Pledger Column is Offensive

From 10.29.07

To the Gazette:

How would you suggest the Rock-Koshkonong Lake District respond to D.S. Pledger’s Sunday column re: Lake Koshkonong?

Granted, Pledger is just a “columnist” and I doubt a J-School graduate at that, he nonetheless occupies a position in the Gazette slightly above the rank of a “blogger.” Given that, his column leaves your readers with the impression that he should know his subject matter. Yet, Pledger’s Sunday column was so riddled with inaccuracies that he has fallen to a place below internet bloggers; to a place where thugs with spray paint litter our world with graffiti and call themselves “artists.”

Pledger littered Lake Koshkonong and then defiantly protested that he never heard of the RKLD, and besides, “I don’t subscribe to the Gazette.” So much for the Gazette’s new motto – Local Matters.

What, no Google? No searching the GazetteExtra.com archives? Isn’t Pledger obliged to a minimal amount of fact-finding research before pressing the send button; before leaning back in his creaky office chair, stroking his beard, smugly whispering to himself, “Another DS Pledger Masterpiece…?”

On this one, I certainly hope the Gazette chooses to withhold Pledger’s paycheck. But if he has already been paid, then I would like to request a response equal to the number of words Pledger wrote. And I won’t charge you extra for my words being factual.

Brian Christianson
608-884-9444

Pledger Column from Sunday

Nice Lake Levels for this time of year

We began the month of October with a lake level of 776.52 - nearly 4 inches OVER the DNR summer target level.

We ended the month at 776.57 - remaining fairly static for the entire month.

All dam gates have been fully open, and now that we are within the DNR Winter Drawdown period, gates will remain open to drain the lake and freeze fish into popsicles.

Changes in Naming DNR Secretary

Senate votes to end power to name secretary
By STEVEN WALTERS and STACY FORSTER

Madison - The state Senate voted Tuesday to return to having the state Natural Resources Board - and not the governor - appoint the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources, beginning in 2011.

The DNR bill's chief sponsor, Sen. Robert Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie), called the current system, pushed through the Legislature in 1995 by then-Gov. Tommy G. Thompson, a "failed experiment."

Having the governor name the DNR secretary has not resulted in any "marked improvement" in the agency's performance, Wirch said.

Some Senate Republicans failed Tuesday to make the change effective immediately and not in January 2011, when the next governor takes office.

They also wanted to limit future agency secretaries to four-year terms.

If returning to the old system is worthwhile, "I don't see why we should delay this until 2011," Sen. Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn) said.

But Sen. Mark Miller (D-Monona) said Gov. Jim Doyle just named a new DNR secretary, Matthew Frank, who has assembled his own management team.

It would be "very disruptive" to make the change now, Miller said.

The 21-12 Senate vote sent the bill to the Assembly.

One of its chief Assembly sponsors, Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison), said it was likely the bill would pass that house, although party leaders are split over it.

Gov. Jim Doyle has supported the measure in the past but will wait to see in what form the Legislature passes it, said aide Matt Canter.
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Previous post HERE

New rules will change the nature of boating and fishing

Click HERE

Under the new emergency rule it will be illegal for anyone to transport by land into Wisconsin any water in boats, live wells or other fishing gear. VHS can survive in water up to 14 days. The disease, also spread by infected fish, can be deadly to a broad range of fish species, including most game fish in Wisconsin.

Does the Dam Control Flooding?

From the Janesville Gazette 1998 HERE

In 1993, you couldn't tell the dam was there. Water coming downstream submerged the dam. That's just proof that, with or without the dam, during floods there would be no difference.

Sue Joseff, WI DNR

Winter Drawdown Beginning

Today's Lake level is 776.31 - and the winning prognosticator of when the flood waters of August would recede to the DNR Summer max level is.........me, not quite. :-)

Predicted date - Oct 19th. Off by a week. Truth is, the winner is probably Jim Folk.

Abraham Lincoln was here

The historical marker at this site reads:

"On July 1, 1832, here beside Storrs Lake, Brigadier General Henry Atkinson and 4,500 soldiers camped overnight in their pusuit of Black Hawk, Sac Indian chief, who was fleeing northward up the east side of Rock River with 400 warriors and 1200 women and children.

In a diary dated July 1, 1832, Lt. Albert Sidney Johnston wrote: "After marching 23 miles (from Turtle Village) this day, we camped by a small lake, and had to drink the water, which was very bad, but it was all that could be found. Here General Atkinson had, on this night, breastworks thrown up, which was easily done, as we encamped in thick timber.... (July 2) This morning the army proceeded almost directly north towards Lake Coshkonong."

