Sunset To Reopen Friday

On the north shore of beautiful Lake Koshkonong - another of our valued businesses closed down due to the record flooding this spring/summer is set to reopen Friday. Owners Chad and Heather have been so supportive of the lake district's efforts...please support their business as they look to recover from a lost boating season.

GOOGLE MAP

Lake Delton soon to look like old self

We all can be happy for Lake Delton, but what are the chances Lake Koshkonong would have received such special attention had the flood washed away Indianford?

More proof of the DNR's subjective process in picking environmental winners and losers.
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From the Milw Journal Sentinel

Work is on budget, on schedule to repair breach in Wisconsin Dells

...The gaping hole where Lake Delton gushed like a fire hose last June is gone, filled with 12,000 truckloads of sand, tons of rocks and the roar of earthmoving equipment.

..."To the 21 resorts, two restaurants, two marina operators, the Ducks and Tommy Bartlett Show, this has been a morale booster," said Tom Diehl, president of the Tommy Bartlett Show and a Lake Delton village trustee.

"It's a sigh of relief to come out here," Diehl said Thursday afternoon as he checked on the progress of rebuilding Lake Delton.

...The chasm where fish, retirement homes and the livelihoods of many business owners were swept away is now a big pile of sand, boulders, a pancake batter-like mixture and clay. Nearby the dam is under construction to add improvements that will prevent the lake from disappearing again into the nearby Wisconsin River.

The DNR plans to eradicate carp from the watershed that includes Dell Creek by using a poison that dilutes relatively quickly after killing the fish. Fisheries managers will either stock or transport fish back into Lake Delton, a popular destination for anglers trolling for bass, walleye and panfish, said Andy Morton, the DNR's Lower Wisconsin Watershed Basin supervisor.

A cofferdam built to divert Dell Creek, which has flowed through the emptied-out lake, will be kept in place for a fish reef. Village officials are also widening and rebuilding three boat ramp areas on Lake Delton to accommodate pontoon boats, provide more parking and add restrooms.

...Thursday afternoon, the breach site looked like a giant's sandbox filled with Tonka toys: seven excavators of varying sizes, three front-end loaders, four bulldozers, three compactors, several dump trucks and one crane outfitted with a "clam shell." All of the equipment was busy scraping, scooping, compacting, digging and moving dirt and rocks.

A bentonite slurry wall is being constructed at the breach site to prevent water from seeping into the embankment underneath Highway A. Bentonite is a porous clay that swells when it absorbs water.

Before water can begin to rise again on Lake Delton, acres of weeds must be harvested manually to prevent algae blooms when it gets warm next summer, Diehl said.

Island Construction for Tern Habitat

Fox River Current - EPA



...“The area in the lake where the island was built was a shoal or small rock pile just under the water surface,” said Art Techlow, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Winnebago system biologist.

“We needed at least 19 inches of ice for the trucks to drive on safely. Then they could only carry half loads of materials to the island spot.”

According to Techlow, the construction of the island took 62 truck loads at 10 tons per load and seven days to complete. When the ice melted this spring, the materials sank around and above the small rock pile creating an island for the birds.

More on Lake Leota

From Jvl Gazette

Voters to decide Lake Leota's fate

...Dredging proposed by engineers would create a 15-foot-deep "fishing area" and an 8-foot-deep "recreational area." Recreational options would be discussed later, City Council President Mason Braunschweig said, but paddleboats, kayaks, canoes, Jon boats and other small craft would be allowed.

Winter Draw Down Begins

Lake Level 776.25 - above DNR Summer target

All gates, both wicket gates and 6 slide gates are 100% open.

On November 1st, DNR lake level order will be at 775.77 or lower.

A drop of 5 3/4 inches, down to 775.00 or a drop of 15 inches max from today.

Sewage treatment districts cited by DNR for flood-related problems

From WI State Journal

...The treatment districts receiving the notices of noncompliance are Dodgeville in Iowa County; Koshkonong in Jefferson County; and Burnett, Iron Ridge and Brownsville, all in Dodge County.

For weeks after the flooding, the Koshkonong plant on the banks of Lake Koshkonong had a number of problems that led the district to discharge raw sewage into the lake. DNR employees at a nearby fish hatchery reported that after the floods receded, the floors of the hatchery were covered by a layer of human waste, Johnson said.

