By Vanessa Studer The American Bullfrog is an amphibian found throughout Wisconsin’s lakes, ponds, and creeks. You can even find and hear it at Lake Wingra! They are the largest of all North American frogs, reaching lengths of up to 8 inches. Females tend to weigh in slightly larger than their male counterparts. American Bullfrogs […]
Meet Your Local Frog: The American Bullfrog Read More »
July 6, 2018 Dip your fingers in Lake Wingra and you will find the temperature of the water has increased by about 10 degrees in the last 12 days. Because of our heat wave, the temperature has increased from about 74 degrees to 83 degrees. A renewal of swimming pool temperatures has increased
Hot Weather Raises Wingra Temperatures Again Read More »
June 24, 2018 A large decrease in water clarity did not discourage young anglers from trying their luck in Lake Wingra last weekend. Joseph Julie was spotted catching blue gills on the Arboretum side of the lake (Figure 1). He shared he was enjoying a steady catch of the small fish. Parents were helping
Still Catching Fish in Murky Waters – June 24, 2018 Read More »
June 14, 2018 By Roger Bannerman A dip in our lake will be a little more refreshing this week. Over the last two weeks the Lake temperatures have dropped from a swimming pool temperature of 80 degrees to a little more normal 74 degrees. Lower air temperatures and lots of rain might have helped lower
Cooler Wingra Waters Still Inviting Read More »
By Peter Nause The beginning of the Madison Park System in 1931 grew out of the rich legacy of the “Park & Pleasure Drive Association” starting in the 1890’s by wealthy benefactors with notable names we recognize today as parks – Vilas, Tenney, Brittingham & Olbrich. Unless you live on the near west side of
Historic Wingra Tributary – Glenwood Children’s Park Read More »
By Roger Bannerman Rain gardens help improve the quality of our lakes by capturing pollutants and infiltrating runoff. One additional benefit for Lake Wingra is that increased infiltration can help restore spring flows, which is the main source of year-round flows into Lake Wingra. Out of the 600 rain gardens that have been installed around
How Rain Gardens Help Lake Wingra Read More »
by Casey Hanson A lot of activity is happening in our watershed this year! We have Monroe Street construction, Vilas bridges reconstruction, Wingra shoreline restoration, and more. While many of these activities are physical in nature, some aren’t visible to the naked eye. They are behind the scenes and crucial to continue our work to
Friends of Lake Wingra Launches Strategic Planning Effort Read More »
By Casey Hanson Beach and boat season are almost in full swing! These activities are relaxing, playful, adventurous, and downright unpredictable. To borrow from Forest Gump’s mama, having an experience with aquatic vegetation (aka macrophytes) “is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.” When you paddle, luck might allow you to observe a beautiful blooming white water lily or you
What’s Going on with Lake Wingra’s Aquatic Plants? Read More »
by Phil Gaebler, City of Madison Engineering The Monroe Street reconstruction project is underway and the City would like to provide an overview of the erosion control and post construction storm water management. During the actual construction process, the Monroe Street project is taking efforts to expose the least amount of disturbed soil by leaving the majority of existing road surface in place
How Monroe Street Storm water Management Is Changing Read More »
May 29,2018 By Roger Bannerman Recent warm weather has produced water temperatures in Lake Wingra that are the same as a swimming pool! At all depths the temperature of the water is around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. A temperature that can refresh on a hot day. Only 3 weeks ago it was a more stimulating 67
High Temperatures and Clarity Make Wingra Waters Inviting Read More »
An urban watershed, like Lake Wingra’s, means that water is not able to naturally infiltrate into the ground as much due to development. Parking lots, roads, and other impervious surfaces often redirect runoff to storm sewers and the sewers bring the runoff to water bodies. Skipping the natural infiltration process doesn’t allow the ground to
How Property Owners Can Help Our Watershed Read More »
By Roger Bannerman Our city is renovating the Wingra Park shoreline to reduce erosion and provide easier access for paddlers and log rollers. The new canoe and kayak launching ramp is complete – check it out in the image above! We started our paddle from the new ramp today. Out on the water you can
What is Happening with the Wingra Park Shoreline? Read More »
