Buffalo Lake District Home

Our next regular Buffalo Lake P&R meeting is June 27, 2009

The 2009 Buffalo Lake District Annual Meeting is August 1, 2009 at 9 am. Location is tentatively set for Montello High School

A big THANK YOU to Don Schoechert and the Buffalo Lake Improvement Association for continued support of the Buffalo Lake District. The BLIA covered travel expenses incurred for the Iowa trip to pick up the District's new dump truck. Photo link below.

Rendezvous Paddle & Sports is co-sponsoring a local cleanup of the river from Montello to River's Bend Resort on Sunday, May 3. Activities start at 10:30 am. Contact Rendezvous at 608-297-2444 for details.

An organization that complements the activities of both the District and the Improvement Assn. is Friends of the Fox. FOF advocates responsible use, responsible re-use and preservation of both cultural and natural resources of the Upper and Lower Fox River System of Wisconsin (Buffalo lake is an integral part of this system). Current projects include the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway (Green Bay to Prairie du Chien), The Water Trail Portage Project and the Rapide Croche Transfer Station. For membership and additional information about these projects and how you can help, visit:

www.friendsofthefox.org

The weather is improving here and temperatures are favorable for outdoor activities. Mid-March through early April we were delighted to host quite a group of Loons. These gorgeous birds make a stopover on Buffalo on their return migration route. This year we had quite a few and counted 17. They enjoy the peace and calm here as well as the great fishing. Here are a few photos of our visitors: Loon photo 1 Loon photo 2 Loon photo 3 Group Loon photo

Update on the Gypsy Moth problem around Buffalo Lake: According to Judy Fulmer, Gypsy Moth Chair, "We all need to continue to watch for these pests." Check your property for evidence of Gypsy Moths (use the photos here, for a guide) Right now, Photo 4, the egg masses are what you are most likely to find. Look on tree trunks, the underside of branches, under decks and porches and in woodpiles. Property owners also need to put bands around the trunks of affected trees to catch the caterpillars. Here are photos of damage and life stages of the Gypsy Moth. With Spring coming (at some point we hope!), the egg masses will hatch and the larvae will come out. As the larvae grow into caterpillars, they eat the tree leaves (photo 1 & 2). Typically the caterpillars eat from the top of a tree down, so you may not see the damage right away unless you make an effort to check tree tops. Click to see images of Gypsy Moths 1 Leaf Damage 2 Caterpillar 3 Male and Female 4 Egg Mass 5 Female with Egg mass 6 Pupae stage Some Buffalo Lake District property owners have used a product by Ortho called "Home Defense" to fight the Gypsy Moths. Home Defense is available at garden and home centers. However, the Buffalo Lake District in NO way guarantees, recommends or endorses any product and is posting this here for informational purposes only. It is the property owners' responsibility to research any such products for appropriate use and application.

The Lake District has a new truck! Jim Sanders spent much time looking for just the right one and here it is! Our new truck

About Buffalo Lake

Marquette County has 90 lakes. Buffalo Lake has about 50% of the water surface area. It was a natural lake formed by a downstream deposit of sediment in 1871. The level of the natural basin was increased by four feet. The Army Corps of Engineers constructed a low head dam under authorization of the River and Harbor Act of 1958, the Federal Government turned over control of the upper Fox River above the mouth of the Wolf River to the State of Wisconsin in June 1962.

Physical Data of Buffalo Lake

Acres = 2500
Mean Depth = 4.5 ft
Maximum Depth = 8ft
Length= 13.1 miles
Width 1/2 mile
Shore Length = 32.2 miles
Watershed area = 600 sq. miles
Normal outflow 12 days from the time water enters Buffalo Lake to the time it goes over the dam at Montello.
Buffalo Lake was named for the buffalo grass growing around the lake.

Lake Protection and Rehabilitation

On December 31, 1986, petitions were filed with the Marquette County Clerk requesting the establishment of a public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district in the Townships of Montello and Packwaukee, and the City of Montello. The petitions were accompanied by a map and description of the proposed boundaries.

Notice of a public hearing was published in the Marquette County Tribune on January 8, 1987, and mailed to the landowners within boundaries of the proposed district.The public hearing was held before the Marquette County Zoning and Planning Committee on January 29, 1987.

Buffalo Lake Protection and Rehabilitation was then declared organized and established.