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Yet, the US EPA gave Lake Koshkonong a clean bill of health, even with the massive flooding and treatment facility failures...

Previous Post HERE

State works to restore furry, ferocious martens

Milw Journal Sentinel

...Martens were native to Wisconsin until almost a century ago when trappers, who prized their sable-like fur, killed off the last of the creatures, which were already in decline from habitat loss after the clear-cut of forests by paper companies.
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Here's some math - martens have been gone from WI for nearly one hundred years, yet DNR is bringing them back. Dams have existed, like Indianford, in WI for 150+ years, and DNR wants them torn down.

Fishery of Lake Koshkonong

October 21, 2008
6:00 pm
Milton Town Hall
23 First Street

Milton

The program will be "Fishery of Lake Koshkonong". Don Bush, DNR Fisheries Team Biologist; Kurt Welke, DNR Fisheries Biologist; Commercial carp seiner.

The public is welcome

This Has Been Answered...

Previous Post

Lake Koshkonong Fish Report from DNR Shocking

Yes. We were out last week, Monday through Thursday and again last night. We are done with Koshkonong for now. Still have to do Ripley and Lower Spring Lake. We may do one more night on Koshkonong later in October or November.

Good year classes of walleye and sauger from last year and this year.
Lots of crappies, bluegill and perch have shown up since the flood.
Good numbers of 4 yr old walleye, 18-20 inches. No young of year carp here, but the river above Watertown, and the Beaver Dam River at Lowell have an abundance of small carp.

Don Bush
Regional Fisheries Team Leader - East Fisheries Team DNR Service Center

4 months Later on Lake Koshkonong...

Rebuilding is taking shape...

Raising the Roofs...

And the foundations too....



Gladys Drive, near the Newville Bridge



Binghams Point, Koshkonong side of the canal

2 On Gladys Drive Demo'ed

Gone



And Gone

Raise the Roof...

And the foundation too!




Photos of homes on Binghams, Lake Koshkonong side.

'How the DNR stole Wisconsin'

From the Lakeland Times

...The book explains how a group of radical aestheticists hijacked the DNR, aided by judicial activists who forced a divorce of privacy rights from property rights, and how the state's administrative rules process augmented their power.

..."How the DNR Stole Wisconsin" is available by mail by sending $16.95 plus 94 cents sales tax and $5 shipping and handling per copy to Highland House, c/o The Lakeland Times, P.O. Box 790, Minocqua, 54548. Make checks out to Highland House.

Mail orders only, please. Books will be shipped beginning Oct. 15.

DNR bullies get sand kicked in their face

A Blog from Franklin, WI

...For months, the owner of Porticello, located on Silver Lake, desperately tried to open but ran into roadblocks from the state agency that absolutely loves making life for ordinary citizens as miserable as possible. That would be the DNR, not so affectionately referred to by some as Damn Near Russia.

...It’s everything government bureaucrats hate……a business with great potential for success, drawing in people who will spend money that will help the economy and create jobs. Capitalism in action, virtually on top of a lake!

Jefferson County hopes for success with flood project

Watertown Daily Times

...According to county officials, there were 77 homes and businesses that, at one point, reached the threshold for removal. There were about 72 as of last week, which shows a few have made adjustments that have moved them below the damage assessment thresholds for removal. About 32 of the most severely damages structures are on Blackhawk Island, with another 30 on Lake Koshkonong, along the Rock River. There are also several near Watertown.

Can anyone answer this?

Brian -
Who is driving around in a medium sized jon boat at night, with lights all over it aiming into the water, and a couple of guys with what looks like large butterfly nets dipping into the water?

This boat came by my dock last night about 9:00 pm, about 5 feet from the end of my pier and kept moving along down the shoreline.
Rob

UPDATE
DNR shocking fish, they do it annually to study health and species by numbers...

Or carp seiners....

NOTE
Neither is confirmed

More on Yahara Lakes

Brian -
Another difference is Dane County's Water Management
District has there own section in WI State Statutes - Ch 33.41 thru 33.48 whereas no other county in the state has taken the initiative to protect and enhance their waterways.
Jack

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Very True...

SUBCHAPTER V
DANE COUNTY LAKES AND WATERSHED COMMISSION

HERE

And read ch. 30.3025 - RKLD is a forward, progressive, future-oriented lake district as well.

