With the successful completion of the 2019 pilot project, Kiap-TU-Wish anglers will again have the opportunity to monitor Pierce County trout streams and rivers in 2020, using the WiseH2O mApp (mApp). Thanks to those who participated in 2019, and our apologies to those iPhone users who signed up but were unable to use the mApp. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the 2019 project report, you can find it on the MobileH2O website: https://www. mobileh2o.com/anglerscience. This link also takes you to an interactive map that enables you to view the results of all 2019 mApp observations in Pierce County.
We are pleased to report that the iPhone version of the mApp is available, and the 2-in-1 test strips can be used to measure nitrite/nitrate concentrations. The mApp also has an updated look that should be more user-friendly. With these additions and improvements, we can fully implement the Kiap-TU-Wish monitoring plan in 2020 (https://www.mobileh2o.com/anglerscience).
Whether you were one of the 38 anglers who signed up in 2019, or whether you are an interested newcomer, please let John or Kent know if you would like to participate in 2020. The Target Anglers who signed up for 10 designated monitoring sites in 2019 will have the first opportunity to monitor at these locations in 2020. We’ll also continue with the category of General Anglers, who will have the flexibility to monitor throughout Pierce County.
Once John and Kent compile a list of 2020 project participants, we’ll send more details by e-mail in March and April. For those who are interested, it may also be possible to organize mApp training sessions at our March, April, and May chapter meetings. All 2020 participants (both Android and iPhone users) will need to download the latest version of the mApp. Instructions for doing so can be found at: https://www. mobileh2o.com/mh2oapp (scroll to the bottom of the page). A short video about the mApp is also available at this web location. National Trout Unlimited is placing a high priority on Angler Science and the benefits it provides: “Anglers gathering scientific information about the fish and the places they love”. Stream water quality monitoring is one of the key Angler Science initiatives. On behalf of innovation and science for coldwater conservation, we thank you for your interest and look forward to working with you in 2020. If you have any questions or thoughts, please float them our way. —John and Kent
John Kaplan Kiap-TU-Wish Monitoring Coordinator jmk8990@comcast.net 612-963-1699 (Cell)
Kent Johnson d.kent.johnson@gmail.com 612-845-7258 (Cell)
The photo on the right, taken by chapter member David Gregg, features Randy Arnold, the Kiap-TUWish Volunteer Coordinator. Many of you know Randy and his superhuman efforts on our stream restoration projects. You also know Randy’s unrelenting battle against invasive buckthorn. Well, here he is on the Kinnickinnic River this year, facing, as David put it, the mother of all buckthorn. We’ve seen a lot of photos of Randy and the Kiap-TU-Wish volunteer work crew over the years, but this photo has the touch of the epic—our own Beowulf, diving to the depths to battle Grendel’s mother. Thank you to David for sending the photo, and thank you to the many volunteers who spend their Saturdays doing prep work for subsequent maintenance and restoration projects. Your commitment is the stuff of legends.
If you want to join the crew, send Randy your name and email address. He’ll add you to his notification list for upcoming workdays on stream restoration projects. volunteer@kiaptuwish.org
Below: A collective effort on the upper Kinni on February 15. Thank you volunteers! From left to right: Pete Kilibarda, Randy Arnold, Sydney Arnold, Keith Stein, Pat Sexton, Loren Carver, Phil Plumbo, Dave Kozlovsky, Ed Constantini and way in the background, John Skelton.
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.
Although summer is the peak of the Kiap-TU-Wish monitoring year, monitoring will continue during the winter months at a number of streams and rivers, including three restoration project locations (Pine Creek, Plum Creek, and the Trimbelle River) and the Willow River, where the Little Falls Dam is being replaced in Willow River State Park. Deployment of 21 temperature loggers will continue through the winter to evaluate the year-round impacts of climate change, to provide background data for assessing the future impacts of the new Willow River dam, and to evaluate the ability of our stream restoration projects to improve temperature regimes. In January, water samples will be collected and analyzed at the Pine Creek and the Trimbelle River project locations to better understand water quality during winter baseflow conditions, when watershed contributions of pollutants are minimal. To complement stream temperature and water chemistry data, two weather stations are operated year-round, providing data on air temperature, relative humidity, and dew point. Kiap-TU-Wish also provides financial and volunteer monitoring support to the USGS, for their yearround operation and maintenance of the Kinnickinnic River flow gaging station.
