Potential Lake Koshkonong Projects

Experimental project

Water levels continue to drop – that's a good thing.  Water levels usually stay low until toward the end of January or early February.  Duck hunting season ends December 2.  We are ready to go to create the construction drawings for the project.  We want to double check Lake bottom elevations in the area of dredging and wetland placement now that the lakebed is pretty much exposed.  We'll do that this week or early next.  We need to contact contractors and figure out how the project will be bid and how construction will be administered.  Have you had conversations with Tallgrass on this – or do you want us to contact them to figure out what makes the most sense for them to do?  I know that several contractors have contacted you directly about wanting to work on the project.  We want to make preliminary contact with contractors so that they know we are going to be looking for quotes in several weeks, and if you tell us the names of ones that have contacted you we will make sure to get hold of them.  I know that you had asked that we not include LMS (I think that was the name).

Doing a project on the south side of the Rock River entrance

We've had several conversations with the Corps of Engineers and DNR about permitting a possible project as we discussed to place a "Peninsula" angling to the South that would protect the DNR wetlands and provide a storage area for dredge spoils from Lake shore access dredging in the area of Vinie Ha Ha and to the South.  Although it's an outside possibility that we could have this project permitted by February if we began right away, this really strikes me as a project that should be considered for the winter of 2013 – 14.  I say this because it seems that some sort of local cost share funding should be defined to establish what RKLD would pay and what the local shoreline folks would pay.  I have some ideas on how this would come together, mainly along the lines of RKLD could sponsor an overall project and provide the "big" infrastructure – in this case the Peninsula angling South from the rock River entrance, and that the local homeowners would pay a fraction – maybe a large fraction – of the cost of dredging in front of their property.  It strikes me as something that should be defined as a policy that's approved maybe at the next annual meeting, and then projects can be implemented using that approach.  But it's certainly needs a discussion with you and the board.  Anyway – in order to proceed with permitting, we would need to conduct an archaeological survey and assemble the formal permit application.  Let's discuss.

Clearing the trash racks in front of the Wicket Gates at Indianford dam.

I've discussed this several times with Rob Davis.  He is agreed to expedite approval of berming off the area in front of the trash racks so the entire area can be inspected, accumulated sediment can be removed as necessary, and the trash racks can be cleaned.  I will get a letter out to him tomorrow on this.  I don't want to complete that work until the experimental project is complete, because I think we need all of the Indianford dam gate capacity to help keep the Lake at a low level, but as soon as we're finished, we can put the berm across in front of the trash racks and clean that area out.  Do you want us to contact a contractor about doing this work?  Will get the letter to Rob Davis and stand by to discuss this with you.

Other projects stemming from the annual meeting

The two big priorities that I remember from the annual meeting were:

·                     Removal of obstructions to navigation – snags and rocks that are known navigation hazards; and

·                     Working to improve the boat launch ramps.

Apart from Dahlman's Landing, the launch ramps certainly could use a lot of work.  I'm not sure what your impression of priorities is, but if you want to make progress on either of these items – or something else – we should start planning it now so that work can be completed or that we have at least permitted plans next spring.

The PAS project

Wendy from the Corps of Engineers in Rock Island has reviewed the draft report that we got out to everyone a month ago and we'll get us some comments.  We've heard nothing from DNR.  As I'd mentioned to you, we assembled and edited the PAS report and created all of the figures out of the material that was available as of this September, gratis, because we wanted to have a final product that would have some continuing use.  Wendy asked whether or not we were interested in extending the existing work so as to be a "Programmatic EA" or whether we should leave it simply as a report.  Our opinion is that it could take a lot of work to get the present report to the point of formal regulatory agency sign-off, and that it shouldn't be at RKLD's expense – RKLD has enough in this project already.  Let's discuss and we will send out a note to the Corps of Engineers and DNR regarding our expectations for their comments on the PAS report.