Yahara lakes get attention

WI State Journal

Thanks to the 4,000+ parcel owners of the RKLD, we have nearly as much research cataloged by our team of ecological experts as the Yahara lakes, in and near Madison.

However, Lake Koshkonong has never received fair treatment or 10% of the attention that the Yahara watershed receives from the DNR, the university, and state lawmakers.

RKLD has accomplished so much more, with a much much smaller tax base, than the communities in Dane County - thanks to you!
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...Instead of addressing problems -- which most agree have been pretty well talked to death -- the conference will tackle the subject of solutions, both those that are being put in place now and those that are being discussed. The title of the conference is "A Clean Future for the Yahara Lakes: Solutions for Tomorrow, Starting Today.''

Wisconsin groups rally to protect threatened birds

WI State Journal

Take a read at how many clubs and programs are supported by the DNR.
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"Our wetlands, lakes and rivers — our unique geography between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes — make Wisconsin a globally important place for breeding, feeding and migrating birds,'' Luthin said.

Wisconsin, in other words, is a crossroads for the birds of the world.

Bail set for shooter accused in bungled Albion robbery

Madison's CAP TIMES

...According to court records, Tucker was with five other people -- including Anna Fern, 17, of Edgerton -- when he went to the beach clubhouse of the Highwood Estates Subdivision on Lake Koshkonong in the southeastern portion of Dane County for an alleged drug deal.

Response to Matt Dewar

On lake district, those who show up get to decide

Editor, the Gazette:

I couldn't help but write in response to the recent letter from Matthew DeWar regarding the Rock Koshkonong Lake District (RKLD) allegedly catering to a minority of property owners.

Mr. DeWar claims that only 3 percent of district members (aka property owners) showed up at the annual meeting and thus "control what goes on." This reminds me of a typical Election Day when some relatively small percentage of eligible voters shows up at the polls, casts their votes, and "controls what goes on."

As the popular saying goes, decisions are made by those who show up.

It seems to me that anyone who cares about expressing their opinion would make the effort to attend the annual meeting.

As a new property owner on the lake since June, I made sure that I was there. I couldn't see how any property owner within the RKLD who cared about their property value and who enjoyed the recreational benefits of the lake, as my family does, could do anything less than favor the RKLD board's pursuit of the case against the DNR.

BRIAN GRAY
Janesville and Albion Township
shores of Lake Koshkonong

Six arrested after shooting incident

Jvl Gazette

...About 11:25 p.m. Tuesday, Dane county deputies were alerted to the shooting at Highwood Club House, 80 Forrest Ave., Albion, near the west shore of Lake Koshkonong.

RRSP Officer Passes Away

Art Phillips served on the Rock River Safety Patrol, helping to make our piece of paradise on the lake and river safer for all who boated. He was only 46 yrs old.

Janesville Gazette

More than just 'a cop in Evansville'

..."He was so-well liked. If he had any enemies, they were certainly well hidden," Pierick said.

...He served 5 1/2 years on the Evansville School Board and was appointed in January to the county board, then elected in spring.

Phillips started his service to the Evansville community in 1982 as a part-time police officer, joining the department full time in 1984. Promotions followed until achieving the rank of lieutenant—the department's second in command—in 1998.

Police Chief Scott McElroy worked side-by-side Phillips the last 22 years.

OBIT HERE

Mother Nature Being Overruled by DNR

Channel3000 - TV-3 Madison

...This is where a lot of the damage occurred. What happened is that there was such a wash out of water and material that it kind of plugged up the stream bed up in this area and then it kind of rerouted itself," said Steve Schmelzer, assistant park manager for Devil's Lake State Park.

Scmelzer said raging waters picked up everything in sight.

"Some of those rocks that were moved are probably 500 to 1,000 pounds," he said.

..."We're concerned that people can't come to their favorite spot to see things and go for a hike too so that's why we're trying to get it opened as soon as possible," said Schmelzer.

The goal, said Schmelzer, is to creat a sustainable area so that the same destruction doesn’t happen again.
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OK, as I understand this, the DNR removes Dams because they are "unnatural" and man-made, yet they rebuild man-made hiking trails.

And the DNR says their operating order that draw-downs the lake each fall and keeps summer lake levels low is their effort to "mimic Mother Nature."

All I am saying is, which is it? Mimic Mother Nature, improve on Mother Nature, or let Mother Nature take its course?