we can stage the event without the need for dangerous chainsaws or other power equipment around the students.
Kasey Yallaly is also planning to participate in this event and talk about the importance of maintaining a healthy riparian corridor. I am hoping that the event can conclude with the students participating in roasting some hot dogs and sharing some hot cocoa and cookies around the bonfire before heading back to school. I will hold subsequent Kiap workdays at the site to burn up any of the brush which the students are not able to handle during the event.
Plum Creek: Look for work to begin on Plum Creek again in early December as Nate Anderson is hopeful that he can complete the restoration on the remainder of the Von Holtum easement this coming summer rather than stretching the project out over a third year. Several of us from the Chapter—including Scott Wagner, Loren Haas and myself—will be attending a meeting with the WIDNR at their Baldwin office on December 10th to hammer out a plan for the Chapter’s role in the long term maintenance of restoration sites.
Watch for upcoming emails!—Randy Arnold
Kiap-TU-Wish Email List To receive general announcements or information about upcoming workdays on stream restoration projects, send your name and email address to Randy Arnold, our chapter’s volunteer coordinator: randyca999@gmail.com
Driftless Bus Tour: A number of Kiap-TU-Wish members took part in the recent Driftless Tour which featured four projects in our area this year. Organized by Duke Welter and Jeff Hasting and funded by TUDARE, the packed bus and caravan of several other vehicles made stops at Wilson,Hay, and Gilbert Creeks near Knapp before wrapping things up at the Von Holtum easement on Plum Creek. As a chapter, we should feel proud of the amount of volunteer effort which went into each of these projects.
A good mixture of Brooks and Browns.
CPR/First Aid Safety Training: In order to be in compliance with WIDNR regulations while conducting volunteer workdays on state owned lands, CPR/First Aid Safety trained individuals need to be present to help with any accidents or emergency situations which might arise. The certifications which a number of our volunteers achieved during training two Octobers ago expired, and another certification class was held on Saturday, October 25th at Juniors in River Falls. Fourteen volunteers went through training in order to ensure compliance for holding workdays again this season and next.
Nate Anderson, Lead Habitat Technician for the Lower Chippewa River Basin, explains how the ERO structure works. The “Elevated Riparian Optimization” (ERO) structures are an experimental structure designed by Loren Haas of the Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter. Under high flow, the river rises through the constriction greatly accelerating flow. Once the structure is overtopped, the flow curls in and creates a directed scour forming a long deep pool.
Von Holtum Easement on Plum Creek: The original plan for the Von Holtum easement on Plum Creek was for it to be a three-year project. Nate Anderson’s WIDNR crew finished more than anticipated this year, and are now entertaining plans of completing the remaining stretch of stream next summer. Having used up all the rock which he had on site for this year’s stretch, Nate and his crew shifted gears and used their excavators to continue clearing box elders from the banks downstream from the restored section. Nate has plans to continue this clearing for a few more weeks, weather permitting. Have no fear, there will still be plenty of box elders for us to cut when we begin our winter brushing work.
Senior Fisheries Biologist, Kasey Yallaly, and crew answering questions on the various aspects of shocking and the Gilbert Creek fishery.
Greenwood Elementary Service Learning Day: I have been in contact with Steve Papp, a fourth-grade teacher at Greenwood Elementary in River Falls. Steve would like to have a service learning day for the entire fourth-grade class at Greenwood where the students would help out with a brushing project by dragging and stacking box elders or buckthorn which would be cut in advance by Kiap-TU-Wish volunteers. I am currently working with Kasey Yallaly and Steve to come up with a suitable site somewhere in close proximity to River Falls where we could reasonably manage a group of 60+ students, plus their teachers and parent chaperones.
An example of one of many root wads anchored into the banks to provide cover.
Another busy winter brushing season is coming to a close. While not quite as monumental as the prior season when volunteers turned out to clear trees and brush from sites on Wilson and Hay creeks in Dunn County before working the Gutting easement on the Trimbelle, we still managed to log close to 1,800 hours of volunteer time with our work at the Boyceville school campus on Tiffany Creek, on a good portion of the Von Holtum easement on Plum Creek, and with some maintenance work on the South Fork of the Kinni, the Red Cabin site, and more recently on Parker Creek. With the weather turning nice and the leaves getting ready to break out on the trees, I am just about ready to put away my chainsaws and break out my fly rod and say “enough.”
Volunteer opportunities will present themselves over the remainder of the spring and summer months, and I hope that you will watch for notices and help out when the chance arrives. A few things on the docket include a reseeding of some prairie flower plugs at the Holst Trimbelle easement; seeding/mulching opportunities at Boyceville, Wilson Creek, and Plum Creek; and possibly some re-seeding at the Gutting Trimbelle easement. There will be the always-popular opportunity to assist the WDNR with their annual stream shocking surveys which usually take place in late July or August. The possibility might also present itself for volunteers to assist with an NRCS-funded restoration on the Afdahl easement on Parker Creek — upstream from where we have done the maintenance brushing work these past couple of weekends. The Rush River Cleanup is scheduled for May 11 this year. Volunteers are always needed for this event.
Thank you for the support which you have shown to me and to the Chapter by answering the call to lend a hand anytime that there was work to be done to improve conditions on our coldwater streams. It is a daunting task ahead of us and our work will never be complete, but I hope that you all get the same pleasure and sense of accomplishment which I feel every time I climb back in my car for the long ride home after a successful and tiring workday. Get out there now to fish and enjoy the fruits of your labors. — Randy Arnold
Get on the list! To be included on Randy’s workday announcements, email him at randyca999@gmail.com. You’ll get notices about upcoming workdays for brushing, seeding, mulching and the ever-popular electro-fishing days with the WDNR.
