Ty Sennett
06-01-2010, 11:44 AM
As some of you may have heard an article was released right before the holiday weekend saying that the Chippewa Flowage was inaccessible due to the low water level. Cheryl Treland contacted Mathew Miller from Xcel Energy to get an accurate report on the water levels. His response is below as well as a response from Dave Neuswanger. Just wanted to let everyone know the lake is low but completely accessible from all the public launches.
Dear Ms. Treland,
The elevation of the Chippewa Reservoir as of today is 1311.20' or 1.8' below normal full pond (1313.0'). The elevation has been stable over the last week and is nearly 4 inches higher today than it was on May 1, 2010 for the statewide fishing opener. Although the current elevation is below normal full pond and lower than the previous four years on this date, the Chippewa Reservoir remains fully accessible for fishing and all other water-based recreational activities.
DATE ELEVATION
5/26/2006 1312.40
5/26/2007 1312.58
5/26/2008 1312.44
5/26/2009 1312.05
5/26/2010 1311.20
Dave Neuswanger's response:
"I have been working to rectify this situation. Please click on the attached link to see a WDNR news release that went to all Wisconsin media outlets today:
http://dnr.wi.gov/news/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=1711
The source of this problem and my response to it follow immediately below (excerpted from an internal message earlier today from me to affected DNR staff): 7:00 A.M. THURSDAY: Yesterday Skip Sommerfeldt and I spent several hours setting the record straight on a story about drought and water levels in which Skip was badly misquoted in a printed online summary of the interview as saying "Turtle Flambeau and the Chippewa Flowages are among those that are now inaccessible." Skip had launched his personal boat and fished both waters within the past two weeks. He knew these waters were easily accessible, and he had no reason to state otherwise. His comments on inaccessibility were in reference to some smaller lakes in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The problem originated with a half-hour radio interview that Skip was kind enough to grant (during a very busy spring field season) to Joe Cadotte of Wisconsin Public Radio out of Superior (KUWS 91.3 FM). Skip was a bit concerned during and after the interview that Mr. Cadotte had not quite grasped all the concepts involved in describing the impact of drought on our lakes and streams; but in the end, we have no choice but to trust that our responses to questions will be reported accurately. Unfortunately, Mr. Cadotte's errant statement was included in a short story that ultimately was picked up by the Associated Press wire service. After that, it began to appear in various print, radio, and online media outlets throughout the State. I first became aware of the problem when Turtle-Flambeau Flowage fishing guide and owner of the Flambeau Flowage Sport Shop, Jerry Hardigan, called me to ask why "that idiot" (a misquoted Skip!) would make an obviously untrue statement that was generating calls from non-local customers wondering if they should cancel their Memorial Day weekend plans to visit the area. Shortly thereafter I spoke with Tina Burnell of the Mercer Chamber of Commerce and Linda Clifford of the Hayward Visitors and Convention Bureau. These folks were very concerned about the potential adverse economic impact of this misinformation on what they believed to be their biggest tourism weekend of the year. Several folks stepped up to help correct the misinformation. Trevor Roy, a young reporter for TV channels 6 and 3 out of Duluth/Superior, helped me trace the source of the story and interviewed me while he was in Hayward interviewing Warden Sue Miller about a major panfish overlimit bust on the Chippewa Flowage. Mike Simonson, News Directer for WPR in Superior, returned my call from his home on his day off. He alerted others in the WPR network to the problem. I was interviewed shortly thereafter by Danielle Kaeding of WPR in LaCrosse. Bob Manwell (DNR Senior Public Affairs Manager in Madison) put me in contact with Bob Hague of the Wisconsin Radio Network in Madison, who interviewed me also. And finally, Bob Manwell used his contacts with the AP to ensure a corrected version of the story went out on the wire. I am especially grateful to Bob for his professional assistance in dealing with the media. I think we have now done almost everything we can do to mitigate the damage done by the original misquote.In my TV and radio interviews, I was able to correct the misinformation about access and discuss the truly high-quality fishing that may be expected on both the Turtle-Flambeau and Chippewa flowages this spring. I reported the status of these efforts back to the Mercer Chamber of Commerce, the Hayward Visitors and Convention Bureau, and to Mr. Hardigan who made me aware of the problem initially. (He now knows that Skip Sommerfeldt was not to blame for this.) I can only hope that the additional positive publicity results in no net loss of Memorial Day tourist activity in these areas."
