Southern Wisconsin Trout Unlimited

07/04/2026

The latest SWTU Newsletter:

07/04/2026

Are you interested in a get together in August 2026? Take a quick survey to let us know and help us plan!

07/02/2026

Epic is restoring nearly 5,600 linear feet of the Sugar River from a channelized ditch back to a natural meandering stream. The restoration will improve water quality, habitat, and floodplain function — and help trout and other fish move through the Sugar River watershed. Epic is restoring more than 6 acres of wetlands and 3.5 acres of upland areas in the valley. Map shows construction progress of the re-meandered stream channel.

The project will also add several recreational amenities, including a new shared-use path connection to the Military Ridge State Trail for cyclists, a new public river access to the Sugar River for kayakers and anglers, and a small parking area. Multiple government partners helped shape the project scope and provide regulatory oversight including the City of Verona, Town of Verona, Dane County, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, United States Army Corps of Engineers, and United States Fish and Wildlife.

06/11/2026

SWTU showed up, Stihl showed up, Dane County showed up, TUDARE showed up, the WI Chapter of BHA showed up. All to improve the Sugar River at the County's newest, 640 acre property on the river.

Thanks to TUDARE, SWTU had been granted the services of the Stihl work crew to complete the next step in the restoration of the river at this point. SWTU had spent 3 long work days clearing the invasive understory on a bermed riverbank. Today, Stihl's job was to clear all the box elders and SWTU's to help clear the branches. All in order for the County to remove or breach the berms and re-connect the river to its floodplain and a spring complex. The former reduces stream bank erosion and the latter provides a source of cold, clean water to the river. That's essential for the Dane County trout stream that's most vulnerable to climate change and warming temperatures.

Forty (!) volunteers were ready to go. And away we went. This is the fifth project Stihl has undertaken with a WI TU chapter and they always have an ambitious work plan. For the first time, they and we finished all the planned work and a bit more. The amount of work at this site over two years is extraordinary and, with the County's work, the best is yet to come.

The day was muggy and some of the ground slippery enough to be treacherous. Everyone was careful. All of us at SWTU were impressed with Stihl's emphasis on safety and the instructions issued at the start of the day. We're really careful about our days but we can learn from Stihl. Also impressive was their first aid preparations. Thanks to Josh Reilly, our Secretary, and the SWTU Board, we're following that example.

Stihl provided donuts and a delicious lunch. They have also donated $2,000 worth of Stihl equipment for our work days. Just wait for our Fall and Winter work days. Dyan thought ahead with the muggy day in mind and provided ice cold watermelon to end the lunch. The perfect food for a dang near perfect day.

SWTU offers our more heartfelt thanks to Stihl. Besides the sawing, teaching, and donating, they are a wholly great and fun bunch to work with. I thought they'd do all the sawing and we all the hauling. Instead, they rotated sawyers. The Stihl folks who were now sawing were helping us haul a tremendous boost to productivity, especially at the more challenging site. Watching the Stihl crew take down the gnarly, twisted box elders was a good learning experience for all the SWTU sawyers.

We would not have had the crew without TUDARE and Dane County. Thank you. We're eager to continue our work with Dane County. I think Jim Hess and James Brodzeller of Dane County will have us back on another habitat project on the Sugar. Paul Krahn of TUDARE also will have some cool drone footage of the work day.

Special thanks to Dan Pherson of Stihl, who is hard working and incredibly gracious. Again, Sara Strassman and Paul Krahn of TUDARE enabled us to win this grant. James Brodzeller of Dane County was a key organizer of the event, had the County UTV and a crew on hand, again essential to the day's productivity.

We hope this work day marks the beginning of a new partnership with SWTU. Zack Hanson, who operates Homegrown Native Landscapes in New Glarus and is a Board Member of the WI Chapter of the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, was a prodigious worker. BHA is a national, non-profit, grassroots conservation organization. In my opinion, they are the greatest champion of public lands. We hope to have Zach and other BHA members at future work days. Another hallmark of BHA is the relatively young age of many members. Strong backs and a commitment to public lands are always welcome.

