ABOUT BUFFALO LAKE 

Written by Karyn Niin Kitigade

I am happy to see that so many people are interested in learning about the Buffalo Lake District Water Quality Committee and want to know what they can do to improve Buffalo Lake.

One of the major concerns is the level of phosphorous in Buffalo Lake. Here's something I wrote up that will explains how you can help lower the phosphorous level.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

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PHOSPHORUS IN BUFFALO LAKE

The Buffalo Lake Districts Water Quality Committee is testing the phosphorus level at 2 spots on the Fox River-Buffalo Lake and in 5 creeks the feed Buffalo Lake. They have received the results of the first water test they did.

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Why do we want to know the phosphorus level?

1) Phosphorus feeds and encourages the growth of lake weeds and we spend a lot of time and money attempting to control the weeds.

2) High phosphorus levels and decaying plants contribute to low dissolved oxygen levels and fish kills, as we just experienced.

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"Total phosphorus is the one nutrient that Wisconsin has a state standard for. The criterion for total phosphorus is 0.075 mg/L in streams and 0.1 mg/L in large rivers. " *

Our testing showed a phosphorus level of 0.243 mg/l at County Rd O and 0.460 mg/l at Hwy22 in Montello.

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The phosphorus level was above the state standard before the water entered Buffalo Lake and then it almost doubled by the time it reached the dam.

Are you alarmed? I hope so.

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Some of that increase is due to the phosphorus level of the streams feeding Buffalo Lake and but some of the responsibility falls on us property owners and what we are doing in our yards.

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How can you help lower the phosphorus level of Buffalo Lake, reduce the amount of lake weeds and muck, and increase the dissolved oxygen so that we don't have another fish kill?

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1) Stop using fertilizer to make your lawn grow. When it rains the fertilizer runs off into the lake, and makes the lake weeds grow.

2) Don't mow to your shoreline. A buffer strip of taller grass will slow the pollutants from yards and driveways so that they don't enter the lake. It will also help keep the geese out of your yard.

3) Plant a shoreline native plant garden to create a natural and beautiful buffer zone. You can get grant money from the state to do this.

5) Do not allow grass clippings to drop into the lake or rake leaves into the lake. Organic matter such as leaves and grass, fuel phosphorus levels.

We will be working with the DNR and the county to find ways to reduce the phosphorus levels in the creeks that flow into Buffalo Lake.

Let's work together. Let's make a difference.

Let's bring about a positive change for Buffalo Lake and our community.

If you have any questions about these suggested practices or the testing we are doing, email Karyn@BuffaloLakeDistrict.org

Karyn

*The information about Wisconsin phosphorous levels was found here - https://wateractionvolunteers.org/nutrient-monitoring-on-wisconsins-waters-what-does-it -all-mean

Weed Harvesting is Done for the Season

Harvest season is over today, next week we'll be pulling all the equipment and getting them ready for storage.

Next week we'll be washing down equipment, pulling the equipment out of the water, pulling paddle wheels, batteries, greasing all motors and reducers, and storing the equipment in the buildings. We will document any issues that will need to be taken care of in our maintenance program in spring of 24.

We'll be pulling all the buoys and lateral flags on the shore and storing them for next year.

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Kind regards,
Bob Fohey Supervisor

Click for full article.

One More Week of Weed Harvesting

Due to the heat all operators worked 6 to noon Wednesday and Thursday.

We have one more week to harvest weeds and then we'll be pulling and winterizing all the equipment.

We have a down payment on our machine #4 so we pulled that out of the lake and are going over it to make sure everything is operational for the next owner. Harvester 5 and 6 will take over the duties of #4 this next week.

Building of our new Harvester has started, we will have this available at the start of next harvest season. If we get any pictures we'll post them to the district site.

We thank all of the property/Lake owners for all the kind words this year, it's much appreciated. Our operators did a great job and thought this year went better then last year. They also thought the flags we installed this year on the shoreline that marked where the laterals go were a huge benefit!

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Kind regards,
Bob Fohey Supervisor

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Three Weeks of Weed Harvesting

Thanks to everyone that answered our need for Pallets and IBC 
Totes, it's much appreciated.

At the last Board meeting I was given approval to apply for a grant in order to do a rebuild on our #7 Aquarius Harvester. This machine is high in hours and also has some parts on it that are hard to come by or obsolete. We've reached out to Chad L. at Aquarius and Mitch C. at  Inland. Aquarius has been slow with communication on their desire to quote the project. The grant deadline is Sept. 1st so it's coming fast. Three weeks left in the Harvest season, so we hope everyone has had an opportunity to enjoy the lake even thou levels are low!

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Kind regards,
Bob Fohey Supervisor

Click for full article.

Four Weeks of Weed Harvesting left for the Season

We are looking for some heavy duty wood pallets if anyone has some, we 
use these to store our buoys at year end. Four weeks of harvest season left after this week! Click below for East and West end update details.

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Kind regards,
Bob Fohey Supervisor

Click for full article.

