Wisconsin Residents Celebrate Lake Delton’s Restoration
gengberg July 1st, 2009
July 1, 2009 | Category: Conservation News
Wisconsin residents celebrate Lake Delton’s restoration
Onlookers witnessed the first installment of game fish being released into Lake Delton - 9,000 walleye fingerlings.LAKE DELTON, Wis. - There were cheers instead of tears last month on the first anniversary of the disaster that emptied Lake Delton into the Wisconsin River, destroyed five homes and threw a very wet blanket on this tourist community at the beginning of the summer season just a year ago.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle joined local officials, residents and visitors on the Tommy Bartlett Show stage to celebrate the efforts of the departments of Tourism and Natural Resources, the Village of Lake Delton, the Lake Delton Fisheries Restoration Project (LDFRP), and the hundreds of volunteers who worked together to repair the breech and highway, strengthen the dam, refill the and begin to stock the lake with fish in less than a year.
“When we stood here a year ago, we had two choices,” Doyle said. “We could have lamented the loss and wondered what to do. Instead, the people of this community said ‘Let’s get to work.’ To have accomplished this restoration in less than a year is a remarkable achievement.”
After a festive event that included live music, a 15-boat parade and a brief water ski show, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Lake Mills Hatchery Supervisor Steve Merson and coolwater foreman Jason Himebauch released the first game fish into Lake Delton - 9,000 walleye fingerlings - near the site of the breech as LDFRP Task Force members looked on. DNR Secretary Matt Frank told the crowd that this was the first installment of game fish and panfish to be restocked, and that thousands more would be planted in the lake over the next three years.
As the 1½-inch walleyes dispersed into the lake, some could be seen feasting on a school of tiny minnows, the offspring of nine million fathead minnows, golden shiners and white suckers stocked in the lake earlier this spring.
“With all this forage and no competition, these walleyes could reach 11 inches by this fall and 15 inches by next fall,” said DNR fisheries biologist Scot Stewart, one of many DNR officials on hand for the event.
Lake Delton Village trustee and Tommy Bartlett Show co-owner Tom Diehl purchased the first raffle ticket from Walleye North America president Dave Heidtke for a fishing boat, motor and trailer donated by Crestliner Boats, Mercury Marine, Wilderness Properties and C&H Inc.
On behalf of the Lake Delton Fisheries Restoration Project, Priegel accepted donations from Joe Eck, general manager of Wilderness on the Lake ($5,000); Jim Peterson and Sal Maglio, of the Madison Fishing Expo ($5,000); Dave Heidtke of Walleye North America ($10,000); Tom Holtz & Wally Czuprynko, of Rhapsody Resort ($8,000) and Keith Kimball, of C&H Inc ($5,000).
“This puts the LDFRP at $121,800 in donated and pledged cash and at over $211,000 in merchandise, materials, and services in less than 8 months,” said LDFRP co-founder Ben Hobbins. “Success of this project has been defined by the very effective networking by all partners.”
The cost of fish for restocking alone will total approximately $200,000, Stewart said.
“We anticipate this to be a three-year project,” said LDFRP co-founder Dan Small. “And Lake Delton is not the only fishery that needs help. If this project succeeds, it will grow into something much bigger, perhaps even on a national scale.”
LDFRP Contact Information // www.restorelakedeltonfisheries.com
Founder Ben Hobbins jbhobbins@yahoo.com // Founder Dan Small dsmallwrtr@aol.com
