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STATE OF THE RIVERWAY SYMPOSIUM

Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway Presents
2018 State of the Riverway Symposium
Friday Oct 12th & Saturday Oct 13th, 2018
at Vintage Brewery Company in Sauk City, WI  View Map

Online Registration is now closed.

Friday morning walk in registration is welcomed.

About the Symposium
Geared for a broad audience, including residents, users, scientists, managers, educators and students.  The goal: to help develop an informed and engaged public that can best ensure wise stewardship of this very important ecological, cultural and recreational resource.
Presentations​ (Friday, 8 - 4pm)   
Click on presenter's name for more information.
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Overview
  • Welcome by Timm Zumm and Mike Mossman.
  • Mark Cupp (Executive Director, LWR Board) - The State of Riverway:  A Look Back, An Assessment of Where We Are and Eye to the Future.
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Natural History Session
  • Bradd Sims (WDNR Fisheries Biologist) - LWR Fisheries Updates and Future Management Plans.
  • John Lyons (Curator of Fishes, UW-Madison Zoological Museum) - Secrets of the Paddlefish, the LWR’s Most Unusual Fish.
  • Gary Casper (Ecologist, Great Lakes Ecological Services) - Reptiles and Amphibians of the LWR.
  • Kelly Kearns (WDNR Conservation Biologist) - Invasive Plants of the LWR.
  • Mike Mossman (retired WDNR ecologist) - The LWR: Great Habitats, Great Birds.
  • Lisie Kitchell (WDNR Aquatic Ecologist) - Mussels of the LWR.
  • Eric Carson (Geologist, WI Geological; NaturalHistory Survey) - The River That Flows Uphill.
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Culture / Recreation Session
  • Lynda Schweikert (Dark Sky Warrior, IowaCounty Astronomers) and John Heasley (Astronomy Educator, Driftless Stargazing) - Preserving and Enjoying the Dark Skies of the LWR.
  • Mark Cupp (Executive Director, LWR Board) - European exploration to Settlement:  A Brief Journey through History from Pere Marquette to Reuben Gold Thwaites.
  • Jeb Barzen (Private Lands Conservation LLC) - What is our role in restoring the lands of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway?
  • Sam Thayer (Wild food educator, naturalist, and award-winning author) - Foraging Wild Edibles in the LWR.
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Watershed Session: Thinking and Acting Beyond the LWR Boundaries. A special session on watershed management, and its effect on the LWR and beyond.
  • Melissa Keenan (Conservation Manager, Sauk County) - Promoting soil health principles in the Baraboo River watershed to build resilient soils.
  • Margaret Krome (Program Director, Public Policy, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute) - Serving Shrimp at Farm Tours: A Watershed Group Connects the Dots.
  • Paul Bickford and John Wepking (Iowa County Farmers) - Conservation on a Driftless Farm.
  • Kenneth S. Wade (P.E., P.G.) - Agricultural Nutrient Impacts to Surface and Groundwater on LWR Terraces.
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Banquet Presentation
  • David Schweitzer (Derleth scholar) - An Evening with Renowned Author and Riverway Icon August Derleth.
Field Trips (Saturday 12:00 - 4:30pm)
Each has several co-leaders who will cover ecological, cultural and historical aspects of that section of the riverway or related watersheds.
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(11:00 - noon) Everyone welcome at VFW Park in Prairie du Sac, to view fish brought in by DNR biologists from below dam.
Note: At the symposium on Friday we will announce whether or not the fish display event will take place at VFW park (11am Sat). This will depend on the water level and whether it is feasible for the biologists to electroshock below the dam that morning.  If you aren’t attending the symposium , check on the web page that evening, or give Mike a call.
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Watershed Bus Tour:
River terrace and slough, Iowa County upland watershed projects (watershed issues and management).
Leaders Unmuth, Krome, Keenan, Cates, Wade, Mericka.
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Geology and Ecology Bus Tour:
Cassell Savannah, Ferry/Cactus Bluff, Shadewald Mounds (archeology, ecology, river life, geology & river reversal)
Leaders Cupp, Carson, Mossman, Barzen, Casper.
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Paddling Tour: Cancelled due to river conditions.
Anyone registered for this trip is welcome to come along on one of the two bus/walk trips (watershed, or ecology/geology/history).  You can change your selection at the symposium registration desk on Friday, or send an email to mike at the address below.
FLOW gratefully acknowledges our symposium sponsors

  • Doug & Sherry Caves, Middleton WI

  • Jud and Mary Knight Swenson

  • The People’s Community Bank – Spring Green

  • Christine Russillo

  • WI Canoe Racing Assoc.

  • Powell Petroleum

  • Lands' End

Exhibits

  • The Prairie Enthusiasts.

  • Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association.

  • The River Alliance.

  • Crawford Stewardship Project.

  • Antigo Silt Loam Infiltration Rates Across Variable Ground Cover. Alexander Vorphol, David Olson (UW-Baraboo) and Alison Duff (USDA Dairy Forage Research Center). 

  • Fall Staging: the Importance of the Wisconsin River to Sandhill Cranes. Ann Lacy.

Additional Infomation​
  • Hosted by the Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway, with support from a DNR River Planning Grant and local sponsors.
  • Questions? Contact Mike Mossman at WisconsinRiverFriends@gmail.com,
        or 608-370-1208.
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