Fun finds around the Yahara Watershed
Although the most beloved beaches and piers are popular for good reason, there are also some hidden gems around the watershed that may just become your new favorite as we practice social distancing!
Hidden Gems
Waubesa Surf ‘n Turf Challenge
Waubesa Surf ‘n Turf Challenge
Thursday, July 9th, 2020
7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
The Legend at Bergamont &
Christy’s Landing
Registration is closed at this time
Join the Waubesa Surf ‘n Turf Challenge for its 11th year on Lake Waubesa, benefitting Clean Lakes Alliance!
This exciting event combines golf at The Legend at Bergamont Golf Club and fishing on Lake Waubesa for a day of friendly competition to support work to improve and protect our lakes.
Registration
Register as an individual or team of three to join this fun lakeside tradition. Registration includes green fees, lunch, dinner, swag bag, and LIVE virtual scoring for golf and fishing competitions.
As always, your registration supports important lake improvement projects, educational programs, and water quality monitoring.
Golf & Fishing Competition
The competition includes 18 holes of golf played as a 3-man Texas scramble. All players hit all shots. A team’s fishing score will be based on total inches of legal size gamefish caught. Click here for complete golf and fishing rules.
The team’s fishing score will be deducted from their golf score. Prizes are awarded to the low gross and low net teams, with the low gross winner identified first.
Optional Big Fish Contest
Think you can reel in the biggest catch? Enter the Big Fish Contest for $10 at the beginning of the event! Cash pot awarded to EACH of the largest legal bass, walleye, pike, and muskie of the day.
Schedule
6:45 a.m. Check-in at Bergamont
7:30 a.m. Shotgun start
11:00 a.m. Lunch buffet at Bergamont
12:30 p.m. Fishing on Lake Waubesa
4:30 p.m. Time cut-off for fish registration
5:00 p.m. Steaks and prizes at Christy’s Landing
Sponsorships
If you would like to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, email our Development Director, Laura Strickland, at laura@cleanlakesalliance.org.
Yahara CLEAN Compact, Charting A Path Forward
A shared vision for clean, safe, and accessible lakes
In August 2019, leaders from government, business, and nonprofit organizations came together with a shared vision. The vision included a future in which Greater Madison’s five Yahara lakes are clean, safe, and accessible for everyone. Together, the 19 partners and collaborators formed the Yahara CLEAN Compact and committed to sharing resources and working together to curb pollution and chart the best path forward to cleaner, healthier lakes.
8 Ways to Get Involved in 2020
Take the next step and support our lakes!
Are you looking for a way to connect with our lakes this spring and summer? Here are 8 ways you can support Clean Lakes Alliance as we work toward protecting and improving the lakes of the Yahara Watershed.
2019 Water Quality Monitoring Results
Overview
In 2019 water quality monitoring took place at piers and beaches around the five Yahara lakes. Volunteers measured near-shore water clarity, air and water temperature, and noted several visual observations during the monitoring season, which runs from May to September.
Wetlands and invasives
Behold The Things We Cannot See
About the author: My name is Karin Swanson and I am a student of the Yahara Watershed Academy. I work for Clean Lakes Alliance as the Marketing and Communications Associate Manager and I am a Meteorologist. I am sharing my journey through the Academy in an effort to expand our community’s knowledge and passion for the Yahara River Watershed.
The forgotten and sometimes unknown pieces of our watershed
“Behold the things we cannot see.” Take a moment to think about that sentence. What does it mean? We are so plugged in these days, but there is an abundance of information we can absorb that isn’t on Google or in a text book. There are actions occurring all around us. We may not know those things are happening, but we must trust and behold those occurrences – even if we cannot see the processes happening.
2018 State of the Lakes Report
2018 takeaways
- Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms appeared in our lakes at an alarming scale, highlighting continued challenges with water quality.
- 72% of beach closures from Memorial Day to August 20th were due to cyanobacteria blooms
- June continues to be the biggest month for cyanobacteria blooms for the fourth year
There’s More to Lake Levels
Clean Lakes Alliance Statement to Dane County Lake Level Task Force
This statement was presented by Clean Lakes Alliance Executive Director James Tye to the Dane County Lake Level Task Force on March 5, 2019.
Clean Lakes Alliance applauds the leadership of the Dane County Board and the Dane County Executive in putting $12 million toward flood recovery and lake improvement projects in the 2019 budget, and in creating the Technical Work Group and task force to address recent flooding around the Yahara Chain of Lakes. We believe these initiatives help move us toward becoming a more resilient community. But we need to work together as a community to address the increasing volume of water and runoff BEFORE it enters our lakes and waterways.
2018 Water Quality Monitoring Results
Yahara Lakes 2018 Water Quality Monitoring Results
Overview
From May to September of 2018, water quality monitoring took place at piers and beaches around the five Yahara lakes. Volunteers measured near-shore water clarity, air and water temperature, and noted several visual observations. Visual observations included presence of algal blooms (green/blue-green), floating plant debris, swimmers, waterfowl, wave intensity, and general water appearance. Volunteers report conditions on our website, Lakeforecast.org. The website displays updated data in real time.
Highlights
- 79 near-shore and 7 offshore monitoring stations on all five Yahara lakes (Figure 1)
- Weekly off-shore measurement of Secchi depth on all five lakes
- Measured temperature and dissolved oxygen profiles on all five lakes (seven sites total)
- Weekly monitoring continued at all 25 public beaches
- 44% increase in number of condition reports from 2017 (Table 1)
- Collected continuous near-shore temperature measurements at 17 sites on lakes Mendota, Monona, and Waubesa, and Kegonsa
- Implemented E. coli sampling and cyanobacteria toxin testing pilots
- Averaged 2.3 condition reports per site each week across all sites
- Continued weekly Weekend Lake Reports with over 77,000 views on social media
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