Annual Meeting and Cider Making

You are invited to the Annual Meeting of the
Bayfield Regional Conservancy Saturday, September 29, 2007
at Bethesda Lutheran Church in Bayfield, WI
109 S 6th Street (Hwy 13)

9:00 a.m. Annual Meeting and slide show of conservation project updates and board elections.

1:00-4:00 p.m. Apple cider pressing, hikes at the Big Ravine. An afternoon of autumn fun! Bring apples to press, or pick from the old orchard and bring clean containers to take some cider home. Volunteers will lead hikes on the Big Ravine Trails. Join us at the Peterson Farm: take Washington Ave out of Bayfield, through the cemetery to Betzold Rd at the top of the hill. Turn right onto Betzold, go ½ mile and turn right on Martin Rd and follow to the end.
For more information call the BRC
at 715-779-5263.

Fall Newsletter 2007

The summer is slowly coming to an end as fall approaches with cool nights and changing leaves. Check out our fall newsletter to find out what BRC has been up to and information on our upcoming annual meeting and apple cider pressing event. You can view it on line here.

Last 160 acres on Mt Ashwabay

Your help is needed to acquire and protect the last 160 acres on Mt Ashwabay (shown in orange on this map).

Thanks to a Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund grant, the last piece of Mt Ashwabay can be protected with your help! Your donation will be matched 1:1 up to $100,000 to purchase this land for wildlife habitat, forestry and Nordic ski trails.

The option top purchase expires at the end of September. 80% of the funds have been raised! The BRC is working with Bayfield County and the Ashwabay Outdoor Educational Foundation to raise the remainder of the match required by the grant.

You may donate on line at our website and read more details here (click on Projects box in lower left corner).

Knotweed Results

Gene Brevold was one of seventeen people who helped cut and remove Knotweed (Elephant Ears)in Bayfield last Thursday. The plant is highly invasive and grows into a huge jungle in just a few months.

The treatment involved cutting the hollow stems and treating with a concentrated glycophosphate herbicide. For details on how to control this non-native plant, see the Homeowner's Guide to Knotweed.

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped with the work and the sponsors: Apostle Islands Realty, National Park Service, Northwoods Cooperative Weed Management Area and Travel Green Wisconsin.

Knotweed Woes

Help control this invasive plant in Bayfield on July 11

9:00 a.m. Morning seminar indoors on Japanese Knotweed and its effect on our landscape and economy

Free lunch for participants thanks to Travel Green Wisconsin Program and area businesses.

1-3:30 p.m. Outdoor field work to remove Japanese Knotweed on the Brownstone Trail and other public lands. Bring loppers and work gloves.

Call to register. Space is limited and registration is required. There is no cost for this event. Please contact Ruth Oppedahl 779-5263 or email ruth@brcland.org to register or for more information.

Big Ravine Trail Improvements

Kenny Dobson is donating 70 yards of clean, sand fill on the Big Ravine Trail section off Martin Road. Those who hike the trail may recognize the huge pond that forms in the spring in the middle of the trail near the intersection fondly remembered as the "Fridge Trail". Luckily the fridge is no longer guarding the water monitoring well, thanks to clean-up work by Tim Hartnett, and now you will be able to walk down the trail instead of skirting way around through the woods.

C&W Trucking will cap the filled area with Brule Blue gravel which packs up nicely. They will also create a swale that will drain the area better. Many thanks to Kenny and to Phil Peterson who grabbed the opportunity of free fill material!

Lasagna dinner for kayakers

L-R:Arnie Carver, Shari Eggleson, Paige, Becky Carmel helped serve lasagna at the 5th annual lasagna dinner for the kayakers at the Inland Sea Society's kayak symposium in Washburn last week.

BRC members donated homemade lasagna's (ranging from vegan to venison) and desserts for a wonderful benefit dinner that raised about $1700.

Special thanks to the Village Inn, the Egg Toss Cafe, Ehler's General Store & Deli and Wild By Nature for donations of food. Thanks to Shari Egglseon, Mark Eggleson, Carol Lyons, Gene Lemmenes, Nickolas Oppedahl, Becky Carmel, Paige, Bill Bussey, Ann Riggs, Carl Savitsky, Arnie Carver and Lynda Nedden-Durst for all their hard work.