 |
A good response expected and an even better outcome than expected, add up to an improved Yellowstone Lake fishery.
photo c. WDNR ©2013 |
Yellowstone Lake fishery transformed
BLANCHARDVILLE – Where carp, bullheads and stunted crappie were once
the catch of the day and anglers were scarce, a fisheries management
project has transformed Yellowstone Lake into a fishing hotspot where
anglers regularly land trophy size game fish, including a 57-inch musky.
“It’s been 14 years since the fisheries management plan was initiated
and the Yellowstone Lake fishery is better than ever with no signs of
slowing down,” says Bradd Sims, Department of Natural Resources
fisheries biologist based in Dodgeville.
“We expected a good response, but we didn’t expect it to be across
the board. Panfish, catfish, walleye and bass have all shown a positive
response and are providing great fishing in an area with few lakes.”
Recent surveys have shown that walleye are abundant, with more than
five adult fish per acre, as are catfish, with more than 20 adult
channel catfish per acre. Of the largemouth bass sampled, 56 percent
were greater than 16 inches while 24 percent were over 18 inches.
Yellowstone Lake also supports a low density quality musky fishery as
well that in 2006 produced a catch-and-release world record musky of 57
inches, Sims says.
Located in Lafayette County, Yellowstone Lake was created in 1954.
From the beginning, the lake would run a 15-year cycle starting with a
desirable sport fishery and ending as a fishery dominated by carp,
bullheads, and stunted crappie.
In 1968 and 1983 the lake would be drained and rotenone used to kill
off rough fish. “In 1998 the cycle came full circle once again
--Yellowstone was dominated by carp and bullheads with a nonexistent
sport fishery,” Sims says.
Instead of using rotenone again, however, DNR and partners decided to
try something different. They created a management plan that included
removing carp, stocking predator species and reducing and controlling
sediment entering the lake from land draining to the lake. They also
sought to improve habitat and, once fish were restocked in the lake, put
in place protective regulations to allow the populations to grow.
From 1998 to 2012 the Lafayette County Sportsman Alliance, DNR,
private individuals, Natural Resources Conservation Service and
Lafayette County Land & Conservation Department, implemented the
plan of restoring the Yellowstone Lake sport fishery.
Sims says the results have exceeded expectations and the project has
drawn calls and visitors from surrounding states’ natural resource
agencies. “At the time, this kind of a bio-manipulation project was
something new,” he says. “The results are probably better than we
expected,” he says.
Recent surveys showed walleye ranging from 10.5 to 27 inches,
largemouth bass 6.5 to 22.5 inches, channel catfish 20 to 27 inches,
bluegill 2.5 to 8.9 inches and black crappies from 7 to 10.7 inches,
Sims says.
John Arthur, superintendent of the Yellowstone Lake State Park, says the lake is the draw to the state park, whether spring, summer, winter or fall.
“The excellent fishery -- thanks in no small part to Bradd -- draws
many people to this property,” Arthur says. “People come to fish because
they catch fish here. Yellowstone is known for its crappies and to a
lesser degree, its record book musky.”
And ice fishing accounts for 80 percent of park attendance during the frozen water months, Arthur says.
Read more here:
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
- Bradd Sims - (608) 935-1935
|
 |
Common Terns get a tech-in-turn touch, aiding in the tracking and monitoring of their Wisconsin habitats.
photo c. WDNR ©2013 |
High tech tracking to unlock secrets of endangered bird's travels;
On the longest day of the year, answers from an endangered seabird
SUPERIOR - Just what does a state endangered seabird do on the longest day of the year?
State avian ecologists and their partners will get the definitive
answer this year. Just in time for the summer solstice, they have
outfitted 15 common terns with tiny devices that use daylight hours to
help detect and record the birds’ locations and whether they are in
water.
The so-called “geolocators” will be calculating and recording the locations of the common terns
every five minutes, eventually giving the Department of Natural
Resources and partners very specific information about where these birds
go and when, says Sumner Matteson, a DNR avian ecologist.
