Kiap-TU-Wish will elect board members at our chapter business meeting in April. At this year’s meeting there will be two, 3-year terms open: Perry Palin and Maria Manion have decided to step down from the board. Two chapter members have been nominated for election to the open positions: Dustin Wing and Scot Stewart. See their bios below if you aren’t already familiar with Dustin and Scot. You can vote for candidates at the April 1st chapter meeting, so we hope to see you then. Background Information: Positions on the board are three-year terms elected by the general membership at the chapter business meeting and board members may be re-elected. Officer positions are one-year terms elected by the new board of directors at the first April board meeting. The only limit on officer re-election is a maximum of three years for the treasurer and president.
Dustin Wing: Dustin grew up near the Redwood River in Minnesota. He saw the impact that human activities—such as the surrounding agricultural land—had on the river and it influenced his academic pursuits. Following high school Dustin joined the U.S. Marine Corps and became an avionics technician on Harriers. While on deployment he enrolled at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and received a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He was active with undergraduate research and — while assisting a PhD candidate by trying to capture wild mysis to feed trout in the lab—had a near death experience while crossing an ice heave alone on Lake Superior. After graduating from UMD, Dustin worked as a North Pacific Groundfish Observer in the Bering Sea before going back to school at Texas A&M in Corpus Christi to study aquaculture and shrimp nutrition. While in Corpus Christi Dustin met his wife Abbey, moved to Austin, Texas, and had their son Galen. For many reasons Dustin and his family decided to move north via a three-month road trip out West, suffering through heat waves and dodging wild fires. That experience made Dustin even more grateful to be settling in Wisconsin.
Scot Stewart: Scot was born in Michigan and raised there and in Wisconsin. He attended the University of Minnesota for his Bachelor of Science in Fisheries Biology and Ohio State University for his Masters of Science in Fisheries Management. Scot began his career with the WIDNR in Baldwin and covered St. Croix and Pierce counties as a Fisheries Manager. Scot then moved to Madison where he served as an area fisheries supervisor, then a district supervisor until his retirement in 2016. Scot served on the statewide trout and muskie committees for most of his career, led the most recent trout regulation review, and conducted extensive habitat improvement on many coldwater streams. Scot is married to Jo and has two sons and daughters-in-law and four grandsons. He loves to fish for trout and muskie, train retrievers and hunt ducks. In his retirement, he is running an animal control business and is doing some guiding for trout and muskie. He is an active member of TU, served as a State Council Representative, and taught fly tying for TU for twentyfive years. He is a member of Muskies Inc., Ducks Unlimited, Wisconsin Trappers, and the Wisconsin Wildlife Control Operators Association. Scot resides in Somerset, Wisconsin, on the St. Croix River with his wife Jo and Labrador retriever, Rosie.
As you recall, in order to streamline the process for the increasingly popular Wisconsin Trout in the Classroom (TIC) programs, the WIDNR agreed to handle all the fish farm paperwork and ship eggs, for free, from a state hatchery this year. In principle, this made things much easier, but our eggs did not like the UPS shipping treatment and we think that contributed to a high rate of stillborn alevin death that was observed in all eight schools. We had never seen this before. In discussing the issue with the hatchery manager, he said that when the eggs are close to hatching, they are very susceptible to injury; our eggs hatched only two days after delivery.
With any new process there is a learning curve and we will make plans for direct pickup from the hatchery next year. Nonetheless, all classes had alive alevin and they have now released the resulting fry from the egg basket into the tank at large. The kids are all very excited to see the rapid changes from egg to alevin to fry, and now they get to feed the fish which is a daily highlight! The kids are doing well monitoring the temperature and nitrate levels in the tank, ensuring that the remaining fish stay healthy. — Greg Olson
A couple of decades ago the Chapter was facing an uncomfortable challenge; with the completion of the WI 35 bypass around River Falls, the new four-lane highway promised Wisconsin commuters easier access to jobs in the Twin Cities. Almost immediately developers started lining up to purchase development rights on hundreds of acres surrounding River Falls and the city was expected to almost double in size.
Recognizing what might happen to the Kinnickinnic, a number of initiatives were started to combat the threat. When the farm at the Swinging Gate came on the market, the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust (KRLT) organized enough donors to be able to outbid a prominent developer at the public auction. Kiap-TU-Wish initiated a temperature study on the Kinni to demonstrate the effect that River Falls had on the lower river. The Chapter also funded and produced a beautiful instructional video to illustrate what development would do to the river. And our Education Committee, recognizing that the Chapter had few natural allies in River Falls, decided to acquire some and the first Fly Fishing for Trout clinic was born.
It’s inarguable that progress has been made over the ensuing decades. The Swinging Gate is safely in the hands of the WDNR, the KRLT continues to acquire and protect parcels throughout the watershed, the city of River Falls has decided to remove the dams on the lower Kinni…and the Fly Fishing for Trout clinic is still rolling along, making friends and allies for the Kinnickinnic River.
