ALDER FORK JOURNAL
Newsletter of Aldo Leopold Chapter of Trout Unlimited
Serving Columbia, Dodge & Sauk Counties since 1982
Wading In
By Dan Endres President, Aldo Leopold Chapter
Summer 2024
I am pretty sure we have all heard the saying “If you don’t like the weather in Wisconsin, just wait 5 minutes”. While it has been more than 5 minutes, it is amazing the things that have happened since our last newsletter was mailed in the spring. At that time, we were still in a drought, which had been in place for the past 12-18 months. Most counties in our area made up that rain and then some in the months of June & July, with near historical rain events. While flooding can be devastating to both us and the environment, there is a silver lining that has come out of some of these massive storms we have had the last couple of months. Many of our area streams had built up quite a sediment base during the drought, and most, if not all of these streams needed a good “flush”. I have not fished near as much as I would like this summer, but the streams that I have fished, and reports that others have given me, all point to the streams having cleared out much of that sediment load. With the current state of the streams, I know I am really looking forward to getting out more this fall as it is my favorite time of the year to fish
I would like to take moment to give a sincere thanks to all who attended our annual picnic, and those who participated in our sweepstakes and our bucket raffles at the picnic. Those who were there were treated to some great camaraderie, and also got some great updates from our DNR biologist, Nate Nye. Our first annual sweepstakes was a huge success, and our effort to get support from those beyond our chapter was rewarded. Between the sweepstakes and our bucket raffle items, we raised almost $2400! Congratulations go out to Dan Pherson from Cottage Grove (some of you may recognize his name, he was the representative from Stihl who awarded our Grant) on winning the bamboo rod donated by PJ Julius Rod Co, and also to Mike Juran from LaCrosse, who won the Driftless Angler guided trip. Both Dan & Mike are members of other TU chapters, Southern & Coulee respectively. Expanding our sweepstakes beyond just our chapter members will hopefully help us raise even more funds in the future. I also would like to give a special thanks to our chapter members who mailed donations, without the expectation of participating in the sweepstakes.
As summer wraps up & the days get shorter, we have one more big event on the horizon, our last work day of the season with the folks from Stihl USA on September 19th See the article for more details on that, and I hope to see you there!
Tight Lines, Dan
September Work Day
As noted above, our September work day with the folks from Stihl is coming up on Thursday, September 19th at 8:00 AM. See the enclosed map for details of the location. As part of our Stihl Tool Grant that we won, we also get 20-25 Stihl sawyers to help us out on a workday. The area we plan to work on would take us multiple years to clear, but with the help from these fine folks, we are hoping to make a sizeable dent in one day. While we will likely have plenty of people to operate the chainsaws & trimmers with the Stihl sawyers on hand, we will still need lots of help in other areas. If you are able to haul brush, spray stumps with herbicide, or even help cook brats & hot dogs for lunch, we would love for you to join us. Please reach out to Dan Endres via email, phone or text at the contact info listed on the last page if you can join us, as this will help us plan for food for lunch. See the photo below which shows the tools & safety items we purchased with the Stihl Grant, which will be used for years to come at our work days.
Dell Creek Insect Study
On June 19th, chapter member & aquatic biologist Bruce Markert & chapter president Dan Endres went to a few locations on Dell Creek to place some “bug hotels” (samplers) to help study what insects are prevalent in Dell Creek, and see how that varies from streams in other parts of the state. With a little bit of luck, we are hoping that the large rain events didn’t wash them away or affect their ability to collect bug samples. The samplers will be collected this fall, and we’ll share what we find in a future newsletter.
ALCTU “TU Brew”
Just a reminder that we will be selling TU Brew on most Saturdays at the Meyer Oak Grove Farmers Market in Sauk City. The market runs through October 12th , from 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM. We will also have it available year round upon request, just reach out to Dan Endres and we can fulfill any custom orders you may have. Even if you don’t drink coffee, it always works great as a gift!
Treasurer’s Report
$503.11 in Savings earmarked for stream work
$4042.32 in Checking prior to newsletter mailing
$713.00 Cash on hand
Officers and Board Directory
Officers:
Dan Endres – President dtendres9@gmail.com / 608-963-1374
Mark Winscher – Vice President winscher@merr.com /
Mike Stupich – Treasurer mcstupich@gmail.com / 920-206-8433
Lisa Wilson – Secretary lawfinnee@gmail.com /
Board of Directors
Jim Peters sorneytrouter@outlook.com / 608-212-9959
Randy Durner Radforester08@gmail.com /
Michael Endres lonestar22003@gmail.com / 608-354-9880
Ed Taylor taylors2@charter.net / Matthew Duffy duffymattj@gmail.com
Andrew Nebel andrewnebel88@gmail.com
Scott Allen scottallen158@hotmail.com
Vacant
Help ALCTU Save Funds
If you are receiving this newsletter via standard mail, and are willing to receive it via e-mail, we would greatly appreciate it. We are a small chapter with limited funds, and each year we spend over $1000 to print and mail newsletters. Reducing mailing costs would allow us to spend that money in areas like habitat restoration. Please contact Dan Endres with your e-mail address if you are able to do this. Thanks!
Important Upcoming Dates
Fall Work Day September 19, 2024 – Dell Creek/Hwy H crossing
Fall Board Meeting
October 9, 2024 5:30 PM Prairie House, Prairie du Sac
End of Inland Trout Season October 15, 2024
Aldo Leopold Chapter Mission Statement
The Aldo Leopold Chapter’s mission is to conserve, protect, restore, and enhance trout and salmonid fisheries, watersheds, the groundwater that sustains them, and the doctrine of public trust that defends them, in Columbia, Dodge, and Sauk Counties. We do this through education, cooperation, rehabilitation, and advocacy using an extensive and dedicated volunteer network
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Chapter Mailing Address:
Aldo Leopold Chapter TU c/o Dan Endres 2004 Hanksfield Pl, Prairie du Sac, WI 53578
