DATE:
December 22, 2001 FILE REF: MMC MIN
120501
TO: Marsh Management Committee
FROM: Andy Nelson, Wildlife Team Leader
SUBJECT: December 5, 2001 Meeting Minutes
Happy Holidays! Best wishes for a Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year!
We began our December meeting with
a bang when Jim Frey, President Elect
of Safari Club International –
Wisconsin Chapter announced that his
organization was donating $10,000 to
the DNR for pothole restoration. The
Safari Club is a group of hunters interested
in conservation issues and support of
hunting opportunities. For information
on the organization or the March 1 and
2 fundraising event, call Jim at 262-246-8777.
As a result, they have requested that
all of their funds be used to restore
potholes in the open hunting portions
of the Marsh. Watch for this work to
get started in late August 2002.
Andy then took a few minutes to provide
some management updates. The main event
for DNR staff of late has been the deer
season. Deer harvest in Dodge County
is down this year. While some of the
decrease (especially the antlerless
portion) did not come as a surprise
considering reduced permits, the 29
percent drop in buck harvest was more
than expected. Many explanations are
floating around. Andy does not have
a specific explanation. However, lower
harvests are usually due to having fewer
deer. In this case, perhaps lower deer
numbers and other factors worked in
concert to depress the harvest.
We next touched on the water levels
around the Marsh. Andy reported that
the water in the Main pool is at approximately
75.1 at this time. DNR staff is watching
the weather for signs of an impending
freeze-up. Just prior to ice-up we will
be attempting to maximize water levels
to support pothole restoration efforts
and over-winter muskrat survival. Raising
water to the maximum level too early
could cause bog breakage problems.
At the same time, we are lowering water
levels slightly in the Bachhuber Flowage.
Due to the pump failure in September
and slow replacement, our ability to
flood the cattails was limited this
fall. As a fallback plan, we will be
looking to burn the cattail in the spring,
then use our new pump to flood the stubble
to continue the process of opening up
the cattails. We do not believe a 3-6
inch water level drop will affect muskrat
survival in the Bachhuber Flowage.
Andy also reported that Wildlife Technicians
Duane Ketter and Karl Kramer successfully
completed the Miescke Impoundment rearing
pond project. As many of you will recall,
this project involved adding a new water
control structure to improve our ability
to use this impoundment for northern
pike rearing. This project was made
possible by the generous donation of
Keith and Betty White. Many thanks to
the White’s for their generosity
and patience while the permits for this
project were processed.
Next, we talked about habitat development
opportunities on the Marsh. We spent
some time discussing the area around
Clark’s Ditch. Based upon review
of historical photos, this area has
some potential for pothole restoration.
However, it was noted that Clark’s
Ditch has a draining effect. DNR flow
investigations indicate that even under
low flow, Clark’s Ditch discharges
5 CFS of groundwater. Finding a way
to hold this water up in this corner
of the Marsh could yield some positive
habitat benefits. In the coming weeks,
DNR staff will conduct more investigations
of pothole restoration in this area.
In the mean time, MMC members are invited
to share their own observations of this
area and bring suggestions forward.
As we have done for the past several
months, we touched on the need for a
Fundraising Subcommittee. The purpose
of this group would be to expose our
project list to individuals or organizations
that may have an interest in funding
such projects. We are starting to get
a nucleus of folks interested in serving
on this committee. So far, Todd Cook,
Gerald Voy, Jeff Bord, Peter Zeigler,
and Gary Kahlhamer have expressed some
interest in this effort. If you would
like to work with these folks let them
know at our next meeting. I anticipate
the Fundraising Committee will begin
to meet early in 2002.
Since we were once again at the end
of our scheduled meetings, the group
took a few minutes to set our schedule
for the next few months. Please mark
your calendars for the following meeting
dates:
• Monday February 11
• Tuesday March 5
• Wednesday April 3
Meeting times and location will remain
6:30-9:00 p.m. at the DNR Service Center.
To help disperse the MMC minutes and
other related information pertaining
to the MMC, Gary Kahlhamer will provide
service and space on his website, www.enjoyhoriconmarsh.com.
Please check it out. Thanks, Gary!
Our next meeting is Tuesday, January
8 at 6:30 at the DNR Headquarters. This
meeting will feature a special “sneak
preview” of the proposed Delta
Waterfowl Nest Success research study
at Horicon. We will have Aaron Hoffman,
Study Coordinator, on hand to provide
us with information and insights. It
should be an interesting evening. I
hope you all can join us! And don’t
forget to bring a friend! Happy Holidays
to all that will not be able to join
us!
Our Agenda will include:
- Management Updates
- Pre-Final deer Harvest numbers
- Muskrat Survey Volunteers
- Nest Success Initiative – Research
Study preview with Aaron Hoffman
Attendance:
Jim Frey Don Gregory Craig McKinney
Jeff Bord Jim Reinhard Mark Kakatsch
Terry Vrana Keith White Robert Miescke
Gary Kahlhamer Gerald Voy Todd Cook
Andy Nelson
