Flambeau River State Forest - Events

Fisheries visioning session set for Dec. 6

Anyone interested in developing a fisheries management program for Connors Lake, Lake of the Pines, Mason Lake and Evergreen Lake in Sawyer County are invited to attend a Fisheries Visioning Session at the Big Bear Lodge.  The event begins at 11 a.m. and goes until 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008.

The program is sponsored by the Connors Lake, Little Papoose, Lake of the Pines Voluntary Lake Association, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. All of the lakes are within the boundaries of the Flambeau River State Forest.

DNR Fisheries staff will outline the status and potential of these fisheries and facilitate stakeholder input into desired future conditions.  Fish Manager  Jeff Scheirer said participants will determine the relative importance of each fish species, decide the trade-offs people are willing to make for numbers versus size and catch versus harvest, and draft specific goals and objectives that reflect local and statewide preferences.

After the session state fisheries staff will develop strategies that include length limits, stockings, habitat projects, and more in a Fishery Management Plan.  "That information will ultimately be appended to the Flambeau River State Forest Master Plan," Halvorson said.

The Lake Association will provide a "working lunch" during the meeting.  Big Bear Lodge is on County Hwy W about halfway between Phillips and Winter in Sawyer County.

For more information, please contact Tom Deinhammer at 715-835-6588 or Jeff Scheirer at 715-762-1354.