For those who were unable to join us, we had a very enjoyable paddle on Turtle Creek prior to the July 30th meeting. See photos. Note photo of a mother and her son who were fishing at the hwy. 140 bridge. As we arrived the boy caught the photographed fish from Turtle Creek as was so proud he wanted our group to take his photo. Just one of many special moments on Turtle Creek.
July 30 Friends of Turtle Creek Meeting Minutes – entire minutes are below the photos on this page.
We look forward to our next meeting to be schedule for mid – September. Hope to see you then. If you would like to receive emails about our meetings and events, please sign up below the photos. Thank you!
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Friends of Turtle Creek
Meeting Minutes
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Thursday July 30, 2015
Attendees: Dean Paynter, Jayne Paynter, Tom Presny, Lee Fassett, Richard Stenstrom, Hank Woodard, Mark Woodard, Tom Holmes, Terry Meyers, Carl Lange, Therese Oldenburg, Nancy Johnson, Jim Van De Bogart, and Sandy Thorpe
Staff: Dave Hoffman, Community Coordinator – Rock County Parks Division
Meeting location: Turtle Creek Parkway Shelter – Rock County Park
Guest Speaker: None
Paddling Activity: Prior to the meeting, seven Friends of Turtle Creek kayaked Turtle Creek starting from Hwy 140 and concluding at Turtle Creek Parkway. With water levels below normal this trip took about 1hr. 45 min.
Treats: Dean and Jayne Paynter provided crackers, sausage, cheese, and ice cream treats.
Welcome: Tom Presny welcomed the attendees to the third meeting of the Friends of Turtle Creek. We welcomed new members: Lee Fassett, Mark Woodard, and Holly Nehls. Lee is the former Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Beloit.
Has Anyone Thus Far Contacted the DNR Regarding Stream Blockages? We reviewed the prior meeting request by Wendy Peich (Pike) of DNR to contact her regarding stream blockage removal requests or the need for other stream permitting. Nobody has contacted Wendy other than Sandy Thorpe who wrote Wendy and thanked her for coming to speak to our group.
Schedule Work Date for Vegetation Clearing Around The Five Arch Bridge: It was suggested that we should schedule this volunteer activity in late September or October. It should follow a meeting at the Turtle Town Hall where Turtle Town residents would be invited to join us. We will announce the work dates in the near future. Dave Hoffman is obtaining necessary permitting for tree and brush removal in proximity to The Five Arch Bridge.
Future Paddling trips: Those that paddled Turtle Creek today desired to host additional creek floats. We agreed to host a mid-week or Sunday morning paddle in September. Sandy will give us a heads up when the fall colors are desirable for such a trip. Suggested that we float from Colley Road or Huebbe Parkway to the Rock River. Dean and Therese will help to organize this activity.
Recommended Stabilization Vegetation to plant Along Turtle Creek: Dave Hoffman was asked if he would provide a recommended list of shoreline stabilization vegetation. Dave shares: One thing I didn’t mention about shoreline plantings was what habitat they have adjacent to the Turtle Creek (i.e. upland, wet meadow, forest, and wet vs. drier soils). This can change what native plants to use. Suggested plantings include: Big bluestem (grass), Little bluestem (grass), Blue joint grass , Blue Vervain (flower), New Jersey Tea (shrub), Mountain Mint (flower), Blazing Star spp. (flower), Broad Leaved Cattail (wetter areas), Boneset (flower), Tussock sedge (sedge), Prairie Cord grass, Cup Plant (flower), Joe-Pye weed (flower), and Swamp Milkweed (flower)
Labeling Bridges Along Turtle Creek for Water Recreationist Benefit: Dean Paynter and others on a recent paddle on Turtle Creek came up with the idea of signing the upstream side of bridges on Turtle Creek in order that they would know where they were relative to their destination. We discussed and supported this idea but it was advised that we should first get permission from the local township and / or Rock County Highway administration.
Web Site Now Exists for Friends of Turtle Creek: Sincere thanks were shared by attendees to Therese Oldenburg for her time and effort to create a web site for us. Please take the time to see and benefit from our site at: friendsofturtlecreek.com
Friends of Turtle Creek to Consider Joining The Rock River Coalition: Therese Oldenburg and others shared support for learning more about becoming a chapter organization of the Rock River Coalition, which is a regional environmental group representing the entire Rock River water basin in south central Wisconsin. Dave Hoffman is a board member of The Rock River Coalition and will find out more about the cost and benefits of our joining The Coalition. It was also suggested that we should learn what Walworth County has studied or accomplished relative to Turtle Creek as much of the creek flows through that neighboring county.
Ideas and Suggestions: At the conclusion of our meeting we opened the meeting up to ideas and suggestions for the coming meeting:
- We should consider requesting Andy Polios of DNR to speak to us about Aquatic Plants.
- We should announce our meetings and activities in the Clinton Topper paper.
- Dave Hoffman of Rock County Parks will provide a list of 10-12 recommended stream shoreline plants to consider for shoreline stabilization.
- Thursday evening remains a good day for members to attend meetings.
Thank you: Thank you’s shared to Dean and Jayne Paynter for the treats and to Dave Hoffman for being a guest at our meeting.
Next Meeting: We intend for our next meeting to be in September at The Turtle Township Hall. Meeting adjourned 7:10 PM
Recorded by:Tom Presny