Draining Lake Koshkonong Continues

DNR Winter Target - 775.39

Lake Koshkonong today = 775.73

4.08 inches yet to drain....

Should be there by the weekend at the current drain rate.

Another example of recreational boaters, fishing and other late fall activities being artificially restricted by low water levels.

Lake Koshkonong dropping

775.39 is the DNR Winter Order Target...

Lake Koshkonong Winter Drawdown Dropping

Since both wicket gates and all 6 slide gates have benn fully open, level has dropped 1.5 inches and 1.8 inches - almost 3.5 inches.  775.99 today.

It is a shame with a nice boating weekend of weather forecast, and beautiful fall colors to be enjoyed from the water.

Well Done Kim!

Cudos to our Dam subcontractor Kim Bothom for operating the gates within DNR regulations and providing the best boating water levels possible given the artificial lake level orders set by the DNR and the arbitrary and punitive SNW orders endorsed by those who would rather see no boat traffic at all.

Draining Lake Koshkonong

All gates are 100% open to reach the DNR Winter Drawdown stage by Nov 1st.

Time to get your boats off their lifts before your are left high and dry.

DNR Winter Drawdown in Effect for Lake Koshkonong

Lake Level = 776.27

All 6 slide gates are 100% open.

Amended Rock County SNW Ordinance

The Public Safety & Justice Committee voted to amend their ordinance regulating Slow No Wake orders today, and include the 777.5 level as the trigger for ordering and removing SNW on the Rock River.

No amount of data or photos presented by RKLD to the committee was going to overcome the large turnout of Wetland club owners and a few river shoreline property owners and their desire to keep boat traffic at a minimum.

NEXT STEPS:  The committee will now forward their draft to the full board and a Public Hearing will be scheduled.  When we have the date and time, we will send an e-newsletter to our subscribers.

You may want to attend and speak at the public hearing at the county board chambers, Rock County Courthouse, Janesville.  When the hearing is scheduled, it will be our last opportunity to speak on the SNW ordinance.

So far, we have collaborated well with county staff - we are disappointed that emotions prevail over facts and figures, but we now have a bright line to where SNW is ordered.

Stay tuned.

Rock River Trail Initiative: An Update for October 2011

We appreciate everyone's enthusiasm and cooperation and are pleased to report good progress during September towards the objectives of establishing a recreation Rock River Water Trail and a scenic and historic Rock River Route.

In Wisconsin presentations of the trail initiative were made to Watertown Parks, Forestry and Recreation Committee; City Councils of Jefferson and Watertown; Village Boards of Theresa and Johnson Creek; Jefferson County Board of Health; Village of Kekoskee; and City of Janesville Leisure Services Advisory Committee.

We'd like to thank Jefferson County supervisor Augie Teitz, Jefferson city administrator Tim Freitag, alderperson Dan Olejniczak and mayor Ron Krueger of Watertown, Theresa village president George Marsh, Johnson Creek village administrator Mark Johnsrud, Jefferson County health officer Gail Scott and John McKenzie of Jefferson County board of health, Kekoskee village president Steve Dethardt and parks director Tom Presny and management assistant Rebecca Smith of Janesville for their interest and support of the trail initiative. 

We also had the pleasure of working with Ramona Flanigan, city administrator of Edgerton, and received a resolution of support from the city council.

In Illinois presentations were made to the Ogle County Board and the Oregon Park District and we want to thank Ogle County Board chair James Barnes and Oregon Park District recreation superintendent Erin Folk for their support and encouragement.   Meetings have been scheduled with civic and community development groups in Sterling/Rock Falls and Dixon.   Dave Druen of Rock Falls is leading efforts to collaborate with supporters of the Hennepin Canal State Trail to revitalize the riverfront by building on the unique cultural heritage assets of the Hennepin Feeder Canal and Rock River.   We are also working with Andrew Brachman of Henry County Soil & Water Conservation District to appoint a county representative for the trail initiative.

We look forward to the participation and contributions of the fine people and organizations of these beautiful Rock River communities.

Work continues in planning the highway system that will comprise the scenic and historic Rock River Route in Wisconsin.  Certain sections of the proposed route are well established, while designation of roads in other sections is in process.  As most of you know in many parts of Dodge, Jefferson and Rock counties, the Rock River channel meanders quite extensively over the landscape and roadways do not run parallel with the meanders.  There is a balance to achieve between a desire to showcase the scenic beauty of the river with its enticing twists and turns through pastoral farmland and natural terrain and the need to designate a road route that is relatively straightforward to sign mark and navigate and not too challenging to the weekend traveler.  A number of the highways selected for the river route use existing bike routes and are lovely to travel, whether in a car or on a bike!  As the initial selection of roads is completed, we'll distribute the preliminary plans to you for comment.

