Mead offers good waterfowl viewing
IF YOU WANT to see waterfowl in spring, the Mead Wildlife Area is the place to be, and the right time has traditionally been the last half of April. Migrating through, ducks piled up at Mead because the lakes farther north were still frozen.
But not this year. The thaw came early, and Tom Meier, manager of the wildlife area, said the peak was at the end of March. "We were plumb full," he said, with thousands of ducks and geese. But even now it's not too late. If you want to see waterfowl, he said, plenty are still around.
Three trumpeter swans have returned to Mead - an adult pair and a young one. Trumpeters, native to Wisconsin, were extirpated in the late 19th century but have been successfully reintroduced. They were released at Mead in 1991 and have nested there most years since then.
Meier said most of the Wisconsin trumpeters, including those that nest at Mead, have established a definite migration pattern and spend the winter on the Mississippi in the southern Illinois-Missouri area.
There's a plan afoot to bring the whooping crane back to Wisconsin. Mead was looked at as a possible reintroduction site but was turned down because of high hunting use. The reintroduction will probably begin at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in 2002. If it succeeds, said Meier, the whoopers may spread naturally to Mead. The habitat is there.
Meier said a spring drawdown of some of the Mead flowages is planned in May. The idea is to improve conditions for migrating shorebirds, some of which continue on into the Arctic and need a place to rest and refuel. It won't interfere with duck nesting, said Meier.
Mead has a bicycle trail. You can hike it, but you can't bike it until May 15. That's to reduce disturbance to herons and other nesting birds.
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THE GYPSY MOTH is coming! The gypsy moth is coming! Scratch that, the gypsy moth is here. Been here for some time. Last year 2,457 were trapped in Portage County.
The moth, however, has not been a real problem. That's not to say it can't become one. It could establish itself and cause damage like it has done to forests in the eastern United States.
"Woodland Management," a magazine published by the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association, devoted much of a recent issue to the gypsy moth, which was brought to the United States from Europe in 1869 with the intent of crossing it with silkworms and creating a hardier species. Instead the moth became a colossal nuisance.
Gypsy moth caterpillars defoliate trees. A healthy tree will put out new leaves, but the effort weakens it and makes it susceptible to weather, disease and other insects. That's especially true if defoliation occurs repeatedly.
Oaks are particularly susceptible. Not only are these trees valuable for lumber, especially red oaks, but their acorns are an important food for a whole host of animal species, everything from deer to turkeys, and from squirrels to ruffed grouse.
Gypsy moths also like aspen, white birch, basswood, willow, tamarack and apple. If they're hungry enough they go after maples, cherry, beech, other nut trees and most conifers. Even when starving they'll avoid ash, cedar, balsam, locust and Scotch pine. In Wisconsin, the gypsy moth is most abundant in counties near Lake Michigan, and certain quarantine restrictions apply there.
Portage County is in a transition zone, meaning it's on the edge of the heavily infested area and could have a quarantine in years to come. If that happens, anything that could harbor gypsy moth eggs could be inspected before being moved to a non-quarantine zone. Since you can't check everything, as a practical matter the inspections would probably focus on nursery stock and Christmas trees. Logs would also get attention.
Individuals can help slow the spread of the gypsy moth by checking for egg masses on the undersides of cars and trailers, and on outdoor furniture and play sets.
"A gypsy moth egg mass looks like a piece of felt the color of a manila envelope," said Andrea Diss, the DNR coordinator for the gypsy moth program. "It is typically teardrop shaped and one to two inches long."
If you find one, put it in a jar and kill the eggs by microwaving them. Or you could put cooking oil and water in the jar, seal it and dispose of it in the trash.
Eliminating the gypsy moth is about impossible. In the 1950s Long Island was soaked with DDT to kill the moth, inspiring a chapter in Rachel Carson's book, "Silent Spring." The DDT barrage didn't halt the moth.
In Wisconsin, Btk, a bacterial insecticide that affects only caterpillars, has been used. Spraying last spring in and around Madison reduced the gypsy moth population 96 percent. But it didn't wipe it out, and eventually the insect will rebound.
Severe cold, of the kind we sometimes get in a Wisconsin winter, can kill the eggs, but often they're sheltered under an insulating blanket of snow. Besides, the last couple of winters have been mild.
The gypsy moth isn't going to destroy Wisconsin's forests, but it could change their composition as it damages vulnerable tree species. The best bet is to conduct a holding action in hopes that a truly effective remedy or a very efficient natural enemy will be found and the moth will become just another routine pest.
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ONLY ONE BODY of water in Portage County is on the DNR's health advisory list for fish consumption, but it's a big one - the Wisconsin River.
Because of PCBs, you're advised not to eat more than one meal a week or 52 meals a year of walleyes, smallmouth and largemouth bass, northern pike and bullheads from the Wisconsin in this area. And not more than one meal a month or 12 meals a year of channel catfish and carp. All sizes of these fish are included in the PCB advisory.
There's a mercury advisory on Lake DuBay. Pregnant women should eat no more than one meal a month of DuBay walleyes 18 inches and under, and pregnant or breastfeeding women, women who plan to have children and children under 15 should not eat any DuBay walleyes more than 18 inches long.
Unless they know a lake or river has been tested, pregnant women are advised not to eat trophy-sized northern pike, walleyes and bass from untested waters - and most Wisconsin waters haven't been tested. Included are northerns more than 32 inches long, bass over 17 inches, and walleyes over 20 inches north of Highway 29 or 24 inches south of 29.
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ANCIENT OUTDOOR HISTORY:
Dist. Atty. Owen and Wm. Powers drove out to Sharon, and when about two miles north of Polonia, near a small lake, saw a young man fishing with a net, contrary to the law. Powers, a deputy game warden, placed him under arrest. (Gazette, Oct. 11, 1899)