EDITOR'S ADVISORY: There will be no DNR Outdoor Report on August 5, 2010. The next DNR Outdoor Report will be Thursday, August 11, 2010.
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The wet, rainy pattern of July continued into the last week, with some areas of Wisconsin, especially the southeast and northeast, being deluged with rain this week. The Milwaukee area received as much as 8 inches of rain, with 4 to 6 inches reported in other locations. Then on Tuesday a sever storm moved through northern Wisconsin, causing major damage to the Turtle Flambeau Scenic Waters Area, between Park Falls and Mercer in Iron County. Strong winds damaged an area about 8 miles long and1 to 1.5 miles wide near the flowage. Within this area many trees are down, campsites were extensively damaged and some roads are impassable. DNR and local law enforcement crews evacuated campers, with three injuries reported. While damage assessment continues, all camping in the flowage will remain closed until further notice, through the flowage boat accesses reopened Thursday.
The continued rain pattern has kept almost all major river systems running well above seasonal norms. Many rivers, especially in southern Wisconsin, are well outside of their banks. There continue to be no sandbars available on the lower Wisconsin River for camping. Slow-no-wake orders are in place on Lake Monona in Madison, on the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers in Columbia County and on the Rock River in Rock county.
Angling success has remained very erratic and the constantly changing weather conditions has kept fishing for most species pretty tough. Musky continue to provide the most consistent action on northern lakes and nearly all anglers have reported some success, whether it be sightings, follows or strikes. Bass fishing has continued to be erratic with some days providing good action, but other days slow. Walleye fishing continues to be especially tough, though some nice larger fish have been reported from deep weed edges. Panfish action continues to be fair.
Fox River shore anglers are finding excellent success with channel catfish. Walleye angers fishing both the west and east shores of Green Bay reported some success. The heavy rains combined with southerly winds slowed fishing for both shore anglers and boaters on Lake Michigan. Surface water temperatures reaching as high as 70 degrees near shore. Fishing action has moved out to deeper waters with very warm water being reported as deep as 80 feet of water.
A 41-pound, 8-ounce brown trout caught in Lake Michigan out of Racine on July 16 is now officially a Wisconsin state record fish. The new state record smashes the previous record of a 36 pounds 8 ounce fish caught out of Kewaunee in 2004 Michigan by nearly 5 pounds.
The new state record brown trout caught July 16, 2010 from Lake Michigan
The Mississippi River crested around the 12 foot mark at Prairie du Chien and was slowly falling, reaching 11.5 feet by Tuesday. Boaters are urged to use caution as the high water has caused some trees and debris to be pulled off the shorelines. Fishing has been disrupted due to the high water, though anglers have been finding some pretty decent bluegill action in the backwaters and a few walleye and sauger were still reported off wing dams.
Skunks and raccoons are busy raiding gardens and lawns. Deer fawns are roaming farther away from their mothers, so drivers should be alert for fawns wandering by themselves, especially during the day. Compass plant, coneflowers, goldenrods, sunflowers, queen Anne’s lace, blazing stars, and big bluestem, and little bluestem are currently blooming, and blackberries are ripe and with all the rain are very delicious this year.
A three-minute audio version of this report can be heard by calling (608) 266 2277.
A new report is put on the line each week.
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NORTHERN REGION
Park Falls DNR Service Center area
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) - The Upper Chippewa Basin received at least another inch of rain in the last week and this has kept most streams, rivers and flowages at a high level. The continued wet weather has also spurred on a extra-large hatch of mosquitoes, so outdoor enthusiasts are reminded to bring along the insect repellent on any trips to the woods or water. Fishing and recreational activity on Northwoods waters have reached their summer highs in the past few weeks. However, angling success has remained very erratic and the constantly changing weather conditions has kept fishing for most species pretty tough. Musky continue to provide the most consistent action and nearly all anglers have reported some success, whether it be sightings, follows or strikes. Bucktails and surface baits have been the more popular lures, with deep weed edges and the less-dense weed beds producing a good amount of action. Some anglers have had multiple fish days, with most of the musky in the 32 to 38-inch size range and a few in the upper 40s also being caught. Bass fishing has been generally erratic with the variable weather -- some days provided some good action, but other days have found even bites very hard to come by. Largemouth continue to be found in all types of cover, with fair action found near heavy cover such as weed beds, bog edges and stumps/logs. Rubber frogs, soft plastics and crayfish-imitation lures have produced the best success. Smallmouth bass fishing continued to be just fair on local flowages and rivers. The smallmouth are still settling into their mid-summer pattern and have been relating wood and weed edges, especially near hard-bottom and deep water areas. Small finesse plastics and wacky-worm rigs have been getting most of the action. Walleye angling has been especially tough, though some nice fish in the 20- to 27-inch range have been reported. The deep weed edges and deep rock/gravel bars have provided some action, with leeches and night crawler halves being the best baits. A few walleye have been caught on stick baits fished along weed edges near dark. Panfish action continues to be fair, with some decent catches of crappie, bluegill and perch being made. The bigger panfish have been found suspended near cover in 8 to 14 feet of water, though some nice crappie have also been taken near the surface around woody structure.
