by Jim Sauter
Greetings from TCTU Streamkeepers.
Independence day has come and gone.  This was a good time for burgers, brats, fishing, baseball, ice cream, s'mores,  parades, and fireworks.  
This year as we watched the fireworks from Grand View Resort on Gull Lake, I paid special attention to the birds in the area.  The herons, ducks, and loons were totally freaked out.  A heron sought safety as it perched on top of a nearby boat lift.  
Many times, we are aware of the impact of the sound and light display for pets and little children.  This was the first time I paid very close attention to bird life.  They were clearly flying around and moving nervously during the dusk hour when they have normally settled down for the night.  The loons were not giving us their usual evening calls.  

by Bob Luck
As those of you who have received emails from me at 3 am know, I have a sleep disorder.  I don't have any problem going to sleep, but staying asleep is a problem, especially when I have a fishing trip planned the next day.  Which, in my case, is most days.  There is a silver lining:  during Trico season I have no problem being on the stream by 6 am, which is when these tiny mayflies start hatching on warm July mornings.  Yesterday, acting on a tip from an old-timer I met on the stream last season, I headed to a new piece of water.  I saw some flies on the water, but almost no rises.  I either misunderstood what that old-timer told me, or he is congratulating himself about sending me on a wild goose chase.  I still enjoyed myself, and I may even try that stretch again.  If you are looking for some new water to fish, following is some savvy advice from TCTU Board Member Evan Griggs, whose day job is running Fishing For All LLC, a guiding service.  

MNTU and the DNR are getting ready to do a major habitat project on Eagle Creek, the closest fishable trout stream to downtown Minneapolis.  As we were about to start the work, a rare plant species was discovered that needed to be inventoried and mapped so that it could be protected during the in-stream work.  We definitely want to protect rare plants, but were not excited about a delay in the habitat project.  We sent out an appeal to volunteers for help, and got an overwhelming response.  Under the leadership of Hannah Swenson of the DNR, the volunteers listed below completed the inventory in three days.  Thank you!  In case you are wondering what the plant is, keep wondering.  It is a shy plant and has requested anonymity.  We can say, though, that over 19,000 plants were found in Eagle Creek, giving it the second-largest population of any stream in Minnesota.
Thanks to:  
​Paul Algren*, Todd Christenson, Toshi Karato*, Bob Luck, Sahya Luck, Tracy Niebeling*, Jim Patterson , Tim Pierzina, Jim Rue, Jay Wetmore
*Helped every single day!

by Doug Moran
Project MACHETE is an experiment TCTU volunteers are doing w/the DNR's Mark Nemeth. We want to see what methods work for killing the hated buckthorn, while reducing the use of chemicals & the need for a licensed sprayer.
The 3 methods we're testing are as follows.
Method 1-Orange, cut to low stump, treated w/Buckthorn Blaster
Method 2- White, cut to ~3-4 ft above the ground, all branches stripped off, & new growth re-stripped off every 5 -6 months. This is the Critical Period Cutting (CPC) method
Method 3- Green, same as White, but, re-stripping new growth every month. This is a modification of the CPC we're trying based on conversations w/Alex Roth from the FMR.
There was no visit in June due to high water- the Vermillion could not be safely crossed.
On July 12, Mark Nemeth and I safely crossed the river and hit the study area. Here's a few observations:
1. Four of the Orange trees (24%) had resprouting. We think we had missed them or inadequately treated them w/the Buckthorn Blasters. It should be noted that 2 of the trees had single re-sprouts which were dying or very weak looking.
2. All of the White and Orange trees had resprouting. No surprise
3. All the trees had lots of buckthorn seedlings sprouting around them, w/the exception of those that seemed to have been in the flooded areas, where the flooding or new sediment prevented new seedling sprouting.
4. Given #3, it is likely that chemicals will have to be part of any efforts to eradicate buckthorn.

Hope you found this interesting, watch for more to come!! If you want to join in on the August visit, contact me at [email protected]