Dane County Conservation League

DANE COUNTY CONSERVATION LEAGUE NEWS

EARTH DAY – HIGHWAY CLEAN UP REMINDER

We all know that the earth has been taking a beating lately.  But you can help Mother Earth out a bit.  Just show up for an hour or two at the pheasant farm on Saturday, April 23 at 8a.m. to do a little work on the DCCL stretch of highway that the League has volunteered to keep clean.  Coffee and doughnuts will be provided and other beverages.  Vests, bags, etc. will be furnished but you need to bring a good pair of gloves.  See you on the 23^rd.   Family members are welcome to help. Turn out for this has been pretty light the past couple of years.  Let’s do better.  

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PRAIRIE CHICKEN FESTIVAL

The DCCL was represented on April 9 at the 2022 Prairie Chicken Festival held in the Stevens Point area.  The event wasn’t held the past two years due to COVID, of course.   Activities were scaled back somewhat but there was the opportunity to reserve a blind to watch the birds do their mating ritual, as usual.  There were also bus tours, grassland walks, a breakfast and discussions by conservation experts on grasslands and their value as prairie chicken habitat.  

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FOUNDATION FOR DANE COUNTY PARKS

The League made a donation recently of $2,500 to the Parks Foundation.  We have made other donations to the Foundation in the past, also.  The Foundation assists the Parks by raising and distributing funds for special projects, building the Friends of Dane County Parks Endowment Fund and supporting park Friends groups and volunteers.  Dane County Parks has grown to more than 15,000 acres (many open to hunting and fishing) is managed by dedicated professional staff, supported by over 4200 volunteers, with 19 active Friends Groups and numerous community partners.  

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CONSERVATION LEADERSHIP CORPS

The Conservation Leadership Corps was created several years ago by the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation for the purpose of encouraging high school and college age people to pursue conservation education and, possibly, work in the field of conservation in the future.  The group is similar to groups in other states and this fall there will be a gathering in Wisconsin of students from around the country to share ideas and information.  The DCCL made a donation to cover some of the costs of this event.  The Corps has been very inspirational in motivating many young folks to pursue conservation related careers.   

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PHEASANT FARM REOPENS MAY 7

The farm will be operating this year very much the same as it has for the past few years.  Beginning May 7 the farm will be open from 8a.m. until about 10a.m.  There is plenty of work to be done in May and June.  These are busier times than July and August.  But, there is work to be done all the way up until September.  If you put in 12 hours of work at the farm or any other League project, you will be eligible for an allotment of birds.  In recent years members with 12 work hours have gotten 16 birds, but it depends on avoiding predators and the avian flu.   We are buying 1000 chicks again from MacFarlane Game Farm to be delivered on or about May 23.  

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WOOD DUCK HOUSING STRUCTURES

If you have seen someone cleaning and repairing the DCCL wood duck houses that are scattered around Dane County, it was Tim Heindl or Bob and Linda Degnan.  Thanks to the three of them for their good work.  It was reported that several of the houses had been used to hatch ducklings last year.  

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BREAKING NEWS

THE BANQUET IS SOLD OUT.   THANKS TO ALL ATTENDEES FOR SUPPORTING THE DANE COUNTY CONSERVATION LEAGUE.  

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December, 2021

 Dear Current and Past Dane County Conservation League Members:

 It’s time to renew your DCCL membership for 2022.  Memberships are concurrent with the calendar year.  I hope you will continue to support Dane County’s oldest conservation organization, a club with a rich history dating back to 1933.  

 RENEWAL LETTER

Although the health challenges of the past year have limited our activities, your dollars have allowed us to raise pheasants, build nesting structures, secure top-notch speakers for membership meetings, support Hunter Safety Training, donate funds to Dane County Parks for hunting and fishing properties as well as other conservation groups like the Prairie Enthusiasts, and fund a summer DNR internship at the prairie chicken property in Central Wisconsin.

 One of the proudest achievements of the League is the establishment of a perpetual scholarship fund at UW-Stevens Point. An annual grant will be made to two Wisconsin resident upper classman enrolled in the College of Natural Resources.    

 The League continues to operate a first class pheasant farm where members can earn birds; we have installed dozens of wood duck and bluebird houses in Dane County, built many bat roosting shelters for use in Dane County Parks, ran a top-notch banquet, cleaned up roadsides, and continued to cooperate with the DNR in managing our 4390 acres of prairie chicken lands in central Wisconsin.  We are also very proud that the DCCL was named the Conservation Organization of the Year in 2020 by the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.  

 Our dues structure continues unchanged as it has for many years.  We hope you will clip and mail the form below in the near future (we especially need your email address).  Thank you for considering the DCCL and have a great year in Dane County’s outdoors.

 John Center

President, DCCL