Friends of Turtle Creek
Meeting Minutes
Turtle Township Town Hall 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
June 7, 2016
Attendees: Dean Paynter, Tom Presny, Richard Stenstrom, Tom Holmes, Hank Woodard, Marline Holmes, Carl Lange, Bob Blakely, Sandy Thorpe, Dave Hoffman, Terry Meyers, Carol Mankiewicz, Kathy Fernan, Steve Johnson, and Therese Oldenburg,
Staff: Dave Hoffman, Community Coordinator – Rock County Parks
Meeting location: Turtle Township Town Hall
Guest Speakers:
- Jeanne Scherer, Water Resources Management Specialist, WDNR
- Amanda Perdzock, Aquatic Invasive Species Director, River Alliance of WI.
- Becky Williams, Intern / LTE, WDNR
Speaker Highlights: Always drain your boat and thoroughly remove all plants and debris before going on to the next body of water. New Zealand Mud Snails are very tiny and an example of what can be transported in the treads of shoe or in your clothing. 3 tablespoons of bleach in a gallon of water or freezing needed to kill most invasives. AIS stands for Aquatic Invasive Species. To find out more on them in Wisconsin go to: http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/invasives/species.asp?filterBy=Aquatic&filterVal=Y or http://dnr.wi.gov/lakes/invasives/
Paddling Activity: Nine paddlers from Hwy 140 to Sweet Allyn Co. Park in about 2 hours today.
Highlights of today’s creek paddle was that DNR staff confirmed presence of invasive Purple Loosestrife, however no new invasives were found that had not been previously reported.
Treats: Dean Paynter Cookies and Tom Presny drinks and sandwiches.
Welcome: Tom Presny welcomed the attendees to the fifth meeting of the Friends of Turtle Creek. We went around the group and everyone introduced themselves. Welcomed to our newest members: Cathy Fernan and husband Steve, and Steve Johnson.
Next Paddle Trip: Stay tuned.
Follow up on Labeling Upstream side of Turtle Creek Bridges (wayfinding) Dean will take the lead on this effort. Consensus that we will take the cheapest and easiest method to start with.
Bridge Monitors: Therese Oldenburg and Kathy Fernan have volunteered to serve as monitors of water quality on Turtle Creek.
Testing the Waters: Sandy Thorpe shared her experiences of paddling for 10 days in May on the Rock River from Horicon Marsh to the Beloit Stateline. She helped monitor water quality with sensors and water probes that were mounted on kayaks. They encountered many challenges over the 140 mile trip but also a great number of pleasures of seeing communities and a good share of the state from the water perspective. To learn more go to: http://rockrivertrail.com/testing-the-waters-rock-river-paddle-and-probe-event-to-be-held-may-15-25-2016/
Next Meeting and Topic: Stay tuned.
Meeting adjourned 8:00 PM
Recorded by: Tom Presny