With its 494 Lakes, 222 named streams
totaling 633 linear miles, and 84 classified trout streams, the health of our
water is pretty important to Iron County residents and visitors. Join
Conservation Specialist, Zach Wilson, for an update on the status of the health
of Your lake or river. Join us at the annual
Iron County Lakes and Rivers Alliance meeting, Saturday, July 23rd
at 9:00 AM at the Mercer Community Center for an update on the status of our
water and how to get involved in monitoring water quality in Iron County. Zach
Wilson from the Iron County Land and Water Conservation Department will discuss
how our waters fare regarding invasive species, shoreline restorations, water
quality monitoring, and how we can improve our lakes and streams.
Since early childhood, Zach Wilson
has spent much of his time “in the woods and waters of Iron County”. A hunter,
trapper, fisherman, wilderness adventurer, graduate of Northland College, Zach
now works for the Iron County Land and Water Conservation Department.
Previously he worked in over 15 countries, was the senior naturalist for the
North Lakeland Discovery Center for 15 years, the Director for the Mercer
Environmental Tourism Charter School for 3 years, and a private business owner
of Northwood’s Learning Adventures and Ecological Consulting. Zach serves as the coordinator for the Woods &
Waters project in which high school students from Iron County study the ecology
of the American marten and common loon. He is a licensed bird bander,
coordinates multiple citizen science monitoring projects and has experience
coordinating aquatic and terrestrial invasive species education programs. In addition to his vast naturalist background
he has also worked as a forest ecologist for the Board of Commissioners of
Public lands. Zach’s philosophy? Act
locally; think globally.
Following Zach’s
presentation, ICLRA will hold their annual business meeting. Iron County
Lakes Alliance was formed in 2001 and became the Iron County Lakes and Rivers
Alliance in 2012. The purpose of this non-profit organization is to protect
county waters through education and communication and to advocate for riparian
owners and lake and river associations in county and state government.
Membership is open to lake and river associations and to individuals. Programs
are free and open to the public. For more information or to make your voice
heard by joining ICLRA, email ironcountylakesandrivers@gmail.com or call
715-476-2881.
On
a very sad note, Mitch Koski, former mayor of Montreal Wisconsin, Iron County
Board member and first responder died while trying to save boats at Iron
County’s Saxon Harbor Marina. He and his wife were acting as hosts at the
campground and marina. The county sheriff came and warned them a of wall
of water coming off of the Penokee’s. Mitch’s wife left but he stayed
trying to save as many boats as possible. As he was leaving, the flood
from the creek swept his truck into the lake. The newly constructed
marina is said to be a total loss. The U.S. Weather Service rated the storm
as the second 200 year storm in four years. Many roads are closed in
Northern Iron and Ashland counties due to washed out bridges.
