It’s a cold crisp Saturday morning in mid-January and the ice off the north boat landing on Cedar Lake is alive with the sounds of chain saws and Bobcats.

On the horizon, shantytowns harbor diehard fishermen trying their luck through 16 inches of ice. However, the largest and loudest population on the ice this morning consists of volunteers from Star Prairie Fish & Game and the Cedar Lake Management District, along with concerned local anglers, who are working together with staff from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources constructing 45 new fish cribs.

John Bush, a volunteer from SPF&G, sits behind the wheel of a four wheeler waiting for a crew of his fellow volunteers to position one of the completed cribs on his sled. His job is to tow cribs to one of three staging areas located on the south end of the lake.

Wearing a fashionable blue hardhat and bright green safety vest, Barbara Scott with the DNR props herself up against several rods of rebar.

Surrounding her are numerous cribs in various stages of completion. They look like miniature log houses with no roofs stuffed full of brush and tree branches.

Scott explains part of the process; The logs are placed on top of each other leaving about an eight-inch gap between each layer.

“Once the logs are in place, we bend the tops of the rebar over to hold it all together,” Scott said. “Then we place branches in between the layers to create the fish habitat. After the cribs have been towed into place, we tie cinder blocks on top to prevent them from moving once they sink.”

The cribs will sit in place out on the ice until spring thaw. As the ice melts, the cribs slowly settle into place at the bottom of the lake.

Fish techs from the DNR were out on the lake in the fall determining the precise locations where the cribs would be located.

Daryl Berg, with a pipe in hand, is hard at work bending rebar. Besides being a self-appointed “log loader and brush builder,” Berg is a local fisherman who makes time to help with this project because he “cares about the fish habitat.”

Marty Engel is a biologist with the DNR’s Lower Chippewa and Central Wisconsin Fisheries Team. He operates out of the DNR office in Baldwin and this morning he’s in charge of making sure the cribs are correctly constructed and delivered to the correct locations. The plan is to sink up to 500 cribs throughout Cedar Lake over the course of the next 10 to 20 years.

“Cedar Lake is clear enough to grow weeds in the spring, but by around June 15th, the algae begins to come on strong. When the lights go out, the plants don’t grow,” Engel said. “By mid-July the weeds are starting to die back and by August they’ve all but died off. Cribs are one way to create alternate habitat in green lakes.”

Creating log cribs provides a place for fish to migrate to when the weeds die off. According to Engel, the center of the cribs provides cover for smaller fish like bluegills, perch and crappies, while the extended branches on the perimeter provide hunting areas for larger species like northern pike, walleyes and muskies.

“Once they go through the ice, fish will gravitate to them instantaneously,” he said.

The results of the project have been promising.

“There wasn’t a lot of good pan fishing on this lake 10 years ago,” Engel recalls, “But now you can tell the results just by seeing the number of ice shacks out on the lake and talking with the people.”

Ever wonder why all the shacks seem to congregate in just a few areas on the lake? Individual cribs are installed in “colonies” to mimic habitat like a weed bed.

By the end of the day, Cedar Lake will be home to numerous colonies consisting of 325 individual cribs. The fish, both predator and prey, move to where the colonies are. The fishermen follow the fish resulting in a landscape of shantytowns right on top of the cribs.

Marty reports that the DNR working in conjunction with several other volunteer groups, including students from Somerset High School, is starting crib construction initiatives on two other local lakes, Bass and Glen. In addition to the winter crib construction programs, the DNR will also be creating “near-shore” structure on Bass Lake once the water opens up by dragging 80 oak trees out into the lake so that the crowns of the trees rest in about eight feet of water.

By: By Tom Lindfors, New Richmond News

By DOUG WARNOCK

For the Capital Press

Forest resources, arid lands habitat and Puget Sound health were the areas selected as priorities for the Washington State Coordinated Resource Management program.

Washington’s CRM Executive Committee and CRM Task Group met together to establish program priorities. Reduced funding and loss of a full-time program coordinator precipitated the need to streamline activities and focus on high-priority needs.

The three areas deemed of greatest need were:

* Forest resources, emphasizing water issues.

* Arid lands habitat, focusing on sage grouse and endangered fish.

* Puget Sound health, emphasizing improved water quality.

The CRM Task Group is implementing a plan to assist new groups organized to address issues in the three priority areas, while continuing to support existing CRM groups across the state. The Task Group is led by Kevin Guinn, Natural Resources Conservation Service range management specialist, and facilitated by Ray Ledgerwood, Washington Conservation Commission Program Facilitator.

Coordinated resource management is a collaborative approach to resolving issues and improving management of land and water resources. The approach has been in existence in Washington state for over 50 years and has resulted in improved health of soil and water resources across the state.

