OCLRA eNews – April 2025
The next OCLRA Board meeting is Monday, May 12, at 9 a.m., at the
ADRC building in Rhinelander, across the parking lot from Trig’s grocery.
All are welcome.
Dan Butkus wins statewide awards for water stewardship
Stephanie Boismenue honored for AIS education and prevention
Festival celebrates Northwoods birds and wildlife
Theme set for Northwoods Six-County Lakes and Rivers Meeting
Northern Lakes Toolbox Workshops Funded for 2025
Vilas and Oneida Counties set Northwoods Lights Out Events
Defense ramps up for Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program
Lakes and Rivers Convention presentations available in archive
OCCWA lists highlights of April activity
Last Wilderness Alliance newsletter tracks progress on wakes
Lake Steward neighbor-to-neighbor program expands in Minnesota
You Shoulda Been Here Last Week book explores a lifetime of angling
Dan Butkus wins statewide awards for water stewardship
Dan Butkus, Squash Lake property owner and president of Wisconsin
Lakes, has won two major awards for his work to protect and improve our
lakes. At the recent Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention, he received a
Lake Stewardship Award in the category for Excellence in Building
Partnerships. Earlier this month he received the Wisconsin Wildlife
Federation’s Water Steward of the Year Award. Among much else, Dan
has been instrumental in helping lake groups navigate the choppy waters of
forming lake districts; he spearheaded such an effort on his own lake.
Please congratulate Dan on his award and for all he does on behalf of our
lakes and streams.
Stephanie Boismenue honored for AIS education and prevention
Stephanie Boismenue, Oneida County AIS Coordinator and Conservation
Technician, has received an Invader Crusader Award from the Wisconsin
Invasive Species Council in the Professional Individuals category. Anyone
active around water-quality issues in our county knows how deserving
Stephanie is. She takes her AIS exhibit to numerous conferences and
community events, conducts training for Clean Boats Clean Waters landing
inspectors, works with lake associations to help educate their members
about AIS and procure DNR grants, and much more, always with a cheerful
attitude. Please reach out to Stephanie with congratulations and thanks.
Festival celebrates Northwoods birds and wildlife
The North Lakeland Discovery Center in Manitowish Waters will host the
20th Annual Northwoods Bird and Wildlife Festival May 9-10. Attendees
Will take part in partake in a variety of guided hikes and tours, bird
watching expeditions, bird banding demos, and interactive workshops
throughout the weekend. To find out more, or to register, visit
https://nldc.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/nldc/event.jsp?event=50735&.
Theme set for Northwoods Six-County Lakes and Rivers Meeting
“Quakes to Our Lakes: What’s Shakin’?” is the theme for the annual
Northwoods Six-County Lakes and Rivers Meeting to be held at Nicolet
College in Rhinelander on Friday July 11. Pre-registration is not required
but is encouraged. There is no charge for attendance.
Northern Lakes Toolbox Workshops Funded for 2025
Wisconsin’s Green Fire has announced that finding is in hand for its
Northern Lakes Toolbox Workshops to be held in late summer and early
fall. Funding comes from DNR Surface Water Grants and matching
donations. The workshops are designed for specifically for lake and river
association leaders in Vilas and Oneida counties. Participants are led
through lake planning exercises, how to find and collect data, and more.
Details here: https://wigreenfire.org/our-work/northern-lakes-toolbox-
workshop/.
Vilas and Oneida Counties set Northwoods Lights Out Events
The Vilas and Oneida County Land & Water departments are promoting
two voluntary Lights Out weekends. Darkness is important for many
Northwoods plants and animals and is important for properly enjoying the
night sky. The events are set for:
June 27-29: Fireflies, nighttime pollinators, and bats.
Aug 22-24: Bats and stargazing, including the Perseid meteor shower.
For more information contact Quita Sheehan at
mashee@vilascountywi.gov or 715-479-3747.
Defense ramps up for Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program
More than 20 local governments have passed resolutions in support of the
Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, created in 1989 to preserve
important natural communities and protect water quality and fisheries, and
expand opportunities for outdoor recreation. These resolutions send a
strong message to state lawmakers that Knowles-Nelson is vitally important
to local communities. Northwoods communities that have adopted
resolutions are Antigo, Cornell, Lake Tomahawk and Merrill. Meanwhile,
the Joint Finance Committee will hold its final budget listening sessions this
month, creating more opportunities to advocate directly for Knowles-
Nelson. The nearest is Tuesday, April 29, at North Central Technical
College in Wausau. To follow this important issue, visit
Lakes and Rivers Convention presentations available in archive
The 2025 Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention drew 578 attendees (57
of whom were virtual). In total, 123 presenters led 55 concurrent sessions,
18 workshops, two special sessions and one field trip over the three days.
The convention staff is now populating the archives with the presentation
materials, plus video from the sessions that were recorded. To get access:
Go to the website link.
Choose the COLLECTION (Convention) and YEAR (2025) and/or
choose a CATEGORY, or type in keywords in the TEXT SEARCH box.
Click on the card or tile and the PDF or video will open in a new tab.
Last Wilderness Alliance newsletter tracks progress on wakes
The Last Wilderness Alliance has released its spring 2025 newsletter.
Highlight articles cover:
The threat of invasive quagga mussels, discovered in July 2024 I Lake
Geneva in southern Wisconsin.
False claims about enhanced wakes from the boating industry and wake
sports advocates.
The importance of local control in combatting enhanced wakes, and
efforts by the Water Sports Industry Association to undermine
municipalities and town boards seeking to implement local ordinances.
OCCWA lists highlights of April activity
The Oneida County Clean Waters Action website spotlights a report on the
history of the University of Wisconsin Center for Limnology’s Trout Lake
Station at Boulder Junction. The station has a full-time staff of nine but
welcomes 20 to 30 visiting researchers each summer, including faculty and
graduate and undergraduate students. A key project is the Long-Term
Ecological Research program, which studies seven nearby lakes. The
website also gives OCCWA’s positions on various Wisconsin Conservation
Congress advisory questions for the annual spring hearings, including
several that relate to Oneida County lakes. Visit https://occwa.org/
Lake Steward neighbor-to-neighbor program expands in Minnesota
Minnesota’s Lake Steward program empowers lakeshore owners to protect
water quality through sustainable shoreline management, reducing runoff
and enhancing native vegetation. The program originated on the Gull Chain
of Lakes at Brainerd and has been expanded statewide by Minnesota
Lakes and Rivers Advocates. The program centers on a simple quiz that
helps property owners assess their shoreline’s health. Since 2021, some
325 property owners have received Lake Steward recognition, and the
initiative is building a culture of stewardship as homeowners become
ambassadors for conservation. OCLRA plans to pilot-test a similar program
in Wisconsin this year with hopes to foster its adoption more broadly. To
learn more, visit www.mnlakesandrivers.org/lake-steward.
You Shoulda Been Here Last Week book explores a lifetime of angling
OCLRA president Ted Rulseh’s latest book has just been released by
Cornerstone Press at UW Stevens Point. You Shoulda Been here Last
Week includes stories that guide readers through a lifetime of angling amid
the waters and landscapes of Wisconsin: treasured times with friends and
family; the magic of Opening Day; boy’s triumph on catching, at last, a
plump river carp; the search for a long-lost antique lure; spousal skirmishes
on keeping bait in the fridge, and more. To find out more, visit
https://www.thelakeguy.net/books/you-shoulda-been-here-last-week/.