Spider Lines
SPRING 2015
“SHARING RESPONSIBILITY TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT THE SPIDER CHAIN OF LAKES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS”
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
PASSING THE PRESIDENT’S BATON
By Michael O’Sullivan
As I retire from the office of President of the Spider
Chain of Lakes Association and pass the baton to my very
capable successor Steven Smith, I have been reflecting on
changes within our organization and on its relationships with
the rest of our broader Spider Lake community. Many trends
are a cause for celebration but others require more work
from a much larger and engaged volunteer segment of our
membership.
On a positive note the governance of our association
continues to mature with our various committees now almost
fully responsible for all operations in our organization. Over
50 volunteers actively participate in committee deliberations
and work. We are all in their debt for their exemplary
commitment.
From the AIS committee comes the good news that our
chain of lakes remains free of the dreaded Eurasian milfoil
–an attestation to their strategic prevention plans and
vigilant surveillance. In addition, the committee is to be
congratulated for achieving two new grant awards this
Spring—one an Education grant for $8,500 over 2 years and
another termed Clean Boats Clean Waters amounting to
$8,000 funding for this year.
In addition to regular operational responsibilities, our
Education and Membership committees have been working
together on installing and improving our electronic
communications using commercially available “Wild Apricot”
software. It provides our organization with an electronic
membership database that can be used for printing
directories and for streamlining internal communications
such as e-mail blasts to alert all members of important
announcements or events. It also allows members to pay
membership dues or donate electronically.
The Outreach Committee places high priority on our
excellent working relations with the Spider Lake Town Board.
It continues to strategize and reach-out to businesses, other
organizations and residents of the Township, who are not
lakeshore owners, in order to nurture a public awareness of
the importance of lake protection and preservation.
As you are all aware, the Finance Committee, after
careful and prudent evaluation of the Association’s finances
and future challenges, recommended a Capital Campaign
with a goal of raising $1.2 million dollars. This campaign was
launched last fall and is off to a good start with $250,000
pledged or donated to-date. To those who have already given,
we extend our deepest appreciation not only for your gift but
for the leadership example you have set for all. As summer
arrives, the Campaign will get in full swing so that we can
reach every member of our association and provide every
member with an opportunity to financially support and
sustain our overriding mission of protecting and preserving
our pristine lake and watershed for future generations.
Our greatest challenge for the years ahead is to build a
sense of true community among all members of our
association. That community should have a shared societal
culture of educating one-self and one another on all aspects
of a healthy lake, lakeshore, and water shed habitat. An
educated, inquisitive and committed community is our best
and indeed our only hope of detecting early deterioration in
our plants, fish, birds or animals so that prompt and effective
counter measures can be mounted. We can do it, but it is
going to take broader involvement and greater volunteer
time, effort, and commitment.
Steven Smith is an ideal person to lead this Association
at this time. He is recently retired from a 35-year career at
the Mayo Clinic where he served as a senior executive,
responsible for out-patient operations, hospital operations,
and the research enterprise. I pass the President baton to
him with greatest confidence.
S P I D E R C H A I N O F L A K E S A S S O C I AT I O N - - F R I E N D S O F T H E L A K E
Heartfelt Thanks to Retiring SCLA President Michael O’Sullivan
The SCLA offers a huge thank-you to Michael O’Sullivan for his wonderful leadership as SCLA President over the last
several years.
We so appreciate the many outstanding ideas and endeavors that Michael initiated and/or continued in an effort to
preserve and protect our cherished Spider Chain of Lakes. Future generations will be forever grateful for the chance to
enjoy the wild beauty, clarity of water, and forested shorelines that we all love now.
Thank-you Michael!
Winter Fun
Here's some of the fast action from a New Year's Eve broom ball
game on Little Spider with several families from Little and Big Spider
Lakes. Perhaps this was the inaugural game of a new winter tradition?
(Photos by Wendy Wood)
No skates necessary! Just a broom, a ball, and a shoveled patch of ice
for a pick-up game. Any takers?
2015 SCLA Calendar
• Saturday, May 23: Spider Chain of Lakes
Association Members Business Meeting, 9:00 a.m.,
Spider Lake Town Hall. Election of new Board
Members and new Officers.
• Friday, July 3: S.L.E.E.K., 10:00 a.m. at Cable Natural
History Museum (Note new location and day!)
• Saturday, July 4: Annual Boat Parade, 10:00 a.m.,
south end of Little Spider Lake.
• Saturday, July 18: 2nd Annual AIS Golf Scramble,
Spider Lake Golf Resort: Tee times starting at 2:00
p.m.
