Eagle Surveys............................................ March-April 2014
Pool 9 River Clean Up....................................April 20, 2014
 MRAD App Deadline.........................................July 1, 2014
   MRAD................................................................July 15, 2014
  Fish Days Booth...........................................August 10, 2014
  Kids Fishing Day..........................................August 10, 2014
FOP9 Annual Meeting........................... September 27, 2014
MRAD to Dubuque River Adventure Day Trip

The Friends of Pool 9 Board of Directors had no choice but to cancel the annual Mississippi River Adventure Day (MRAD) when water levels reached almost 9 feet above normal due to flooding,  creating unsafe conditions on the river.  In its place, they offered a free trip to all the children and chaperones to the Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque, Iowa.  Early July 15th, forty three kids and adults left Lansing on a luxury charter bus and spent the day exploring the fantastic exhibits and the grand aquariums at the museum site.  All costs (charter bus, entrance fees, and lunch) were paid by FOP9

Marissa Klum, age 7, called her day “awesome”.  Sonny Boardman, age 8, exclaimed that “I never ever thought I would be that close to a real live alligator”.  Everyone loved the playful “otters”.  Several adults, who had not been to the museum also enjoyed the day and expressed their thoughts about the education the center provides about our area and the mighty Mississippi River.  Board Members Jerry Boardman, Darrin Thran, Bruce ReVoir, and Larry Quamme, were joined by former Board Members Ric Zarwell & his wife Betty and Don Thran, on the day trip.  Friends of Pool 9 will continue to offer hands-on river experiences for children in an attempt to foster good stewardship for the river resource, and create excitement for being on the river.  Perhaps the river will be more normal in summer 2015, as we plan for the eighth Mississippi River Adventure Day for kids on the river.

Picture
Forty-three children and adult chaperones arrive at the Dubuque River History Museum for a day of exploration and learning, sponsored by Friends of Pool 9.
Friends of Pool 9 Annual River Clean up for 2014

Friends Gather to Clean the Mississippi


While most are spending a sunny spring Saturday morning in April raking their lawns or doing outside work of some type, well over a hundred area volunteers did something else.  They gathered in small towns all around Pool 9 as a small army, a band of brothers to do something so grand and impressive it almost boggles the mind.  While bass boats and walleye fishermen in contests at Lansing and Stoddard darted hurriedly around them this unusual group loaded boats with debris from the river; half sunken barrels, tires large and small, floating plastics, and Styrofoam pieces of all sizes and shapes. 

This was the day of the annual Friends of Pool 9 Mississippi River clean up day.  It was jointly sponsored by FOP9, and US Fish & Wildlife, and is part of the Great Mississippi River Cleanup coordinated by Living Lands & Waters.  The clean up committee had designated 28 sites/activities in Pool 9 to focus attention on during the day.  The list included removing bent metal dock pipes from Shore Slough with the use of a wench on the US Fish & Wildlife boat, walking both sides of the three mile-long Highway 82 dike removing trash, collecting burnt metal or plastic scraps through screening the Friends of Pool 9 fire rings on area beaches, and sending out boats to all areas of the 90 square mile pool.  Boats searched the backwaters and channel from below the Genoa dam to the open water above the Lynxville dam, an area 31 miles long and three miles wide.  Others cleaned boat landings, walked the Lansing Marina dike, as well as the Dairyland Power parking area below Genoa.  The group also assisted the removal of a boathouse that was on its' last days and will no longer threaten sinking to the bottom of the river.  Unusual items included a dated and discarded fish crib, a pill bottle dated 1981, and a television set that shouldn't have been there.
One of the goals of Friends of Pool 9 is to create a higher level of awareness and appreciation for the Mississippi River.  It's also to teach our children and the younger generation how to become  better stewards of the resource.  One of the FOP9 Board members (Darrin Thran) made the following comment, "As I watched people today I saw one common thing and that was a true desire to want to make a difference by cleaning up and giving back to the river and the area!  The people with me were picking through ash and burnt wood and sand for even the smallest things like bottle caps, wire, you name it.  It's really neat to see that many people give up their Saturday morning on a nice spring day to go out and make a difference.  We need to challenge people to make a difference like today, everyday they are on the river by picking up not only after themselves but others !"

Thanks to the 115 FOP9 volunteers,  thanks to the kitchen workers that put together 120 sack lunches, thanks McGregor District Fish & Wildlife Service for the boat with a wench, thanks Vernon County and Waste Management of Prairie du Chien, thanks IA Department of Natural Resources for the truck, thanks US Army Corps of Engineers and Black Hawk Park for the dumpster site and lunch area, thanks to Living Lands and Waters for the $500 donation and the cool water bottles, shirts, gloves, and bags, thanks to Jim Kerndt for the use of his tractor and Joe Mazanec for the truck, and all the FOP9 volunteers that supplied boats to make the day a success.

President Bruce ReVoir summarized the days' success with the following comment, "I'm constantly impressed by the turn out of area citizens for the river clean up day. Improving the quality of the river with the river clean up day is a important part of the goals of FOP9. I would like to thank all the volunteers who helped last Saturday giving of their time for such a good cause."

The group has other volunteer activities throughout the year including assisting with New Albin Elementary planting trees, USACOE planting trees on river islands, Eagle Survey teams, Mississippi River Adventure Day for kids, Eagle Program in Ferryville and Lansing Fish Days, and assisting at Genoa National Fish Hatchery.  Check the website friendsofpool9.org for more information.