Zach provided one of the full circle moments today. Kathleen Falk was working with Zach and asked why he volunteered. One reason, he said, was he loved fishing the Sugar on the Falk/Wells Wildlife Area. Kathleen chuckled and said well, I'm Falk and that guy over there is Wells. The bigger completed circle was this day as the fruition of over two years of work by TUDARE, Dane County, Stihl, and SWTU. For that commitment of time and focus we have to thank Dyan Lesnick and Wayne Griffin, who have become linchpins of our work days with hauling the trailer and attending to many of the logistics of the day. Jim Hess, who had to miss the day, spent hours in planning the event. This was certainly our most complex work day in years and Jim's planning, communication, and walk throughs were crucial.

This is the final work day of the spring season. The final and most earnest thanks go to all the TU volunteers who showed up on a muggy, Tuesday morning. Many of them showed up at all our days. We did a lot of good this spring and had a lot of fun. -Topf Wells

05/31/2026

Twenty-seven SWTU and Nohr Chapter volunteers showed up for our work day at Big Spring. We finished cutting and treating willows and box elders. The DNR now takes over in the fall or spring with burns and other steps to restore native vegetation.

The skies were a bit overcast, the temperature moderate, and the breezes gentle and consistent. The willows were not so friendly. They grew in clumps with grasses, usually reed canary, covering the stumps that needed to be sprayed. Chain saws, brush saws, and loppers were the tools of choice but none made the task easier. Lots of bending. I'll be practicing the stretches my physical therapist recommends. We stuck with it and the willows are gone, gone, gone. The bird nest and fledglings we discovered, however, are still there and in good shape when we left.

This is one of our most cooperative projects. Our TU partner has been our good friends in the Nohr Chapter. The DNR fish and wildlife managers have been coordinating efforts on a big swath of the public lands at Big Spring.

Removing the willows eliminates a favorite beaver food and dam material. Beavers are the subject of endless discussion in Wisconsin and elsewhere. On this stretch of stream the dams hurt more than they help with sedimentation and warming water temperatures. The restored native vegetation, scattered hardwoods, grasses and forbs, will be better for birds, bugs, and brookies and less attractive to beavers. The DNR and we have already planted some of those trees in the areas we had worked on. They were in great shape today.

A special thanks to all who volunteered today. It's the time of year for graduations and other special events and, to be honest, today's weather was great for fishing. Not easy to find the time today for the drive and hard work at Big Spring. Thanks.

Some rewards awaited. The Nohr Chapter treated all of us to a great brat cookout. We also had a great group of folks of varying ages and experiences. This workday saw several generations of conservationists working together. Three members of the UW Madison Hoofers Conservation Club worked really hard, were lots of fun, and saw the Big Spring for the first time. We hope this is the first of many work days they'll join. We had some great TU conservationists from Illinois led by Jerry Sapp. Jerry has lead the effort to fund the DNR brushing crew for several years. Some of our best SWTU volunteers showed up again. They really are essential to the success of these days. It's always fun to catch up on the latest fishing stories and tips.

We had the sad opportunity to say good by to Jared Myers on his last day as a DNR technician at the Dodgeville office. All of us at SWTU and the Nohr Chapter have worked with Jared. We admire and are grateful for that work. He's always hard working, productive, and upbeat. We and the DNR are going to miss him.

Huge thanks to Jared for this last hurrah. He was the sole DNR representative. He had mowed trails so we could access the work site and he handled the UTV and all the DNR gear and logistics. Ted Swenson organized Nohr's participation. Ted is efficient, optimistic, and an extremely dedicated conservationist. He helps keep the Nohr/SWTU cooperation strong and fun. Dyan and Wayne again drove the trailer, organized equipment, and attended to many of the details of the work day. Jim, our Conservation Committee Chair and work day guru, planned and guided another excellent day (and cut and treated a lot of willows himself).