• Saturday, September 5: Spider Chain of Lakes
Association Members Business Meeting, 9:00 a.m.,
Spider Lake Town Hall.
• Sunday, September 6: SCLA Annual Picnic (Place
and time to be determined)
In conjunction with an ongoing research project at UW Stevens Point,
bear biologists each year change radio collars, weigh, take vitals, etc.
on sows, while invited volunteers such as Kris Dew (shown here) keep
the five week old cubs warm for the short time that they are out of
the dens. Cub Love!
S.L.E.E.K. to Showcase “Lakes Alive!”
By Liz Johnson
Save the date for a special
morning on Friday, July 3, 2015
Spider Lakes
from10:00 a.m. to 12 noon at the
Environmental
Cable Natural History Museum!
Education for Kids
What life lurks beneath our lakes?
“Dive in!” to the Cable Museum’s 2015
exhibit, “Lakes Alive!”, and find out!
In honor of this new exhibit, S.L.E.E.K. (Spider Lakes
Environmental Education for Kids) will be hosted at the
Cable Natural History Museum for the first time ever!
Adults and kids are both welcome to join us for an
S.L.E.E.K.
interactive tour of the exhibit, fun indoor and outdoor
activities, and a live raptor program where you’ll get to
meet and learn about one of our live birds of prey….it might
be Aldo, Carson or Theo!
Adults can relax during some age-specific
programming, too. Together, we’ll explore the cycles,
systems, and mysteries that connect lakes with uplands and
you with lakes. You’ll never look at Spider Lake or any other
lake the same way again!
Please email Liz Johnson at Lizspiderlake@ gmail.com
to sign up. Questions? Call 715-462-3470 or 847-207-3840.
IMPORTANT BOATING RULE REMINDERS
By honoring and respecting the following rules,
we not only create a safe environment for family,
friends, and each other, but also help protect the
numerous wildlife that share our lakes with us and
that give us so much joy. In addition, these rules
provide consideration for all types of water sports
including fishing, sailing, swimming, kayaking, and
boating. Please be sure your guests and visitors are
aware of these lake regulations.
• Waterskiing and tubing are limited to the hours
between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• At all other times, the speed limit on the lake for
all types of watercraft including PWC (personal
water craft) is 10 mph. See Town of Spider Lake
Boating Ordinance.
• On Fawn Lake, there are no high speeds allowed
at all.
• Boats must keep 100 feet from other boats,
swimmers, piers and rafts and stay at low speeds
within 100 feet from shore. Personal water craft
(jet skis) must stay 200 feet from shore while
traveling at high speed.
• Be respectful of wildlife on the lake, especially the
loons. Stay 200 feet away.
• Boats must carry enough life preservers for every
person on board. On a PWC you must wear a life
preserver.
Check out these sites for more detailed boater safety regulations:
"Official Boater Safety Education Course" -- a Wisconsin state-approved online course.
http://www.boat-ed.com/wisconsin/?gclid=CMKlyf6J970CFSwdOgod7UUAsQ
"The Hand book of Wisconsin Boating Laws and Responsibilities" can be downloaded for free at:
http://www.boat-ed.com/wisconsin/handbook/book.html
Wishing you a healthy and happy summer on the lake.
Clip and Post!
HELP PROTECT OUR LOON POPULATION
By Pat Nehring
Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute of Northland
College has a wealth of information about loons on their
website northland.edu. Look under the tab for Sigurd Olson
Environmental Institute for LoonWatch.
In addition, there is a special opportunity to help loons
this year with the Wisconsin Loon Population Survey that
takes place every five years and is one of our most important
tools to gauge how loons are doing in our state. It will take
place on July 18, 2015. See the Northland.edu website for
more information. This is done independently of our annual
reporting on loons on the Spider Chain of Lakes.
Another wonderful thing to do is to attend one of the
annual Loon Ranger training workshops. There is a workshop
lead by Erica LeMoine on June 13 at the Cable Natural
History Museum. You must register by June 10. It is well
worth attending even if you have been to a workshop
previously. They do not have loon workshops in Cable every
year so this is a real opportunity that should not be missed if
you have any interest at all in learning about and monitoring
loons. There are also three other workshops available in
other cities. See the website for details. Most of them are
Welcome Non-Golfers or Golfers
Mark your calendar: July 18th for the
AIS Golf Scramble and Tally Ho Social!
2nd Annual
AIS GOLF SCRAMBLE (9Hole)
Saturday, July 18 • Tee times beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Spider Lake Golf Resort
Fee: $22/person (walking) $28.00/person (with cart)
free but registration is required.
