Author: Tom Schneider
Kangaroo Lake: “Guys on Ice IV”
The Kangaroo Lake Association(KLA) and The Nature Conservancy(TNC) continued their “Fish Stick Partnership” on February 17, 2018 in Door County. “Fish Sticks,” are woody habitat structures that utilize whole cut live trees grouped together and secured to the shoreline, helping to restore shoreline habitat. This fish and wildlife habitat WDNR best practice creates food, shelter, and breeding areas for all sorts of creaures from small aquatic insets, frogs, fish, turtles, ducks, and songbirds.
Thanks to funding this year by the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership, our four-year efforts continued placing 23 more trees that are 35′-55′ in length. The Nature Conservancy owns land on Kangaroo Lake and needs to “thin” their forest area. Both organizations want to improve the woody habitat on the shoreline thus creating this ideal “win-win” opporunity. Most of the trees were Norway Spruce and Red Pine trees.
We reached a milestone in 2018 having placed our 100th tree in four years. We now have 28 “hosts” with 5 sites having multiple 3-tree complexes. The ice and weather conditions were perfect for our 18 volunteers who placed and secured the trees manually on the shoreline. A truck drags the trees to our various locations around the lake. Ninety (90%) percent of the life in a lake has its origins on the shoreline.
Here are a couple articles in the local paper on this year’s efforts: DC Pulse – December 15, 2017 and DC Pulse – March 2, 2018
For more information, contact Tom Schneider, Kangaroo Lake Association ([email protected])
608-217-9460 or TNC’s Mike Grimm, Conservation Ecologist ([email protected]) 920-743-8695.