News & Reports
Dear ICLRA Members and Friends,
Wow! This has been a tough year for Wisconsin waters. We lost local control of our shoreland zoning.
The Wisconsin DNR has been further crippled:
- Most of the good people in the Solid Waste Management Division are gone.
- Most of the good people in the department which permits and inspects concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO’s) are gone.
- DNR Employees are forbidden to express the facts of climate change.
The Wisconsin Legislature and Governor have passed laws permitting unfettered use and consumption of water by corporations – drying up wells and lakes.
Well, we in the ICLRA as well as our good friends in the Oneida and Vilas County organizations are still here, still fighting to save our lakes and rivers.
On June 3rd, ICLRA, along with the Iron County Land and Water Conservation Department and the Iron County 4H sponsored our fourth annual Family Free Fishing Day at the county’s Lake of the Falls Park. Twenty two young persons and their families enjoyed fishing, food and prizes provided by sponsors Snow’s IGA, Flambeau Flowage Sports and the Turtle River Trading Company.
ICLRA has scheduled three additional programs this summer, in June, July and August.
The June 28th meeting will be held at 6 PM at the Pines Beer Garden in Mercer. It will feature our friend George Meyer, former DNR secretary and current president of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. He will speak about changes at the Wisconsin DNR and their effects on our natural environment.
The July annual meeting will feature Sandy Wickman of the UW Extension speaking about the importance of continued lake testing.
That meeting will be on July 22nd at 9 AM at the Mercer Community Center. The annual business meeting will follow Sandy’s presentation. This year we will elect our president and secretary.
Nominations will be accepted from current members.
The August meeting program is yet to be determined. Please let us know if you have a request.
Our PURPOSE is to preserve, protect, and enhance the quality of Iron County lakes and waterways. Everyone is welcome at our meetings, but we solicit your membership to help us carry on
our fight.
Sincerely,
Richard Thiede
Secretary, Iron County Lakes and Rivers Alliance, Inc.
Good news, folks, our member road signs have now been made and they look great! We will make them available to all members at no cost. BUT, we would really appreciate it if you could make an additional, one time $15 contribution with your annual membership renewal to help defray our cost of the signs. We will have them available for pick up at our annual meeting. If you aren’t able to attend the meeting, please contact the board member who lives nearest to you to arrange to get your sign.
The signs will come with stainless bolts and nuts for your installation. Most of the signs have been drilled with holes to accommodate the old style posts shown in the picture . If you have a new, flag-style fire number sign, be sure to ask us for a flag-style member sign.
The Iron County Land and Waters Conservation Department has released the 2017 schedule for their “Conservation on Tap” series, which is presented at the Pines beer garden in Mercer.
The Wisconsin Citizen Lakes Monitoring Network – UW Extension Lakes has announced day-long training sessions for aquatic plant identification. Go here for more information – https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/UWEXLakes/Pages/programs/training/plantID.aspx