As you ready your tackle boxes for the fishing season
that is upon us, be mindful of the Get The Lead Out initiative
to do away with lead tackle that is harmful to wildlife. A single
lead sinker can kill a loon when ingested. Lead tackle also
kills eagles, ducks, swans, geese and other wildlife. Until the
state bans use of lead tackle, we ourselves need do the right
thing to protect wildlife.
As always, the Loon Rangers on your Spider Chain of
Lakes welcome more people to observe, count, monitor and
report data to project LoonWatch. It is not difficult and you
do not need to be here all summer. The data and
observations are collected and one person fills out the report
for each of our five lakes. To lend assistance to this project
or for more information, call Pat Nehring 715-462-3779.
Important Loon Reminders
• Stay 200 ft. distance away from all loons especially any
chicks we might be blessed to have on our lake. (Last year
there were five!)
• Never run motorboats or personal watercraft over water
where loons have been seen.
• Protect and help establish native vegetation on all shores.
This is where loons nest.
• Avoid fertilizers on lawns as run off into lakes increases
aquatic plant growth making it difficult for loons to swim
and find food.
• Be an ethical angler: Never fish or cast near loon nests or
by swimming loons; properly dispose of extra bait and
trash; and pick up monofilament line.
• Switch out all lead fishing tackle as it will poison and kill
loons if swallowed.
Refreshments • Prizes • Fun
Entering as a team of four is preferable, but we’ll form
teams for single players.
TO REGISTER: Make your check out to SCLA Golf and include
your name(s) and email address (es). Mail to Candy Ramsay
12863N Upper A Rd, Hayward, WI 54943. Registration
deadline: Friday, July 10. Your tee time will be emailed to you.
Scramble limited to the first 40 to register.
TALLY HO SOCIAL TO FOLLOW SCRAMBLE
NON-GOLFERS AND GOLFERS WELCOMED!
Enjoy socializing with lake friends and neighbors
Make your own reservations 715-462-3646
The last golf foursome should be off the course by 6:00 pm.
Questions?
Ray Langer, SCLA Board Member 612-432-1757
Candy Ramsay, Education Committee 715-462-3504
[email protected]
The excitement of the ice going out in early April was captured in
photos and words by Kris Dew: “We had two days of high winds and
close to 60 degrees. What a treat to watch the high waves break up
and move the icebergs. The channel to Fawn Lake was full of ducks
and geese trying to stay out of the wild 25-30 m.p.h. winds!” Loons
were spotted just down the north shore of Big Spider by Judy Hines.
Juvenile Eagle Found Dead on Island
Who among us does not enjoy the soaring flight of
an eagle overhead as we kayak, fish, boat, or swim on
the lake? Gratefully, the Spider Chain of Lakes is
blessed with several eagle-nesting sites for us to
observe and protect.
One of those nests located on a Big Spider Lake
island was home to two eaglets this past summer.
Many of us (especially children) relished watching the
baby eagles grow and thrive or hearing their hungry
chirps as we kayaked or floated by in our boats.
Sadly on August 1, two kayakers, Kitty Anderson
and Kris Dew of Big Spider Lake, discovered that one
of the eaglets that appeared to have been thriving was
dead under a bush on the island.
“It had been dead for some days,” Dew explained.
“The smell and bugs told us that.”
Upset by such an unexpected outcome for what
appeared to be a very healthy eaglet well on its way to
adulthood, both women took action and immediately
contacted the DNR who sent out a representative to
the lake later that afternoon. Dew and Anderson
boated the DNR fish biologist out to the island to show
A DNR fish biologist retrieves the dead juvenile eaglet found this
summer on a Big Spider Lake island. (Photos by Kris Dew)
him the eaglet remains.
According to Anderson, “There were no
visible injuries on the bird, so the DNR fish biologist
said that his death was more then likely caused by
lead poisoning-perhaps from a fishing lure. He
mentioned that the mother bird probably fed him a fish
that had the lure in it.”
The DNR representative retrieved the eaglet to take
to the lab for further investigation into the cause of
death. Dew recently followed up with the DNR for the
results of the autopsy report, but unfortunately, the
cause of death was “undetermined.”
Regardless of the outcome, the death of the eaglet
is another sad reminder to get the lead out of the
tackle box which not only can kill eagles but also loons
and other wildlife we so cherish.
Thank-you for your efforts in this regard, and
special thanks to Anderson and Dew for their diligent
concern for the wildlife of our lake.
CONTACTS FOR THE SPIDER
CHAIN OF LAKES ASSOCIATION
1. www.spiderchainoflakes.org is our web site.
