Beach Sampling

Posted on October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 by glakesd

As in the past, the GLSD weekly beach sampling around the lake ran between Memorial Day and Labor Day. We sample at each public beach as well as several boat launches to determine the E. coli levels at these locations each week. E. coli is a bacterium commonly found in the intestines of humans, birds, and other animals; some strains of which can cause severe illness. In July, a sample taken at Sunset Park on the east end of the lake, showed excessively high levels of E. coli. Concerned about th...

New AIS Tool Boards

Posted on October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 by glakesd

The new AIS tool boards were installed by the county and townships at boat launches around the lake. This was a GLSD and Partner supported project to help keep new aquatic invasive species out of the lake. A big thank you to Anna Cisar, our AIS specialist with Golden Sands RC&D, along with Stephanie Prellwitz of the GLA, and Paul Gunderson and Jordan Dornfeld of Green Lake Land Conservation for their efforts to stop the spread of AIS into Green Lake.

BMS Spotlight – Cover Crops

Posted on October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 by glakesd

Cover crops are grasses, legumes, and other forbs that are planted for erosion control, improving soil structure, moisture, and nutrient content, increasing beneficial soil biota, suppressing weeds,providing habitat for beneficial predatory insects, facilitating crop pollinators, providing wildlife habitat, and as forage for farmanimals. Although cover crops can perform these multiple functions in an agroecosystem simultaneously, they are most often grown for the sole purpose of preventing soil...

Waste Management Update

Posted on October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 by glakesd

There have been many surprising footnotes to the Covid pandemic. One such tidbit is that when people are forced to stay home, apparently they clean house! In speaking with Waste Management this spring and summer, they updated us on the fact that residents within the GLSD put out more than 15% more trash in the 2nd quarter of 2020 than average. WM found this trend to be similar across all the communities it serves. Additionally, WM has seen a huge increase in cardboard being thrown away due to t...

Results of 2020 Green Lake County Drinking Water Study

Posted on October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 by glakesd

In the fall of 2019, the Green Lake County Health Department (GLHD) secured an Environmental Health Tracking Grant from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to “protect and enhance the groundwater in Green Lake County.” Sampling was completed in early March of 2020. Several parameters were tested for including bacteria, nitrate, and pH. Due to the overwhelming requests for participation in the project, the GLSD funded the 111 samples taken within the Green Lake watershed. By doing so, th...

GLSD’s Annual Spring Cleanup

Posted on July 7, 2020July 28, 2020 by glakesd

Our Waste Management contract only covers the pick up of household trash. Building materials, furniture, and e-waste and other bulky items should not be placed in your WM cart. Instead, you can bring them to the GLSD’s Annual Spring Cleanup. Dumpsters will be available at the GLSD Wastewater Treatment Facility (located at N5295 County Highway TT in the Town of Princeton). If social distancing restrictions are in place in late July, the event may be postponed or cancelled. Please visit www.gla...

Restoration Efforts Undertaken on the County K Marsh

Posted on July 7, 2020July 9, 2020 by glakesd

The GLSD and Lake Management Team Partners have been working for years to improve the water quality entering the lake from the County K marsh. The marsh contributes a disproportionate amount of nutrients to Green Lake than is accounted for by the size of its 3 subwatersheds (Wurches Creek, Spring Creek, and Roy Creek). This has long been a concern to our lake managers. The highly turbid water and lack of aquatic plants indicate the marsh is not functioning as it should. We know that to reduce t...

Green Lake Fish Management Update

Posted on July 7, 2020July 7, 2020 by glakesd

LAKE TROUTOn Monday, March 30th and Tuesday, March 31st, Jon Hoffman from the WIDNR and Dallas Lewallen from the GLSD carefully transferred over 28,000 lake trout from the GLSD-operated fish rearing facility on North Lawson Drive to Green Lake. Due to the social distancing restrictions at the time, this was a big undertaking. A big THANK YOU to Jon for making this happen for us. Thank you also to Stu Marks and Dallas for all the time over the winter spent feeding the fish, cleaning the raceways...

REFLECTIONS FROM Dave Bartz, DNR FISH BIOLOGIST

Posted on July 7, 2020July 7, 2020 by glakesd

We prepare to bid farewell to Dave Bartz, longtime DNR fish biologist for the Green Lake area, as he prepares for retirement later in 2020. Dave has graciously agreed to let me include in this newsletter the following thoughts he had about working on Green Lake. Spring 1992. I had just begun my career as a Fish Biologist, stationed in Montello and decided to attend a fish crib building day over on Green Lake. I figured it would be a good way to make acquaintances and get to know a few of th...

Fish Rearing and Stocking

Posted on November 11, 2019November 11, 2019 by glakesd

The GLSD (with support from multiple partners) released 29,000 young lake trout into Green Lake in early April, 2019. The lake trout are received into our fish rearing facility each October as fingerlings. GLSD staff feeds and monitors the fish daily from October until they are ready for release each spring. Additionally, in partnership with members of the local fishing community, the GLSD works with DNR fisheries staff on additional stocking of other species such as rainbow trout.