SOS Lake Mallalieu - Save Our Swans

03/01/2026

What do you want along the St. Croix River and Lake Mallalieu shores?

Public parks and trails?

Or more $1-million+ housing?

Before their Monday, March 2, 6PM meeting, email the Hudson City Council at [email protected] and tell them to oppose rezoning the trestle bridge property (PIN 161-1070-20-003) for residential development (RM-1).

Before their Tuesday, March 3, 6PM meeting, email the Village of North Hudson Board of Trustees and tell them to vote NO on rezoning the trestle bridge property to RM-1:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

A developer wants the trestle bridge property rezoned to RM-1 so he can build six two-story homes there, each up to 35-feet tall and at least 2,000 sq. ft., all within a fenced private enclave.

Tell the City and Village what you want, now, before it's too late!

02/26/2026

Tell the City of Hudson you want open greenspace, public parks, and public trails along the St. Croix River and Lake Mallalieu, not any more $1million+ condos.

City of Hudson seeks public input for Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (CORP):

The City of Hudson is currently in the process of developing a Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (CORP).

The Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan guides the City’s outdoor recreation opportunities, trends, maintenance requirements and more over the next five years.

The City will also use it as a resource for securing grant funds to develop and maintain recreational activities, some grants of which are only available to municipalities with Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans.

To help shape the development and decisions of this plan, the City of Hudson encourages feedback and input from the public in the form of an online survey. The survey is available at: https://tinyurl.com/HudsonCORP. This survey will be open to collect feedback from March 2nd to April 3rd . The results will be used to help guide decision making in the future.

Although the public is encouraged to submit comments using the online survey linked above, comments may also be sent via U.S. mail, phone or email within the same allotted time period to: City of Hudson C/O Tiffany Weiss, City Planner, 505 Third Street Hudson WI 54016, [email protected] or 715-716-5749.

Following the close of the public comment period, the City will summarize the input received and use this feedback to begin drafting the Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan.

https://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/news/city-of-hudson-seeks-public-input-for-comprehensive-outdoor-recreation-plan-corp/article_85dc1964-3567-489f-a295-e302c5d69012.html

The City of Hudson is currently in the process of developing a Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (CORP).

02/17/2026

Trumpeter swans on northeast Lake Mallalieu, enjoying the warmer temps and open water where the Willow River flows in:

02/11/2026

A convoy of swans!

Thank you to Beth Binnington, who sent in a New Year’s Day Trumpeter Watch report with this great photo of tagged Ontario trumpeter swans! She saw 48 swans, including 8 juveniles.

“The swans were in Lake Ontario, near shore on the Eastern, lee side of a spit of land (Tommy Thompson Park). The swans seemed to be resting, honking, and were poking at each other a bit and sometimes pairs or small groups were bobbing and weaving their heads in unison.”

“It was certainly exciting to see such a large group that included tagged and untagged adults and juveniles”

Here’s some really interesting information about the swans in the photo, from Gary Lane, Trumpeter Swan Conservation Ontario:

U54 is a female; full adult rescued, treated and released December 2024 in Toronto ------ "Old injury shot in face. Full white adult, untagged mate, mother of 2 cygnets".

N64, female, hatched in 2023 to an untagged swan & V68. She was tagged/banded in November 2023 in Port Severn, Ontario.

W38, female, tagged/banded as an adult in December 2025, Toronto

Y59, male, hatched in 2022, rescued and rehabbed as an orphan cygnet. Tagged and released October 2022.

Thank you, Beth, for your report and photo- now we know the backstory of these swans, thanks to Gary Lane.

© Beth Binnington photo
To report a swan, go to:
https://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/what-we-do/trumpeter-watch/report-a-swan.html
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12/25/2025

Happy Holidays!

11/13/2025

Please join this free webinar!

NAWMP: the story of people, partnerships, and action for continental conservation

Date & Time: Nov 20, 2025 11:00 AM in Central Time

Description: The North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) will celebrate 40 years of conservation progress in 2026.

Some of the lessons from NAWMP are clear and simple. NAWMP was built on voluntary partnerships, people working together from Canada to Mexico to achieve big things while no one was truly "in charge". Migratory birds with their flyway connections have natural powers to bring people together in a common cause. Partners need to care about outcomes, not credit. Integrity and trust are crucial, as is evaluating programs and adapting to biological and social change.

You’ll learn the inspiring story of people, partnerships and action for continental conservation that continues today! And you’ll discover your place in this ongoing conservation success story.