“The geolocators give us the opportunity to understand the birds’
migratory routes, where they stop over, and where they spend the
winter,” Matteson says. “We’ll get a greater understanding of their
ecology and can work proactively with partners in states and countries
along the way to aid the species.”
DNR has been banding common terns since the mid-1980s as part of a
recovery plan for the species, which is listed as endangered in the
state.
Based on records from the capture and identification of birds
outfitted with the metal leg bands, DNR knows that Wisconsin breeding
birds have wintered in Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia and Peru. “But
we don’t know where they stopover and where they stage,” he says.
To get specific answers, Matteson and DNR wildlife manager Fred
Strand last week joined with scientists from the Natural Resources
Research Institute in Duluth, Minn.
Strand and Matteson trapped and banded 15 adult birds at Interstate
Island in the Duluth-Superior Harbor and outfitted the birds with
geolocators.
Geolocators are the smallest known devices capable of detecting and
logging the locations of birds. These light-sensitive devices use
changes in ambient light levels to estimate the times of sunrise and
sunset from which latitude and longitude can be calculated, Matteson
says.
The operation last week marks the first time geolocators have been
used on common terns in the Midwest, and ecologists were able to
capitalize on improved technology since the first geolocators were used
on seabirds on the Atlantic Coast in 2007, Matteson says.
The devices have become lighter and gained features, making them
better for the birds and the researchers, Matteson says. The geolocators
used at Interstate weigh 1.1 grams; they record a maximum light level
every 5 minutes for 1 year. An added feature known as a “wet-dry sensor”
records whether the bird is wet or dry every 10 minutes whenever a tern
is in water for a period greater than 3 seconds, Matteson says.
The birds outfitted with geolocators were nine years old or younger
and had a track record of returning to Interstate Island, both factors
that make them a good bet to return and be recaptured. After trapping a
bird and checking its age from a log maintained by Strand since 1989,
selected terns were handed off to NRRI scientists Gerald Niemi and Annie
Bracey. Those scientists outfitted the bird’s leg with the geolocator
and measured, weighed and collected blood samples for DNA analysis
before releasing the bird.
In the coming weeks, Bracey and Strand will be monitoring closely the
adults outfitted with geolocators. A year from now, when the terns
return in spring to Interstate Island, the “geolocator terns” will be
trapped and the geolocators removed so that the all of the data can be
downloaded and decoded, using specialized computer software, Matteson
says.
“The exciting part will be one year from now when we see how many of
the outfitted birds come back,” he says. “Because of high colony site
fidelity, chances are that most of the 15 adults will survive their long
migrations to Central and South America and return to their Lake
Superior home in the harbor.”
The geolocator project is part of a much larger effort – the Great
Lakes Common Tern conservation initiative led by the University of
Minnesota. The geolocator project also involves the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, which provided major funding, DNR, Lotek—the company
that produced the geolocators, and the U.S. Breeding Bird Laboratory,
which authorized the project.
Populations of common terns in Wisconsin and elsewhere in the Great
Lakes have decreased as a result of habitat loss. The bird also
continues to be vulnerable to pesticide contamination, Matteson says.
The bird prefers sparsely vegetated sites, which historically have
been occupied or disturbed by people. Today, DNR manages four main sites
for common terns: the Interstate Island site and one near Ashland, one
in Lake Winnebago, and a site on Lake Butte des Mortes created with
funds through the natural resource damage assessment process stemming
from historic PCB releases on the Lower Fox River and Green Bay. The
Lake Superior sites constitute the biggest populations, with 200 to 300
breeding pairs recorded at the Interstate Island site and between 100 to
130 breeding pairs at the Ashland site in recent years.
Read more here:
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
- Sumner Matteson - (608) 266-1571
- Fred Strand - (715) 372-8539 - ext. 120
|
|
When you LEAVE a COMMENT & YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS, you are entered into the drawing - for a ZipVac
portable vacuum sealer starter kit, complete with a rechargeable pump, a
hand-operated pump and reusable, resealable storage bags. 
No comments:
Post a Comment
We welcome your civil and thoughtful comments and participation.