May 27th, 2024 Meeting
President Dennis Pratt called the meeting to order at 6:02 PM at Kro Bar.
Officers and Directors: Present – Glen Hill, Ken Lundberg, Dennis Pratt, Mike Sierszen, Den Smet, Jeff Stollenwerk, Walt Swanson, Jim Waletzko, Dean Wellman, Mike Zicus and Ken Zivic.
Minutes of the April Meeting: The minutes as written in the May newsletter were approved following a motion by Mike Zicus, second by Dean Wellman and unanimous approval by voice vote.
Treasurer’s and Financial Secretary’s Reports: Treasurer Jeff Stollenwerk reported that April’s beginning balance was $10,226.91, and the ending balance was $10,936.81 with the following expenses: WI Dept of Admin (Raffle License) $25.00; Postage and shipping supplies Dec-March $204.75; Transfer to Savings (March Donations) $171.00; The Frame Corner (Pictures for Expo Display) $228.64; Katie Thompson (April Newsletter) $200.00; Pro Print (April Newsletter) $28.59; Twin Gables (Lunch for river cleanup volunteers) $405.00. The Treasurer’s report was approved following a motion by Ken Zivic, second by Den Smet and unanimous approval by voice vote. Financial Secretary Dean Wellman reported that there were $1820.00 in total deposits into the general fund since the last meeting and that the Club had 7 new members and 10 and renewals. The Financial Secretary’s report was approved following a motion by Ken Zivic and a second by Walt Swanson and unanimous approval by voice vote.
Committee Reports
Legislative: Ken Lundberg – Ken had nothing to report. Tom Sklebar mentioned the following: the Farm Bill doesn’t look good for wildlife; Vacant District Director position for Wisconsin Wildlife Federation; the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation made about $17,000 from NW District Banquet.
Habitat: Dennis Pratt – We planted about 500 tamaracks. The black spruce previously planted didn’t survived very well. Beavers moved into Beaupre Springs this spring. APHIS removed them last week. The water level is being lowered now. The brush removal in the lower part of the stream last year worked well and there is a bumper crop of brown and brook trout fingerlings in the stream. Dennis noted that only retirees have been showing up for work days. He suggested changing to weekdays to avoid competing with other events scheduled on weekend. July 24th and August 1st were suggested as the next work dates. Would meet at Palmer Landing, to begin the removal of the small earthen dam on Swamp Angel Creek Creek. This suggestion was approved following a motion by Mike Zicus, second by Mike Sierszen and unanimous approval by voice vote.
Audit: Jeff Stollenwerk – Nothing at this time.
Education: Dennis Smet – Nothing at this time. Carey Edwards is leaving her current position.
Scholarship: Mike Sierszen/Paul Helbach – We received eight applications for the college scholarship. Final meeting to discuss the applications will be held an hour before our next regular meeting.
Membership: Jim Waletzko/Ed Chaplinski – Nothing at this time. Discussion about who has paid or not and ideas on how to address slow renewal rate followed.
Social Media: Mike Zicus/Dennis Pratt – Not a lot going on. Tree planting article and raffle announcement were discussed.
Other Business
Fly of the Month: Wellman – Will feature a comparadun.
Spring Raffle: Sierszen – Distributed raffle tickets to board members.
Fly of the Month Book: The fly book is very popular. We have three remaining. Decided to order a second printing of 50 copies.
Challenge Center Canoe Trip: Den Smet was contacted about our support. Den believe we have enough drivers for the event with two other groups offering support. The date is July 13th with July 27th as the alternate.
Family Fun Day : Angelica Komarek discussed supplies needed for the event: lures and t-shirts; who would be helping out; and new layout of stations with more spacing. An additional donation of $500 was mentioned and this suggestion was approved following a motion by Jeff Stollenwerk and a second by Mike Sierszen and unanimous approval by voice vote.
Angelica also mentioned that the hatchery folks were planning to quit fin clipping Seeforellen browns because the handling was reducing the growth of the fish. Club concern was expressed about not being able to distinguish wild and stocked fish when they were caught because many anglers prefer not to keep wild fish. Additionally, it’s important to monitor movements of stocked brown that might be coming into the Brule. It was suggested that Dennis write a letter from the Club expressing our support for continued fin clipping . A motion was made by Mike Zicus, a second by Dean Wellman, and unanimous approval by voice vote.
Spring Cleanup: Den Smet made a motion to donate $250 to the Boy Scouts for their work on the river cleanup, second by Jim Waletzko and unanimous approval by voice vote.
Upcoming Events – Please check https://bruleriversportsmensclub.com/category/club-calendar/ for the latest events.
The business meeting adjourned at 7:29 PM.
Recorded by Walt Swanson