Thanks folks.
Dave Neuswanger
Fisheries Team Leader, Upper Chippewa BasinWisconsin DNR, Hayward
Rachel
Dear Ms. Treland,
The elevation of the Chippewa Reservoir as of today is 1311.20' or 1.8' below normal full pond (1313.0'). The elevation has been stable over the last week and is nearly 4 inches higher today than it was on May 1, 2010 for the statewide fishing opener. Although the current elevation is below normal full pond and lower than the previous four years on this date, the Chippewa Reservoir remains fully accessible for fishing and all other water-based recreational activities.
DATE ELEVATION
5/26/2006 1312.40
5/26/2007 1312.58
5/26/2008 1312.44
5/26/2009 1312.05
5/26/2010 1311.20
Dave Neuswanger's response:
"I have been working to rectify this situation. Please click on the attached link to see a WDNR news release that went to all Wisconsin media outlets today:
http://dnr.wi.gov/news/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=1711
The source of this problem and my response to it follow immediately below (excerpted from an internal message earlier today from me to affected DNR staff): 7:00 A.M. THURSDAY: Yesterday Skip Sommerfeldt and I spent several hours setting the record straight on a story about drought and water levels in which Skip was badly misquoted in a printed online summary of the interview as saying "Turtle Flambeau and the Chippewa Flowages are among those that are now inaccessible." Skip had launched his personal boat and fished both waters within the past two weeks. He knew these waters were easily accessible, and he had no reason to state otherwise. His comments on inaccessibility were in reference to some smaller lakes in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The problem originated with a half-hour radio interview that Skip was kind enough to grant (during a very busy spring field season) to Joe Cadotte of Wisconsin Public Radio out of Superior (KUWS 91.3 FM). Skip was a bit concerned during and after the interview that Mr. Cadotte had not quite grasped all the concepts involved in describing the impact of drought on our lakes and streams; but in the end, we have no choice but to trust that our responses to questions will be reported accurately. Unfortunately, Mr. Cadotte's errant statement was included in a short story that ultimately was picked up by the Associated Press wire service. After that, it began to appear in various print, radio, and online media outlets throughout the State. I first became aware of the problem when Turtle-Flambeau Flowage fishing guide and owner of the Flambeau Flowage Sport Shop, Jerry Hardigan, called me to ask why "that idiot" (a misquoted Skip!) would make an obviously untrue statement that was generating calls from non-local customers wondering if they should cancel their Memorial Day weekend plans to visit the area. Shortly thereafter I spoke with Tina Burnell of the Mercer Chamber of Commerce and Linda Clifford of the Hayward Visitors and Convention Bureau. These folks were very concerned about the potential adverse economic impact of this misinformation on what they believed to be their biggest tourism weekend of the year. Several folks stepped up to help correct the misinformation. Trevor Roy, a young reporter for TV channels 6 and 3 out of Duluth/Superior, helped me trace the source of the story and interviewed me while he was in Hayward interviewing Warden Sue Miller about a major panfish overlimit bust on the Chippewa Flowage. Mike Simonson, News Directer for WPR in Superior, returned my call from his home on his day off. He alerted others in the WPR network to the problem. I was interviewed shortly thereafter by Danielle Kaeding of WPR in LaCrosse. Bob Manwell (DNR Senior Public Affairs Manager in Madison) put me in contact with Bob Hague of the Wisconsin Radio Network in Madison, who interviewed me also. And finally, Bob Manwell used his contacts with the AP to ensure a corrected version of the story went out on the wire. I am especially grateful to Bob for his professional assistance in dealing with the media. I think we have now done almost everything we can do to mitigate the damage done by the original misquote.In my TV and radio interviews, I was able to correct the misinformation about access and discuss the truly high-quality fishing that may be expected on both the Turtle-Flambeau and Chippewa flowages this spring. I reported the status of these efforts back to the Mercer Chamber of Commerce, the Hayward Visitors and Convention Bureau, and to Mr. Hardigan who made me aware of the problem initially. (He now knows that Skip Sommerfeldt was not to blame for this.) I can only hope that the additional positive publicity results in no net loss of Memorial Day tourist activity in these areas."
Thanks folks.
Dave Neuswanger
Fisheries Team Leader, Upper Chippewa BasinWisconsin DNR, Hayward
Rachel