WiseH2O mApp Project: National Trout Unlimited is placing a high priority on Angler Science and the benefits it provides for angler education and coldwater resource management. Trout Unlimited’s national science team is currently partnering with MobileH2O, LLC to develop a customized mobile application (WiseH2O mApp) that can be used by anglers to monitor water quality and habitat conditions in Driftless Area trout streams. Throughout the spring. summer, and fall, Kiap-TU-Wish anglers tested the mApp on 10 local streams and rivers, making 83 observations and providing feedback to the developers on mApp improvements. With the monitoring year complete at the end of the angling season, MobileH2O has prepared a project report, including monitoring results, recommendations, and next steps. The project report is available at the following weblink: https://www.mobileh2o.com/reports.
In the mApp Development News Department, the iPhone version of the mApp is in limited circulation! Kent Johnson and John Kaplan have been field testing it and providing feedback to MobileH2O (Carter and Sarah Borden). So far, so good; the iPhone mApp should be available to all Kiap-TU-Wish members for the 2020 angling season! In addition, the 2-in-1 test strip, for measuring concentrations of nitrite- and nitrate-nitrogen, will be available for angler use in 2020.
The WiseH2O mApp Project Team, including MobileH2O (Carter and Sarah Borden), Dan Dauwalter (TU National Science Team) and Kent Johnson (Kiap-TUWish Project Leader), is discussing next steps for a broader rollout of the mApp across the Driftless Area, hopefully in 2020. Stay tuned, as this will be a great opportunity for anglers to evaluate the well-being of our precious coldwater resources.
Many people contributed to important aspects of this project. Jacob Lemon and Matt Barney (TU National Science Team), Jeff Hastings (TUDARE Project Manager), and Michael Miller (Wisconsin DNR) provided valuable feedback as Advisory Team members, as did participants during a workshop at the 2019 Driftless Area Symposium in La Crosse, Wisconsin (February 2019). The project team would especially like to thank the Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter members who expressed their interest in the project, attended project workshops in River Falls, Wisconsin (March and April 2019), participated in on-site training sessions (April and May), took time to fill out a project survey, and collected data using the WiseH2O mApp. John Kaplan (Kiap-TU-Wish Stream Monitoring Coordinator) deserves a special thank you for his project support and training. This project was funded by Trout Unlimited’s Coldwater Conservation Fund and the Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter of Trout Unlimited. — Kent Johnson & John Kaplan
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
Finally a weekend with no snow in the forecast and some warmer temperatures. . . . box elder clearing will resume this Saturday at the Plum Creek site located about 3 miles south of Plum City on Cty Rd. U. I will be on site beginning at 8:00 and working till 1:00 with a lunch break sometime around the noon hour. Come by for the whole time or just an hour or two if that is what you can spare. Chainsaw operators who have completed safety training are needed as well as the usual army of worker bees to drag, stack and burn the slash from the downed trees. This past Saturday, we we able to drive right down to the worksite through an access road plowed in the field. . . .given all of the rain and warmer weather, I am not sure that option will be available to us on Saturday as it could be a real recipe for getting stuck up to your axles in mud. I will make a judgement call regarding that once I arrive at the site. If you see my car parked on the road by the bridge, if will mean that the field road is not suitable for safe navigation.
I will have the usual hot dogs and cookies/pastries for lunch. Plan on bringing along your own liquid refreshment to stay properly hydrated as temperatures are supposed to get to the mid 30’s on Saturday. I am guessing that the snow pack will still be quite deep at the site. . . bring appropriate footwear or even small snowshoes if you have them. Please email me at randyca999@gmail.com if you plan to attend the workday. Bring along your fishing gear if you want to take advantage of the warmer weather and wet a line after the work session. Remember also that the fly fishing expo is happening this weekend at Hamline University. Be sure to stop by the Kiaptuwish booth and say hello if you attend. I will be manning the booth there on Sunday morning.
