Sugar River Habitat Improvement

Habitat improvement work in the Sugar River south of Paoli has yielded some dramatic results. A stream improvement project sponsored by the Dane County Land Conservation Department protected the stream banks by fencing, sloping and seeding, and installing LUNKER structures in the stream. Sediment has been cleansed from the stream bottom and the exposed gravel has provided spawning habitat.

Fish have responded positively to the work. Surveys conducted before the project in 1994 found no trout and only one smallmouth bass. The followup survey in the fall of 1998 turned up 41 brown trout, the biggest measuring 24.9 inches. Presence of young of the year fish and spawning redds showed that natural reproduction is occurring in the river.

Upper Sugar River Initiative