Saturday, AUGUST 19TH, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

(FLOW) Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway | www.wisconsinriverfriends.org

 LOWER WISCONSIN STATE RIVERWAY BOARD

202 N. Wisconsin Avenue

P.O. Box 187

Muscoda, WI 53573

(608) 739-3188 or 1-800-221-3792

NEWS RELEASE

RIVERWAY BOARD TO HOST FIELD TRIP ON AUGUST 19TH MUSCODA...

The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board will host a field trip at Cruson Slough in Richland County on Saturday, August 19th, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.  In case of severe weather, the field trip will be held on Sunday, August 20th. Participants should gather at the boat landing at the westernmost end of Cruson Slough, which is located west of Lone Rock on Hwy. 14.  Look for the brown DNR signs.  The Riverway Board is partnering with the Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway (FLOW) for the event.  Dave Marshall of the FLOW Science Team will start off the day with a fish shocking demonstration at the boat landing.  He will discuss some of the rare and unusual fish of the backwater lakes, such as the starhead topminnow and the pirate perch. 

     The group will hike around the dike and bottomland forest to view the blooming plants and identify birds of the floodplain.  Discussion of the DNR’s drawdown of Cruson Slough and Bakken’s Pond and associated management for waterfowl production will occur.  Recently, some scientists have questioned the validity of the DNR’s management methods and cost-effectiveness of the decades-old techniques of dike repairs and draining the impoundments, which result in fish kills and predation of vulnerable endangered species, such as the starhead topminnow.

            For further information regarding the August 19th field trip, contact Mark Cupp at (608) 739-3188 or by e-mail at mark.cupp@wisconsin.gov.

Click the link below to view photos from Cruson & Smith Sloughs:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=timm.zumm&set=a.10228171535025920