The rain garden training will explain why these practices are needed, how the practices work, how they are installed and how they are sized.

The Rain Harvesting will explain how systems work from a rain barrel up to new systern systems.  The different uses of the harvested water from outside to inside the house.  Also the public health aspect of the practices will be covered.

These programs are generally given in Ankeny so to have them in Spencer saves you locally on travel and time.  Please pass this information on to other people you think might be interested in attending.

Click here for additional details and registration information on the March 21 Rainscaper Training

Click here for additional details and registration information on the March 22 Rainwater Harvesting Training

Additional wine and cheese socials will also be held in Sioux Falls and Sioux City at the end of March. The chairs for these events are Doug and Cathy Palmer & Tom and Kathy Walsh. For more information about these events please call our membership chairman Brigid Wilkening at (402) 681- 0783 or email her at brigidwilkening@aol.com.

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PHOTO SUBMITTED An electric fish barrier similar to the proposed electric barrier for Dickinson County has been in place near Windom, Minn. for 20 years. It has proven to be quite effective in preventing new species of fish into the nearby Heron. The Asian Silver Carp is threatening to enter the Iowa Great Lakes.

by Brandon Hurley – Staff Writer
Dickinson County News - Wednesday, Jan. 18

Officials throughout Dickinson County have focused on efforts to stop zebra mussels from entering the Iowa Great Lakes.

Now, a new threat has spawned and water protection groups are trying to prevent the invasion of another aquatic invasive species — Asian silver carp, or “jumping fish.”

The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 10 approved a motion to contribute over $3,000 to the study for installing an electric fish barrier to prevent the arrival of Asian carp in the Iowa Great Lakes. The carp were recently found in Lost Island Lake, just 15 miles from the Great Lakes.

Asian carp can grow up to 60 pounds and three feet long and are known for jumping high out of the water. Once the fish have invaded a well-trafficked lake, they can become great distractions to boaters, skiers and Jet Ski operators. Vibrations from the motors cause the fish to jump out of the water, potentially right in front of boats and skiers.

Extreme floods along the Missouri River in 2011 allowed carp to swim around the Linn Grove Dam and work their way toward the Dickinson County chain of lakes. The Asian Carp’s cousin, bighead Asian carp, were actually found in East Lake Okoboji in August 2011.

As is the case with many invasive species, there is no proven way to remove the aquatic intruder once the lake has been infected.

The electric barrier is proposed on land already owned by the local DNR near the Lower Gar outlet. The Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council (WSC) considers this to be the best location. An electric barrier further downstream would potentially trap other fish and cause a pungent die-off between the weir and the barrier.

One of the most common inquiries of an electric barrier is the potential danger to animals and humans — the charge isn’t even strong enough to kill off the fish.

“At first, the fish feel a tingle they don’t like, so they swim away,” said Phil Petersen, secretary of the Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council. “If they continue, the voltage becomes more unpleasant. Eventually it will numb them. We don’t believe it ever gets to point that it kills them.”

Petersen also said that humans or other animals such as deer or dogs are not in danger of being killed.

“We don’t believe the voltage used is enough to kill animals or people,” he said. “But to be safe, it is standard operating procedure to place signs (warning) of electrical danger and (to) fence (off) the area.

Studies have shown that an electric fish barrier is an effective way to prevent a species from entering a lake. During a two-year study done by a research team from South Dakota State University in the early 1990s, 1,600 common carp and south buffalo fish were radio tagged and released downstream from an electric barrier. When they later caught over 3,000 fish, not a single one of the tagged fish were found.

In addition to preventing the intrusion of the invasive species, the electric barrier has another benefit — it prevents other fish from leaving the lakes.

“A secondary benefit is that there are musky and walleye that are bred by the fish hatchery and they often tend to swim into the Little Sioux River,” said Petersen said. “The barrier will keep them in the lakes.”

Local officials estimate the cost of the project at $700,000. State Reps. John Wittneben of Estherville and Jeff Smith of Spirit Lake are working with state Sen. David Johnson of Ocheyedan to secure state funding for the project. The local Water Safety Council thinks at least $200,000 will need to be raised locally to support of the electric barrier project. The funds will come from the various lake protective associations, fishing businesses, local governments and property owners.

The DNR will need funds identified by March in order to move ahead with the project before the start of the 2012 vacation season.

“We would like to have it in place sometime in the spring,” Petersen said. “It takes three to four months for the barrier to be installed. We are pretty confident it will work, we don’t have much doubt.”

The Omaha World Herald also recently ran an article on the invasive species. Click here to read the article from the Herald.

An invasive species of carp continues its spread to northwest Iowa lakes.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says Silver Carp are now in Lost Island Lake. State fisheries experts confirmed the presence after a commercial fisherman collected several while seining the lake for common carp and buffalo carp.

DNR Fisheries Biologist Mike Hawkins says this is the third time this year an invasive carp species has been found in northwest Iowa lakes. In August, DNR personnel captured two bighead carp in East Lake Okoboji while conducting routine sampling. In September, a commercial fisherman caught both bighead and silver carp in Elk Lake.

Bighead and Silver Carp are members of the Asian Carp family and are a non-native species that recently invaded the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Officials say extreme flooding this past summer allowed the fish to travel past barriers on the Little Sioux River that would normally prevent their passage.

Story courtesy of www.exploreokoboji.com

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says the animal was shot Monday morning in Round Lake Township, just north of the Iowa border.

The cougar reportedly weighed 125 pounds and was 74 inches long.

Cougars are a protected animal in Minnesota, and authorities say charges may be filed depending on the outcome of their investigation.

The cougar’s body is in the custody of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. It’s been sent to predator specialists in Grand Rapids, Minnesota for further examination.

