Early Release Weekly Newsletter
Behold our Heritage, Share our Future
2022 Walleye Stocking
The St. Croix Tribal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) collected walleye spawn on April 24th, 2022, from Big Butternut Lake in Polk County, Wisconsin. While the EPA Department usually sets their own nets annually, the Wisconsin DNR was already on Big Butternut Lake completing a population estimate survey. They had their nets set for this survey and EPA was able to work with them to get the collection of spawn needed. Ice out on the lake had occurred just a day prior on April 23rd, 2022.Â
The spawn were removed and measured, with an estimated 597,000 eggs harvested. They were then placed into jars on the incubator where water flows around them continuously. The incubators are set with water constantly flowing through to roll the eggs 24/7. The above photo shows the EPA’s blue fry tank, and just behind the fry tank are jars of eggs on the incubator.
As the eggs mature in the incubators, they begin to separate in the tubes as seen in the photo above. The dark eggs are walleye developing and the yellow eggs are bad or unfertilized eggs.
As seen above, the fry hatching from the incubated eggs are quite small. The fry then move from their incubation jar into the blue fry tank seen in the top photo. If EPA feels there are enough fry hatched to stock a pond, the fry are collected from the blue fry tank, measured in water using a displacement method, and then poured into a fry counter to obtain a more accurate number of hatched fish. EPA estimates their return rate of eggs hatching into fry for 2022 was 60-65%. The first fry harvest was on May 13th, 2022. This harvest allowed EPA staff to stock the first of their four ponds. Two additional ponds were stocked on May 15th, 2022. EPA harvested small fingerlings from Pond 1 on June 30th. These fish were moved into Pond 3 and Beaver Dam Lake in Barron County, Wisconsin. A total of 39,740 small fingerlings were stocked into Beaver Dam Lake.
Pond 2 was harvested on July 6th, 2022. These fingerlings were put into North Sand Lake (27,982 fingerlings) and Lipsett Lake (14,275 fingerlings), both in Burnett County.Â
Pond 4 was harvested on July 7th, 2022. These fingerlings went into Big Butternut Lake in Polk County (15,525 fingerlings) and Sand Lake in Barron County (23,254 fingerlings).
Stay tuned for next week’s article on the extended growth walleye fingerlings harvested from Pond 3 on September 14th, 2022!
Community Vehicles
The Grants Department, at the request of Tribal Council, has completed an order for five (5) 15 passenger vans from Don Johnson Motors. The vans are 2023 Ford Transit AWD vehicles. They will be silver in color. Please note, stock image above may not be exact.
The estimated delivery for these new vehicles is five (5) months. The vans will be designated for the Sand Lake, Danbury, Maple Plain, and Round Lake communities. The fifth van will be designated for elder and youth transportation. Thank you, Tribal Council!
Sand Lake Basketball Court - Complete
The new basketball court in Sand Lake is complete and ready for use!
“The mindset behind building basketball courts in the Tribal communities is to promote healthy, active lifestyles and to encourage youth to enjoy the outdoors,” said Conrad St. John, Sand Lake Community Representative.
Stay tuned for updates on the Danbury basketball court.
Elder LuncheonÂ
September 20th in Danbury from 12pm-2pm.
Attending elders will receive $50.00 in Turtle Bucks! Elders may bring ONE guest. Elders and guests working in Tribal Enterprises will be allowed the day off with pay. Please contact Lisa Reynolds at #715-349-2195 ext. 5116 or Leah Reynolds ext. 5169 for additional details.
Tribal Government Job Openings
Paraeducator/NA Liaison (Spooner School)
Paraeducator/NA Liaison (Unity School)
Full job descriptions are available by clicking on the job titles. Please contact Tiffany Iorns, [email protected] or ext. 5196, for additional information.
HHS Job Openings
BH Grants Manager/Case Manager
Tribal Aging & Disability Resource Specialist (ADRS)
Full job descriptions are available by clicking on the job titles. Please contact Shaurette Reynolds, [email protected] or ext. 5133, for additional information.
Please spread the word to your friends and family members about our open positions!
Upcoming Nail Care Days
Diabetes can cause nerve damage in the feet and affect blood flow, making it harder for cuts or sores to heal. It is important to check your feet every day for cuts, sores, bruises, loss of feeling, and signs of infection/redness/or irritation.
Diabetes Toenail Care and Foot Assessments will be offered:
Wednesday, September 28th at the Sand Lake ClinicÂ
Thursday, October 20th at the Round Lake ClinicÂ
Please call 715-349-8554 for an appointment.
Tribal Council has granted employees the ability to participate in the Health Fair on 09/21/2022 if approved by a supervisor. Please plan accordingly!
Ribfest 2022
The 2022 Ribfest Cook Out, a partnership between the St. Croix Tribal Police Department and the Burnett County Sheriff’s Office, took place on Thursday September 8th, 2022. The event included a Fatherhood and Sober Walk/Run, followed by a luncheon with raffle prizes. Thank you to the St. Croix Tribal PD and Burnett County Sheriff’s Office for hosting the event, Tom Porter for cooking the ribs, the Health & Human Services and Housing departments for raffle donations, Fatherhood Support and BCOR for their work organizing the fatherhood and sober walk/run, and Tribal Council for allowing staff paid time off to attend the event.
If you would like an item featured in the weekly newsletter, please email Maggie Olson at [email protected].
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