FOLKS Friends of Lake Kegonsa Society, Stoughton, Wisconsin. Activities

		Friends of Lake Kegonsa Society, P.O. Box 173 Stoughton Wisconsin 53589

2010 Fish Crib Locations Map >> Click Here


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	ACTIVITIES/PROJECTS What is it that draws you to the lake? What do you like? What are your concerns? Active FOLKS members are probably looking at those issues now. We have a Fishery Committee. Their goal is to make sure Lake Kegonsa remains a great place to fish for years to come. They will meet with various agencies and concerned individuals to see what can be done to reduce harmful runoff, preserve breeding habitats, protect the lake from invasive species and to look into lake stocking plans. The Aquatic Plant Management Committee is concerned with reducing invasive and harmful aquatic plants. This is a major concern for almost everyone who enjoys spending time on the lake. The Aquatic Plant Committee has been in close contact with Dane County and DNR officials regarding future plans for weed control here at Lake Kegonsa. We have one group actively involved in the Fishcamp Breakwater Project. The breakwater originally at the mouth of the Yahara River eroded several years ago and since then we have been trying get approval for a new breakwater. Although we ran into some technical difficulties last year, we are hopeful our new plans will be accepted by the DNR and construction can be started soon. Of universal concern to most riparian owners, are the proposed regulations regarding piers and boat lifts. The Rules and Regulation Committee have very diligently been tracking the progress of these regulations over the past year. The Communication and Education Committee has produced the newsletter for years and has now brought you this web site. Of special interest to most of the newsletter readers are the historical articles provided by Doug Pfundheller. This year we were also happy to host a Boater Safety class for FOLKS members. As always, we are interested in what you have to say. If you have ideas or information you can share, please let us know.

Past Activities

Door Creek Wetlands Project
The Door Creek Wetlands is the undeveloped area on the far north side of the lake, just east of the Yahara River inlet. The wetlands area is important because rainwater is filtered through the wetlands thus trapping pollutants and sediment from the water before it enters the lake. The marsh also provides a large amount of habitat for aquatic and terrestrial life, a fish spawning area, and it can be useful as a natural flood control area. Starting in the 1920s, Door Creek was ditched and straightened to improve drainage of farmland. Needless to say, this had an overall negative effect on the lake and wildlife habitat.

Since 1993, FOLKS had been involved in efforts to restore the wetlands to its natural state. FOLKS administered an environmental study to address concerns about the wetlands. In 1998 Dane County received a DNR grant to develop the Door Creek Wetlands Resource Protection Plan. FOLKS was one of several groups involved in putting the plan together. Ultimately, the plan was approved by the Dane County Board of Supervisors and was included in the Dane County Parks and Open Space Plan.

FOLKS would like to re-establish the original stream channels and redirect the flow back into the Marsh to restore the wetlands and encourage storm water management. Since Door Creek is the second largest inflow into Lake Kegonsa, active working wetlands are a definite asset in improving overall water quality in the Lake.

This is an ongoing project and one we will be working on in 2006. So far, FOLKS has helped to facilitate public land acquisitions which are necessary before any physical projects can be undertaken. Numerous State and County acquisitions of wetland parcels have been made since 2002.

Fish Crib Project
The DNR fishery manager wanted to experiment with the use of fish cribs to improve fishing on the Madison lakes. FOLKS volunteered to undertake the project because of the limited amount of structure in Lake Kegonsa. This was a five year project with FOLKS supplying all of the materials and labor required for the building and placing of 280 fish cribs. DNR staff obtained the permits and identified the eight locations. Free lake maps distributed by Dane County Parks show the GPS crib locations.

Barber Drive Retention Pond
A culvert on Barber Drive was causing a lot of run off to be dumped directly into the lake (a source of pollutants and sediment). A retention pond was recommended to hold the water so it could be filtered naturally instead of dumping directly into the lake. In this case, FOLKS acted as a facilitator for stakeholders in the project. Meetings with Town of Dunn officials/engineers, Dane County erosion engineers, Research Park offices, and land owners were convened to discuss possible solutions. In the end, monies were appropriated in the Town’s budget, engineering plans drafted, easements granted, and construction was completed for the necessary retention ponds.

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