Ohio rescuers advocate fines for stranded anglers

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Now that the danger is over for 134 fishermen stranded on a huge ice floe in Lake Erie over the weekend, the anger has set in among the people who had to rescue them.

The fishermen ignored cracks in the ice and high-wind warnings; some even built a makeshift bridge across the cracking ice to reach a favorite fishing spot. But the agencies that led the risky rescue operation can't charge them a dime. [Full Story]

Source: The Associated Press

Environmental officials hope for walleye rebound

BALLVILLE TOWNSHIP -- In the 1800s, lake sturgeon were so prevalent on the Sandusky River that fishermen and locals considered them a nuisance, an environmental official said.

The river was a well-known breeding ground for the fish, which grow much larger and live much longer than most lake fish, officials said. [Full Story]

Source: The News Messenger

Slip-up by the Minnesota DNR allowed fish virus into state

The Minnesota DNR allowed 2,000 trout to be imported from Wisconsin to stock a rural Cloquet man's private pond. But the source hatchery had a contagious fish virus not found in Minnesota. The DNR had made a potentially devastating error. (Full Story)

Source: TwinCities.com/Pioneer Press

Sturgeon stories captured in book due out in October

OSHKOSH – The sturgeon spearing seasons opening Feb. 14 on the Winnebago System got their start 77 years ago as part of an economic stimulus plan aimed at helping feed hungry Wisconsinites during the Great Depression.

That history of how Wisconsin’s modern-day sturgeon season was born is just one of dozens of stories that fill People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin’s Love Affair with an Ancient Fish, a new book coming in October 2009. Advance orders are being taken now.

A cooperative effort by several agencies, institutions and organizations involved in sturgeon management, the book features dozens of sturgeon stories collected from spearers, decoy carvers, poachers, retired game wardens and sturgeon biologists, Menominee Tribal elders, and others from throughout the Winnebago-Fox-Wolf River System. The book also features the photography of the late Bob Rashid.

People of the Sturgeon can be previewed and pre-sale copies can be reserved at [http://www.winnebagosturgeon.org/].

Ron Bruch, a Department of Natural Resources sturgeon fisheries biologist, co-authored the book with Kathleen Schmitt Kline of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Sea Grant Institute, and Fred Binkowski of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Great Lakes WATER Institute. The Wisconsin Historical Society Press is the publisher, and Sturgeon for Tomorrow, a local sturgeon conservation organization, donated $25,000 to help underwrite publishing costs of the 300-page book. Royalties from sales of the book will support the DNR's Lake Winnebago System sturgeon management efforts.

For the record, the Winnebago spearing season was reopened in 1932 after a 17-year closure as part of a Wisconsin legislative bill designed to provide economic relief to the citizens of the state. The idea for the bill was initiated by the Twin City Sportsmen’s Club in Neenah. State Senator Merritt C. White from Winneconne drafted a bill to open sturgeon to a fall hook and line season, Bruch says. Soon after, legislators from around Lake Winnebago amended the bill to include an ice spearing season on the Lake Winnebago, a season spearers will again enjoy this year.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Bruch (920) 424-3059

Preliminary Determination on Victory International Fellowship Environmental Assessment finds no significant impact

WAUKESHA – The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has made a preliminary determination that Victory International Fellowship’s proposed development of relocated church facility grounds will not have an adverse impact on the environment. Although an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will not be required, the DNR’s determination is not a final decision. The Environmental Assessment (EA) provides background information for evaluation of project permit evaluations. The EA and application materials are used to determine whether specific standards for granting permits can be met.

The proposed development will be located in Menomonee Falls, WI on the northeast intersection of Pilgrim and Lisbon Roads. This property is an abandoned, former drive-in theater site. The project involves grading and the creation of a stormwater pond filling the three wetlands that formed on the west side of the site (0.19 acres) along the old drive-in theater roads and parking lots, and removing a waterway from an enclosure and relocating the enclosed portion of the waterway near the center of the property, creating a 0.89 - acre of meandering stream and stream bed. When the project is complete, the design will hopefully protect the sensitive higher quality wetlands to the east and restore a natural channel and stream character to the area.

The development site has a number of environmental and topographical design challenges, including an enclosed stream in the central portion of the site; a wetland on the east side with significant ecological value; a number of smaller wetlands bordering the drive-in theater roads; and a significant elevation grade from Pilgrim Road to the former drive-in theater gravel pad. There is also floodplain on the southeast corner of the site that is undevelopable.

In making the preliminary determination, the DNR prepared an Environmental Assessment [pursuant to Chapter NR 150, Wisconsin Administrative Code] and reviewed the company’s application for Chapter 30 coverage and water quality certification. Copies of the Environmental Assessment that led to the DNR's preliminary determination can be obtained from Andrew Hudak, Water Management Specialist, 141 NW Barstow St., Rm 180, Waukesha, WI 53188, 262-574-2172 or at Andrew.hudak@wisconsin.gov.

Public comments, either written or oral, on the environmental assessment are welcome and must be submitted to Andrew Hudak no later than 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 9, 2009.

Land Acquisition in Grant County: Conservancy requesting stewardship grant

LANCASTER – The Mississippi Valley Conservancy has applied for a 50 percent matching grant from the Natural Areas Program of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program to assist with the purchase of 138 acres of land in the Grant County Town of North Lancaster. The US Fish and Wildlife Service will match the grant award.

The property contains endangered native prairie, several springs, and a coldwater creek. The goals are to preserve, protect and restore the prairie and to provide opportunities for low impact outdoor recreation including hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking, cross-county skiing and biking, nature study and wildlife observation.

The DNR has made a preliminary determination that the proposed acquisition will not involve significant adverse environmental impacts and neither an environmental assessment nor environmental impact statement will be required for this action. Address public comments on the proposed acquisition to Vance Rayburn, Administrator, Customer and Employee Services Division, care of Stefanie Brouwer, 608- 275-3218, email: stefanie.brouwer@wisconsin.gov.

Comments must be received by Feb. 25, 2009.

New multimedia page a gateway to all things sturgeon

OSHKOSH -- People interested in lake sturgeon don't have to be one of the more than 10,000 spearers licensed for the Feb. 14 season opener to see Wisconsin's biggest and longest-lived fish up close.

February offers the chance to see these ancient fish on IMAX screens in Milwaukee, Duluth, St. Paul and Chicago, and, for the first time, online. It also brings new opportunities to read a new Natural Resources Magazine article on sturgeon restoration efforts around Wisconsin, and to place an advance order for a sturgeon book coming in October, People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin’s Love Affair with an Ancient Fish.

Learn more about these opportunities and view the DNR video and Natural Resources article through a new sturgeon multimedia Web page.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Bruch (920) 424-3059