A group in the Tenmile Watershed of Whatcom County stabilized stream banks and improved fish habitat. It involved local dairies, poultry producers, fruit and vegetable farmers and many community members.

A program in Klickitat County resulted in the development of 30 springs as water sources for wildlife and livestock, installation of 50 miles of fence to protect riparian areas and trees planted on 100,000 acres for forest renewal.

These are just two examples of successful programs. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

Planning for any program is done by the local people who are responsible for managing the land and who have the best knowledge of the situation. Resources of the State CRM Executive Committee and the state CRM Task Group are available to support local groups as needed.

The program planning process empowers local people to solve land use and natural resource issues through collaboration. It brings people together, enhancing communications and reducing conflicts, to help find common ground while working toward the achievement of mutual goals.

Consensus is the basis for success in planning. The approach works because planning together across ownership lines and management boundaries results in better resource health, helps people meet their objectives and minimizes conflict among participants. While there may be a difference in how individuals view a problem or situation, all have an interest in the land’s well-being and can find mutual objectives for its benefit.

The CRM Executive Committee is composed of the heads of the state and federal agencies associated with land and water resources. The CRM Task Group includes representatives of the same state and federal agencies involved in the Executive Committee, as well as several members at large. All are dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of natural resources in the state.

Doug Warnock, retired from Washington State University Extension, now lives on a ranch in the Touchet River Valley where he consults and writes on ranch management.

Information

The lengthy period without fishing at the popular park adversely impacted attendance, said Kent Newcomb, the senior manager of the park south of Plant City and east of Valrico.

“These people want to go fishing,” Newcomb said. “A couple of years of no fishing is not what people want.

Now it’s time to get the word out: Anglers can cast a line again at Medard Park.

“It’s been stocked with bass bluegills, specs and catfish; we’re talking hundreds of thousands,” Newcomb said.

One change for anglers: The reservoir’s fish management plan allows catch-and-release fishing only, at least for now. Newcomb said he thinks the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission may rescind that in a year or so, once the new fish population has stabilized.

Boat ramps, of course, have reopened. The daily launch fee is $5 per boat, and annual passes are available.

New at the park are canoe and kayak rentals, $25 for as much as four hours.

Additionally, the observation tower and boardwalk leading to it — popular vantage points for bird-watchers have been rebuilt — Newcomb said.

More than 30 years had passed since water of any magnitude had been drained from the enormous reservoir at the park off Turkey Creek Road. But deteriorating sandbags along the banks signaled it was time, and water levels began dropping after the dam was removed in November 2009.

Construction, begun in January 2010, was by a contractor for the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

“They just about drained it all the way out,” leaving only isolated pockets of shallow water, Newcomb said.

Then, 3,000 feet of concrete mats were strung across a berm to help form the shoreline. The rocks that previously lined the shoreline will become fish habitat — artificial reefs to help transform the manmade lake into a more natural habitat.

Keeping the shoreline intact ensures residents to the south will not get flooded if the berm breaches.

The project was intended to fortify reservoir embankments to protect against erosion and provide flood control, said Amy Harroun, a spokeswoman for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which owns the reservoir.

Medard Reservoir provides flood control, as well as groundwater recharge and recreational benefits, she said.

“The project was a success; construction was complete in June 2010, and then we waited for rainfall to raise the water level,” Harroun said.

The project provided additional benefits.

At the urging of state Sen. Ronda Storms, the tons of tilapia and catfish removed from the reservoir were filleted and distributed to America’s Second Harvest, which provided it to local food banks to feed the hungry.

Additionally, fisheries biologists from the University of Florida removed and tagged large bass, which were relocated to other Florida lakes.

Newcomb, who has managed the park for 20 years and lives onsite, is as happy as anyone to have the reservoir reopened, as it attracts more than those who want to fish or boat.

“The water reflects on everything else,” including attendance by campers and picnickers, Newcomb said.

After the reservoir was drained, the park saw a sharp drop in attendance, which normally is close to 500,000 visitors a year.

“It’s still not back to what we hope it will be,” Newcomb said. “(But) I’m sure it will come back.”

Edward Medard Park and Reservoir

WHERE: 6140 Turkey Creek Road, Plant City

HOURS: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (winter hours)

ADMISSION: $2 per vehicle (eight people or fewer)

BOAT RAMP: $5 per launch

CAMPING: 42 sites with electricity, $24 nightly; $18 for ages 55 and older

CANOE/KAYAK RENTAL: $25 for four hours

INFORMATION: (813) 757-3802

gwilkens@tampatrib.com (813) 259-7124