Volunteers aboard the FWS wench boat deliver an old dock with 20 foot poles attached during the FOP9 clean up.  Jim Gobeli and Joe Mazanec wait on shore.
Dave Jacobsen and Glen Reed remove the metal sheeting from an old boat house owned by Scott Beaton.
Larry Quamme and Gary Rutter bring a load of trash collected from the lower end of the pool to the Ferryville landing.re to edit.
Todd Lensing, and Tom Chernouski removed some unusual debris from the river bottom near Copper Creek.
Mark Clements and young work crew bring a boat load of barrels to the Black Hawk Park USACOE dumpster during the April 26 Friends of Pool 9 clean up.

Click on picture to enlarge.

Friends of Pool 9 Clam "Cagers" Back to Work



Eleven members of Friends of Pool 9 spent a cold and snowy February 19th at the "clam cage" building at Genoa National Fish Hatchery.  The group has been helping with the project for several years.  Endangered Higgins eye clam young are attached to host fish and placed in the cages for growth and development.  Eventually they drop from the host when they are large enough to survive on their own.  The clams are then introduced into the Mississippi River and tributary streams in an attempt to increase their population.

FOP9 volunteers remove the wire mesh from old cages and replace it with new mesh.  Rivets hold the mesh to a metal frame.  The frame is attached to a metal base lined with a plywood bottom.  Volunteers worked in teams on all phases of the rebuilding project; some taking the old cages apart, others rebuilding the bases, and a third group building new cages.  Nathan Eckert (GNFH) is in charge of the "mussel" project.  Workers were served morning coffee and a delicious lunch of grilled meats, chips, pop, and desserts. 

The group had an average age well into the seventies, topped by 93 year old Mit Wilde.  Lloyd Lorenz (from the La Crosse area) has been a volunteer worker at Genoa for years and worked with us (FOP9) in the past on this project.  He decided to join FOP9 and completed an application to become a member of Friends of Pool 9.  We welcome him and his wife and encourage him to join our other volunteer activities as well.  Everyone was tired at the end of the day but all agreed it was a great way to spend a day helping at Genoa National Fish Hatchery.  The re-introduction of the endangered clams into the river is important, it's neat when we all work together on a project and share in the accomplishment, the staff was super to work with and very appreciative, and the lunch was terrific.  What more could we ask for.  We'll see you again next winter Nathan, and look forward to helping Angie with the sturgeon tagging in the fall.

Jack Fink (L) and Brent Darling (R) construct a clam cage by using rivets to attach wire mesh to a metal frame at Genoa National Fish Hatchery.
Workers take a break and pose for a picture surrounding a stack of clam cage bases and a restored clam cage on top.  L. to R. Kevin Quillin, Nathan Eckert (GNFH), Bob Henkel, Don Thran, Mit Wilde, Sue Papp, Warren Coates, Jack Fink, Lloyd Lorenz, Brent Darling, Joe Papp, and John Verdon.
ITC Midwest Donates to Friends of Pool 9 Island Restoration Project

January, 2014


ITC Midwest personnel Dan Hagan (left) and Mike Ivester (fifth from left) present Directors of Friends of Pool 9 with a $5,000 donation for the Beach and Island Reforestation project above Lansing.  L to R:  Dan Hagan, Don Thran, Larry Quamme, Jerry Boardman, Mike Ivester, John Verdon, Don Walsh, Bob Henkel.


 A $5,000 contribution from electric transmission company ITC Midwest will help reforest the Pool 9 Island beach area.

On Wednesday, January 8, ITC Permit Policy Specialist Dan Hagan and Local Government and Community Affairs Regional Manager Mike Ivester presented the funds to the Friends of Pool 9 Board of Directors. The money will assist with expenses toward the island restoration project upstream of Lansing. 

The 2014 project includes the transport of thousands of cubic yards of sand to the Lansing Beach area (RM 664) to build sand ridges for the reforestation of oak and other hardwood trees, as well as improvements to the beach area itself.  The hardwood trees are typically found in small numbers on the channel border islands since they are frequently flooded.  Raising the island height will encourage their chances of survival and abundance.  Seedlings of White Oak, Black Oak, Pin Oak, and Hackberry will be planted in the elevated area.  Seeds were originally collected from river tolerant trees located in (or near) the Mississippi River flood plain and grown in local nurseries.

The island and beach restoration project will involve the cooperation of the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources, Friends of Pool 9, and local contractors with access to large earth moving equipment.  The beach area will be enhanced both in length and width to improve the site for recreation, and hundreds of hardwood trees will add to the plant and animal diversity (and stability) of the island ecosystem.  All users of the river resource (wildlife and man) will benefit from this project of island restoration in Pool 9, Upper Mississippi River Refuge. ITC Midwest ITC Midwest, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC Holdings Corp., the nation’s largest independent electricity transmission company. ITC Midwest operates more than 6,600 circuit miles of transmission lines in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri and maintains operating locations at Dubuque, Iowa City and Perry, Iowa; and Albert Lea and Lakefield, Minnesota.

Since its formation in 2007, the company has completed 23 new generator interconnects, adding approximately 2,500 MW of wind energy production capacity to the region’s grid. That amount of new wind energy connections represents investment of more than $5 billion by developers, and is more wind energy capacity than existed in the entire state of Iowa in 2007.



Online membership form now available click bellow to join the Friends of Pool 9 !