East Fork Spawning Area 2024
Twelve volunteers added the last of the stored spawning gravel to the East Fork spawning area first created by DNR in the late 1990s. At the completion of that original work, 10 yards of spawning gravel was stored streamside for future additions. In 2021, we added a little more than half of the pile. We placed the remainder in the spawning area this year.
Angel Creek 2024
A dozen members gathered and drained the manmade pond at the head end of Angel Creek. This pond was built nearly a century ago by the landowner, Charles Landberg. He used the pond to culture minnows that he used on his guide trips in the upper reaches of the Brule. The pond was harming the trout habitat of Angel Creek by warming its waters. Connecting the small springs directly with the Creek now provides a temperature suitable for trout year-round.
Beaupre Springs 2024
Nine volunteers met on May 18th at 9 AM at Palmer Landing on Upper St. Croix Lake. Over the last decade, the Club has improved habitat in the upper Brule by draining the beaver ponds on Beaupre Spring Creek and reconnecting the groundwater from Beaupre Spring Pond with the East Fork of the Brule River. Before our restoration work, spring waters from the pond completely evaporated from the 4 very large beaver ponds instead of reaching the Brule. That spring water connection has been restored to the river by the Club for more than a decade now. We again planted 500 tamarack trees along the trout channel now flowing from the spring pond through two of the 4 old beaver pond footprints in this phase. This objective is to reestablish a healthy streamside forest along the Beaupre Spring tributary that is less attractive to beavers.
Beaupre Springs 2023
The Club celebrated Arbor Day by planting 500 tamarack and about 100 black spruce trees along the channel flowing from the Spring Pond through two of the 4 the old beaver pond footprints to re-establish a stream-side forest of evergreens along the Beaupre tributary to the Brule River, which had previously been destroyed by beaver occupation. Forester Dave Schulz provided planting instruction and the trees were provided by the Brule River State Forest.
On July 22, 13 volunteers cleared alder with chainsaws and loppers on approximately 450 feet of Beaupre Spring Creek. On August 5, 7 volunteers continued the work by clearing the downstream most 200 feet reach of the stream to where it enters the East Fork of the Brule. Most of this portion of the stream was alder choked.
Beaupre Springs 2022
On July 23rd and August 6th, Club members gathered to improve the trout habitat on lower Beaupre Springs Creek. The in-stream work eliminated barriers to trout movement by hand removing or cutting small woody debris that would restrict migration. In addition, we cut alder to improve the stream-side forest. All totaled, the crew worked on about a third of a mile of stream.
On Saturday May 14th, twelve volunteers revisited Beaupre Spring Creek to plant 500 black spruce seedlings in the footprint of 2 of the old beaver ponds. If conifers such as black spruce and tamarack can be restored along the stream, the area will be less attractive to beavers.
Click on Beaupre Springs tree planting to view a video of the work area and on Beaupre Springs for a series of project photos.
Beaupre Springs 2021
On Saturday August 7th, seventeen volunteers returned to Beaupre Spring Creek to maintain on a project that we originally completed over a 3-year period (finished in 2014). We spent the morning cutting back speckled alders and willows that were encroaching on 2 overgrown sections of the creek. This work was needed to ensure constant water flow from Beaupre Spring Pond to the East Fork of the Brule.
Click on Beaupre Springs for a series of photos of the project beginning with the original work to remove a series of beaver dams.
West Fork Brule River 2021
On July 31st, thirteen volunteers spent the morning repairing 2 water diversion devices on the West Fork of the Brule. These were designed to direct water to brook trout spawning areas that the Club and the DNR had built in 1995 and 1997. This maintenance work restored water flow to the spawning sites.
Click on West Fork to view a series of photos of all the Club's work on the West Fork.
East Fork Brule River 2021
On July 24th, fourteen volunteers spent the morning restoring 11 spawning sites on the East Fork of the Brule by adding about four yards of ¾-inch to 1 ½-inch washed gravel. The gravel we used had been stockpiled near the project sixteen years ago when the spawning sites were first built by the DNR. We moved the gravel to the stream by wheelbarrow where it was dumped into a small boat and floated to the various spawning sites.
Click on East Fork to view a series of photos of all the Club's work on the East Fork.