To work to protect, enhance and restore our Upper Mississippi River resources by serving as volunteers and partners with conservation organizations to provide education about these resources for our citizens, to advocate for government policies that will support these resources and to increase awareness of threats to the health of the Upper Mississippi River.

Genoa Fish Clinic – Genoa, WI

Mission of the Friends of the Upper Mississippi

• Provide volunteer services to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other Conservation organizations for native species restoration and population monitoring.
• Provide education programs for members and the general public on conservation issues and benefits
• Provide grants for educational activities
• Provide outdoor activities for children
• Be a primary point of contact with local and national public officials in support of Mississippi River resources
• Provide fundraising activities to support local conservation programs
• Inform local groups and provide education on conservation issues

Menominee Tribal Chair Randal Chevalier (right) assists Wisconsin DNR
biologists in preparing a lake sturgeon for release into reservation waters
of the Wolf River.  Credit: T. Skelding

The La Crosse Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (FWCO) was established in 1981 and is one of sixty-five FWCO field offices across the country managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Originally located in Winona, Minnesota, this office moved to Onalaska, Wisconsin in 1995, and has since experienced considerable growth in its programs, staff, facilities, and funding.

The La Crosse FWCO helps fulfill the Service’s national mission by working with partners throughout the Upper Mississippi River Basin (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri) to safeguard populations of native aquatic species and their habitats.  This is accomplished by a staff of ten permanent and three term employees who work as a team to: restore native, inter-jurisdictional fishes and their aquatic habitats; survey national wildlife refuges to provide management options; fulfill federal trust responsibilities to Native American Tribes; attain fish passage on rivers and streams to restore historic fish migrations; prevent extinction of federally endangered fish and mussels; coordinate the Drift less Area and Upper Mississippi River Basin regional partnerships of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan; impede the spread of nonindigenous aquatic nuisance species; prevent the introduction of unwanted medications and aquatic pets into surface waters; coordinate the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee; provide environmental education; work with Friends of the Upper Mississippi Fishery Services and volunteers; support the Regional Dive Team with two SCUBA-certified divers including the Regional Dive Safety Officer; and lead Motorboat Operator Certification courses for the Service’s eight-state Midwest Region.  The FWCO staff consists of a project leader (currently vacant), an assistant project leader, two administrative specialists, four fishery biologists, two biological science technicians, a biological technician, a logistics management specialist, and a Pathways Student Intern.

2012 Annual Youth Outdoor Fest. Credit: J. Weigel

Some of the more notable accomplishments of the La Crosse FWCO team and its partners in 2012 include: collecting and processing of more than 11,000 fish and 345 water samples during surveillance efforts to detect Asian carps, round goby, and other invasive species of fish in the Chicago Area Waterway System; transferring 100 adult lake sturgeon beyond migration barriers along the Wolf River that allowed this species to reproduce at historic spawning sites on the Menominee Indian Reservation for the first time in more than a century; providing training opportunities to certify hundreds of Department of the Interior employees as boat operators; coordinating the permitted shipment of 95,000 fertilized lake sturgeon eggs across international (Canadian-U.S.) borders in efforts to help restore this species to tribal waters in the Red River of the North drainage basin; participating in the U.S. delegation at the Great Rivers International Scientific and Industrial Forum in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia; leveraging $650,000 in support of six projects that enhanced seven miles of stream habitat, restored 13 upland acres, and removed two fish barriers in the Drift less Area; acquiring $4.9-million for four fish passage projects that removed five barriers and reconnected 69 miles of stream habitat in the Midwest region; and hosting a record setting crowd of 2,500 participants at the annual Youth Outdoor Fest in La Crosse.

All of us at the La Crosse FWCO knew that, eventually, the day would come. Since late October, we were acutely aware that we were now working on borrowed time. The end of an era was staring us in the face.

But what a face to look up to … from near, as a the projector leader of our office for the past two decades … and from afar, as a guiding light to others for the conservation of aquatic resources in the Upper Mississippi River Basin and far beyond. With a contagious smile, an ever optimistic spirit encouraging personal and professional growth, gender equity, and a mantra that “it’s all about the resource”, who could ask for a better mentor and friend!

Pam Thiel, a Service employee for 25 years and
FWCO project leader for two decades, retired
and left our building January 31 — We look
forward to her return as a volunteer in the field!

My first clue came about five years ago, when I was asked for advice on federal health insurance plans. The most recent hint came early last fall: the office beside mine took on a lingering Spartan-like appearance (long after it was painted in the summer) with uncharacteristic bare walls and large boxes (filled with books and years of valuable records) that suspiciously occupied too much floor space.

The final shoe dropped and a bombshell landed on October 22 during our staff meeting when Pam Thiel announced we were the first to know (besides husband John) that she would retire in 3 months. We took the news with mixed emotions (note the black arm bands we still wear) and immediately began preparing a cele-bration to send Pam out riding in style.

Held in La Crosse on February 2, Pam’s retirement party attracted more than 150 colleagues and friends from around the region who came to wish her well.