Woodruff DNR Service Center area
Turtle-Flambeau Scenic Waters Area - Tuesday night at about 8 p.m. a major wind event hit the Turtle Flambeau Flowage area northeast of Park Falls. At this time state officials are not sure if it was a straight line wind event or a tornado. Damaged areas extend from the Turtle Dam, on the west side of the flowage, to half a mile east of Murrays Landing on the east side. The area is about 8 miles long and1 to 1.5 miles wide. Within this area trees are down, campsites extensively damaged and some roads are impassable. There are also reports of several watercraft damaged from the storm. Iron County Emergency Management, the Iron County Sheriff’s Department, and DNR employees worked through the night assisting and rescuing people camping on the islands. Several injuries were reported. While damage assessment continues from the storm, all camping in the flowage will remain closed until further notice. The flowage boat accesses will reopen on July 29.
Trees blown down in the Turtle Flambeau Scenic Waters Area by a severe storm July 27.
WDNR Photo
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NORTHEAST REGION
Peshtigo DNR Service Center area
With no shortage of rain fall rivers are running high and fast, carrying with it goodly amounts of debris.
Marinette County - Trout and salmon were the big news this past week as the M&M Brown Trout Derby took place. King salmon have been the staple, trolling in 60 to 120 feet of water and finding the break between the warm and cold water. Various colors and lures have all been working, with some anglers remarking this has been one of their best years. Walleye continue to bite in the river itself and in and around Green Island. Trolling has been getting the best results.
Oconto County - The North Shore of Stiles Dam is covered in a thick white foam making bobber fishing impossible. Although fishing has been difficult, rafters, tubers, and kayakers are having a field day. Pensaukee landing is still producing some walleye in 14 to 20 feet of water trolling crawler/harness. Oconto Breakwater and Oconto Park II perch anglers are having limited success fishing the weed beds in 10 to 20 feet of water with minnows. Walleye anglers are doing a bit better Anglers fishing off Geano’s beach are finding some good luck with some nice walleye. The best luck has been fishing 25 feet and shallower. Crawler harnesses are again the top of the list for best bait.
Green Bay DNR Service Center area
Brown County - Fox River shore anglers are finding excellent success with channel cat around the mouth of the river, with some fish being in the ten pound range. With the rain this last week and the high water the walleye bite has been slow in the river. Anglers trolling out of the river for walleye are having a tough go of it with most of the catches being dominated by sheephead and catfish. Bayshore Park anglers are having good success fishing walleye. Most anglers have been trolling a crawler harness in a purple or perch colored pattern. Anglers have been trolling at 1-1.5 miles an hour. Perch fishing has been slow due to the heavy rain and rough waters. Anglers are catching sheephead and a few small perch off the Bayshore Pier.
Manitowoc County - Heavy rains throughout the week combined with southerly winds slowed fishing for both shore anglers and boaters. High temperatures varied from the upper 80s during the week to the lower 70s by the weekend. Southeast winds for much of the week pushed the cold water out deep, with surface water temperatures reaching as high as 70 degrees near shore. At the Manitowoc and Two Rivers ramps, boats averaged 1-3 fish with little success off the piers. Fishing action has moved out to deeper waters with very warm water being reported as deep as 80 feet of water. Out of Two Rivers, a few fish have been caught in 80-125 feet of water off the lighthouse north of Two Rivers. Straight out of Two Rivers, most success has been reported in the 200-250 foot range with success a little shallower off of Manitowoc in 170-200 feet of water. Catches consisted mostly of small kings in the first year class with a few 10-13 pound kings being reported. An occasional rainbow trout has been caught off the dypsy using green and orange spoons. Glow spoons on the down riggers had success catching kings early in the morning, then green/green and blue/aqua flasher/fly combos on the down riggers took over once the sun came up. The depths on the down riggers ranged from 55 to 100 feet down. This was the slowest fishing week of the summer, so anglers should try the baits and colors that have worked all year for them. Once the slow spell arrives, don’t be afraid to put any color down since no one color has been hot. After the warm water moved in, fishing off the piers has slowed down. A few kings have been caught using green champs and cleos, but no fish have been taken off bottom. We will need a few days of west wind for the action off the piers to heat back up.