Among Captain Early's mounted scouts was the 23-year-old Abraham Lincoln, finishing his third 30-day enrollment. General Atkinson's Army of the Frontier had entered Wisconsin at Turtle Village (Beloit) where it camped on June 30. It then moved north through the Prairie Road area to this lake east of Milton.

On July 2, the army moved north again and camped on Otter Creek about two miles east of Lake Koshkonong, before entering Jefferson county. At Cold Spring, on July 10, Lincoln was mustered out, his horse was stolen, and he returned by foot and canoe to New Salem, Illinois."

Good people need to protect the Public Trust Doctrine

To the Editor of The Lakeland Times:

A while back I attended a public meeting where the president of a lake association did a presentation on lake monitoring. I sat there quietly amused while he patted himself on the back while telling us what a wonderful job he was doing. This was OK, it was harmless. But when he made a couple of remarks that were in no way connected to lake monitoring, I became alarmed. At that point I could see his real agenda was nothing more than keeping people off the subject lakes. I now see more and more evidence of this concept of "privatizing" our lakes.

Recently this same lake association president had a letter about the threat of aquatic invasive species in which he took a shot at the tourism industry (fewer tourists mean fewer people on "his" lake). In that same letter he advocated quarantining lakes, another tool to limit access to our lakes. In the Sept. 4 Lakeland Times another writer proposed chaining boat launches to prevent "unsupervised lake access." I wonder what criteria these people would use to select who gets access. Would it be skin color, religious affiliation, their financial worth? I thought this kind of thinking was put to rest in 1945.

I am not belittling the threats of AIS, but as Steve Schieffer of Harmony Environmental said recently, the public may be a bit overly concerned about AIS (reminds me of Henny Penny or Al Gore). I truly believe some have grabbed this issue to serve their unspoken goal of limiting public access to "their" lakes. All our lakes (and state forests) belong to the five million people of Wisconsin. Issues concerning these resources should be resolved only after soliciting and receiving input from everyone, not just a few wealthy property owners. But, sadly I see the actions of a few affecting the lives of millions. For instance, a few lakefront property owners can get all the surrounding property rezoned, which means no more resorts on that lake, no more campgrounds on that lake. And this is happening. The working family in Janesville and the dairy farmer from Abbotsford deserve a chance to vacation and enjoy their lakes and woods. The Public Trust Doctrine will not be overturned in one fell swoop, but small step by small step it can be whittled away, unless good people do something.

Ron Winter

Boulder Junction

DNR: I was wrong then, but I am right now...

From the Green Bay Press Gazette HERE

Politicians on board to reverse DNR secretary mistake

...Though he formerly supported the cabinet designation, Anthony S. Earl, former Democratic governor of Wisconsin, former DNR secretary and former leader of the State Assembly, said he no longer holds that position.

..."When I was in the Legislature, I supported a cabinet form of government for the DNR..."
- Former Governor Tony Earl

...Earl said he and former Gov. Patrick Lucey, also a Democrat, backed legislation to create a cabinet position...

...George Meyer was DNR secretary when he was retained by Gov. Tommy Thompson, a Republican, as the first cabinet secretary.

"George Meyer tiptoed around, always afraid of getting dumped," Earl said

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I am against the job, unless I am appointed to it. Then, I am uncomfortable serving, unless my guy becomes governor....

October Lake Level

776.50 - or, 2.04 inches OVER DNR summer max level.

Get out on the lake this month for the Wisconsin fall colors!!

Rest Lake: DNR Voodoo Science

From the Lakeland Times

Pull the DNR zipper, out pops Jack the Ripper

...To get their way, the DNR has forced Xcel Energy, which operates the dam, to violate the current dam order, which mandates that the chain have a minimum water level of seven feet, three inches between July 1 and Sept. 1. The lake levels this past summer were more than a foot below that minimum.

Then, too, the DNR resorted to its old modus operandi of voodoo science to come up with a statutory water flow requirement exactly equal to - you guessed it - the very number the agency had decided they wanted, 50 cubic feet per second. That this new math contradicted the agency's old math (in May 1974 the DNR maintained that 25 cfs met the statutory requirement) mattered not to the DNR chiefs, even though, in practical terms, it meant that the water flow into the chain would have had to have doubled in just 33 years - an incredible contention, to say the least.

To top things off, it was discovered that the DNR knew from its own water flow measurements that Xcel Energy was inadvertently already putting more water through the dam than the DNR was trying to achieve.

They didn't say a word.