What awaits Pam (and John) in the future?

As those of you who know her may have guessed, she anticipates pursuing a balanced mix of some things old (world travel, fishing, community service) and some things new (sleeping in, bike riding, wearing less brown and more purple clothing).

So don’t be surprised if she reminds you of a colorful Eleanor Roosevelt rather than a somber Mary Todd Lincoln when you see her in the days ahead. After all, the end of one era leads to the start of another.

Best Wishes Pam!

Arriving by the carload, they came to participate in the Kids Ice Fishing Clinic, an annual event sponsored since 2003 by Friends of the Upper Mississippi Fish-ery Services, a non-profit organization supporting the work of three local Ser-vice fishery program offices. This was the fifth consecutive year the Genoa NFH hosted the event with assistance from the La Crosse Fish Health Center and the La Crosse Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office.

Throngs of children and guardians then set out across the slick water to claim one of hundreds of fishing holes pre-drilled through the ice

Held entirely on a frozen two-acre pond, attendees began their outdoor adventure in a heated tent learning from experts about safety on the ice, fishing regulations, and winter angling techniques.

It wasn’t long before many of the stocked rainbow trout, most 10 to 14 inches long, began to emerge from the frozen depths at the end of a baited hook and line.  Before leaving that day, most participants returned to the warming tent where hot chocolate and grilled hot dogs were served for lunch. And what was on the dinner menu at most of these homes that night?

Why, fresh trout, of course!

Early on Saturday, February 9, Nick Bloomfield and I drove to Winneconne (WI) for the opening day of the lake sturgeon spearing season on the Lake Winnebago System.

The lake sturgeon population here has been studied for many years and the annual spear fishery offers the public (particularly those who are lucky enough to get an upriver-lakes license) a chance to harvest a behemoth.

Knowing this 179-pound fish was speared opening day last year, we had high hopes to see a few monster fish in 2013

Sturgeon enthusiasts from around the country make the trip to Winnebago County for the unique opportunity to spear a mammoth sturgeon. This year, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources sold 12,092 spearing licenses, most issued to state residents. The majority of these (96%) were issued for spearing on Lake Winnebago, the largest inland lake (137,000 acres) in the state.
We settled in at our registration station and waited for the first fish of the morning to arrive. Our task was to collect spleen and kidney samples for viral and bacterial pathogen screening at the La Crosse Fish Health Center.  Meanwhile, Ron Bruch (WIDNR) led by a group of Northland College students from Ashland (WI) who acted as sturgeon surgeons to collect stomach content and muscle tissue samples for research on sturgeon diets.

The morning was slow with a fish arriving every 20 minutes or so. Each was weighed, sexed for maturity, measured for length and fat content, and scanned for a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag.  A pectoral spine was also collected to later estimate fish age.

A mature female full of eggs

The sex and maturity of each fish are essential data because the duration of the spearing sea-son depends on how many juvenile females, adult females, and males are harvested.
In all, a total of 179 fish were speared opening day. Some fish were near or above 100 pounds, and a few of the successful spearers were lucky rookies.
It was a great day for biologists like us as well, having collected samples from 36 fish (including a 120-pound female) to help preserve the health of this population and maintain a popular fishery for years to come.

Remember the old adage “Be careful what you wish for”?

About a year ago, members of our friends group (Friends of the Upper Mississippi Fishery Services – aka, FUMFS) and I wished for a large, attractive aquarium to serve as the focal exhibit for visitors (especially children) here at our recently refurbished office building in Onalaska.

Then late in December of 2011, like children looking for presents under a Christmas tree, we were excited to find our wish come true when FUMFS received a generous grant from the Paul E. Stry Foundation to purchase and set-up a new, 720-gallon, acrylic display aquarium.

Thus in June 2012, I made a 600-mile roundtrip drive to Starbuck, Minnesota.  Here I took delivery of a new aquarium, stand, filter system, and cabinet, all fabricated to our specifications by Chris Boelke, owner of Midwest Custom Aquarium.

Like a mid-summer Santa Claus whose sleigh was full, I departed for home with a heavily  loaded truck and trailer, but not before Chris versed me in the planned design of the aquarium, made several wise suggestions, and gave me a pencil sketch for the yet to be completed plumbing system. After all, like most really good Christmas presents, additional assembly was required.

By mid-November, after a team of professionals moved the mammoth structure into the visitor center without incident, the real work of assembling this 202 cubic-foot jig saw puzzle of an aquarium (with several missing pieces) was about to begin for me.

Between then and now, when I wasn’t on holiday, most of my time at work (and some of it at home) was spent much like an elf in Santa’s workshop, planning and building a subfloor that now anchors three pumps, four filtration systems, and 40+ feet of PVC plumbing into a compact space.

Yet to come, before fish call the aquarium home, is setting up the interior with suitable substrates, as well as testing the mechanical systems. And while I’m not too fond of assembling gifts, this has been one challenging present that I’ve really enjoyed putting together!