Bill Cook Chapter marks centennial A LOCAL CONSERVATION organization, the Bill Cook Chapter of the Izaak Walton League, marks its centennial next month. No, there hasn't been a Bill Cook Chapter for 100 years. And the Izaak Walton League of America isn't that old. Nevertheless, the chapter traces its ancestry back in an unbroken line to 1902. That's when Portage County Judge John Murat put a notice in the press saying he had been asked by people concerned about the preservation of fish and game to call a meeting of "persons interested in the matter." Out of this, on June 6, 1902, came the Portage County Fish and Game Protective Association, the direct ancestor of the Bill Cook Chapter. The first president was L.R. Anderson, a Norwegian immigrant and bookkeeper for the John Week Lumber Co. In 1922 the Izaak Walton League of America was organized, and its national president, Will Dilg, came to Stevens Point the following year and delivered a rousing talk to the Fish and Game Protective Association. So rousing, in fact, that the organization decided on the spot to become an Izaak Walton League chapter. The club was at first called the Stevens Point Chapter, and then the Portage County Chapter. It was changed to the Bill Cook Chapter in 1968 to honor a man who was instrumental in getting the club to affiliate with the Izaak Walton League. Cook, who died in 1969, served as president of the local club and of the league's state division, and he was deeply involved in just about everything the chapter did. The club's emphasis changed with the times. In the Fish and Game Protective Association's early days, poaching was a big issue. On April 30, 1902, this item appeared in the original Gazette newspaper: "Those in a position to know claim that the spearing of trout is carried on every night along the Little Plover River, and in other streams and from our numerous lakes bushels of fish are being caught by means of nets." The state had laws against this but enforcement was weak. The Fish and Game Protective Association gave strong support to law enforcement, even buying Frank Hornberg a Model T Ford to get around the county when he became warden here in 1920. After it became an Izaak Walton League chapter, the club got into raising and releasing trout and pheasants. Those activities are no longer seen as a real contribution to the environment, but they were the thing to do back then. In the 1950s the chapter switched to an activity with more long-range value for fish. It began a stream improvement program on the Tomorrow River, an activity that has continued to this day on the Tomorrow and a tributary, the Poncho. Meanwhile, in 1946 the chapter bought a worn-out 160-acre farm on the Plover River near the Municipal Airport for $2,500. A few old buildings stood there, and one of them, much remodeled and expanded, is today's clubhouse. Because the chapter has given the development rights on its property to the city of Stevens Point, the forest helps protect the purity of the water in the nearby municipal wells. Over the years the club planted thousands of trees on the property. It has harvested many of them for pulp and lumber. Years ago another big money maker was annual jamborees at which speakers included people like Aldo Leopold and Gov. Phil La Follette. Since the 1960s a fisheree has been a yearly mainstay. Meanwhile the forest continues to thrive. Other activities of the Bill Cook Chapter: It contributed money to help the Department of Natural Resource buy land on the Little Plover and Little Wolf Rivers; it annually buys books on conservation subjects for county schools; and it has funded scholarships for natural resources students. It has been a steadfast protector of the Plover River; it was an early promoter of the state's purchase of the Dewey Marsh; it helped induce the DNR to buy Fountain Lake; and it played a key role in blocking the sale of county land on Baker Lake. For much of its existence, the Izaak Walton League was the only conservation organization in Portage County. Now they're pretty numerous and they include the Audubon Society, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, the Tomorrow River Conservation Club and the Almond Rod and Gun Club, to name a few. If you've been following environmental issues, it should be obvious to you that there's plenty for all of them to do in the coming century. * * * A SMALL LOCAL organization, the Wetlands Conservation League, puts its money where its mouth is. The club owns 100 acres in western Portage County and is buying 40 acres more. It has created waterfowl ponds on part of the land it owns, and the rest of the property is good habitat for the state-threatened prairie chicken. * * * RUFFED GROUSE prospects for fall aren't the brightest around here. Every spring the DNR conducts drumming counts, and they were down this spring, said Greg Dahl, wildlife biologist for this area. Drumming is the sound male grouse make during the breeding season by beating their wings. "The survey route in northeast Portage County was down about 10 percent from last year," Dahl said, "while the survey route in southwest Portage County was down a little over 50 percent. This southwest route does not have good grouse cover along most of it, so the number of birds present is always relatively low." Dahl said grouse numbers around Sandhill Wildlife Area near Babcock are probably down 30 percent. He said the routes in Portage County were probably first run in 1994. At 10 stops, which don't change from year to year, the number of drums heard in four minutes is recorded and compared to other years to provide and index of the population. In this part of the state, the count takes place from April 10 to May 5. The fact that the population is down doesn't mean the ruffed grouse is becoming extinct. It's a cyclical bird whose numbers rise and fall, usually over a 10-year period. * * * IT'S USUALLY nice to be in the majority, but not always. This spring I was in the majority of hunters who didn't get a turkey. I'm not saying the season was a washout. There's something special about the spring woods early in the morning. You hear turkeys gobbling, along with the wild cries of sandhill cranes, the music of songbirds and some mysterious sounds you can't identify. It's often chilly, but it's worth it. Still, I wish I'd been in the minority and brought home a turkey. * * * ANCIENT OUTDOOR HISTORY: The Bill Cook Chapter of the Izaak Walton League wants the Department of Natural Resources to buy the land around Fountain Lake in the town of Belmont, the headwaters of Emmons Creek, where a developer has proposed a subdivision. The Belmont Town Board is against subdividing the lakeshore. "A lot of the people in the town want it the way it is," said Earl Towne, the town chairman. (Stevens Point Journal, April 26, 1979)