Upper Rush River after storms

Greetings anglers

Do not go fishing today or for the next few. The rivers are lakes, and where they aren’t, they are gushing torrents of earthen liquid.

As I watched the flurry of field activity for the last two weeks I knew it could happen. The same scenario has occurred  many times before. The rain would fall,,,, hard, on all of the newly fertilized, plowed and planted ground. The loosened soil would flow, by the ton, into the storied rivers.

Over the lasts three days the areas of Pierce and St. Croix Counties have received 4.5 inches of rain, some areas more. The Kinni currently flows at almost 1,000 CFS, multiple units above its normal. The photo above is from the upper Rush River where the water has pooled to a lake which will feed the down stream mayhem.

Many have changed the land recklessly. The resulting damage is intensifying. Some understand the function of the landscape and have recognized practices to ensure longevity of their way of life and the health of the waterways.

I was saddened as I drove home in the heavy rains yesterday and watched the muddied water surge across roads and gouge ruts in the helpless earth.

Kinni Corridor Project Meeting

The 4th meeting in the series of Tech Talk Services will be held by the city of River Falls this evening at St Bridget’s, next to the Library at 6:30 PM. The discussion will be about the Hydro Facilities and Relicensing. This should be a good one! The Friends of the Kinni and The Kinni River Land Trust will have some great info to clarify why we no longer need these two dams on the Kinnickinnic.