The Brice Prairie Conservation Association
(BPCA)
was founded
in 1958 to support conservation projects in the lower Black River area
of southwestern Wisconsin.
The BPCA has been recognized with
local, state, and national awards
for its conservation and community-related activities.
Specific goals of the BPCA are to:
- restore the natural beauty of the Black River and the surrounding territory;
- promote the general health and welfare of the community by supporting sound management practices for the Black River, Lake Onalaska, and the Mississippi River;
- disseminate knowledge and promote scientific inquiries.
BPCA Member Honored for Bluebird Work
BPCA member Leif Marking recently received the Wisconsin Garden Club Federation Bronze Award at the organization's 2009 state convention in Tomah in recognition of his extensive work and research contributions to raising bluebirds. The award calls Marking "the best friend a bluebird could ask for." Marking is project manager for the
BPCA bluebird project. (More info:
News Article from Onalaska-Holmen Courier-Life, May 8, 2009 ).
Mississippi River Cleanup 2009
(Click to Enlarge)
The
Volunteer Mississippi River Cleanup occured on Saturday April 25, 2009.
We had a good turnout despite initially threatening weather: 38 volunteers including 16 youth helped clean up trash and large debris from upper pool 7. We collected a full dump truck of trash, salvaged 10 plastic barrels for re-use, and disposed of 5 damaged plastic barrels. Volunteers also brought in 1 tire, parts of two steel barrels, a lawn mower and 1 plastic barrel with about 10 gallons of unknown and potentially hazardous liquid.
Over the past 16 years this project has cleaned up 1,385 tires, 1,646 plastic barrels, 12 batteries, 37 appliances, and 2 barrels of hazardous waste, with 79 tons of metal recycled and 129 tons of debris land filled.
Scout troop cleanup volunteers with prizes
49th Annual Brice Prairie Ice Fishing Derby
Saturday February 7, 2009
Red Pines, North Shore, Lake Onalaska
The winning "Big Fish" Board from the 2009 Derby
(Click to Enlarge)
Sunny skies and 40 degree temperatures thawed out the formerly frozen local fishermen as the BPCA held its 49th annual
ice fishing derby on Saturday, February 7, 2009. At least we had good ice this year!! Derby headquarters for registration, prizes, refreshments, food and fun was the big heated tent pitched on the grounds of Red Pines Bar and Grill
(map) on the north shore of Lake Onalaska (W7305 County Highway Z, Onalaska, WI). The ice fishing derby is an important fundraising event for the BPCA, with proceeds being used for BPCA conservation and community projects. In addition, it provides a pleasant social and community activity. Entry fees for prizes are $1 for adults or 50 cents for kids, with derby fishing closing at 3:00pm. Prizes for the top four fish in each category are: $25, $15, $10, and $5.
New BPCA Artwork on Display
Brice Prairie Conservation member and artist Laurie Stiers recently completed a mural depicting a number of BPCA projects on location in typical Black River bottoms habitat. (
more information)
Canvasback Information
USFWS aerial surveys documented peak numbers of 42,550 canvasbacks on Pool 7 on October 28, 2008. Breeding ground survey abundance was down sharply in 2008, prompting the BPCA to help distribute conservation information about the species. See our
Canvasback Information and Identification page for more information
(updated Feb. 7, 2009)
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