We're nearing the end of the spring season of work days and will finish with a bang-- with your help. The final day is June 9, a Tuesday, on the Sugar River at the Duerst property, all 650 acres recently acquired by Dane County. The professional Stihl chainsaw crew will be cutting big box elders. We've spent hours clearing underbrush so this crew can work as productively as possible. Clearing these trees is the next and necessary step in the County's reclamation of this section of stream. We're needed to haul and pile what the sawyers cut. Stihl is donating this crew's services and $2,000 of Stihl power equipment to the chapter, the latest in their battery technology. The work is important but the opportunity to see this team of experts take on a real challenge is unique and worthwhile. More details to follow. We know that finding time during the work week to volunteer is really tough. Please consider joining us if you have the time to do so. -Topf Wells

05/18/2026

Another great workday, making a big difference and enjoying a beautiful day.

05/18/2026

Indeed, another fabulously varied work day. The chief mission was to plant 70 swamp white and bur oaks along the newly completed DNR restoration on Smith Conley Creek on CTH H near Hollandale. Justin Haglund, the DNR fish biologist who designed the project, and Scott Harpold, Vince Schmitz, and Pat Gorman, the operations crew who refined and implemented the project, planned the day with Jim Hess. Justin and Lloyd Meng, his colleague on all fish matters, dug holes and had the trees, fencing, and other paraphernalia in place. The trees will provide shade and promote the growth of other desirable streamside vegetation. The first of many thank yous: that prep work makes tree planting fun, not drudgery.

19 SWTU volunteers and 4 DNR staff assembled, divided into teams and had all the trees properly planted in about 90 minutes. That left time for, as always, food and fun conversation. Dyan outdid herself with a cookie with dried fruit, nuts, coconut, oats, and
honey-- delectable and healthy. My contribution looked like a sugar cookie but the baker informed me it was a French butter cookie. The French use butter so well. And pork sticks. We spent time with the Bennetts, who own the land with one of the easements the DNR worked on. They're excellent botanists and birders. The property has wetlands, a sedge meadow, grasslands, and a wooded hillside and bluff, fabulous bird habitats. They also located an endangered lichen on the property-- gotta be great
botanists to find that.

The break ended with Don Golembiewski presenting all of us with his brand new, deadly lubegill and bass bug pattern, the DRIFTLESS DECIBEL DECEIVER. Don creates them from the foam ear plugs some of us use for hearing protection on workdays. He cautions everyone to remove the hooks before using them as
yeah, these will take b ear plugs. Everyone agreed: oh yea these will take bluegills. Way to go and thanks, Don.

We ended the day with spreading a wet soil seed mixture and mulch on a few bare spots on the banks.

Justin remarked that the DNR easements cover 82% of Smith Conley. These are old easements and most folks looking at the creek might think: big deal, looks like a pain to fish. But Justin's surveys show the creek has a surprising amount of wild browns and
a few brookies. The creek needs a lot of work but 25 years ago so did Gordon and Kittleson. Justin's surveys and the two SWTU workdays of three years ago convinced him the creek is worth some work. Based on what we saw today and a stretch upstream where a privately funded stream and prairie restoration occured on an easement, I think he's right.

This creek flows through a wetland with a lot of sand in the streambed. I'd give the restoration some time to heal before fishing it. Justin and Jim are also contemplating a project that would make the long walk into the creek easier. The long walk means anglers are going to have a peaceful experience.

Thanks to all who showed up, including some great Board Members and work day veterans. We were deeply honored to have Caryll Terrell, Caryll is one of the great environmental advocates in Wisconsin over the last 40 years. She helped create many of the environmental and conservation laws and procedures that protect Wisconsin's natural resources and the folks who depend on and enjoy them. In Dane County, she served on several important commissions and always was a kind, respectful, well informed and strong voice for environmental protection. She's a good tree planter too.

We continue to depend on Jim Hess, Dyan Lesnick, and Wayne Griffin to plan these days, lug all the equipment we need, make sure the day runs smoothly, and do a lot of the work. Thank you.
-Topf Wells

05/17/2026

The New Zealand Mud Snail (NZMS) has been found in the Seas Branch Creek in Vernon County this year. If you fish this creek, please brush up on how not to spread these invasive species.

New Zealand Mudsnails (NZM) are a tiny aquatic invasive species (AIS) discovered in Pennsylvania in 2010.NZM thrive in cool, stable streams and about 5-50% o...