We received from Angie Tornes of National Park Service-Milwaukee several evaluation forms for water trail facilities and site inventory.  We've asked Josh Prescher of Hustisford, who has extensive experience kayaking on the Rock River and other waterways, to review the forms with county parks directors.  Once we've agreed on an evaluation form, we will ask all key county and municipal contacts to use it to inventory water trail facilities and access points along the entire river course.  We will also work with county, municipal and community organizations to conduct a gap analysis of the water trail, identifying possible needs for future development of trail facilities.  We will likely begin this effort in Dodge County, to work out the omnipresent "bugs", and develop a format that can be mapped by the Winnebago, IL GIS department and handed to each of the other counties.  These data will be compiled and integrated into the water trail plan for the Rock River.

We've asked Kurt Sampson, curator of Dodge County Historical Society Museum, to prepare a list of significant historical and cultural heritage elements within the river corridor in the county.  We expect to use Kurt's work as a template for efforts in the other ten counties to illuminate the historic relevance of the Rock River Valley to the American experience.  This information will become part of the plan for the scenic and historic Rock River Route. 

Lastly, we've also had the pleasure of talking with Jerry Apps, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of more than 30 books on rural history and country life, about the proposed historic river route.

Our historic review has revealed two interesting items of potential interest for development of the Rock River Route.  The Yellowstone Trail (begun in 1912) was the original transcontinental road route from Boston to Seattle and the trail runs through the Village of Theresa, Dodge County.   The proposed river route will intersect with the Yellowstone Trail at the bridge in Theresa.  Also, a year later (1913) the Lincoln Highway was established from New York to San Francisco and the Rock River Route will connect with it at the City of Dixon, Lee County.   These are interesting elements of our cultural heritage that will intrigue and fascinate many travelers on the river route.

We are scheduling a series of public information meetings to solicit input on the proposed recreation water trail and scenic and historic river route.

Additional meetings are scheduled for October with the City of Mayville, Rock Koshkonong Lake District, towns association of Dodge County and communities and organizations in the lower river valley in Illinois.

County SNW Meeting at 4pm today!

