By Topf Wells
Our work day on the Upper Yahara in DeForest was a potpourri of goodness.
Fifty seven SWTU members, Scouts, (WAY TO GO and thanks, Troop 104), paddlers and some wonderful folks from the Village of DeForest and the DNR showed up Saturday, 10/25 to liberate the Upper Yahara River and its stream corridor from the formidable combo of invasive honeysuckle and buckthorn. This is probably the largest turnout ever for a work day. We needed everyone. You could not see the stream for this growth, much less walk to it.
To get ancient for a moment, we smote the tangle with the edge of our saws. Maybe not smoting but well focused sawing and hauling. As you’ll see from photos, the results are amazing with 100s of square feet cleared. Anglers and the walkers and bicyclists on the trail will love the results as will the oaks who are freed from destructive competition.
W e had a great mix of SWTU veterans and newcomers, which continues a healthy trend we’ve had at work days this fall. A dozen scouts were a huge help. They cheerfully hauled and made sure we did not have to lug any cookies, brownies, or doughnuts back home. Greg and Judd of DeForest had water and safety glasses for all of us and proved to be expert sawyers. Sincerest thanks to them and our SWTU sawyers. Old, well established thickets of honeysuckle and buckthorn are miserable. They eat chains and test all the back, shoulder, and leg muscles. The haulers faced challenges too– as in where to pile the cubic yards of deceased, invasive shrubbery. BTW, another great trend is that more SWTU members are completing chainsaw training and bolstering the ranks of sawyers.
Watching attentively was a magnificent bald eagle, high on a tree across the stream. Our national symbol must, we thought, be impressed with our effort and productivity. Zach Oluf discovered the eagle’s more likely focus. Some predator had draped an extremely large, very dead brown trout across a log. The eagle was probably staking out its next meal. The carcass was proof positive that the Upper Yahara holds trout and that a trout’s life cycle is tough. The big fish was a hen and eggs covered the log. Darn it, why couldn’t she have survived long enough to spawn.
Despite eagles, otters, mink or whatever, trout are reproducing. Kyle Oliverncia, the DNR fish biologist for Dane, Rock, and Green Counties, gave up his Saturday to work with us and provide some background on the Upper Yahara. His crew and he found enough Young of the Year trout this summer to show that Upper Yahara provides good habitat for the full trout life cycle.
It’s going to get better. Next summer the Village will start its $1 million improvement of the river that will focus on stream bank stabilization and habitat improvement. SWTU presented our check for $17,000 to help the Village reach its funding goal. Judd announced it was really 19K. He noted our work achieved what a day of their professional restoration crew can do and they cost 2K a day.
This wonderful day reflected a variety of hard work. Again thanks to Greg and Judd and the fabulous scouts of Troop 104. We deeply appreciate Kyle and other DNR staff when they attend our work days. We know how busy they are– Kyle, for example, will be surveying the yellow perch of Lake Mendota with nightly netting this coming week. A couple of paddlers provided another cool perspective on the Upper Yahara. They report the 5 mile paddle through DeForest takes about 2.5 hours and is a lot of fun (with some shallow water to contend with). As always, we’re most earnestly thankful to Jim Hess for his planning and leadership of the work days. This was a special event with our best turnout ever and a welcome to a brand new and easily accessible trout stream.
The trailhead and paddler put in for DeForest’s Upper Yahara is their Veterans’ Memorial Park. Besides the convenient entry to the creek, the park is a lovely and lovingly maintained tribute to DeForest’s veterans. Please take the time to visit it. The memorial to their neighbors who sacrificed their lives is a vivid reminder of the pain and courage our veterans have shown. DeForest lost the greatest numbers of its residents in the Civil War. Maybe that’s worth some reflection as we near Veterans Day.
Many thanks to Dyan Lesnik and Josh Reilly for the photos.
