By Jim Hess, Conservation Chair

2022 was another great year for SWTU Workdays. There was a total of 181 participants, 84 in the spring and 97 in the fall. Together we are helping to create healthier trout streams, while getting to know our fellow TU members and having some fun.

There was a total of 11 workdays in 2022, 5 in the spring and 6 in the fall. It is always interesting to see how the weather changes during the spring workdays versus the fall. For example, we started our fall workdays this year on a warm and muggy September Saturday morning at the Falk Wells Wildlife Area and ended on December 3^rd, with temps in the 20’s at the Bennett easement on the Smith-Conley Creek (a joint workday with the Nohr Chapter). And that was our highest attended workday for the year.

One highlight was our October 29 workday at the Rudd Easement on Hefty Creek. Not only was it a beautiful fall day, the Rudd’s provided a great lunch for all the participates and in keeping with the time of year, there were Halloween decorations on the tables and we were greeted by spider woman (Marci Hess).

I am especially proud to report that with all the sawyers sawing, trees falling, and skid steers moving, we again had no injuries.

Looking ahead to Spring 2023
Plans are already in place for our 2023 spring season. With so many locations that need our help, we are currently planning for 6 workdays, starting in April and ending in June.

Locations include installing brush bundles on Hefty Creek, clearing invasive woodies on Whitford Creek (a small trout stream that flows into the Dodge Branch Creek in Iowa County), planting trees on Black Earth Creek, and clearing invasive woodies on Badger Mill Creek, Sawmill Creek, and Falk Wells Wildlife Area.

So, volunteers, enjoy your long winter’s nap and get ready for our spring season.