Presenter: Mike Anderson, Ph.D., a TSS Board Member, has been involved with the Plan since its inception and is currently writing a book on its history.

Register at:

The North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) will celebrate 40 years of conservation progress in 2026. Some of the lessons from NAWMP are clear and simple. NAWMP was built on voluntary partnerships, people working together from Canada to Mexico to achieve big things while no one was truly "i...

11/09/2025

Trumpeter swans have returned to Lake Mallalieu for the winter!

11/01/2025

Here's the webinar recording:

Did you ever wonder what swans are doing, and why? Now you can find out!Watch short and engaging videos of swan behaviors. Explore swa...

10/23/2025

"Ask the Swan Experts"

Thursday, October 30, 2025
11:00 a.m. Central Time

Did you ever wonder what swans are doing, and why?
Now you can find out!

Watch short and engaging videos of swan behaviors. Explore swan behaviors during the year- from building a nest, to caring for cygnets, feeding, preening, mating and more!

Learn how to recognize and prevent some swan health and safety issues.

By the end of the webinar you’ll know how to anticipate dramatic wing displays, thrilling flight take-offs, and the iconic heart shapes for your personal photos and videos!

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rVPxAL9bRUycBMHm9_UTcw #/registration

"Swan Expert" Presenters:

Dr. Gary Ivey, Trumpeter Swan Society lead for the Oregon Restoration Project since the early 1990s and has worked on swan issues for 45 years. TTSS Past President and Board member.

Carrol Henderson, retired supervisor of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Nongame Wildlife Program, MN DNR leader of the state’s trumpeter swan restoration program. TTSS Board member.

09/13/2025

Join us on Sat. Sept. 27, 10:30 - 11:30AM at the Hudson Area Library.

Margaret Smith, of the Trumpeter Swan Society, will be telling the story of the swans' return to Wisconsin & Minnesota. All ages welcome. No registration required.

Trumpeter Swans - A Story of Restoration

Sat Sep 27th 10:30am - 11:30am

Hudson Area Library
700 1st St.
Hudson WI 54016

715-386-3101

09/03/2025

The Lake Mallalieu Association (LMA) application to the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources (WDNR) for a 7.5-foot drawdown of Lake Mallalieu from September 2025 to May 2026 is now stalled in the WDNR permitting process until next year.

At the earliest, a drawdown might be done in Fall 2026, if eventually all four dam owners (St. Croix Co., City of Hudson, Village of North Hudson, and Town of Hudson) allow it and the WDNR permits it.

FYI, at last night’s, Tues. Sept. 2, 2025, City of Hudson Common Council meeting, the Council voted (1) to submit a comment on the proposed drawdown to WDNR requesting more modeling of likely downstream impacts prior to the WDNR permitting the drawdown; (2) to authorize City staff to start preparations for a City-sponsored public hearing on the drawdown sometime after the requested modeling of downstream impacts is done and analyzed, estimated to be held about three months from now; and (3) to delay any decision to allow a drawdown until sometime after the City-sponsored public hearing.

This City of Hudson action means there will NOT be a Lake Mallalieu drawdown this Fall.

Given the environmental timing requirements of any Lake Mallalieu drawdown, the earliest any eventually allowed and permitted drawdown could occur would be next year, in Fall 2026.

08/08/2025

Turns out that over the past 54 years, from 1970 to 2024, actual DATA gathered in 2024 bathymetric and soft sediment deposit surveys--contrary to often-stated opinions--show the water depths in northeast Lake Mallalieu have changed VERY LITTLE due to sediment deposits, and are now shallower in a FEW areas by NO MORE than six inches, and are a maximum of 24 inches shallower in a VERY FEW areas.

To view the "Bathymetry and sediment data" reported by the LMA's consultant, Stantec, go to the WDNR website at
https://permits.dnr.wi.gov/water/SitePages/DocSetView.aspx?DocSet=IP-WC-2025-56-01948&Loc=undefined and click on item 31 in the list of files to download the document; pages 6 and 7 show the small changes in northeast Lake Mallalieu water depths over a 54-year time period, and pages 10 and 11 report that soft sediment deposit depths also are scattered, shallow, and of unknown origin.

There is NO data to support the 1/31/24 LMA Preliminary Application to the WDNR for approval of a proposed dredging project in northeast Lake Mallalieu to remove up to 220,000 cubic yards of lakebed with dredging depths up to 4-feet.