Agenda for SNW Consideration

Rock River Trail Initiative: An Update for September 3, 2011

The Rock River Trail Initiative was presented to the Village Board of Hustisford in Dodge County on August 8th and we received a letter of support from Dennis Uecker, village president. Dennis indicated that the river water trail and scenic road route will benefit river communities such as Hustisford and provide recreational opportunities for local residents and tourists alike.
The next day the initiative was reviewed with representatives of the Dodge Jefferson Healthier Community Partnership in Watertown through the courtesy of Carol Quest, Jodi Langfeldt and Gail Scott, public health officials for the City of Watertown, Dodge County and Jefferson County, respectively. Gail invited us to share details of the proposed recreational water trail with the Jefferson County Board of Health in September.
On the 11th a meeting was held in Madison with Kevin Connors, director of Dane County Land & Water Resources Department, and his parks, planning and watershed management staff. The department is supportive of the trail initiative and shared information about the Yahara Waterways that will be helpful in planning for the Rock River Water Trail.
The same day we received word from Joleen Stinson of Rock County Parks that the Rock County Board of Supervisors adopted a support resolution that had been approved earlier by the county Public Works Committee and Parks Advisory Committee. Also, we heard later that day from Sheila De Forest in Beloit that the city's Parks, Recreation and Conservation Commission approved a resolution of support for the trail initiative. The resolution will move to the city Planning Commission and full city council for hoped-for adoption. August 11th was a productive day for the initiative and our thanks to Joleen, Sheila, Lori Williams, director of Rock County Parks, and Brian Ramsey, director of Beloit Parks and Leisure Services!
John Wilmet, city manager of Fort Atkinson, provided an important endorsement of our efforts by presenting information on the trail initiative to the city council and recommending adoption of a support resolution, which was enacted on August 16th. Thank you, John!
On August 29th the trail initiative was presented to mayor Jim Grigg and the City Council of Horicon. The council is supportive of the initiative and Jim indicated that a letter of support will be on the agenda of the next council meeting. The next day in Janesville a meeting was held with Tom Presny, parks director, and Rebecca Smith, management assistant, of the city. Tom and Rebecca are interested in the trial initiative and have wonderful ideas that will help planning efforts. Tom has arranged for our review of the initiative with the city's Leisure Services Advisory Committee on September 13th. Tom also shared the exciting news that Janesville was selected to host the inaugural World Show Ski Tournament September 15-16, 2012 on the Rock River at Traxler Park.
After leaving Janesville, we traveled to Beloit and met with Brian Ramsey. Brian took time to share the impressive riverfront development in the city, including the John Rose Canoe & Kayak Launch on the Rock River next to Paddle and Trail outfitters. The Beloit bike path connects at the launch site. There are wonderful recreational opportunities for hiking, biking and paddling in Beloit!
In Illinois, Joe Vanderwerff, county engineer of Winnebago County, organized a meeting of highway commissioners and planners of the six counties through which the river flows to finalize highway selection for the Rock River Scenic Route in Illinois. On May 31st the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate adopted Joint Resolution No. 27 designating the Rock River Scenic Route, as offered by state representatives Dave Winters and Patrick Verschoore. The route will take the traveler from the state line at Shirland Avenue and South Bluff Road in Winnebago County along 150 miles of the scenic and historic Rock River corridor to the Mississippi River at Rock Island where it will connect with the Great River Road National Scenic Byway.
Planners and highway engineers in each of the five Wisconsin counties have volunteered time to review maps and select a set of connecting public highways from the terminus of the Rock River Scenic Route in Illinois at the state line in Beloit to the river headwaters in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties. The recommended highways will form the basis of a proposed scenic and historic Rock River Route in Wisconsin; the proposed route will be reviewed at a series of public informational meetings this fall. We want to thank Paul Benjamin and Rich Cannon of Rock County; Bob Soltau of State Line Area Transportation Study; Bill Kern and Joe Nehmer of Jefferson County; Greg Petersen of Dane County; Josh Prescher, Joyce Fiacco, Bill Ehlenbeck, Brian Field and Pete Thompson of Dodge County; and Sam Tobias and Dick Flynn of Waupun County for their capable assistance with suggested layouts of the road route. Everyone will have an opportunity to offer constructive criticism and recommendations as the project moves forward.
Rich Bernstein of Wisconsin Historical Society offered important information for development of the scenic and historic road route along the river. The websites of the Wisconsin and Illinois historical societies have comprehensive lists of state historic markers and a database of properties listed in the National Register that can be sorted by county. A plan for the road route will have an inventory of existing historic markers and registered properties within the Rock River Valley and the society websites will be valuable resources. If someone would like to help in the historic inventory search, please let us know. We also learned that new historic markers can be obtained through an application process with the societies. Please keep this in mind as plans develop for the scenic and historic road route. There may be a number of historically-significant assets in municipalities within the river corridor that are worthy of historical recognition and signed with state markers. These efforts will enhance the interest and attractiveness of the Rock River Valley for travelers and tourists.
The trail initiative was reviewed with John Shutske, associate dean of UW-Madison College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and John Petty, division administrator of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Both gentlemen expressed interest to assist with the historic road route through the river corridor by developing an inventory of people, places and events in the Rock River Valley with significance to Wisconsin agriculture. We plan to approach the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Illinois Department of Agriculture for similar assistance.
Future information meetings are scheduled in Wisconsin with the City of Watertown Parks, Recreation and Forestry Commission; City Council of Jefferson; Village Board of Theresa; Village Board of Kekoskee; Village Board of Johnson Creek; City of Janesville Leisure Services Advisory Committee; Jefferson County Board of Health; City Council of Watertown; Rock Koshkonong Lake District and City Council of Mayville, and in Illinois with the Ogle County Board and the Illinois DNR Greenways and Trails Council.
Future planning meetings need to be scheduled with the Illinois and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources and National Park Service-Chicago and Milwaukee offices.
We welcome your support, recommendations and assistance. If you have questions or comments, please let us know.
Thanks on behalf of the Rock River Trail Initiative Council,

DNR Winter Drawdown Begins Oct 15th

Lake Level up to 776.23

All gates are 100% open.

RKLD Board Meeting

Thursday, Oct 6th
6pm
At Tallgrass Restoration

Special guest from the Rock River Trail Initiative will update the RKLD.