Additional Details Surface In Cougar Shooting

(New Ulm, Mn., Thursday, Dec.1, 2011)- Additional details are starting to come out in the shooting earlier this week of a cougar in southwest Minnesota. The 125 pound animal was shot in Round Lake Township of Jackson county, just north of the Iowa border.

Bruce Ihnen says he was finishing chores on his brother’s farm Sunday when the cougar came out of a grove and ran into a culvert. Ihnen says he called a neighbor and they chased it out of the culvert and his neighbor shot it.

Chris Niskanen of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says it is likely the first cougar shot by a citizen in Minnesota’s “modern history”.

It’s illegal to shoot mountain lions or cougars in Minnesota unless they’re posing a threat. Authorities haven’t said yet if they intend to file any charges in connection with the incident, which is still under investigation.

The cougar’s body is being examined by DNR wildlife biologists in Grand Rapids.

Stories courtesy www.exploreokoboji.com.

Last year, Phil Petersen, IGLA Executive Director, presented a $4,625 check to Gary Owen, Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council President. Owen recently announced his intent to run for Dickinson County Sheriff.

(Spirit Lake)– A longtime enforcement officer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is announcing his intent to run for Dickinson County Sheriff. Gary Owen tells KUOO news he’s about to retire from his current position with the DNR and is looking forward to a new challenge…Click here to hear mp3 file

Owen feels he could bring a lot to the table as sheriff after his experience with the DNR, but there’s one thing in particular he would emphasize… Click here to hear mp3 file

Owen’s last day with the DNR will be December 27th.

Owen will be facing off against longtime incumbent Greg Baloun, who hasn’t formally announced yet whether he’ll seek another term.

Story courtesy of www.exploreokoboji.com

This link will take you to a copy of the resolution by Lake County to declare a state of emergency.

http://www.stancounty.com/bos/agenda/2011/20110830/Corr01.pdf

Live and learn can best describe our water safety and fighting Aquatic Invasive Species activity this summer. In the spring we learned that the State Game and Fish Protection Fund that holds our Boat Registration user fees had a $38.7M spending cap. While this legislature spending cap had never come into play until this year it did cut the number of Water Patrol Officers from 14 – we have had the last few years – to four. With help from Senator David Johnson and Representative Jeff Smith we were able to add six more officers in July when the new fiscal year started.

As the result of a July 23rd meeting with Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds to explain the problem we are hopeful that the $38.7 M spending cap will not be a factor in the future. The legislature has established an interim study committee to examine how the user fees from the State Game and Fish Protection Fund are spent.

Foruntently, the Okoboji Protective Association had obtained a grant from the Dickinson County Water Quality Commission last fall to hire six college students for the summer to educate boaters about the threat from Aquatic Invasive Species. Iowa Lakeside Laboratory provided and housing and meals for the students. These six college students helped to replace the three DNR Water Patrol Officers and three Fisheries Bureau interns we have had for the past two summers.

JUMPING FISH

Living Missiles

For several years we have felt we were isolated from the Silver Asian Carp (jumping fish) found in Illinois and Southeast Iowa rivers. We also thought we were protected by the Little Sioux River dam at Linn Grove. This summer the wide spread flooding on the Missouri river and its tributaries provided a carp swim around for the Linn Grove dam. In August Asian Bighead Carp (a close relative of the Silver jumping Carp) were found near the Narrows in East Lake Okoboji. A month later two Silver Carp were found in Elk Lake 25 miles south of the Iowa Great Lakes near Ruthven.

Although biologists are hopeful the Asian Carp can only reproduce in a river with slow moving water we need to develop a strong protection plan for the Iowa Great Lakes. At the July meeting the lake protective associations recommended to Governor Branstad that an AIS committee be formed to develop a more comprehensive plan. The DNR has taken an interest in this AIS committee and would like the committee to take on a statewide AIS view. Top on the list of priorities for this AIS committee will be to investigate the installation of an electric fish barrier at the Lower Gar Outlet to protect the Iowa Great Lakes from the Asian Carp that can reproduce at an alarming rate.

LAKE PATROL LEADERSHIP
Gary Owen, DNR Conservation Officer, has provided the leadership of our Lake Patrol for 27 years. In December Gary will retire. He has set the tone of the Lake Patrol to provide a service to boaters that has gained the support of the lakes community. Finding his replacement will be a tall order due to the heavy Iowa Great Lakes responsibility for water safety and the intense political pressure. Because of the extensive water safety responsibility in this corner of the state, the Iowa Great Lakes Association has recommended to the DNR that a new Water Safety Officer position be established to manage all of the water safety responsibilities in NW Iowa.

PLANS FOR NEXT SUMMER
We are hopeful for next summer that our DNR support will be back to normal. We expect to have eight Water Patrol Officers assigned to water safety plus two more for dock enforcement. We are also expecting the DNR Fisheries Bureau to have four summer employees assigned to educating boaters about the threat of Aquatic Invasive Species.

The Okoboji Protective Association has already allocated $15,000 to protecting the lakes from AIS – as they have done for the last two summers. From that amount $4,000 will be used to rent the zebra mussel billboard on Highway 86 near Perkins. A grant application is pending with the Water Quality Commission to have four college students for boater education. They will be supported with housing at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory.

We will continue to fight AIS using new stories, boater’s maps, community boat ramp volunteers, and the information radio system. On a new front we are also investigating the use of trained dogs to sniff out zebra mussels. How to train and care for two dogs is the focus of that investigation and a November demonstration. Can we find the funding to support an expensive dog program to protect the Iowa Great Lakes from Aquatic Invasive Species?

To probe further: To learn more about AIS go to website www.watersafetycouncil.org

and click on Aquatic Invasive Species. There are three videos that illustrate the threat and how you can help protect our lakes.