Sturgeon Bay DNR Service Center area
Door County - The fourth week of July followed suit with the rest as rain and inclement weather was had around the county. Another record month of rain has made fishing sporadic, however anglers were still able to find some fish. The outlook should be promising for the next week in which the Door and Kewaunee Salmon Tournament is taking place. Salmon fishing has slowed somewhat throughout the county. Average catches have been around the half dozen mark with fish size being in the 5-10 pound range. Fishing out of Baileys Harbor, Gills Rock, and Ellison Bay had been productive with anglers looking for the cold water. Working a variety of spoons and j-plugs has been the popular choice, as well as working out into deeper water. Fishing on the Bank Reef out of Sturgeon Bay has been busy and it should be very popular for the tournament this next week. The big fish for the weekend was a 20- pounder registered in Algoma, a 19- pound in Sturgeon Bay, and a 17-pounder near Washington Island. Smallmouth bass fishing has continued to be steady around Sturgeon Bay and on the West side of the county. Working in 7-15 feet of water with plastics and stick baits have produced some nice fish. A smallmouth tournament out of Sturgeon Bay last weekend drew around 100 boats with the winner bringing in a two day six fish limit around 25 pounds. Perch fishing has started to pick up, however anglers still report catching about 20 fish for every eight keepers. Working the weed edges and the edge of the shipping channel in Sturgeon Bay has been decent, the most success has been by anglers using minnows. Walleye fishing has also been decent, most boats pulling crawler harnesses and stick baits on Green Bay toward Dyckesville have had the most success. Anglers at Chaudoir’s Dock have been finding a few perch just to the south of the dock in 15-25 feet of water. Ideal water depth seems to depend on the weather that day. Anglers have been using bottom rigs and slip bobbers. The perch have preferred night crawlers over minnows the last few days but both have been working well. Anglers trolling for walleyes are having some success as well, with most of the walleye biting on crawler harnesses. Trollers are also running into some very nice perch on crank baits. Shore anglers have caught some sheepshead and small bluegill off the dock.
Kewaunee County - Another week of storms ravaged the county with some reports of heavy rain dropping in just a few hours kept a lot of anglers off the waters this week. The anglers that managed to make it out on the waters reported really murky waters close to shore and water temperatures in the upper 60’s for the majority of the week. The Kewaunee pier continues to see very little success this week. Only a few fish were reportedly caught and all of the fish were rainbows that were in the 3-4 pound range. The anglers this week had to move out deeper in order to find the fish that were biting. The last few weeks the fish were in the 70-110 depths of water but this week anglers began to report more success out in depths of 150-170 feet of water. The water temperatures were in the upper 60’s at most depths until the anglers got out to the 150-170 depths. The fish were biting on a combination of spoons and J-plugs this week with no consistent color doing better than the other colors. A few anglers have been reporting that purple has been starting heat up. There were no fish that were reportedly caught off the Algoma pier this week. Anglers tried everything in their arsenal from spoons to stick baits to live bait and could not land a fish this week. The fishing this week has been really rough out of Algoma with the best fishing occurring during the early parts of the week. As the week grew on the water temperatures began to rise and fish began to become hard to locate.
