The following report also appeared in the Sep Issue of WI Trout
In administrative news Chapter Board member Pete Kilibarda stepped down from his position and we are looking diligently for a replacement. Thanks to Pete for his time served. Rip Rap Editor Ed Constantini put out his first issue and it was dynamite. The Chapter continues its string of luck in finding talented people for our newsletter. Unfortunately, Covid eliminated our ability to get Rip Rap printed free of charge so we have been forced to put it out electronically. Kiap TU Wish is sending it out via email, so members are encouraged to contact TU National to update their profile with a current email address. The newsletter can also be found on our website at kiaptuwish.org. The Chapter Board cancelled our Spring Appeal to our members due to Covid-19 impacts. Additionally, the Board cancelled plans for our annual holiday banquet usually held in December. Both events are our primary fundraising tools. At the time of this writing a special appeal was sent out, and we are hoping that members in a position to donate will continue their support of our work. The Chapter also is pleased to report that we were awarded and Embrace A Stream grant of $5500 for “Monitoring to Assess the Ecological Benefits of Kinnickinnic River Dam Removal and River Restoration in River Falls, Wisconsin”. Look for more news on this in later issues of Wisconsin Trout.
It was a busy summer for the Kiap-TU-Wish monitoring team. Chapter members deployed 30 temperature loggers in five local rivers, to evaluate the impacts of stormwater runoff, hydropower facilities, and climate change, and to assess the ability of our stream restoration projects to improve temperature regimes. Water samples were collected and analyzed on several streams (see photo), to better understand watershed impacts on water quality. To complement stream temperature and water chemistry data, two weather stations were operated, providing data on air temperature, relative humidity, dew point, and rainfall amounts. Kiap-TU-Wish also continued to provide financial and volunteer monitoring support for USGS operation and maintenance of their Kinnickinnic River and Willow River flow gaging stations.
National Trout Unlimited is placing a high priority on Community Science and the benefits it provides for angler education and coldwater resource management. Trout Unlimited’s national science team partnered with MobileH2O, LLC to develop a customized mobile application (WiseH2O App) that can be used by anglers to monitor water quality and habitat conditions in Driftless Area trout streams. In 2019, Kiap-TU-Wish anglers participated in a successful WiseH2O App pilot project, testing the App on 10 local streams and rivers, making 83 observations, and providing feedback to the developers on App improvements. The Mobile H2O website: https://www.mobileh2o.com/anglerscience provides access to the Kiap-TU-Wish monitoring plan, the 2019 pilot project report, and an interactive map that enables viewing of all 2019 Kiap-TU-Wish WiseH2O App observations. COVID-19 and development of the iPhone version of the WiseH2O App delayed the start of the 2020 monitoring season until early August. Although the 2020 monitoring season will be short, we are pleased to report that the iPhone version of the App is available, and the 2-in-1 test strips can be used to measure nitrite/nitrate concentrations. The App also has an updated look and educational messaging that should be more user-friendly. Given the success of the 2019 Kiap-TU-Wish pilot project, and with further App improvements in 2020, WiseH2O App monitoring expanded to the entire Driftless Area (southwestern WI, southeastern MN, northeastern IA, and northwestern IL) in early August. Besides Kiap-TU-Wish, 14 additional Trout Unlimited chapters now have an opportunity to monitor our regional coldwater resources. For more information on the Driftless Area project, please contact Kent Johnson at d.kent.johnson@gmail.com.
Despite the uncertainties due to Covid-19, 7 of our 8 classrooms are going forward with Trout in the Classroom this year and we have added an additional classroom as well. Hopefully, the kids will be able to complete the project unlike last year’s classes which had to cut things short due to Covid-19.
Our traditional role of assisting the WIDNR with seeding/mulching operations on stream restoration projects was usurped by the DNR’s Covid work rules. Work which volunteers normally would have taken on at the mile long Von Holtum easement on the Plum Creek restoration site, was instead handled by the DNR staff. Chapter members Tom Schnadt, Loren Haas, Dustin Wing, Dan Wilcox, Scott Stewart, and Randy Arnold met with DNR staff members Kasey Yallaly and Nate Anderson over the course of the summer to evaluate newly acquired easements in our area. They were joined by Pierce Co. soil and water conservation staff where they reviewed the easements restoration potential and also to evaluate solutions to the problem of sand loading on the South Fork of the Kinnickinnic River. The group developed a preliminary plan to begin tree clearing this coming winter on three new connected easements on Cady Creek just outside of Elmwood. Chapter volunteer coordinator Randy Arnold met separately with Area Fish Manager Kasey Yallaly in late July to visit several sites on the Upper Kinnickinnic which are in serious need of maintenance brushing and tree removal to keep them from returning to an unfishable jungle. Chapter members are looking forward to gearing up for our fall and winter workdays. We are hoping that chapter members will turn out and help with our tree removal and brushing operations while practicing social distancing.
With partial funding provided by the chapter, the DNR did hire an outside contractor to perform maintenance mowing on previously restored sites in both the Kiap TU Wish and Clear Waters Chapter areas. In our case, the contractor mowed much of the area comprised of the connected easements on the Trimbelle from the County Rd. W bridge downstream to the Hwy 65 bridge. Chapter member Jim Tatzel joined Randy Arnold several days after the mowing where they went through and sprayed herbicide on the stumps of small saplings left behind as well as cutting and treating stumps which were missed by the mower. Chapter member Loren Haas has continued to work with Nate Anderson of the DNR on the design, installation, and performance evaluation of Elevated Riparian Optimization (ERO) Structures which Loren has designed to incorporate into stream restorations. The hope is that these structures will optimize the power of high-water events to provide deep water habitat for trout and efficiently move sand loads downstream. The first deployment of ERO Structures on a larger stream took place on Plum Creek where work recently wrapped up on the Van Holtum Farm easement. This easement consists of two separate parcels with over 19,000 feet of Frontage on Plum Creek and almost a mile of Frontage on Brunner Valley Creek. The work here is not the classic Driftless project with LUNKER structures and significant narrowing. This is a mixed fishery with Brown and Brook trout and classic Driftless restoration favors Brown Trout as we unfortunately learned on Pine Creek. This project contains a lot of wood and the narrowing is not so drastic. The goal is to enhance the Brook Trout habitat. As a result, anglers used to classic Driftless restoration projects may find the angling difficult and frustrating.
