Obviously Lake Mendota is still frozen over here in the Spring of 2014. But, two years ago, Madison lakes had officially opened up (i.e. thawed) on March 10th and, by early April, we were writing what proved to be one of the most popular posts in CFL blog history. Since we’ve been dreaming of spring …
Sure it’s been a long winter, but we were surprised when all that lake ice recently got political here in Wisconsin. In January, State representative Mark Pocan told the legislature that, “Ice fishermen are already noticing fewer days they can be out on our ice covered lakes.” Perhaps because the statement was so counter to current …
Remember the polar vortex? It was just a vague memory before we stumbled across the following post from our archives. Perhaps we had blocked out memories of the winter of subzero temps cold enough to close down schools strictly on a windchill basis. But one thing is certain – it was a good year for …
The latest issue of Madison’s Capital Times has an excellent cover story exploring a new effort to reduce the amount of phosphorus that ends up in Madison lakes. As the article points out – each pound of phosphorus that enters our waterways can fertilize the growth of up to 500 pounds of blue-green algae. Yahara …
As you now probably know, the Wisconsin State Climatologist’s office has officially called it – Lake Mendota achieved “ice on” this Monday, December 16th. And that means our iconic lake has frozen twice in the same calendar year! (Not all that unusual, but still cool.) While the freeze comes nearly a month earlier than the …
UW undergrad, Emily Hilts, spent her summer getting to know Lake Mendota. While she didn’t fall head over heels for Madison’s lakes, she’s leaving on good terms. by Emily Hilts This morning, I moved my books and papers out of the desk I used at the Center for Limnology all summer, and took some time …
Louis Agassiz was an early prominent ichthyologist (someone who studies fish) at Harvard in the mid-1800s. When one of his graduate students, Samuel Scudder, showed up for his first day, Agassiz told him to take a preserved fish specimen and look at it – then left for several hours. Scudder ended up sitting and looking …
Last fall, as I moved in to a new house, I asked my parents (who are regular patrons of rummage sales) to look for a taxidermied fish. When they scrounged up a musky, with its mouth wide open to reveal pointy teeth, I was ecstatic. My roommates were less enthusiastic – one even claimed to …
Last week, like every week this summer, I was out on the water looking for stories about Madison’s lakes. But, this time, I had company. One of the cooler summer jobs at the Center for Limnology, is to be a member of “fish crew,” the team of students that spend the summer netting, IDing and …
“NO WAY!” I yelled as I pulled up a rock from a creek bed, with a huge smile on my face. “Look! It’s a FRESHWATER SPONGE!” Chelsey Blanke, who was watching from the boat, just laughed. She volunteers for the Center for Limnology on Fridays, and has accompanied me for a couple of trips out …