Oshkosh DNR Service Center area
Fisheries crews will be conducting the first round of 2010 assessment trawling on Lake Winnebago next week, but they already know that there was a monstrous hatch of white bass out there from the shakedown cruise conducted with the trawler last month. No word yet on the 2010 walleye hatch. Earlier this week there was a modest kill of large numbers of young of year gizzard shad on the west end of Lake Poygan (due to the high inflows flushing out low oxygen backwaters into the streams and ultimately into the lake) - so it looks like the shad pulled of a good hatch - at least in the Upriver Lakes. The deadline for purchasing applications for getting into the 2011 Upriver Lakes Sturgeon Spearing Lottery is coming up fast. Normally people have until August 1 to purchase a $3 lottery application, but since Aug 1 is on a Sunday this year, the deadline is Monday August 2. Once all the applications are in DNR licensing staff will do the drawing and let spearers know no later than October 1 whether they were drawn for a tag. Group lottery applications of up to four persons are accepted for the Upriver Lakes lottery. Group applications must be submitted on-line at
https://www4.wildlifelicense.com/wi/start.php. Spearers that apply for but are not authorized to purchase an 2011 Upriver Lakes license receive a preference point, and can still purchase a license for Lake Winnebago, but must do so by the October 31 license sales deadline (spearers can only buy one tag or the other, not both). Sales for both Lake Winnebago and Upriver Lakes sturgeon spearing licenses end October 31. The Upriver Lakes sturgeon lottery fishery will limit participation to 500 tags in 2011. The first of four Winnebago Walleye Management public meetings was held July 13 in Shiocton and a crowd of more than 100 walleye enthusiasts made it a very eventful evening. Information gathered at the meetings will be used to update the Winnebago Walleye Management Plan. The remaining three Winnebago Walleye meetings will be August 10, 11, and 12 in Neenah, Quinney, or Fond du Lac.
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SOUTHEAST REGION
Havenwoods State Forest - Trails have some low spots that are still wet from recent rains. Deer, squirrels, raccoon, turkeys, red-tailed hawks, cooper's hawk, owls, mourning doves, chickadees, nuthatch, downy woodpeckers, flickers, song sparrows, meadowlark, bluebirds, bobolink, Baltimore orioles, American redstarts, wood ducks, and mallards have been seen.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Major storms and a change in the wind pattern late last week slowed fishing in southeast Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan. Trollers generally are now fishing farther out, and shore fishing for trout and salmon is more challenging than recent weeks. A few days of west winds should help bring the colder water back near shore.
Sheboygan County - In Sheboygan trollers have been catching a few chinook, rainbow, and lake trout. Most fish have been caught 45 to 90 feet down in 60 to 120 feet of water. Spoons, flies, and J-plugs have all produced at times. Shore fishing in Sheboygan has slowed, and there has been little effort off of the piers.
Ozaukee County - Trollers in Port Washington have found a mixed bag of fish between 20 and 120 feet of water. Fair numbers of chinook, coho, and rainbows have been hitting spoons, flashers and flies, and J-plugs. Fish have been scattered from the surface all the way down to the bottom. Shore anglers in Port Washington have been catching perch on minnows fished near the power plant, and anglers fishing off the pier have been catching a few chinook and rainbows on alewives.
Milwaukee County - In Milwaukee trollers have been catching mostly chinook, along with a few coho and rainbows. Fish have been caught in 60 to 80 feet of water, and spoons have taken the majority of fish. Perch anglers fishing from shore have had some limited success at Cupertino pier and the Lake Express Ferry dock. Small shiners have produced the most when fished early in the morning.
Racine County - In Racine the bite has slowed somewhat for trollers, but some chinook, coho, and browns have still been taken in 25 to 45 feet of water on spoons and J-plugs. Trout and salmon fishing off the piers has slowed significantly, and perch fishing from shore has been hit-or-miss. When the perch are biting, crab tails, minnows, and green plastics have all been effective. Boats looking for perch have taken limits at the south breakwater on crab tails, minnows, and small shiners. It’s official: the 41 pound, 8 ounce brown trout Roger Hellen of Franksville caught in Lake Michigan out of Racine on July 16 is now officially a Wisconsin state record fish. The Department of Natural Resources received Hellen’s application earlier this week and has confirmed the new state record, which smashes the old record by nearly 5 pounds. The previous record was 36 pounds 8.9 ounces and 40.5 inches for a fish caught August 23, 2004, in Lake Michigan near Kewaunee. Hellen’s is the ninth state record set this year, and the first for a fish caught by hook and line.
Kenosha County - In Kenosha trollers have been catching some chinook and coho in 60 to 100 feet of water. J-plugs, spoons, and some flies have all taken fish. Some rainbows have also been reported from trollers in 200 to 225 feet of water. Fishing in the Kenosha harbor has been spotty, with some browns, chinook, and coho taken near the Holiday Inn in the early morning and later evening hours. Alewives and spoons have produced the most. Perch anglers have occasionally been catching a few off of the south pier and in Southport Marina, and the boats continue to catch some at the bubbler. Both crab tails and minnows have produced.