Eagles, Huge Trout, Great Folks, Money, Fun Food, Lots of Work
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Last Updated: November 4, 2025 by Drew Kasel
By Topf Wells
Our work day on the Upper Yahara in DeForest was a potpourri of goodness.
Fifty seven SWTU members, Scouts, (WAY TO GO and thanks, Troop 104), paddlers and some wonderful folks from the Village of DeForest and the DNR showed up Saturday, 10/25 to liberate the Upper Yahara River and its stream corridor from the formidable combo of invasive honeysuckle and buckthorn. This is probably the largest turnout ever for a work day. We needed everyone. You could not see the stream for this growth, much less walk to it.
To get ancient for a moment, we smote the tangle with the edge of our saws. Maybe not smoting but well focused sawing and hauling. As you’ll see from photos, the results are amazing with 100s of square feet cleared. Anglers and the walkers and bicyclists on the trail will love the results as will the oaks who are freed from destructive competition.
W e had a great mix of SWTU veterans and newcomers, which continues a healthy trend we’ve had at work days this fall. A dozen scouts were a huge help. They cheerfully hauled and made sure we did not have to lug any cookies, brownies, or doughnuts back home. Greg and Judd of DeForest had water and safety glasses for all of us and proved to be expert sawyers. Sincerest thanks to them and our SWTU sawyers. Old, well established thickets of honeysuckle and buckthorn are miserable. They eat chains and test all the back, shoulder, and leg muscles. The haulers faced challenges too– as in where to pile the cubic yards of deceased, invasive shrubbery. BTW, another great trend is that more SWTU members are completing chainsaw training and bolstering the ranks of sawyers.
Watching attentively was a magnificent bald eagle, high on a tree across the stream. Our national symbol must, we thought, be impressed with our effort and productivity. Zach Oluf discovered the eagle’s more likely focus. Some predator had draped an extremely large, very dead brown trout across a log. The eagle was probably staking out its next meal. The carcass was proof positive that the Upper Yahara holds trout and that a trout’s life cycle is tough. The big fish was a hen and eggs covered the log. Darn it, why couldn’t she have survived long enough to spawn.
Despite eagles, otters, mink or whatever, trout are reproducing. Kyle Oliverncia, the DNR fish biologist for Dane, Rock, and Green Counties, gave up his Saturday to work with us and provide some background on the Upper Yahara. His crew and he found enough Young of the Year trout this summer to show that Upper Yahara provides good habitat for the full trout life cycle.
It’s going to get better. Next summer the Village will start its $1 million improvement of the river that will focus on stream bank stabilization and habitat improvement. SWTU presented our check for $17,000 to help the Village reach its funding goal. Judd announced it was really 19K. He noted our work achieved what a day of their professional restoration crew can do and they cost 2K a day.
This wonderful day reflected a variety of hard work. Again thanks to Greg and Judd and the fabulous scouts of Troop 104. We deeply appreciate Kyle and other DNR staff when they attend our work days. We know how busy they are– Kyle, for example, will be surveying the yellow perch of Lake Mendota with nightly netting this coming week. A couple of paddlers provided another cool perspective on the Upper Yahara. They report the 5 mile paddle through DeForest takes about 2.5 hours and is a lot of fun (with some shallow water to contend with). As always, we’re most earnestly thankful to Jim Hess for his planning and leadership of the work days. This was a special event with our best turnout ever and a welcome to a brand new and easily accessible trout stream.
The trailhead and paddler put in for DeForest’s Upper Yahara is their Veterans’ Memorial Park. Besides the convenient entry to the creek, the park is a lovely and lovingly maintained tribute to DeForest’s veterans. Please take the time to visit it. The memorial to their neighbors who sacrificed their lives is a vivid reminder of the pain and courage our veterans have shown. DeForest lost the greatest numbers of its residents in the Civil War. Maybe that’s worth some reflection as we near Veterans Day.
Many thanks to Dyan Lesnik and Josh Reilly for the photos.
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