Help

We attempted to install a Sand Point well at the district site with no success, way too much clay on the site. We tried at least 8 different location with the same result. We got down to 8 feet in a couple areas but couldn't get past the heavy clay and it's not recommended to pound a point in until you are through the clay or it will plug up the screen and won't allow water. We did get a quote on a 6" drilled well but its about 50% more then what was approved by the board. It's a shame that we have 500k worth of equipment and no water at the site to keep them clean let alone the workers at the site as well. If anyone has some suggestions that may help or can volunteer to pitch in that may know more please let us know.

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Kind regards,
Bob Fohey Supervisor

Click for full article.

Introduction to our 2023 Harvest staff

Jim Weber Harvest operator East side | Larry Will Harvest operator East side

Mark Waters Transport operator | Mark Carney Truck driver

Mike Kenney Harvest operator West side | Mike Meicher Harvest operator/truck driver District/West site

Mike Wergin Harvest operator district site | Matt Blouin Truck driver

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Kind regards,
Bob Fohey Supervisor

Click for full article.

Last week we had a few windy days and when we're harvesting down in Segment 1 and 2 it can be very difficult to get hooked up to the conveyor with the transporter. It's unlike the cutters as it has 4' solid sides on it and those sides act like a sail when it's windy. We've had problems since the purchase of this machine, and it's coming to a point that most operators don't care to run it for that reason. Calm days are no problem..

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Seven more weeks of harvest season left after this week! Low water levels continue to create a huge problem.

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Kind regards,
Bob Fohey Supervisor

Click for full article.

We were shorthanded this week by (4) people, some had procedures that they had scheduled and we had (2) off with prior commitments that were approved at time of hire.

We are still in need of one employee for the remainder of the year so if you know someone please send them our way.

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Kind regards,
Bob Fohey Supervisor

Click for full article.

Due to lack of west winds the lake has large amounts of Duck weed that sits on the surface of the water. The harvesters are not able to pick this up during cutting as it falls through the conveyors.

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The operators won't be out on the lake Monday or Tuesday of next week due to the holiday. They'll be back at it on Wednesday the 5th.

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Kind regards,
Bob Fohey Supervisor

Click for full article.

With lake levels low due to lack of rain we unable to get into some areas. Some laterals on the west end are too shallow to navigate are harvester through. We will do our best to try and get everything we can but certain areas are out of our control.
 

Kind regards,
Bob Fohey Supervisor

Click for full article.

The Buffalo Lake fish stocking event that was made possible to our friends made the news:

Wisconsin Lake & Pond Resource, LLC | Weezie's Town Pump  |  Walker Agency  |  Tween the Lakes Motel  |  Rendezvous  |  Piers Plus  | Northside Automotive | Kathleen's Flour Bin  |  Johnson's Boats & Motors  |  Holliday Shopping Center  |  Hoffmann Tree Service  |  Cotter Realty - Gina Burmania  |  Buffalo Lake Camping Resort

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Gary Doudna

Paul Ratzburg

Co-Chairs Buffalo Lake Fish Committee 

Click for full article.

Wisconsin Lake and Pond Resource will be returning tomorrow, Tuesday June 13 and possibly Wednesday, to finish the herbicide treatments around the piers. They still have the North shore from the County C launch heading back East to complete. If your area has not been treated yet and you have opted in to do so, they are kindly asking you to put a temporary marker at the end of your pier if you can. This will help speed the process up.

Click for full article.

Check out the weekly report from Bob Fohey about neighborhood watch assistance, shoutout to Johnson's Boats & Motors, plus good news for the 2023 Weed Harvesting Season. 
 

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On May 26th, the Buffalo Lake District held a fish stocking event across Buffalo Lake. This was in memory of Bill Lind, a founding member of the fish committee. A total of over 3,700 fish were stocked with 2,450 perch, 450 bass, and 780 crappie.
 

Click for full article.

The Fish Committee will be doing a 2023 spring stocking on Buffalo Lake. 2,050 yellow perch, 1,300 black crappie and 450 largemouth bass will be added to our lake. Delivery of the fish is expected in May or June. As always, volunteers are welcome to help. 

If you would like to help or have any questions, contact Paul Ratzburg at pratzb123@yahoo.com

Darrel Unsinn, the new chair of the harvesting committee, is looking for volunteers to join this important committee. There is a great need for more support as we work to make the lake better every year. If you want to help, please reach out to Darrel at darrelweedguy2023@gmail.com or at 920-470-9858.

Last year, Buffalo Lake District petitioned the DNR to make changes to the lake level process currently in place. In March 2022, we received a response to our petition requesting additional information. You can find the DNR response here > 

Attention: farmers, gardeners and land owners! The harvesting committee on Buffalo Lake is looking for additional sites to drop off weeds during the summer months. The weeds decompose in less than one year and become nutrient rich compost. Last year, we had over 1,400 truck loads of lake weeds to distribute. Due to transportation costs and time restrictions, our preference would be for locations within a 10-mile radius of Buffalo Lake. The compost and delivery are free!

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If you are interested or know someone who is, contact Darrel Unsinn at: 
darrelweedguy2023@gmail.com or 920-470-9858.