...Then there is the question of motive. What is really behind the DNR's action? It's obvious the agency isn't listening to public opinion, and it's equally obvious they aren't listening to their own scientists. In addition to the aforementioned email, Jeff Roth, a DNR fisheries biologist who is an advocate for the sturgeon DNR project, says they only need enough water to go over the dam and into the river during spring spawning - a period of about three weeks in May, not all the time, as the DNR is doing.

What's more, as Fitzpatrick notes, the agency hasn't done a thing to gauge the effect the increased water flow might have on other plant and wildlife species. Just think about the potential damage (which, by the way, the DNR staff won't think about because they could care less about the environmental consequences of their actions so long as the result is either "natural beauty" or the satisfaction of its political power agenda).

...Certainly the one thing the DNR hates more than any human involvement in the natural habitat is any human involvement in their business. It's their way or the highway, and if you take them on they are not apt to forget.

By the looks of it, they haven't. As Mr. Fitzpatrick wrote in a letter to the DNR, the agency's actions have rendered many homeowners' piers and boat lifts useless, isolated large parts of the chain, which are not now reachable by typical boats, and made boating a hazard because some areas cannot even be reached by safety patrols.

Circuit Reply

This is a must read………….It has a wealth of information that points to the DNR’s bias and miss-appropriation of specific state statues and how they are trying to manipulate a even broader authority than allowed by the legislature.
Jim
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Posted on the Website - Circuit Court Page - Jt. Petitioners' Brief to Rock County Circuit Court HERE

Wetland water spilling into yards, residents say

From the Janesville Gazette

...The drainage system was designed more than 10 years ago. One wetland area is supposed to fill and spill into the next wetland, according to minutes from a recent Elkhorn City Council meeting.

...Reasons for the delay included time spent acquiring approval from the state Department of Natural Resources and the six months for the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to complete the wetlands delineation project, Mayor John Giese said at a recent council meeting.

After the delineation was completed, the DNR questioned the location of stakes, which took more time, said city engineer Gary Welsch.

Plus, it took time to send and receive information from the DNR, Welsch said.

"We can't alter the wetlands," said city Administrator Sam Tapson.

DNR regulations prohibit excavation of the wetlands, Tapson said.

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Mr. Tapson should read this -

Previous POST

"...We (DNR) made an enforcement decision at that time that it wasn't something we were going to pursue."

Book keeping memories of North Shore's Jim Bowler alive

(Editor’s note: Daily Union news editor Randall Dullum had the privilege of sitting down with Jim Bowler at his home this summer to interview him about his book “Koshkonong Story: Life on the North Shore with the Bowlers.” Following the interview, the two took a leisurely drive along the north shore of Lake Koshkonong with Bowler pointing out things that had changed over the years and those things which have remained essentially the same. Bowler died just shortly thereafter; it was no doubt the last interview he gave about the place he had come to know and love so well for so long. We are pleased to share his memories with readers today.)

KOSHKONONG — A man who lived nearly all of his life along the north shore of Lake Koshkonong, and chronicled his recollections there in a book, is being remembered for his love of the Great Outdoors.


Jim Bowler died Aug. 11 at age 91 following a battle with lung cancer. Before he passed away, however, he became a published author last March at the age of 90 with his book, “Koshkonong Story: Life on the North Shore with the Bowlers.”

Growing up, Bowler, an avid outdoorsman, spent his days along the north shore of that expansive lake hunting, fishing, working hard, weathering the hardships of the Great Depression, and later getting married and raising a family. These experiences are recounted in his book with both candor and good humor.


The book, which had a first run of 200 copies, was written by Fort Atkinson author John R. Mansavage based upon his many conversations with Bowler. The book’s introduction was penned by retired Fort Atkinson High School biology teacher Richard Wanie, an ardent and knowledgeable bird enthusiast and writer of the “Outdoors Calling” column, which appears periodically in the Daily Jefferson County Union.


LIFE ON THE SHORE — Before he passed away Aug. 11 at age 91, Jim Bowler became a published author last March at age 90 with his book, “Koshkonong Story: Life on the North Shore with the Bowlers.” Bowler is pictured above in June standing by a willow tree on the north shore of Lake Koshkonong. — Daily Union photo by Randall Dullum


Bowler’s softcover book — with “thanks to friends and neighbors, past, present and future” — is illustrated with extensive photos of Jim and his family and friends through the years. Copies sell for $20 each and are available at the Fort Atkinson Area Senior Citizens Center.

“I ain’t worried about selling it,” Bowler said of his book this past June. “The idea is getting the message out about the history of the whole (North Shore) area down there.”


And what an adventurous and storied history it is. (The full story appears in the Sept. 28 Daily Union)