Home » News » Clintonville News » DNR wants fish habitat improved in Pigeon Lake

DNR wants fish habitat improved in Pigeon Lake

Clintonville discusses options

By Bert Lehman


At the request of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the city of Clintonville is exploring options to create a better fish habitat in Pigeon Lake.

The topic was first discussed at the Nov. 27 Clintonville Parks and Recreation Committee meeting.

Parks and Recreation Director Justin Mc Auly told the committee he has been in contact with the DNR regarding Pigeon Lake. He said he was told a letter was recently sent to the Pigeon Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District recommending the lake’s fish habitat be improved.

The DNR is looking to have coarse, woody items placed on the lakebed to better the fish habitat instead of using PVC pipe or metal cribs, Mc Auly said.

“That’s too bad because [manufactured cribs would] actually be very easy to build, and I know that they’re very popular in the south and other areas,” Clintonville Parks and Recreation Committee Chairman Steve Kettenhoven said. “It’s just a lot easier to put them in and you don’t have the decay.”

Kettenhoven said whatever material is added to create fish habitat would have to be placed deep enough so it does not interfere with boat motors.

Committee member Jim Supanich said the city could add items for fish habitats along the shoreline that it owns.

“I think we really need to take advantage of this with the opportunity we have right now,” Supanich said.

Kettenhoven agreed and added the ongoing lake drawdown allows the city to see what is on the pond bed before material for fish habitat is added.

Creating fish habitats was also discussed at the Dec. 6 Clintonville Streets Committee meeting.

Supanich, who chairs the streets committee as well, said his first thought was to add dead trees to the pond bed, but he was not sure if that would satisfy the DNR requirement for fish habitat.

“It would seem to me that we can do something to help improve the fishing situation along that area [Pickeral Point to Picnic Point] now that we got the pond down,” Supanich said.

Kettenhoven recommended the city speak with a DNR biologist who could provide more information as to what would create the best fish habitat.

“We do have quite a few stumps and stuff out there,” Kettenhoven told the streets committee. “And we also have to take into consideration obviously the weed cutter. We can’t have something that the cutter is going to run into.”

The committee agreed to contact the DNR to obtain more information as to what it would like added to Pigeon Lake to improve the fish habitat.

Scroll to Top