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SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
Dodgeville DNR Service Center area
Wyalusing State Park - This area has received considerable rainfall within the last week, but there have not been any reports of damage from the recent storms. Both the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers are higher than normal. The Mississippi River dropped 0.2 of an inch overnight. Mississippi River stage is at 11.2. Even with the higher than normal water levels, canoeing and boating remain popular activities. Trails are in good hiking condition. The forecast for this weekend includes a mixed bag of weather: warm and sunny with a high near 84, a slight chance of thunderstorms with a low in the mid 60s; Friday – showers and thunderstorms likely before 1 p.m. and a high near 80; Saturday should be partly cloudy (mostly sunny) with a high near 81 and a low of 64; Sunday’s forecast if mostly sunny with a high near 85. All reservable campsites have been taken for this weekend, but as of Thursday morning, there is a nice selection of non-reservable sites.
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WEST CENTRAL REGION
La Crosse DNR Service Center area
Skunks and raccoons are busy raiding gardens and lawns. Many homeowners are calling to report nuisance activities of these animals. Homeowners are especially annoyed when garden crops are destroyed. Lawns can also be targets of these two animals, as they search for grubs in the turf. Effective control methods can be employed to deter these animals. Contact your local DNR wildlife management office for advice. Deer fawns are roaming farther away from their mothers. In fact, do not be surprised to see fawns by themselves, especially during the day.
Perrot State Park - The trails are in good condition. Water levels are extremely variable this summer due to the drawdown on Pool 6. At times, the bay is VERY low, but after heavy rains, the water can be very high. The level can change over the course of the day and large boats may have difficulty reaching the Mississippi River from our boat landing. Caution is advised! Compass plant, cup plant, monarda, coneflowers, grey-headed coneflower, wild quinine, coreopsis, goldenrods, sunflowers, queen Anne’s lace, snakeroot, partridge pea, blazing stars, Indian grass, big bluestem, and little bluestem are currently blooming in the park. Blackberries are now ripe and delicious! Baby toads are hopping around the park and fledgling Bald Eagles are learning to hunt in the bay. White Pelicans are soaring overhead amid large groups of Turkey Vultures. Spotted fawns are still prancing about on the North Road. Butterflies and dragonflies are dancing about in the prairies. Mosquitoes are out and about. Campers are advised to remember their bug spray since there is none to be purchased in Trempealeau.
Great River State Trail - The trail is open and in good condition. Prairie flowers are blooming along the sides of the trail and the sweet smell of Bergamot fills the air. Water levels on the Black River are very high and there is much more water in the channels. Goldenrods, button bush, swamp milkweed, and Joe-Pye weed are the stars of the show. Mosquitoes and gnats are out in pretty good numbers and users are encouraged to be prepared.
Wildcat Mountain State Park - The Kickapoo River has been extremely high following many rain events. Take caution when deciding to use the river, know the recent rainfall and forecast. This USGS website will give information about the water levels at Ontario and LaFarge [http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=05407470]. Hiking trails are soft but in good condition after the many storms in the area. Horse trails are wet in some areas - trails are open.