2. [email protected] is our email
address for any suggestions, concerns, great
thoughts, etc.
3. Spider Chain of Lakes – is our Facebook page.
Share your photos and news!
Adult eagle and juvenile keep watch over their nest.
To the Musky Hunter By ©Bill Liebich of North Lake
I woke up one mornin’ en’ just couldn’t wait,
Picked up my rod and down to the lake.
It took a sharp knife to cut thru the fog,
But that’s what it takes to get the Big Hawg.
St. Peter don’t ya call me’ cause I can’t go,
I owe my soul to that 20-foot hole.
Cabbage and greens in the shallows around,
But that 20-foot hole is some quite special ground.
If ya hook’em and lose’em, it’s all just the same,
Best you can do is give ‘em a name:
Spade Face, Mossback, Jingles, and more,
Sometimes I swear they’re big as an oar!
Ten casts later, it looked really good,
Didn’t take long, cause I’m throwing the wood.
Next thing I saw was a great big wake,
Not just a follow, she was ready to take!
She clamped down tight-more than a bite,
That’s how it started; we were ready to fight!
My line was ‘a-singin’ it’s own special song,
Just a big wall of water, what could go wrong?
She’s up to the boat…
There’s a knob in my throat…
Old Spade Face was lookin’ me right in the eye,
What else to say, I thought I would die!
Despite what he describes in his poem, Bill Liebich had a good day
when he hauled in this 47” monster musky! He released Old Spade
Face to roam again.
Sorry to say, my line had some frays,
Needless to know, we went separate ways!
She’s not just a fish, but a true friend of mine,
Can’t wait to see her the very next time!
It’s just in my blood to see that Big Hawg,
I thank the good Lord for that drizzly fog!
“Bless my soul to that 20-foot hole”
Will is the Name
Muskies the Game
Coming soon to YOUR dock...
Ship to Shore Meet & Greet
A neighbor's pontoon boat will be stopping by to update you on what's happening on
Spider Lake and how YOU can be included in the action!
Afternoon of Saturday, June 22
New Walleye Limits in Place
According to a recent message sent to the SCLA
by Max H. Wolter (Fisheries Biologist, Hayward Service
Center Bureau of Fisheries Management, Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources) there is a new
walleye policy in effect for this season.
Wolter states: “You’ve probably been hearing about
the new walleye regulations and the rule that was
passed to establish consistent daily bag limits of 3
fish. To do that, there are some new size limits going
into effect. The new default regulation is a 15-inch
minimum, with no harvest of fish 20-24 and only 1
over 24. That is the regulation that will be applied to
the Spider Chain going forward.
I like this change for two reasons. First, the bag
limit consistency: I think that will be appreciated. And
second, I like the protected slot. I’ve seen it work well
elsewhere.”
For questions, contact Max at (715) 634-9658 ext.
3509 or [email protected]
SPIDER CHAIN OF LAKES
MEMBER RENEWAL 2015
Please Return to SCLA, PO Box 1082, Hayward WI 54843*
*(You may disregard this form if you have already renewed online at WildApricot.com.)
Membership dues, January 2015-2016: $25/Family _______
■ I/we wish to support the “Preserve & Protect” Lake Fund____
(You will be contacted by a neighbor on the lake.)
■ Extra/Memorial Fund donation _______
(In memory/To honor____________________________________________________________)
____ I can help do lake monitoring in my boat/canoe/kayak.
____ I will help with the Annual Picnic, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015.
____ I will help with S.L.E.E.K., Friday, July 3, 2015, 10:00-noon
(Spider Lakes Environmental Education for Kids)
Member Information: (Any changes, contact [email protected])
Names(s) __________________________________________________________________________
Lake Address________________________________________________________________________
Phone ____________________________________________________________________________
Other Address ______________________________________________________________________
Phone ____________________________________________________________________________
City/ State/Zip ______________________________________________________________________
Email ______________________________________________________________________________
2nd Email __________________________________________________________________________
Suggestions / Comments:
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
YOUR dues and donations help educate lake users to protect our lake’s environment,
fish and wildlife…and keep YOU informed!
(Thanks in advance for your continuing support!)
Find us online at: www.spiderchainoflakes.org
“Sharing responsibility to preserve and protect
the Spider Chain of Lakes for future generations”
Spider Chain of Lakes Association
Box 1082 • Hayward, WI 54843
“I go to nature to be
soothed and healed,
and to have my senses
put in order.”
– John Burroughs
Ice out! Despite a long, cold, snowy winter, the ice went out April 3rd. Loons were spotted
shortly thereafter. Welcome back! (Photo by Kris Dew)