This year’s clinic will be held on June 1 (free fishing weekend) in Glen Park. The clinic will run from 1:00 to 9:00 PM and will include instruction in casting, entomology, fishing strategies and wading safety. Plus, the Chapter provides supper and guided fishing in the evening. The cost is a mere $20 and registration is as easy as contacting River Falls Parks and Recreation.
We have eight or nine volunteers so far. These folks will walk around and help people with casting, show them the contents of their fly boxes, help them tie a knot and mentor them during the evening’s fishing. It’s a good time, and if you’d like to join us, contact: mikealwin@gmail.com or brian@lundsflyshop.com.
June 1 (free fishing weekend) Glen Park, River Falls, WI 1 PM -9 PM Supper provided Guided fishing in the evening $20/Register with River Falls Parks and Recreation To volunteer: mikealwin@gmail.com or brian@lundsflyshop.com
It’s been a very successful year of Trout in the Classroom (TIC). We have shepherded eight classrooms (up from four last year) to the final stretch Everyone has plenty of healthy fry and the kids are looking forward to Bugs in the Classroom (BIC) and the trout release.
Volunteers Needed We are in need of volunteers for Bugs in the Classroom and the trout releases—no experience necessary and you will have fun. For BIC, you just need to assist Dean Hansen in maintaining order at the bug stations. For the trout releases, we assist the kids in collecting and identifying stream insect and we provide casting instruction. (We provide the rods, you do not have to use your own.) Of course, we release the trout at this event. The dates, times, and locations are as follows:
Bugs in the Classroom: • Thursday, April 25th, North Hudson Elementary 10:15 AM – 11:20 AM • Thursday, April 25th Greenwood Elementary (River Falls) 1:00 PM – 2:10 PM • Friday, April 26 Rocky Branch Elementary (River Falls) 1:00 PM -3:00 PM • Thursday, May 2nd River Crest Elementary (Hudson): 9:15 AM -10:15 AM, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM, 1:25 PM – 2:25 PM, 2:25 PM – 3:45 PM.
Trout Release (all at Willow River State Park, except Amery is on the Clam River) All times from 10 AM to noon • Friday, May 10th Rocky Branch Elementary (River Falls) • Tuesday, May 21st River Crest Elementary (Hudson) • Wednesday, May 29th Greenwood Elementary (River Falls) • Thursday, May 30th Malone Elementary (Prescott) • Friday, May 31st Amery Intermediate • Tuesday, June 4th North Hudson Elementary Eco Day • Friday, April 26th Rocky Branch Elementary (River Falls) S. Fork of the Kinni. Stream side invertebrate investigation 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Please contact Greg Olson (driftless23@gmail.com) and/or Tom Schnad (thschnad@hotmail.com) if interested and we can answer any questions, provide directions, etc.
Trout Unlimited’s national science team is currently partnering with MobileH2O, LLC to develop a customized mobile application (WiseH2O mApp) that can be used by anglers to monitor water quality and habitat conditions in Driftless Area trout streams. Before launching the WiseH2O mApp for angler use on a broad regional scale, Kiap-TU-Wish members have been invited to participate in a pilot project that includes Pierce County, Wisconsin. The project is all set to kick off on April 1; but before then, there are several ways for you to get involved:
Angler Survey: We’d like a broad cross-section of our membership to complete a short survey on the WiseH2O mApp, as a means to gauge interest in use of the app and assess the support needed for users. Our thanks to those who have already completed the WiseH2O mApp angler survey! If you have not yet had the opportunity to complete the survey, could you please take a few minutes to do so? To take the survey, please click on the following link: https://goo.gl/forms/kk5HzmKecTYIUbUu2. The survey link is also posted on the Kiap-TU-Wish website and Facebook page. Project participant or not, we value your input on use of this app for angler science and crowdsourcing data that can be used to improve coldwater resource management.
General Angler Participants: Thanks to those of you who have already signed up as target and general anglers! Note that we have much more capacity for general angler participation, so please contact John or Kent if you are interested. The general angler commitment is pretty minimal (1-5 observations during the entire course of the project, from April to October); and these anglers will have the flexibility to monitor stream sites of their choice throughout Pierce County. March 16 Training Workshop: A training workshop on use of the WiseH2O mApp will be held at UW-River Falls on March 16. If you’ve already signed up as a target or general angler, more details are coming your way by March 8. If you are interested but have not yet signed up, please let us know as soon as possible. Note that you can still participate in the project after March 16; we’ll make sure that you receive the necessary training and monitoring supplies. Thanks to all who have become involved so far; we look forward to working with you!
John Kaplan (Kiap-TU-Wish Monitoring Coordinator) jmk8990@comcast.net 612-963-1699 (Cell)
All eight classrooms are busy tending to their trout with the goal of releasing them this spring. Be on the lookout for emails or website announcements that detail upcoming volunteer opportunities. We’ll need people to help out with Bugs in the Classroom (BIC) sessions and Trout in the Classroom (TIC) release days. Bugs in the Classroom will be in late April/early May and the trout releases will be in late May. Volunteering for BIC or TIC is a blast; you won’t want to miss it.
