SWTU had a total of 131 volunteers at our fall workdays. This brings our total number of volunteers for the year to 216! A big thanks to all the volunteers that show up with big smiles and ready to work. The camaraderie is contagious. I especially want to thank Wayne Griffin and Dyan Lesnik for being responsible for the trailer, as well as their backups Josh Reilly and Michael Westbury.
Here is a brief summary of our fall workdays:
Garfoot Creek (9.14.25) – a warm humid day with the smell of bug spray in the air. We cleared small box elders and invasive woodies so the DNR could repair the fence along the easement boundary. Lunch was provided by the landowner, Pam Allen, on her beautiful front lawn which was enjoyed by all. Pam shared some of the history of the farm, as it was one of the first easements by the state. Otto Festge, a former Madison mayor and Dane County Clerk, owned the farm. One of his best friends was Gaylord Nelson. Nelson ran his gubernatorial campaign from Otto’s dining room and created some of his conservation plans there, including a focus on stream conservation.
Big Spring Creek (9.27.25) – a joint workday with the Nohr Chapter, where we honored Carol Murphy, past president of the Nohr Chapter. A great leader of Trout Unlimited and friend/partner of SWTU. The Nohr Chapter grilled up some brats.
Ley Creek, Iowa County (10.15.25) – a unique workday as it was on a Wednesday and we were working with 20+ employees from Cummins Emissions Solutions out of Mineral Point. TUDARE coordinated this workday with the DNR and Cummins Emissions, and asked if we could provide some additional sawyers and burn pile builders. Which we did.
Upper Yahara River in DeForest (10.25.25) – worked with the Village of DeForest Public Works Department in clearing honeysuckles and other invasive woodies on this section of the Yahara River, which was recently classified by the DNR as a trout stream. Duerst Property on the Sugar River (11.01.25) – our third time at the location, clearing the understory of honeysuckles and other invasive woodies to clear the area for a team of STIHL professional sawyers who will be clearing large box elders at a workday this spring.
Deer Creek in Donald Park (11.15.25) – a beautiful day to end our year. We cleared hundreds of square feet of stream corridor, providing access to the stream. Everyone worked hard and with good cheer. We had a great mix of newcomers and seasoned hands. We also ended another season without injury!
Plans for our 2026 spring workdays are already in the works.
Jim Hess
SWTU Conservation Chair
Ed. note: Fall workday write ups are linked above and full of great pictures in addition to the very fun one below …
For the Upper Yahara River workday (10.25.25), we were working in a suburban area in De Forest and Mike Kuhr thought we should be swiping away the limbs and leaves on the walking/jogging trail. He is using a honeysuckle limb to do it.
Fall 2025 Workday Roundup
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Posted: January 5, 2026 by Drew Kasel
SWTU had a total of 131 volunteers at our fall workdays. This brings our total number of volunteers for the year to 216! A big thanks to all the volunteers that show up with big smiles and ready to work. The camaraderie is contagious. I especially want to thank Wayne Griffin and Dyan Lesnik for being responsible for the trailer, as well as their backups Josh Reilly and Michael Westbury.
Here is a brief summary of our fall workdays:
Garfoot Creek (9.14.25) – a warm humid day with the smell of bug spray in the air. We cleared small box elders and invasive woodies so the DNR could repair the fence along the easement boundary. Lunch was provided by the landowner, Pam Allen, on her beautiful front lawn which was enjoyed by all. Pam shared some of the history of the farm, as it was one of the first easements by the state. Otto Festge, a former Madison mayor and Dane County Clerk, owned the farm. One of his best friends was Gaylord Nelson. Nelson ran his gubernatorial campaign from Otto’s dining room and created some of his conservation plans there, including a focus on stream conservation.
Big Spring Creek (9.27.25) – a joint workday with the Nohr Chapter, where we honored Carol Murphy, past president of the Nohr Chapter. A great leader of Trout Unlimited and friend/partner of SWTU. The Nohr Chapter grilled up some brats.
Ley Creek, Iowa County (10.15.25) – a unique workday as it was on a Wednesday and we were working with 20+ employees from Cummins Emissions Solutions out of Mineral Point. TUDARE coordinated this workday with the DNR and Cummins Emissions, and asked if we could provide some additional sawyers and burn pile builders. Which we did.
Upper Yahara River in DeForest (10.25.25) – worked with the Village of DeForest Public Works Department in clearing honeysuckles and other invasive woodies on this section of the Yahara River, which was recently classified by the DNR as a trout stream. Duerst Property on the Sugar River (11.01.25) – our third time at the location, clearing the understory of honeysuckles and other invasive woodies to clear the area for a team of STIHL professional sawyers who will be clearing large box elders at a workday this spring.
Deer Creek in Donald Park (11.15.25) – a beautiful day to end our year. We cleared hundreds of square feet of stream corridor, providing access to the stream. Everyone worked hard and with good cheer. We had a great mix of newcomers and seasoned hands. We also ended another season without injury!
Plans for our 2026 spring workdays are already in the works.
Jim Hess
SWTU Conservation Chair
Ed. note: Fall workday write ups are linked above and full of great pictures in addition to the very fun one below …
For the Upper Yahara River workday (10.25.25), we were working in a suburban area in De Forest and Mike Kuhr thought we should be swiping away the limbs and leaves on the walking/jogging trail. He is using a honeysuckle limb to do it.
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