Crawford County - A large amount of rain fell this past week not only in the Prairie du Chien area but in the upper Mississippi, Wisconsin and Kickapoo River basins. Local riverways have been affected by high water. Water levels are starting to recede on some area rivers. The Mississippi River crested around the 12 foot mark at Mc Gregor. As of Tuesday the Mississippi River was at 11.5 feet and slowly falling. The forecast is for a gradual drop throughout the week. The Kickapoo River rose rapidly cresting out around flood stage (12 foot mark) in Gays Mills and Steuben. The Kickapoo River dropped rapidly over the weekend. As of Tuesday the river stage in Gays Mills and Steuben was at 9.6 and 10.3 feet respectively. The forecast for the Kickapoo River is for a rapid drop. The Wisconsin River has been on the rise. The river stage in Muscoda was 5.91 feet and rising. Most of the sand bars are under water on the Wisconsin River. Local trout streams are running high and a bit dirty. They are expected to clear up within a couple days. Boaters are urged to use caution on all area rivers. The high water has caused some trees and debris to be pulled off the shorelines. Those obstructions are now floating down the river. Keep a sharp eye open and slow down. The “slow-no-wake” zone on the Mississippi River is in effect for the summer boating season. The main channel is marked with buoys in the Mc Gregor Iowa area. Fishing has been disrupted due to the high water. Heavy current, dirty water and floating debris and weeds are causing problems for anglers. Anglers have been finding some pretty decent bluegill action in the backwaters in the flooded timber and vegetation where the water recently flooded and there isn’t any current. Access to those areas by boat is tough. Most of the traditional bluegill fishing areas have strong current, even in the backwater lakes and sloughs. Sawmill Slough has produced some “gills”. Try finding weed edges with clear water and no current. Some decent perch have been taken along the deeper weed edges in light current. Primarily anglers are using a chunk of nightcrawlers on a dead line. Crappie action has been very spotty to slow. White bass action has been very spotty with this high water. Some white bass action can be found along wing dams and up near the Lynxville dam. The high water has disrupted action a bit, however anglers can still find plenty of action. Look for smallmouth bass on wing dams close to shore, on closing dams, and rocky shorelines. The Wisconsin River has seen some very good smallmouth bass action. Largemouth bass are being caught in all types of cover. Try fishing the weeds, weed edges, newly flooded areas and in the timber. A variety of artificial baits have worked. Even with the high water walleye and sauger are being taken. Angler will have to move around a bit and try different tactics. Wing dams are probably the best bet, although some the deeper back water sloughs are producing fish. Drifting with live bait (leeches or night crawlers) and trolling are the most popular tactics. Areas to check for walleye and sauger would be up near the Lynxville dam, McDonald’s Slough, the “S” curve by Harper’s Ferry Slough, wing dams, Roseau Slough, and the Wisconsin River. Up on Pool 9 near Lynxville and Ferryville try the Deer Island complex and the area of the main channel by Lansing. Sheepshead (freshwater drum) are very active even in the high water. Sheepshead are being caught on night crawlers throughout the area. Catfish, both channel and flathead had been spotty. However fishing conditions are a bit tough as most cats are caught fishing off the bottom. Floating weeds and other debris makes that type of fishing difficult. Catfishing on the Wisconsin and Kickapoo River is spotty. Trout fishing conditions aren’t the best, but even so anglers are finding decent action. Fly fishers, spinners and live bait are working well even with the high water. Trout anglers will find insect pests and shoreline vegetation might cause some problems. Gnats, deer flies, horse flies and mosquitoes are out. Poison ivy, parsnip and stinging nettle are also out. Some of the early season grasses are starting to seed out already. Black Raspberries are starting to ripen up. Black bear sightings are starting to slow down now that the corn and other vegetation is growing up. Area residents should not be overly concerned, however pet food, garbage cans and bird feeders should be secured or removed so the bears don’t make a habit of returning to those areas.
Black River Falls DNR Service Center area
Black River State Forest- The state forest and Jackson County continue to receive abundant rainfall resulting in wet all-terrain vehicle trail conditions. The good news is the Wildcat loop has reopened and the bad news is that the Oak Ridge trail has been closed again due to excessive areas completely covered by water. The southern portion of the trail system was groomed this week and is in good condition except for areas with standing water. The northern section was groomed two weeks ago and is in fair condition also with areas of standing water. Please remember that it is never appropriate to leave the trail system even to avoid a wetter area. This behavior in past years has resulted in short-term closures of the system.
Eau Claire DNR Service Center area
Brunet Island State Park – Species of birds seen or heard include: common loons, belted kingfishers, sandhill cranes, golden finches, red polls, mallard and bufflehead ducks, red winged blackbirds, phoebes, Canada geese, robins, mourning doves, nuthatches, ravens, black capped chickadees, piliated woodpeckers, great horned owls, and barred owls. The phoebes have hatched their second round of chicks. The fireflies and monarch butterflies are being seen in abundance. Harebell, common milkweed, water smartweed, rabbits foot clover, marsh hedge nettle, wild bergamot, brown eyed susans, lesser daisy fleabane, the water lilies, some of the aster varieties, orange hawkweed, wild columbine, ox eye daisy, wooly yarrow are flowering. Blackberries are producing fruit. This year’s raccoon population is above average. Campers are advised to store all food in their vehicles when they are away from their campsites.
Last Revised: Thursday July 29 2010
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