April 2nd Chapter Meeting at Juniors
Our Guest Speakers
Kent Johnson, Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter, Trout Unlimited
Clarke Garry, Professor Emeritus, UW-River Falls
Presenting: Kinnickinnic River Macroinvertebrate Monitoring: Past, Present, and Future
What do we know about aquatic insect trends: nationally, regionally, and locally, including the Kinni? What do we need to learn, and what can we do?
Radisson Hotel in downtown River Falls, 414 S. Main St.
Trout anglers in the Upper Midwest have observed declines in insect hatches on their favorite streams. Is this just “Rosy Retrospection” bias, or is something more insidious at work? At this meeting, Clarke Garry and Kent Johnson will discuss the current state of knowledge regarding aquatic insect populations, threats to these populations, and some possible solutions. They will then tie this general overview to the multi-year (2022-2025) project they have been conducting to understand the past and present health of aquatic insect populations in the Kinnickinnic River. To help make this comparison of past to present, a survey will be distributed, to solicit Kiap-TU-Wish member observations of possible changes in Kinni insect communities during the past 20+ years.
Kent Johnson holds a B.A. Degree in Biology from St. Olaf College and a M.S. Degree in Aquatic Biology/Aquatic Toxicology from Michigan Technological University. He worked for 38 years as an Environmental Scientist and Manager, developing, implementing, and directing water quality monitoring programs for large rivers, streams, and lakes for the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services in St. Paul. He has been a KIAP member since 1988 and has been heading up our stream monitoring and storm water management since 1990. He has also worked with TUDARE on stream monitoring and was the WiseH2O project coordinator.
Dr. Clarke Garry is a Professor of Biology Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, who retired after 30 years teaching General Biology, Zoology, and Entomology. He has a B.A. Zoology and a M.S. Entomology from the University of Missouri – Columbia and a Ph.D. Entomology, University of Wisconsin – Madison. Clarke came to appreciate the insects and crustaceans of the Kinnickinnic River beginning with group projects carried out by his students on the South Fork. In 2001 and 2002 he completed comprehensive macroinvertebrate surveys of the Kinni, documenting insect and crustacean populations inhabiting the mainstem. He contributed regularly to the entomology column of Midwest Fly Fishing magazine. His essays are available in book form: In the Kinnickinnic, Stories of a River and Its Insect Life.
Before the presentation, we will be holding board member elections.
We will also be having an in-person silent auction. Some of the items up for bid we did not sell during our on-line auction, and they now have a reduced starting bid. We also have new items that we received after the on-line auction. Items include an almost new package including a Lamson reel, Simms boots, and L.L. Bean waders. Also, a Winston fiberglass rod, rod/reel/line outfit, flies, vests, artwork, fly lines, and more!!!
You don’t want to miss this meeting!
Dinner menu and silent auction will be available at 6 pm, with the program starting at 7 pm. Silent auction will conclude 15 minutes after our speaker’s presentation. Hope to see you there! If you can’t make it in person, the ZOOM link Can be found in a separate post.
All reactions:
3Jonathan Jacobs, Brock Badger Flowers and 1 other
