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Friends Online
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Mississippi River Wild
Just some of the trash collected on MRW's annual River Cleanup day.
We are a group of citizens dedicated to preserving and protecting the natural resources of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Mississippi River Wild’s objectives are to:
- Enhance and preserve fish and wildlife habitat
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- Increase public awareness and support of the refuge
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- Advocate sound policy and adequate funding for the refuge
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- Provide educational opportunities for all ages and cultures
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- Promote volunteerism and partnerships to assist refuge staff
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- Assist the FWS in implementing refuge goals and objectives
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- Encourage diversity of native species and habitat
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- Encourage responsible recreation within the refuge
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MRW News
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Unveiling the Future The La Crosse District of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife & Fish |
The La Crosse District of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife & Fish Refuge will celebrate the award of a contract to Arrowhead Contracting Inc. for the construction of an Office and Visitor Center Facility.
The celebration, “Unveiling the Future”, is scheduled for 2:30 pm February 12, 2010 at Sand Lake Elementary. Members of the public are invited to join the celebration followed by an information session in the gymnasium from 3:15-4:15 pm.
Sand Lake Elementary, 3600 Sand Lake Road, is located about 2 miles south of Holmen, Wisconsin.
Recently Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $4.9 million contract for an Office and Visitor Center construction project to Arrowhead Contracting Inc. This facility will be constructed on Brice Prairie near La Crosse, Wisconsin during 2010-11 and will implement Leadership in Energy and Environmental standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council. This project is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 which represents an important component of the President's plan to help the economy and address challenges facing the country.
U.S. Congressman Ron Kind, who is scheduled to attend, and students from Sand Lake Elementary will unveil the Site Design and Conceptual Design of the facility. Refuge Manager, Kevin Foerster stated, “Having the students part of this celebration allows them to connect to their National Wildlife Refuge in their backyard. We hope they will come and visit the facility and enjoy the trails and exhibits well into the future.”
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Pelicans eating Asian Carp |
 I spent all weekend at Dresser Island Conservation Area photographing
waterfowl along the Mississippi River. While I was there I made some
interesting images of white pelicans foraging on huge, silver carp. It was
fascinating to watch as sometimes it took several minutes for the pelican to
get the fish down. Also, when a pelican caught a fish the others converged on
it to fight for the bounty. As a matter of fact, when a common merganser caught
a shad the pelicans would converge on the little guy and try to take its morsel
away as well.
Greg
Conover
MICRA Coordinator
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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Record Breaking Year for La Crosse Fish Health Center |
 The fiscal year of 2009 was a busy one for the La Crosse Fish Health Center (LFHC). They had a record setting year for case history numbers (258). A case history number represents a specific fish, group of fish, tissue samples, or a biological sample (virus, bacteria, or parasite) from a specific source such as a specific water body, or hatchery. Each case history number could represent anywhere from one to 500 fish. The LFHC receives samples from a multitude of sources. The first source are the National Fish Hatcheries in Region 3 These hatcheries are the LFHC most important responsibility. The center conducts health inspections at these hatcheries twice a year. These inspections ensure hatchery fish are free of fish pathogens. Fish health responsibilities for the LFHC also include diagnostics, screening of spawning material, testing new brood stock, and technical support. The hatcheries in Region 3 include: Genoa National Fish Hatchery (NFH), Iron River NFH, Pendills Creek NFH, Sullivans Creek NFH, Jordan River NFH, and Neosho NFH. Samples from inspections, spawning material, and diagnostics were taken from more than 6000 fish. The LFHC also works closely with many states and their propagation facilities. Many states have limited laboratory space for the analysis of fish health samples. The center is contracted to give laboratory services of varying degrees to Ohio, Wisconsin, and Illinois. These states obtain the samples and overnight them to La Crosse. The LFHC lab processed samples from almost 3700 fish originating from state propagation facilities. Many tribal hatcheries also depend on laboratory services from LFHC. These hatcheries receive an annual hatchery inspection, screening of spawning material, diagnostic support, parasite identification, and technical support from the LFHC. The participating tribal hatcheries include Keweenaw Bay Indian Fish Hatchery, Grand Portage Native Fish Hatchery, Red Cliff Tribal Fish Hatchery, and Lac Du Flambeau Fish Hatchery. Over 1000 samples were processed by the LFHC from the mentioned tribal fish hatcheries. The last large sample source are fish from the National Wild Fish Health Survey. The survey started in 1996 to gain a better understanding of what specific pathogens were present in the wild, their distribution, and which species are affected by these pathogens. The survey depends largely on partner participation and this year was no exception. LCFHC received assistance with fish collection, fish transport, sample collection, and sample transport from 10 federal, six state, six tribal, and several academic organizations. Samples screened by the LFHC totaled nearly 9300 from the Wild Fish Health Survey. --Corey Puzach, Becky Lasee, Abby Purdy
Above: Corey Puzach (top) and Lucas Purnell take fish health
samples from sturgeon at Genoa National Fish Hatchery. USFWS
photo by S. Bauer.
Left: Rebekah McCann (standing) and
Emma Waffenshmidt (sitting) taking fish health
sample during the Wild Fish Health Survey
of Pool 4 from the Mississippi River. USFWS
photo by S. Bauer.
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