Southern Wisconsin Trout Unlimited Work Day

media release: SWTU Workday – Saturday, April 13– HR Growing Acres, Kittleson Valley Creek (Dane Cty Rd) H)

Time:  9am to 12 noon (Chapter Approved Sawyers please arrive at 8:30). 

Where:  Kittleson Valley Creek at the bridge on Kittleson Road. We will be working downstream of this bridge. Same location as our tree planting on April 6.

From Madison there are several routes you can take. Here are a couple: 

Take Hwy 69 south from Verona to Paoli, turn right onto County Rd PB, go 2 miles to Cty Rd A, turn right on A and go 14 miles to Cty Rd H, turn left on H and go about 3 miles to Kittleson Road, turn south on Kittleson Rd and go to the bridge.

Take Hwy 151 west to Hwy 78 (west side of Mt. Horeb), exit Hwy 151 and take Hwy 78 south for 18 miles (going through Daleyville) to Cty Rd H, turn left on H and go 1 mile to Kittleson Rd. If you need directions, call Jim Hess (608-288-8662). 

Here is the Google Map link for this location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/GpPsW33inh9H9sMu8

If you need directions, call Jim Hess (608-288-8662). 

What: Removing large stands of invasive willows along with some box elders and honeysuckles. These are large willows 5” to 10” in diameter and are in clusters with 3 to 5 trunks. There is sufficient room for sawyers to spread out. Be sure to have a spotter. After felling a tree, buck it up, leaving the trunks in larger sections. The landowner will be assisting us with a skid steer to build the burn piles, which they will be burning at a later date.

Be sure to cut the trunks as low as possible and treat the stumps. In some cases, it may be necessary to use the chainsaw to griddle the trunks at ground level and treat at that point as well.

If time allows, there is a down tree in the stream on the easement to the west that we will clear.

Bring:  Bring work gloves, sturdy shoes, eye and ear protection. Also bring reusable water bottles that can be re-filled from our 5-gal water jug.  

  Parking: Park on Kittleson Rd on the west side. This is a fairly busy county road with heavy farm machinery, so it is important for everyone to park on the same of the road for traffic flow and safety. 

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Next Workdays: 

April 27 - Conley Lewis Creek in Iowa County. A joint workday with the Nohr Chapter. Justin Haglund, DNR Fish Biologist, and his crew will be joining us. Conley Lewis feeds into the Dodge Branch Creek just upstream from Banner Road. This is located near our previous workdays on Whitford Creek. We will be removing box elders and other invasive woodies. Plus, we will be throwing out native prairie seed to create a native buffer to this stream.

May 18 - Big Spring – joint workday with the Nohr Chapter, assisting the DNR in removing willows. Justine Haglund, DNR Fish Biologist, and his crew will be joining us again. This is a continuation upstream from last year.

June 1 – Sawmill Creek (Pokorny Easement) – removing invasive woodies and installing a brush bundle. This will be the 3rd workday at this site